MONDAY, 11th February 2008
Oh, Don't Be Such A Sore...Gum!

I feel that i need to write something here even though i'm in pain and all i wanna do is sleep. That's because for the last 2 days i couldnt talk to people (not as much as i want to, anyway) because of my gum infection! My sis said it's retribution for me qutting my dentist internship. What a way to kick me when i'm down! Anyway, i didnt have a choice. It's painful i tell you. It's either a) gingivitis or b) my wisdom tooth coming out. RARRR! It's all swollen now and i can't talk properly and then i started worrying about how i'm going to teach on Thursday?! But it's okay..i'll sign language if i have to.

I finally got an appointment for today after waiting for soooo long because the dental clinic was closed over the CNY holidays. The dentist told me that it looks like a gum infection and i shouted 'YES!'. Actually it came out more like 'YISH!' And then the doctor asked, "You like gingivitis?!" HAHAHA! Then i told him i'm just glad it's not a wisdom tooth problem. Then you know what he said?! "Actually i wanted to ask you to come back so that we can X-ray you because the gum infection might be due to your wisdom tooth coming out." NOOOOOOOOOOO! That's when my world came crashing down. Ok, that's an exagerration. The dentist then did scaling and polishing because he did not know what else to do. Then he charged me $76!!! For just a simple procedure that only lasted 10 minutes! Now, this is when my world came crashing down.

When i was working at GPA dental, i knew that lower molar wisdom tooth is harder to extract. The surgical procedure for extracting upper molar cost around $200 but for lower molars is around $900. The dentist told me before i left, "Your gums are pretty thick and lower molar very hard to extract. So if there is a wisdom tooth there and it is not growing straight, then we might have to cut up your gums and surgically remove it." I guess it's possible for worlds to come crashing down twice in a day because mine just did.

The first thing i did when i got home? Research on wisdom tooth.

Common signs and symptoms of impacted wisdom teeth include:

• Pain or tenderness around your gums
  
• Swelling around your jaw


• Red or swollen gums around the impacted tooth


• Jaw pain


• Unpleasant taste when biting down on or near the area


• Prolonged headache or jaw ache

I'm screwed.