What's so great about that? After all is there anyone at all who hasn't had one...dentist, appointment, or both, at some time or the other?
Well, my story may be slightly different. My tooth troubles started as soon as I started teething, I think. While I have been told by almost everyone I know that it is because of the chocolates I have been eating ever since I was this small (you won't be able to see how small...that small!) the latest dentist did not mince matters. "Bad oral hygiene" she said bluntly.
So this must have started when I was, you know, very very small. The first dentist was Rao in Mount Road. Several times while driving from and to the Central Station I have wanted to see if the Rao Clinic was still there, and last time was thrilled to note that my memory hadn't failed me. A narrow staircase leading to the clinic was what I had remembered and it was very much there...in the vicinity of the Shanthi Theatre. It is surprising how my brother, a year older, doesn't remember so many of these childhood occurrences. Anyway, that is not the point now. My dental troubles started quite young and I remember the first tooth was extracted under anesthesia!
I do not remember going to any dentist, or even a doctor when in Egmore or Purasawakkam, perhaps nothing memory worthy happened then. The next dentist was at Cochin. There was this guy at Thoppampady where we lived, and after a sleepless night of pain and puffed eyes, we went to the nearest available dentist, who checked, gave me pills to reduce the pain and the swelling, and asked me to come in the evening for an extraction. There were two trouble mongers, he said, and he would extract 1 the next day, and the other, the day after. No.1 was duly extracted, and my father paid him in advance for the next extraction which was to be done when I visited him on my way home from school the next day.
But fathers propose and daughters dispose. The guy had been so rough, I decided I'd rather bear the pain(which had diminished anyway) than go to him for another extraction. So on my way home, I did pay him a visit, but instead of him extracting my tooth, I extracted the advance amount paid to him and came home. My parents were never ones to object or scold unless it was really warranted, and they accepted my reason and left it at that.
It was this tooth that gave me so much trouble several, several years later, after we had shifted to Bangalore. Unable to bear the pain, I had placed an electric pad against my cheek and with the warmth and comfort provided, had gone to sleep. The next morning, Man, I couldn't see my eyes! Fortunately, I could see the rest of my face, and realised that my eyes, naturally small, had just got submerged in that swollen mass that was the rest of my face. Times had changed and there was no dentist available at any time of the day, and as I waited for the morning to progress, both the pain and the swelling subsided. I set about my normal routine, went to work, and on my way home, stepped into the dentist's and was able to persuade him to extract the tooth. It was on the upper right, slightly visible when I spoke or smiled, especially the latter. He advised me to get a replacement,as it would look very odd whenever I smiled. "No fear," I said," I hardly smile!" ( Well, those were such days...may write about them sometime).
I have had another extraction, a couple of root canal treatments, some other dental treatments, and in this long list is tomorrow's root canal treatment. Not really back to square 1, as nowadays, one doesn't even know whether the dentist ( or any other doctor) is genuinely advising you or whether it is another ,"So what has she to lose?" attitude. The loss of money is their gain, so it figures first on their list of priorities. This cycle is going to cost me near about 25000/, and I have only taken the step because of the insistence of my daughters. Otherwise I would have resisted, saying what's the loss of another tooth or two!
Warning: Don't ever ask me how many teeth I have....I wouldn't tell you, even if I knew!
Well, my story may be slightly different. My tooth troubles started as soon as I started teething, I think. While I have been told by almost everyone I know that it is because of the chocolates I have been eating ever since I was this small (you won't be able to see how small...that small!) the latest dentist did not mince matters. "Bad oral hygiene" she said bluntly.
So this must have started when I was, you know, very very small. The first dentist was Rao in Mount Road. Several times while driving from and to the Central Station I have wanted to see if the Rao Clinic was still there, and last time was thrilled to note that my memory hadn't failed me. A narrow staircase leading to the clinic was what I had remembered and it was very much there...in the vicinity of the Shanthi Theatre. It is surprising how my brother, a year older, doesn't remember so many of these childhood occurrences. Anyway, that is not the point now. My dental troubles started quite young and I remember the first tooth was extracted under anesthesia!
I do not remember going to any dentist, or even a doctor when in Egmore or Purasawakkam, perhaps nothing memory worthy happened then. The next dentist was at Cochin. There was this guy at Thoppampady where we lived, and after a sleepless night of pain and puffed eyes, we went to the nearest available dentist, who checked, gave me pills to reduce the pain and the swelling, and asked me to come in the evening for an extraction. There were two trouble mongers, he said, and he would extract 1 the next day, and the other, the day after. No.1 was duly extracted, and my father paid him in advance for the next extraction which was to be done when I visited him on my way home from school the next day.
But fathers propose and daughters dispose. The guy had been so rough, I decided I'd rather bear the pain(which had diminished anyway) than go to him for another extraction. So on my way home, I did pay him a visit, but instead of him extracting my tooth, I extracted the advance amount paid to him and came home. My parents were never ones to object or scold unless it was really warranted, and they accepted my reason and left it at that.
It was this tooth that gave me so much trouble several, several years later, after we had shifted to Bangalore. Unable to bear the pain, I had placed an electric pad against my cheek and with the warmth and comfort provided, had gone to sleep. The next morning, Man, I couldn't see my eyes! Fortunately, I could see the rest of my face, and realised that my eyes, naturally small, had just got submerged in that swollen mass that was the rest of my face. Times had changed and there was no dentist available at any time of the day, and as I waited for the morning to progress, both the pain and the swelling subsided. I set about my normal routine, went to work, and on my way home, stepped into the dentist's and was able to persuade him to extract the tooth. It was on the upper right, slightly visible when I spoke or smiled, especially the latter. He advised me to get a replacement,as it would look very odd whenever I smiled. "No fear," I said," I hardly smile!" ( Well, those were such days...may write about them sometime).
I have had another extraction, a couple of root canal treatments, some other dental treatments, and in this long list is tomorrow's root canal treatment. Not really back to square 1, as nowadays, one doesn't even know whether the dentist ( or any other doctor) is genuinely advising you or whether it is another ,"So what has she to lose?" attitude. The loss of money is their gain, so it figures first on their list of priorities. This cycle is going to cost me near about 25000/, and I have only taken the step because of the insistence of my daughters. Otherwise I would have resisted, saying what's the loss of another tooth or two!
Warning: Don't ever ask me how many teeth I have....I wouldn't tell you, even if I knew!
Great, U
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