To Know or Not

I visited the dentist yesterday. Like everyone else, I dread the experience unless I have those perfect pearly whites that I would just go and let them heap praise on me. Unfortunately, this is not the case with me. I have been told numerous times that I used to brush my teeth so hard that I suffer from receding gums, which is not something that affects people my age.

The previous dentist that I attended just asked me vaguely if I had known about the issue. I nodded, expecting him to provide some pleasant late night reading about healthy and unhealthy gums. He just proceeded with the cleaning, and I was generally quite happy about it all. However, I suffered from an inflamed gum in my right cheek on Saturday which prompted this new visit. After consulting with John, and not being to determine if it was a body imbalance, decided to visit his dentist instead.

The day started off rather badly because I took the wrong bus and ended up more than 1 km away from where I should be. I ended up running for about 30 minutes to get there. After I registered, I was asked if I received a text message from the receptionist. It was then that I realised that she did send me a note that the appointment was delayed by 20 minutes. It was a slight relief because it allowed me time to freshen up.

The dentist did a very thorough job and gave me the full works including a couple of X-rays and late night sleep inducing (not) reading material. He told me that there was a root growing under my right gum causing the flesh to press against my bottom teeth, hence the inflammation. Since we are leaving in five weeks for Europe, he wanted to get it fixed before I leave. He described it as a similar operation to the one I had with my wisdom teeth extraction, which includes the cutting of gums. Ouch!

He also gave me a treatment plan which was going to cost at least $1000. Thankfully, about 70% of this cost will be covered by my Private Health Fund. There is also talk of seeing a gum specialist to get more work done, so that I do not end up like Madonna with wide open spaces. In comparison with the first dentist, he was much more comprehensive in his analysis. It was definitely scarier but it's strange that I feel more at ease, possibly the knowledge of being in safe hands. Strangely comforting.