Oral Surgery of Impacted Wisdom Tooth

HISTORY

About 4 or 5 years ago, I was advised by my dentist to have my impacted wisdom teeth  (1 on each end of my lower jaw) surgically removed but I just didn't have the time and of course, the money for it. I then resigned from my call center job so I didn't really went to the dentist on a regular basis after that. 

DILEMMA AND DRAMA BEFORE GETTING THE SURGERY

During the 2015 holidays, I've been feeling pain from my right wisdom tooth or from the teeth before that. I consulted with the local health center to know what's actually happening. I was told to have it removed as I would continuously feel pain until it has been removed. The right side was continuously pushing my other teeth, thus, the excruciating pain I was feeling. 

I asked my cousin for recommendations but she said it would really be costly. She told me to go to UP Manila's College of Dentistry. On January 4 or 5, I went there around 9 or 10 am with my dad but was told to come back around January 25 as all the dentists and students are still on vacation. 

On January 25, we arrived around 7AM and there was already 10 people who beat me to the line. You just have to sign up with the guard and give a valid ID. Then they will instruct you to wait and upon cue, they'll ask all of you to go up to the 2nd floor to fill up a form to submit. 

Cheap dental services c/o UP Manila's College of Dentistry

It was a long wait but I followed the impatient girl who asked the receptionist what else she could do as we had been waiting for too long to be seen by a dentist to be evaluated.  I overheard the conversation and asked the same for myself. The receptionist advised me to have my teeth xrayed, too. Kuya Resty did the panoramic xray at a different room and only cost approximately Php300-400, whereas, it would've cost Php700-1,000 in other dental clinics. 

I returned the xray copy to the receptionist and she got my details. The schedule for surgeries was too far away, around Feb 15 as there were no graduating studies who are going to fulfill that type of requirement yet. She got my details and said to wait for her call / text to confirm that I can go to UP to be evaluated and 5 days afterwards, I would then be operated on. 

From Jan 25 to Feb 15, there were countless sleepless nights of pain and headaches because of my teeth.

Feb 15 came and I did not receive any calls or texts. I then decided that I could not wait any longer for UP so my husband and I looked for other alternatives. 


SURGERY DAY

I skipped work and got a new xray done at UP Manila College of Dentistry.

Panoramic xray of my teeth. 

Sorry for the orangey background, those are goldfish in the aquarium. lol

Good thing that my husband and I chanced upon Dr. Lou Dental Clinic at Sta. Ana (near Imbyernes / Inviernes) when we were en route to UP. When we were heading back home, we dropped by their place and found that the surgery would only cost Php6,000. I asked for their business card but still hoped that I could find someone cheaper. Clinic has been newly renovated and patients came in and out of the clinic. They were quite popular, if I may say. 

Long story short, I had to drop by my office in Pasig to get my paycheck, have the check encashed by my mother-in-law and then went straight back to Dr. Lou Dental Clinic at Sta. Ana.



THE PROCEDURE

They checked my blood pressure first but it was still in the normal range, though I was nervous. Dr. Lou injected anesthesia and started the procedure.

This, by far, has been the scariest thing I have experienced in my life, even scarier than giving normal birth.  I was earnestly praying to God to let me live or if I die, to take care of Chloe for me. Even if my right side was numb, there were times that I would still feel jolts of pain. He was astounded that I still felt pain even if he already shot me a couple of times with anesthesia. My body couldn't relax and was so tense that I had to force myself to breathe in and out at times. It was my fault that I failed to explain to him that in the previous days, my teeth were aching. 

He was like a miner, digging into my mouth to get the tooth out. He looked for dental instruments / equipments that were not there on his work table. In total, I was shot a total of 11 times with anesthesia. Thank God I was able to survive that! The dentist told me that next time, I should not wait for a tooth to hurt before coming back to a dentist. I was prescribed with antibiotics and pain reliever. In 3 weeks, I need to go back for them to remove the sutures. 

My Dental Certificate as proof of the operation done.

I had the operation done on February 16 and the next day, UP texted me if I could go and be evaluated. Next time, probably. Oh, and did I mention that I still have one more impacted tooth that needs to be removed? Good Lord, please give me the strength to endure that one, too!