In 2019, between my upper left wisdom tooth and molar, the wisdom tooth fell out (I thought it was a dental calculus at the time). It was always easy to bite into the flesh while eating. At that time, I didn't know it was a wisdom tooth, so I planned to have a teeth cleaning first and then fill the tooth.
Teeth Cleaning and Filling#
Teeth cleaning was really uncomfortable. Although there was a suction tube, I couldn't help but swallow and felt like I couldn't breathe. The gums were also very sore. After a long period of time, it was finally finished. Then the dentist told me that my teeth looked healthy on the surface, but upon closer inspection, there were issues. The most serious ones were the two molars, the lower left and lower right (I think so, I can't remember clearly). These two teeth needed to be filled.
So the grinding began, removing the decayed parts. After grinding, the dentist took a look and said that it might be close to the nerve or it might not be. It was a blurry boundary. If it reached the nerve, it would require root canal treatment, which is painful, expensive, and troublesome. If it didn't reach the nerve, a normal filling would suffice. Since she wasn't sure, she called another male dentist to take a look. The male dentist said it might not have reached the nerve, so he temporarily filled it and asked me to observe for a week. If the tooth hurt while eating during that week, I would need root canal treatment. If it didn't hurt, I could come back for a proper filling.
Then, regarding the purpose of my teeth cleaning, I mentioned the gap between the wisdom tooth and molar. The dentist told me that it didn't need to be filled, but the wisdom tooth needed to be extracted. And I couldn't extract it right after the teeth cleaning!
After a week, since my tooth didn't hurt, I went back to get the filling. They first ground off the previous filling, then filled it again. The filling material seemed to be imported. I originally wanted to use domestically produced material, but since they used imported material for the temporary filling last time, it was better to use the same one, so I used the imported material.
The total cost was less than 500, with the teeth cleaning costing 200 and I can't remember the cost of the filling. The sound of the grinding machine was terrifying, like the sound of construction. Because I suffered too much during the teeth cleaning and filling process, I didn't want to extract my tooth.
The Beginning of Pain#
Two years later, in April 2021, the upper left wisdom tooth was still the same, but the upper right wisdom tooth surprised me by starting to hurt. It had hurt before, but usually it would get better after a few days. However, this time it lasted for a month, and the pain even spread to my temples. So, I finally made up my mind to extract the tooth. On May 29th, I went to a dental clinic near my residential area to have the tooth extracted.
It was a Saturday and I had the day off, so I went early. When I arrived, the dentist hadn't come yet. After measuring my temperature and making a record, they let me in to wait. I thought since I was already here, I might as well extract the lower right wisdom tooth as well, since they were both on the right side. Little did I know that this was the beginning of a nightmare.
Tooth Extraction#
Although my wisdom tooth had been hurting, it wasn't infected, so it could be extracted.
Before the extraction, they took X-rays, one for the upper tooth and two for the lower tooth. The lower tooth was impacted and growing at an angle. Then they started to quote the price: X-ray cost, anesthesia cost, one-time instrument cost, upper tooth cost, lower tooth cost, totaling around 500. I agreed, and then they told me to extract the lower tooth first. They administered the anesthesia and said they needed to cut a part of it before extracting. As soon as they made the first cut, I felt pain. They added more anesthesia and told me to bear with it if it was just a slight pain, and continued cutting. But it was still very painful, so I asked them to stop. Then the dentist used a tool to test which area was painful, and applied more anesthesia to that area before continuing the extraction.
During the process, I rinsed my mouth several times. After the extraction, they took another X-ray to check, and then started working on the upper tooth. They administered anesthesia again, and started the extraction using the same tool. Before I could react, they started putting a gauze pad in my mouth and told me to bite down. Then they let me sit up.
I said at the time, "Is it done already? Extracting the upper tooth was too fast!"
The dentist said it was easier to extract the upper tooth. Then they let me take a look at the two extracted teeth. It was quite bloody. I forgot to take a photo. Then I went to the front desk to pay, a total of 565 yuan. They gave me a list of precautions and verbally explained them to me. Then I went home.
After Tooth Extraction#
At noon that day, I cooked millet porridge, but I didn't put enough water, so it solidified after cooling down. I managed to eat it anyway. I had a normal dinner that evening, using the left side of my mouth to chew. The next day, I felt a little more pain than the first day, probably because the anesthesia had completely worn off. In the following two to three days, I frequently had traces of blood in my mouth. Now it's the sixth day, and the lower part still hurts a bit, but everything else feels normal.
I've read a lot of information, and it says that blood clots fill the hole left after tooth extraction, then tissue forms, and finally bone grows to restore the normal gum. This process takes about three months. It's really long. Because young people recover faster, it's recommended to extract wisdom teeth as early as possible.