I just came back from seeing Dr Wat. She gave my gums and bone three months to heal and fuse with the screw that was drilled into my jaw.
The night before, I told the Spice Children, “Take a good look at this gap in my teeth. It’s going to be gone by tomorrow!”
I arrived at the clinic at 9:00 a.m. There was one other patient with me and I was told to take a seat. I sat there for about ten minutes before deciding to approach the reception counter. They are usually very efficient, taking my name and confirming my appointment time. This time, nothing.
“I’m here to see Dr Wat,” I informed the person at the reception.
Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash
“She’s in a meeting,” I was informed. “Please take a seat and be patient (pun intended?) and Ernest will call you soon.”
It took me a minute to realise that it wasn’t Ernest but ‘a nurse’.
A few minutes later, I was called in and I met cheerful Dr Wat again. We had some small talk before I was asked to sit in the dental chair and rinse my mouth with the sasparilla-tasting mouthwash.
Dr Wat told me that they had to take a mould of my teeth so that they can make the implant tooth. That means I still have to wait for my tooth.
Once she gave me some local anaesthetic, I felt nothing while she worked on the implant. I could not tell what she was doing – maybe she cut open the gum to check if the screw was loose or not, and maybe the angle of the screw had changed or not. After a few minutes of tinkering, she told me that she was going to take an X-ray of my implant area. I noticed that she had put a stem in the implant because I could not close my mouth shut. The stem was longer than the teeth next to it. In any case, I was not supposed to close my mouth.
Oh, maybe the stem would show the angle of the screw in my jaw.
The 3D machine was wheeled in (remember this machine?) and a scan of my upper and lower teeth were taken. I still haven’t figured out how this machine works.
Then, a portable X-ray machine was wheeled in and the doctor and nurses promptly left the room while I faced Marie Currie’s deadly rays by myself.
After that, Dr Wat placed a few shades of teeth samples to see which one matched my teeth best. She held one up where my missing tooth was and asked if the shade of colour matched my teeth. I told her, “As long as it’s not pink or purple, it’s okay.”
After that, the stem was removed and a cap was put in place. I was told not to eat nor drink for half an hour. And that was that. I went out to the receptionist who told me that the charges were RM2000.00. I had a bit of a struggle because I had set a limit on my cards. I tried to reset the limit with my phone but it did not work (I could not find the correct link). So, I had to do a bank transfer.
Well, the next visit would be mid-December.
Pepper's World. Notes to myself. 