13th February 2006 - Day 119

I visited the dentist in the morning.

Although I made the appointment last week, I still had to wait for half an hour as the guy before me took slightly longer than expected.

Let's just say I felt uncomfortable on the dentist's chair this time round. I was tensed up most of the time as she held a drill and started to bore a hole at the back of my front tooth. She asked me if I needed a Spritze or not. It took me some time for me to register that word. The word sank in just before she fished out a syringe out of a drawer.

No, thank you. But please do it later. If it hurts.

It was largely painless, except for the times she stuck something in between my teeth and pushed into the gums. It's a bit ticklish at times when she was finally done with boring the hole. I could imagine a worm popping out from the tooth.

She told me that the tooth has decayed further since the last time I got it filled up. Probably due to some minor fissures in the filling that the bacteria got through.

Now, let's play a game of spot the difference.

Before

After

If you're wondering about the colour of the teeth, the "Before" picture was taken under orange light (after a cup of coffee, some chocolates and biscuits).

The dentist told me to make another appointment with her. She suspects that the other neigbouring tooth has been infected by the pesky bacteria and wants to drill into it to flush them out.

Well, take a good look at my teeth again. They might all be dentures the next time you see them.

Did I read somewhere that German dentists always insist that lots of work has to be done to your teeth?

It might probably be true since the normal person doesn't visit the dentist unless there's something wrong. And when there's something wrong with one tooth, there's a high chance that the other teeth are not in a very good condition.

I count myself lucky that my childhood was not scarred by those menacing looking dental nurses who sticks funny instruments into kids' mouths in primary school. The fact that they happen to possess a pair of shaky hands did not help.

I never had a problem with dental health back then. I attribute this to the fact that I drank lots of milk, ate lots of sweets, and never brushed my teeth unless it was absolutely necessary.

Yeah, right.

I tend to think that kids who have had traumatic experience(s) with dental nurses and dentists take better care of their teeth when they grow up. Their parents might never need to remind them to brush their teeth before going to bed after that.

So, tune in again next week for more Dentures Adventures.