Blog Marathon - Post 2 - At the Dentists!

As a child, I neither paid attention to oral health nor cared about it. It was also not very common to visit a dentist regularly in the 80s and 90s as the trend is nowadays. I drank a lot of cold drinks for snacks while at college. I also ate a lot of chocolates from my dad's medical stores and never bothered to rinse my mouth after eating every meal. Only after the teeth started suffering from pain and cavities, I realized that the damage was already done. My grandfather died at the age of 80 with every tooth of his intact, with no holes or tooth extraction. Here I was, his granddaughter with root canal treatment done on almost every alternate tooth.

The tooth problem hit me hard again when I was pregnant in 2011. I had to undergo an RC again with antibiotics and the pain and a big stomach in the 9th month. I thought it was for good and won't raise its head again. Back in 2013, while I was in Germany, I had to undergo different procedures for various problems. The dentist charged a whopping amount of around 750 Euros, and I literally fell down from my seat when I got the bill in my hands. I had no option but to pay. I thought the torture was over. But my happiness was shortlived. When I was in India on a trip in 2018 at my parent's house, another tooth decayed and had to undergo an RC treatment. My whole vacation was spoiled. I sat in a queue at 7:30 am every alternate day at the clinic which was just opposite the building my parents stayed. It took another hour or so for my turn and then the torture of drilling, filling, antibiotics began. I spent a good 15 days in that, and at the end of the treatment, I couldn't get the tooth capped as the inflammation didn't reduce as expected. The tooth was left open, and with a heavy heart, I returned to India.

2 weeks ago, one tooth each on the left upper and lower side started troubling me. Getting a dentist's appointment in Germany is very difficult. There is a long waiting list, and often new patients are not entertained at some clinics. But as I am a "private" patient here, I could get the appointment quickly here. After the treatment, I am sent the bill, and I transfer the amount via bank transfer. So, it's actually an advantage to the clinics to have a lot of private patients. The hospitals and clinics have a certain quota to treat different types of insured patients. I got an appointment for today at 9:15 am. It was close by, and I walked to the clinic.

Being a new patient there, I filled many documents and signed many forms of data consent, etc. After waiting for another half an hour, the assistant walked me to the room. She made the room ready for the doctor to come and start my treatment. A young lady walked in with a smiling face, and we exchanged pleasantries. I told her my complaints, she examined all the teeth and dictated her observations to the assistant. The assistant was noting down all the things on a screen. The doctor took photos of the teeth she thought were problematic. An X-Ray was done first. I was amazed at the way science and technology have progressed. I could see my own teeth on the screen after she finished the examination. She showed me the problem areas and also gave suggestions on what could be done. I was hopeful that the painful teeth would be relieved of pain by doing a filling immediately. But no, I was mistaken. I had to come back at 1:15 for the tooth filling!

I walked back home, finished a few household stuff, and returned at about 1. No matter what time is the appointment, waiting time is inevitable at the dentist's. After waiting for 15 minutes, I went to another room for one more X-Ray and was ushered to the next room where there were huge machines and screens. The room intimated me. I felt so insecure and helpless as if trapped in a cave of drilling machines making different sounds! The doctor walked in again and explained to me about the situation of a tooth which was very bad and had to be removed. It wasn't urgent, but it had to be done sooner or later. She decided to first handle the two teeth that were paining and then take a call on that tooth of which the X-Ray was done.

For about 15 minutes, she drilled all possible needles and things in my tiny little mouth. I sat there with literally my mouth wide open in bewilderment and in the hope that this never happened in my life and will never happen again. I waited and waited and the time seemed to be stood still. It was a testimony of my laziness, of my indifference towards my teeth which literally fed me food and gave me the energy to carry on. The filling was done. It seemed like ages. I came back to my senses. It left a bitter taste in my mouth thanks to some liquid that she injected in the fluid sacks on my upper teeth. She was confident that this red liquid would help reduce the pain in the upper tooth. She prescribed pain killers and antibiotics in case I needed them over the long holiday weekend. Germany has an off tomorrow, and all the schools and colleges and offices have an off on Friday also, being a bridge holiday. I bought the medicines immediately after I left the clinic. I am hoping I won't need them. I continuously tell my 7 years old son to take good care of his teeth and not suffer like me in the future. The cold drinks, sweet things which kids keep on eating in the early years have an impact on their future oral health. He takes good care of his teeth and avoids eating sweets.

I urge you all to have your teeth regularly checked at the dentists. If you have kids especially, please watch what you give them to eat or what they eat in school or while at play. Though dental appointment costs a substantial amount and time, please don't neglect your and your family's oral health and hygiene. Avoid eating sweet things and brush with a good paste twice a day without fail.

I am called next week again to check the status of the treatment done today. I hope the pain subsides and doesn't lead to anything like the most hated and feared, Root Canal Treatment.

Wish me luck, people!