In the last 3 weeks, I've been to the dentist twice. The first visit was a diagnosis by the dentist. I must say that I do not have an excuse. There are a few dentists near to my house. I chose to go to one which is two streets away from me. The last time I've been to a dentist was 2.5 years ago in Kuala Lumpur. The last time I've been to a dentist in Melbourne cost me heaps and I tried to avoid it as much as possible until this year.
Like any other person, I went to the dentist because there was pain or some sort of sensation in my teeth/ gum. And I knew it was long overdue. In my first visit, I took my 3 year old daughter with me for the so-called diagnosis by the dentist. This was not an unpleasant experience but yes, there was bad news - need to spend more money to get my teeth fixed. Fillings, sealants and yes, please get my wisdom teeth out. Surprisingly, my daughter jumped onto the dentist chair thinking that everything is about her. Of course, we persuaded her that it is mummy's turn first. She did get a mini checkup later on.
I must say that I was impressed with the orderliness of this dental practice and the advancement of technology in the dental field. The different types of x-rays including one which is like a space machine that goes around you, equipment to enlarge your teeth image and project it to the computer screen, equipment to detect whether there is a hole in the tooth. These are all making dentistry a more accurate profession.
The second visit comprises of a filings and sealants procedure done by the dentist and cleaning done by a hygienist. I was told that the hygienist specialises in cleaning only and maintaining the patients' teeth. The dentist I suppose does the other duties.
The fillings and sealants procedure was not too bad. The cleaning is one which I will try to avoid in the future. There were lots of poking and scraping, to the extent that some even goes under the gums (I suspect). There were both automated cleaning and manual to get to the bottom of more difficult spots. Urghhh.... Then the hygienist did a charting of my bone loss of the teeth as certain parts of my gum were receding. This was also not a pleasant exercise - poking through the gum to check the measurements. And then lastly, the fluoride treatment was inserted into my mouth. This is a foam like mould filled with more concentrated fluoride and I had to bite on this thing for something like 5 minutes. For some reason as was expected by the hygienist, I was dribbling. This is an interesting reaction which I never found out why the mouth does it but it does dribble.
Last but not least, the hygienist taught me how to clean my teeth properly. First brush the top of the molars - this can be done hard and firmly. For the other side surfaces of the teeth, bend the bristles towards the gum and brush in circular motion and gently so that one does not brush too harshly and make the gum recede further. Next she gave me these tiny brushes called piksters. These are to push dirt out of the gaps between my teeth where the gaps are fairly large. Where the gaps are close together, I need to use the floss. And after all these steps, rinse with a special oral mouth rinse which is alcohol free and recommended by dentists. Welcome to the modern maintenance routine for the teeth!
It is hard to imagine for a modern person in this era, there are so many steps and products to use to properly maintain the teeth. What about people in the past, people in rural areas, people in poorer countries with little dental services?
I'm trying very hard to keep to this teeth cleaning routine as I don't want to incur this much pain to the pocket and to the teeth and gums again. Despite having health insurance which subsides some dental work, this is still a costly affair in Melbourne, Australia. So far, it is day 3 of this routine. So wish me luck and also learn from my experience. Unfortunately after these 2 visits, there is one further step which I still need to "look forward" to - wisdom teeth extraction. So much for now. Happy brushing!
