Dental Crisis

Gum and toothaches...
I had gum and toothaches since early September in the right upper row, in the beginning I didn't think it had anything to do with my teeth so I actually visited my usual GP, he gave me antibiotics and painkillers and advised me to visit a dentist. I did not take his advice very seriously and as the aches occurred more frequently in the last few weeks here in Miri, I made up my mind to visit a dentist! It's true that a lot of people like me are just so afraid of going to a dentist! I don't recall my last trip to the dentist, if I've not been to a dentist all these years, the last check would have been during my primary schooldays!

Checking out dental clinics...

I checked yellow pages online and it listed 10 dental clinics in Miri, two Saturdays ago, we visited one that Augustine's colleague frequents, unfortunately, they were full and so we made an appointment for the following Saturday. But just one day before our appointment, the nurse called to say the doctor had an emergency and she has to cancel our appointment and she cannot make another one for us. I thought it was so strange that she just left things hanging in the air. So I called another dental clinic and they could only fit me in like 2 weeks later! Augustine decided to call another clinic and they could fit us in the very next day and we were very relieved but skeptical as to how come some clinics are so busy and this one seems to have an empty slot.

The day finally arrived...

When we arrived at the clinic, we saw a lot of people waiting, but actually most of them are family members who came along with the patients. We didn't wait very long for our turn and we were very surprised to find out the doctor is a Miss, not a Mr hehe...I was relieved in a way, immediately she told me I have a rotten wisdom tooth, which had affected my right nerve causing pain to the whole row of tooth (it really made sense now!) and she said the only solution is to pull it out, she assured me it's not surgery and there will be no pain. I was a little stunned for a moment and asked her a lot of questions. After she injected anaesthetic into 2 areas of my gums (she actually warned me the 2nd injection would cause a little pain and it did), she asked me to wait for the numbing to set in while she checks on Augustine's teeth. While Augustine had his teeth polished, I was actually shivering in fear waiting for my turn. My turn came and after checking that the area is numb, the doctor swiftly and confidently pulled the tooth out in just ONE SECOND and showed us the rotten tooth! And there wasn't any pain during the extraction. Erm, she became my instant hero that day! I asked Augustine to wait for me in the room, I think he must have been shaking too LOL.

Post extraction...
After that, I had to bite on cotton wool for a few hours to stop the bleeding. I had odd sharp pains in my right nerves each time I swallow my saliva and a little sorethroat but it was all over the very next day. Phew!

Future visits?

Yep I plan to visit the same dentist again in the future for scaling, polishing and filling. I like her a lot and she earned my trust and confidence ;-)

Carmen

Horror at first...but turned out to be fine after first time visit to a dental clinic in Miri

Today, Carmen and I had gone to a dental clinic near the Imperial Mall. Its location was not difficult to be found as i did some homeworks earlier by consulting my colleagues on the location. I did not ask on the gender of the dentist nor the normal charges issued in the clinic. The only concern was i could make an appointment with the dentist and Carmen's toothache could be resolved ASAP!

Dr. Hii was the name of the dentist. Although we could not tell whether the dentist was a man or a woman...but nevertheless it never deterred us to visit the clinic. We reached at 2.30pm sharp for the appointment. Waited for a while as many people were also waiting in the lounge. Must be good business, we thought. True enough, one by one, the patients were led into the operations room for their problems to be done with on the hands of the dentist.

By almost 3pm, Carmen's turn had finally arrived. We knew by now Dr. Hii was a lady and very experienced as she advised Carmen on the cause of her toothache and what she could do to solve her problem, which was to pull out her tooth!!! OMG!!!

The wisdom tooth had gone rotten by months and no alternative was at sight. So no choice, just listened to the doctor. She's a pro. By now, someone would have both knees shaken and weakened, whole body almost collapsed to the floor. Hehehe...

After injected with anesthetic into Carmen's jaw and away for 15 min, the dentist quickly pulled out her bad tooth without even feeling a pain (a mild one perhaps). Dr. Hii was awesome and fast. Then she advised on Carmen's next oral checkup. After almost 30 mins in the whole session, her assistants happily brought Carmen out to make payment and claim some medications.

Now, with some pills to pop in orally and further taking care of oral hygiene, Carmen is sleeping and away into the dreamland. Although this would be our first time visiting Dr. Hii's dental surgeon clinic, but most likely won't be the last in Miri. Her service and professionalism was way too good.

Augustine