The Painful (and Costly) Removal of my Wisdom Teeth

My dearest blog,
Forgive me if I have neglected you. Trust me, not a day had passed that I didn't stress myself to finally update you. There's just so many things that have occupied my time and energy these past few weeks, including my oral surgery and the search for the perfect apartment. Okay, I'll probably start with the painful (and expensive!) oral surgery to remove my 2 impacted wisdom teeth.


Last year, I felt something strange in my mouth. There are 2 teeth which are starting to come out of my gums. There isn't really any pain at all but since it was strange, I googled it and right away I knew they were impacted wisdom teeth. Of course I went to my lady dentist and have her checked my set of teeth. The panoramic xray result confirmed they were impacted and they needed to be removed. If not, these teeth may cause extreme tooth decay and bad breath. On some unlucky and hardcore cases, these could cause cyst and tumor.

I got so scared! (ang gaga ko kasi, nanood pa ako ng madaming videos sa youtube kung pano ang oral surgery procedure). To make the story short, I postponed it. First, Im not ready to spend P10,000 for this operation. Second, Im flying to Singapore and Indonesia- and obviously I wont enjoy this trip if I've undergone a surgery. Third, Im scared (ulet-ulet?). Fourth, I dont have much Sick Leave to use after the operation. (convertible to cash ang SL namin, sayang naman.)

A year has passed and Im beginning to feel extreme toothache. Another not so good thing, my front teeth began to compress because the impacted teeth are pushing their way out. I know I don't have the perfect set of teeth, but at least they were aligned. Now, it became semi-crooked. Great. Now I needed to wear braces after the surgery to have my teeth aligned again. Ang gastos.

That's the time when I finally decided to have them removed. I really wished to have this surgery done in a fine dental clinic at The Fort, but the dentist quoted me P8,000 per tooth. Okay, that's just very steep for me. Too bad, health cards dont cover oral surgeries like this. So as always, I googled for some recommended (and reasonably-priced) dentists. I can't just risk any dentist to perform the surgery. One minor mistake could make my tongue numb forever.

panoramic xray of impacted wisdom teeth.
not mine, this lucky guy has 4 problematic teeth. ^_^

Based on recommendations, I chose Dr. Charlston Uy. Contact number is 708.8782 / 546.7841. His clinic is located at Celestial Marie Bldg., 950 AH Lacson Ave Sampaloc, Manila. It's just across UST.
I went to his clinic and had my panoramic xray done. Dr. Uy explained to me the condition of my teeth. I told him I wanted the two wisdom teeth removed on that same day. He said it's fine but it really depends on my pain tolerance. Oh well, pain is all is the mind- or so I thought.

The dentist sprayed something on my tooth. The 4-5 injections came next. It is a bit painful but very tolerable. Afterall, the anesthesia is beginning to take effect. I was watching the tv while the dentist proceeded with the extraction. In less than 10 mins, he had removed my 1st tooth and he began to stitch my gums. Bloody and gross!

He then asked me if he shall proceed with the next tooth. Oh dear, my whole mouth is so numb and swollen I cant even close my lips. However, I really wanted to have both of my teeth removed that day. Besides Im not even sure if I wanted to experience this pain again so might as well do it now. Isang sakit nalang for both teeth. After another 15 mins passed, both my impacted wisdom teeth were removed.

a fake and numb smile after the oral surgery

photo stolen from my brother's instagram

The operation went well and smooth, thank God. It was such a relief. I was advised to take 3-5 days of rest and mentioned the things I need to do for the post surgery recovery.

The cost: Dr. Uy charged me P500 for the panoramic xray and P8,000 for both teeth. The prescription drugs amounted to P2,000++. My P10,000 is gone in 1 day. Ouch.

Dr. Charlston uY
Oral Surgery, Orthodonthics, and Esthetic Dentistry
Celestial Marie Bldg., 950 AH Lacson Ave Sampaloc, Manila
tel 708.8782 / 546.7841 mobile 0917.596.6808
Clinic Hours: Mon-Sat (10am-6pm) Sun (9am-12:30 by appointment)

Two hours after, the anesthesia wore off. I hardly noticed that my tears started to fall. Haha. I began to feel the cuts and stitches in my gums. Ang sakit sobra. I immediately took pain killers and my mother prepared hot and cold compress bags for me. Other say I should've removed 1 tooth instead, but actually I dont regret it. I would never want to experience that kind of pain again so might as well just do it for once and it's over. Isa pa, ang mahal ng antibiotics! Mas tipid kung sabayan na ang paggamot. =)

Im a self confessed carnivore, and one of the hardest thing to do is not to eat meat for 3 weeks. Both sides of my gums cant be used for chewing so for 3 weeks I only ate mashed potato and macaroni soup. Ang lungkot ng buhay ko.

On the brighter side,

3 weeks of no rice and no meat = unintentional weigh loss ♥

Braces? I have plans, but Ive got no budget for that as of now. Mas mahalaga ang hefty bank certificate for the S.Korea visa application. ^_^

I still miss you blog.
♥ Chyng

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