I LOVE my dentist ;)
I'm up late watching 늑대의 유혹 or Romance of Their Own (aka Temptation of Wolves or True Romance) on TV.
BTW, let me just say that 강동원, Kang Dong-won, is a mad hotty. Gotta love a leading man in a romantic comedy that can also pull off crazy fight scenes and this movie starts with a fight scene. He's from Pusan. Without revealing too much about my recent dating life, it seems I've got a thing for dudes from Pusan ;)
Anyway, on to the real reason I'm posting 'cause the tooth brushing cat has nothing to do with my new crush on 강동원.
On Wednesday I had a very bad insulin reaction, low blood sugar. Being diabetic, that means I've taken too much insulin and I have to have some fast acting sugar ASAP. I carry glucose tablets with me and popped in a couple of those. I chew on my right side. After though I was in major PAIN. During the course of the day, it didn't go away, so I made a dentist appointment for the next day.
They were great, but, yeah, my old fillings were on their last leg and one tooth had some serious decay. The dental assistant said I might need a root canal. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! The dentist, however, chose a more cautious route.
He removed the old fillings, drilled the decay away and gave me temporary fillings. The pain I had yesterday seems to be gone. He got a little drill happy - ouch! But I'm sure having such a bad cavity made it virtually impossible this would have been 100% "ouch" free. It was from no lack of trying on his part. They anesthetized the area, waited for it to take effect and told me to raise my left hand should I feel pain. He did explain I'd have some pain for a couple of days after and it would subside. He stressed though if the pain kept up after a couple of days then that's a sure sign that ExpatJane needs a root canal. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Okay, that's not really all that exciting but the pic of the cat with the toothbrush is cute and this topic gives me a reason to use it ;)
If any expats need a dentist, mine is 서홍석, Seo Hong Seok: 02-792-1817. He's in Hannam-dong and, therefore, has foreign clients and knows the value of anesthesia. That makes him and his staff keepers. He's a bit in need of listening skills...most male Korean professionals are, so he's in good company, unfortunately. However, he and his staff do a good job.
For my fellow diabetics -10 Diabetic Dental Myths I've Run Across
Hubby had to go to a Korean dentist a few weeks ago here in Suwon and he did a great job. Little drilling, no pain afterwards. Then I had a sore tooth but I'm TERRIFIED of dentists. The pain has gone for now but I haven't seen a dentist since we were in visiting last Christmas and I ended up with a $1100.00 root canal. This dentist said he charges 300,000won for one. What a great deal. We went with three of my Korean girlfriends (they insisted) so the dental office thought we were important coming with such an entourage. Hubby had three assistants assisting the dentist instead of one. Also got a private room which is a big deal. Glad you are feeling better and take care of yourself!
ReplyDeleteHey Becky...
ReplyDelete300,000 won! Hell, that's just 100,000 more than the cost of the many fillings I'll get next week. Hmmmmmm, maybe I ought to jump ship, delete this post and head to Suwon!
I'm glad I'm feeling better too. Today on the train I said that I just wanted to go to my dentist's office and give him a big hug because I feel so much better with the pain gone. I think I'll save that until everything is done though ;)
That's so cool that you dentist actually tried to avoid a root canal...I wish mine was so cautious, lol. I feel that dentists just want to do unnecessary work alot of the time.
ReplyDeleteI actually just had my first root canal a couple of weeks ago, but luckily it was completely uneventful! My dentist has gentle hand.
I hope your pain subsides and the fillings are as far as it goes for you! :o) Feel better!
Ha! Well, after he saw me squirm and after I literally jerked my head away when the drill was IN my mouth, I think he probably knows a root canal with me might be a bad idea ;)
ReplyDeleteThe pain is fading, but there is also the problem of my tongue which is now numb because the changes are freaking it out a bit. Too bad for it that a lot of work still needs to be done. Pretty much every one of my fillings needs to be replaced.
Doesn't sound like a keeper to me...read this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dentalfearcentral.org/difficulty_numbing_dentist.html
- you must have had some terrible experiences to think that was a good one - don't remove amalgams for the sake of it and do them one at once if you must so you can make sure their techniques is good - composites are harder to place. You can be left with a mouthful of aching sensitive teeth.
Hater ;-)
ReplyDeleteActually, no. Most of my dental experiences have been positive. This is the worst I've had and it was because I neglected going to the dentist regularly.
However, thanks for the information because my new fillings are very sensitive to temperature and I have a follow-up at the end of the week so we'll see how it goes.
Sorry to hear about the sensitivity - hope it settles down - often does.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a hater lol - I actually love my current dentist BECAUSE he is painless, caring and fun etc etc - so is his hygienist. I had a one hour treatment appt which I found totally relaxing.
Historically I have had good and bad experiences and know that what you get is largely determined by the practitioner's concern for your comfort level and their skills rather than the fact that you had neglected to go. Any tooth can be got numb but some need advanced techniques especially if infection is present.
I also understand about the bad expat experiences hence why I am so pleased to have landed on my feet in my current location. Had a really tough time in Holland would you believe with their minimalist approach to anaesthesia.
Korean dentists have a rep for going light on the anesthesia. This guy has a lot of foreign patients, but still was dodgy about pain killers. That did make me angry.
ReplyDeleteSo I think between already being pissed off at my dentist, having sensitive teeth, being mad at myself for neglecting them and remembering my first visit where I was none to pleased at the extensive drilling he had to do to get rid of the cavity (and the blood I had when I rinsed), I was in a bad space.
I do agree that knowing I was already sensitive there shouldn't have been a question about anesthesia.
Also, composite fillings are expensive. That's why I'm not getting them all replaced at the same time. Now that I've read about the technique needed, I do think next time I'll go to the Yonsei University's Dental Hospital to get them done because they're a teaching facility (and that's where I went when a temporary filling slipped out in the wee hours of the morning a couple of weeks ago). That means they're going to know all the latest techniques.
Live, have pain and learn ;)