The first visit was to fix rectify the pain from my molar, the next 2 was to go back and check why there was still pain radiating from the molar despite the issue being "fixed" and the visit tomorrow is to redo my frontal tooth filling because it literally fell off while I was eating fried mushrooms.
The 2nd and 3rd visit was bad news because I was diagnosed with what could potential be a dying tooth, getting aches in the middle of the night, sometimes would happen randomly in the day time, and there are only 2 ways to deal with a dying tooth, I could either extract the damn tooth or I can keep the tooth by going for a root canal surgery. The last time I had a root canal done, it was for my front tooth, so the cost was about $850, this time, because it is a molar, the cost will be double the amount, which is a whopping $2000, on top of that $2000, I will have to fork out another $1000 to get a crown done as well, which brings the total up to $3000, so I guess there goes my plan to get a new desktop.
The dentist that I visited are all different, same clinic but always a different dentist and I really don't like that arrangement, having the same dentist would help a lot because that dentist would know the severity of the issue I am personally going through, especially if I am dropping by so many times.
So the 2nd time I visited, the dentist told me to observe the pain for a few days, prescribed me with some painkillers and then send me off. She told me that the pain might be from my tooth still trying to get used to the new fillings, so I should take my painkillers when it starts aching and then give it a few days to see if the pain subsides, if it doesn't, then it means I might need a root canal surgery. I really don't want to mask the pain with painkillers, so I pretty much ignored her advise and tried to power through it for 2 days, which was horrible because the pain actually got more spontaneous and started happening more frequently, which probably was a very very bad sign. I have done fillings many times before and this is the first time the tooth took so long to react to a new filling because I was fine for 10 days after the filling was done and then the pain just suddenly came back.
So 2 days after my 2nd visit, I made an appointment for a third visit and this time, it was a different dentist again, she did the same thing the last dentist did, which was a cold test to see how my affected tooth was reacting, it was VERY sensitive, and then we took an X-Ray and pretty much came to the same conclusion, that I might require a root canal surgery, so I got the root canal specialist number and if the pain persist, then it will be a straight visit to that specialist.
I am trying to avoid the root canal surgery and am now seriously hoping it is just my tooth getting used to the new fillings, one can hope, so I am popping the painkillers as per instructed and giving it a few days, my sleep last night was painless, which was great, a part of me wishes it was the tooth getting better, but I know it is the painkiller doing it's thing. I will be popping them again before bed because fuck that molar.
Dropping by again tomorrow to redo a fallen filling, the whole piece literally came out while I was eating and it was a really big piece, that particular tooth is 50% filling, so I look like I am missing a tooth right now, which was why I arranged for the earliest time slot available tomorrow to get that shit sorted out. I am spending A LOT of money on dental works.
1st Trip - $400
2nd Trip - $50
3rd Trip - $40
Tomorrow - $150 (estimate)
Root Canal Surgery - $3000
That would be a total of $3640!
And I feel like the initial $400 is such a waste of money because it only brought me 10 days of serenity before I am told that I will have to reopen that cavity and dig all the nerves out.
THAT IS HALF MY TOTAL COMMISSION FOR 4 SEPARATE PROJECTS I HAVE YET TO COLLECT! I really needed that commission to cover back my US trip expenses because the figures in my bank account is now free falling and I don't feel good about it.
UPDATE :
Just got back from the dentist and was given some very bad news about that tooth that had to be filled.
It has been "restored" and I was pretty accurate with the cost, it was $150 before GST, so I ended up spending $170 today.
During the consultation, I explained to the dentist what happened to my tooth and what I wanted done, which is to refill the tooth, so she asks me when the filling fell off, how long it has been that way and then proceeds to check up on it.
As she was checking, I could feel her digging and scrapping away, then she stops and just stared at my tooth for a while, like she was pondering what to do, I was very nervous because if she is pondering for so long, then it can only mean that she has bad news and is wondering how best to deliver that news to me.
"Actually looking at your tooth right now, there really isn't much for the fillings to hold on to, so even if we do the fillings, it will only be temporary, which is why I would suggest extraction."
When she said "extraction", I was honestly caught off guard. This tooth is the second tooth from the front right, if I extract that tooth, it is going to look EXTREMELY obvious, every time I talk, people are going to notice a missing tooth, every time I smile, people are going to notice a missing tooth, the point here is the missing tooth is going to be very fucking obvious every time I open my fucking mouth, I am going to look like Stu from the Hangover movie, permanently.
I was shocked when she suggested that, so I just stared at her for a while, and then said...
'Extraction?"
... and she nodded her head and then re-explain why she thought extraction was the best option and the entire time, I was just really confused because I think extraction is the most extreme option, it's the one you offer to your patients when there really is no other alternative, and she was offering it to me, so I then ask her if there way any other alternative, if crowning was possible and she kept reiterating that extraction is the best option, that refilling will only be temporary and crowning is impossible because at this stage, it is too late, which is really not what I wanted to hear, which then made me realize that there was another option, dental implants. I then ask her if dental implants was possible, and she finally told me that that was indeed another option that I could look at.
I mean SERIOUSLY !?!?
If you are going to offer such an extreme measure like extraction, at least let me know that I can still do an implant to cover that gap. I was just relieved then that there was still an alternative and despite it potentially costing me $4000, the important thing here is that there IS a solution for replacement, but when I think back now, it just really infuriates me how she didn't really give a shit about how missing what is almost as good as a front tooth would impact the patient.
Your clinic offers braces as one of the many services and the whole point of someone wearing braces is to get their teeth straighten and perfect their smile, it definitely boosted my confidence when I finally got my teeth straighten, a small group do it for medical reason, but a larger group do it for aesthetics, which is the reason why I went for it, so it just amazes me that she just doesn't care.
That being said, she did a relatively good job restoring my tooth with the fillers, it looks good as new now, but according to her, it probably won't last long, she said it would last max 2 years if I take care of it really well, but would most likely start to fall off within a year from now, I guess that is enough time for me to set aside $2750 for the dental implant, with a little help from Medisave, the main thing I have to worry about is just my potential root canal surgery.
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