Some tortures are physical...and some are mental...but the one that is both is dental!
Le mot juste !!!How aptly does this describe the torture that going to a dentist is!
Before you conclude about me being among those reckless children who are brought up with candies and chocolates in mouth but no awareness of personal hygiene, I'd like to clarify that I am exactly in the opposite category.
I am one of those who took "Brush twice daily if you don't want rotten teeth" very,VERY,V.E.R.Y. seriously. Mine is that preposterous case in which I can't sleep without that minty taste of colgate in my mouth.As a kid, I even used to eat colgate sometimes while brushing- this is how far I can go as far as my loyalty towards colgate, I mean brushing, is concerned :P Before you tag me as brand-conscious, I swear by my PUMA collection that I have always been a great fan of closeup ads too...from 'kya aap closeup karte hain, kya dunia se darte hain...aap closeup kyu nahin karte hain' to 'paas aao, paas aao meri saanso mei samaao, paas aao na' I remember all the closeup advertisements.
Do baar brush karne ki keemat...tum kya jaano,cavities baabu ! :( :P
After all those precious minutes that I spent brushing with my unwavering loyalty towards colgate, when I felt a searing pain in my mouth one odd day, I shuddered with fear...the fear that the name ROOT CANAL TREATMENT brings...and then my brother (He is a pedodontist) uttered those dreaded words - you need a dentist.
The next day, I found myself sitting on a dental chair with my mouth open and weird looking instruments in my mouth...The clinic smelled of a strange mixture of mint and chlorine, reminding me of chlorohexidine....the mouthwash that I use...and the memory made me feel worse that I was the only one to take the "brush twice daily" axiom so seriously in whole of my family and yet I was the one sitting here in front of a dentist while everybody else seemed happy with their sparkling teeth flashing at me in mockery.
"Miss Surbhi" said the dentist gently. He looked not more than 35, had a dusky complexion and a pleasant face. I wondered vaguely that he reminded me of some TV actor. "You have two impacted wisdom teeth and pericoronitis...that means that your wisdom teeth didn't erupt fully. The flap of gum on it is becoming site of debris and consequently causing decay. These need to be surgically removed." I didn't know if I was happy that it wasn't RCT or scared out of my wits that it is going to be a minor surgery.
If suffering brought wisdom, the dentist’s office would be full of luminous ideas. ~Mason CooleyPun intended.
Lo and behold, I found myself sitting in his hospital where the surgery was going to take place. Even after watching the whole process on YouTube (injections inside your mouth, cutting up the gums, pulling out the tooth, stitching the gums back) I tried to be relaxed and ready for the surgery, not thinking about the bestial injections. But as I waited for my turn, I saw a dentist extracting a tooth. He was injecting anaesthesia inside a patient's mouth which I too was to face minutes later. And then I saw the patient shrieking in pain! The sight and the patient's howling gave me goosebumps and I ran away, out of the room...to my brother where he was doing the same on his patients and told him panicking, "mujhe nahi karaani surgery" and told him about the whole scene. He burst out laughing! He said placidly that my surgery was going to be done by his sir who would do it very gently. After 15 minutes of making me see sense, he was able to send me back for the surgery.
The doctor walked in and his students followed. I was sitting on the dental chair with my mouth open. I suddenly felt like a celebrity as all his students surrounded me to witness the surgery. They all looked so keenly as if it was going to be some spectacular show. Then I realized that they must be the articles. I mean the interns. Because I saw the look of curiosity in their eyes, the same look that I have when I see my senior prepare a balance sheet. But our balance sheets and profits and losses do not cause any pain, said my mind inside me! Before I could come out of these thoughts, the doctor inserted the injection into my mouth and I murmured kill me before I bear this,closing my eyes. Then it was excruciating pain that I felt inside my inner cheek...and then another one. Then the area went numb. I opened my eyes and saw him fumbling with a blade. He was going to cut my gums. I closed my eyes again. And then a cut here, a cut there, I could not feel it but was visualizing it inside my head. And then I felt a strong pressure- He was pulling my tooth out...I felt as if whole of my jaw would break with the pressure. And then suddenly, it was all over. He placed a wad of cotton inside because it was bleeding profusely.
I asked him to show me the tooth. I wanted to see how the thing that was causing me unbearable pain looked. What I saw astonished me.
I had imagined it to look like some monstrous thing but what I saw instead was something very innocent looking. Shining white in the light, it was God's brilliance at its best. so simple, yet so efficient and perfect. Like everything that God has made, it was a delicate blend of sheer innocence and perfection.I felt a sudden urge to hold it and keep it safe and then I realized how ridiculous I was being.
And then I was free to go. I was told to eat loads of ice cream (the only bright side of the whole process!)
I must confess that I always thought my brother's profession to be so...um different and something beyond my understanding because I always felt why would anybody want to go to the extent of bearing so much pain in getting things done to your teeth. But after being one of his patients now, I feel dentistry is the future because every other person is suffering from some or the other tooth ailment.He is going to earn more than a CA, they charge you a bomb !
I'd like to conclude with this hackneyed but very useful advice-
which roughly translates to BRUSH TWICE DAILY !
