D also stands for Dentist. And Dermatologist. Interestingly enough, in the first quarter of this year, I found myself taking several trips to the dentist (or rather, a few dentists) and a trip to a dermatologist.
It started when I cracked the crown on my molar a while back and a chunk of it came off. I've had that crown since 2006 so I guess it was just about time for wear and tear to finally damage it. After that, my molar would hurt every now and then but it was always sort of manageable so I just let it be. (Yes, I know, that was not a good idea.) However, shortly before Christmas last year, the part of my gum right below that molar started to hurt and feel tender. I was worried that maybe my broken crown and partially-exposed tooth caused an infection. I decided to consult my friend who's a dentist.
An x-ray showed that my tooth was in really bad shape. My friend told me I would most likely need a root canal. She put a temporary filling and recommended I see her associate, an endodontist (or a dentist who specializes in the tooth pulp). I scheduled a check-up with that endodontist a couple of weeks later.
The endodontist confirmed that my tooth was in really bad shape and she told me that she was surprised I wasn't in excruciating pain. (Thankfully I wasn't! Maybe some nerves were already dead?) She did recommend a root canal which we scheduled a couple of weeks after that visit.
The root canal treatment turned out to be quite an ordeal. I was injected with anesthesia but once the endodontist started to drill, I still felt a lot of pain so she had to inject more anesthesia. Ouch. The original expectation was that this procedure would take an hour. However, my root was apparently longer than average. She was unable to get to the deepest part of the nerve so she had to go back in to extract the rest. In the end, I was there for 2 hours. My jaw was horribly sore from being kept open for 2 hours. I was given meds to manage the pain and I was told that my tooth and gums (and even jaw) would feel bruised for a while.
A few weeks after that, I had to go back to my friend's clinic for a new crown placement. I needed two trips for this. The first was for a temporary crown placement and so that they could measure my tooth to have a permanent one manufactured. It was during this trip that I confirmed that the root canal worked because the dentist drilled my molar without any anesthesia and it didn't hurt one bit. Amazing! About a week after that, I went back for the placement of my new permanent crown.
After my multiple visits to the dentist, it was now time for me to see another friend who is a dermatologist. I had a massive pimple late last year that remained on my nose for more than a month. I then noticed early this year that it had apparently popped already and I was now left with a noticeable and nasty acne scar. I scheduled an appointment with my friend to ask what could be done about it. When I was at her clinic, I decided to also asked about options to address the the cholesterol deposits around my eyes. As she was inspecting me, she noticed that I had warts on my face and neck. She said she could get ride of my warts and cholesterol deposits and even out my acne scar using laser treatment. I thought I would have to schedule another visit but she said she could do it right then and there. I had no other plans that day so I decided to go with it. I gotta say, despite the anesthesia, it still hurt haha. The treatment left my face looking pretty nasty for a few days, especially in the parts where my cholesterol deposits used to be. But at least they are now gone, along with the warts. And my acne scar does look better.
My plan now is to see my dentist and my dermatologist more regularly. While I do believe that health is wealth, I haven't been as good as I need to be when it comes to looking after all aspects of my physical health in the past and I need to do a better job at it as I get older.
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