What I will do is tell you about the tooth extraction. First of all, I'd like to give an anecdote. About 8 years ago, when I was at university, my wisdome teeth began their quest to poke through my gums. An appropriate time for them to do so, it must be said, but not entirely convenient. My wisdom teeth decided that rather than make a break for it and get out of my gums completely, they would rather lie in wait, lurking under the surface for a while, and then gradually come out, then decide against it, then try again, then go back. This happened regularly every few weeks. I decided one sunny day (sunny for the purpose of the anecdote - it could have been pissing down for all I remember) that enough was enough and I marched to the dental drop in centre. On this day that I'd chosen, I'd accidentally brushed my teeth a little over-zealously, and as a result had a bleeding back gum and a flap of skin over one of my wisdoms. The dentist took a quick look, however, and rather than acknowledging that a) I was in a lot of pain, b) this happened regularly, c) there was indeed no space for the teeth to grow, he told me to go away. No kidding, he literally told me to go away and that it would fix itself. I asked how long it would take, to which he replied "oh, 5 years...7 years...something like that." Unable to refer myself to a private dentist to have a second opinion, I then suffered. For 8 years. With no change. Every 6 months or so, the cursed things would make a new attempt for freedom, and I would be left with tender gums and an inability to eat anything tough or chewy or crunchy or solid for a week.
So, last week, I headed off to Salamanca. The other half went too, although he was getting a root canal. Yay. I had an X-ray in the morning, and when I saw my dentist that evening he took one look at the paper, one quick look in my mouth, and said that there was clearly a problem with them - would I mind having them removed? Yes, yes, yes, I replied, and before I knew it the anaesthetic was coursing through my mandibular veins, numbing my nerves, and then the dentist set upon my offending molars with a chisel (no joke, a chisel) and dental forceps. It took half an hour to get the first one out - this is the one which was half in and half out. It took a mere ten minutes to extract the second, and after that I was slurring and lisping my way home. As the anaesthetic wore off the pain increased, and it still hasn't abated - right now I'm dosed up on painkillers and unable to eat anything more substantial than soup.
Luckily though I've had a very busy day, so that's helped to take my mind off of things. Back to work now, and to planning a series of observations which will not only help a teacher in need, but will also fill one of my coursework modules for diploma.
