3 weeks ago, right about the time I got my yearly cold sore, I noticed a lump in my cheek. My first reaction was, what the fuck? Followed by panic and WebMD-ing the hell out of my condition.
WebMD said it could be an inflamed lymph node, a tooth abscess or maybe I had cancer.
Obviously I was terrified. Hence, I decided to call my doctor and a dentist that my friend recommended.
2 days later I was at the dentist’s office, where the hygienist had to give my teeth a good scaling – it took her almost an hour and that was just for half of my mouth 😐
Note to self: Take better care of your teeth!
Upon further examination, the doctor decided that I needed to have an infected tooth extracted. WHAT?
Now for those of you who know me IRL you know that I am terrified of dentists! Let’s just say an incident in 3rd grade left me in excruciating pain and the memory has been hard to shake.
This is what I have always imagined dentists to be like…
But anyways, I needed to get this done, if not for myself then for those around me (in my immediate vicinity) I have to be a responsible adult and all that. So I was like okayyyy fineeee I will do this. On the day that I had to go to the dentist, I was visibly shaking despite reassurances from numerous people that I will be fine. I was like yeah? what do you know? Your extraction was so long ago.
An incredibly kind uber driver who drove me to my extraction said that I will be completely fine and truth be told I was, I am…
I didn’t really feel the procedure at all and it took all of what seemed like 5 minutes to pull the tooth out.
SO why did I pull my tooth out? Because there was a cyst, which I really think was an abscess, the lump in my cheek is also gone. My family doctor – oh side note, after 5 years in Canada I finally have a family doctor! yay me! – said it was a lymph node but it was definitely a tooth infection 
Recovery
It has been 2 days since my extraction. My doctor chose not to put me on antibiotics or pain killers and to be honest I am not in pain of any sort, a little bit of discomfort sure, but not really any pain. Thank God for that.
Although I did drool a ton after the first few hours. Because they tell you not to spit out anything since they don’t want you to spit out the blood clot that’s forming.
I am eating mushy food like soups, pudding, mashed potatoes, mashed bananas, milk, smoothies and such but I am so hungry all the time and want to chew and eat real food but I am also trying to be good. So far so good.
Hopefully the recovery will be swift and I can get an implant in the next few months. Rest assured that I will be flossing and brushing every single day. I mean I have always brushed twice a day but that’s not enough. I am also doing salt water and baking soda rinses religiously and drinking a ton of milk!
Wish me luck as I embark on this journey to keep a healthier mouth 🙂
How do you keep your teeth healthy and sparkly clean?
Ria In The City 
Hey Ria!
Just want to congratulate you on embarking your fear. I’ve been always afraid of dentists because of a judgemental dentist incident as a kid. Which made me not visit one for decades. Until few years back when I started going for scaling, but I always felt after every 6-8 months my teeth wouldn’t be that great when it came to keeping them clean until a dentist pointed out (oh I never visited the same dentist for more than one visit because again I didn’t want to be judged), that since my teeth aren’t aligned properly I’ll always suffer from the dreaded gingivitis *cringes*. So I’ve been wearing braces since 31 Jan 2015, I’ve had the same dentist and she and I are the best of friends *shocker*. I’ve had 4 extractions, and I can write a thesis on the kind of pains and inflammation I’ve experienced. Imagine being on a holiday and can’t even smile or flirt with a cute boy because of tooth gap smack in front of my lower teeth lol. I really hated my dentist for it. But truth be told, it was all worth it. My upper teeth are properly aligned. Now we’re working on my lower ones. 3 of my extractions gaps are gone and a tiny bit of fourth one is left. So good luck with your dental hygiene. Did I mention it’s a pain to clean your teeth once they are caged?? 🙂
Thanks Hira! I haven’t gone to one in 8 years! so many cavities!
I just hope I don’t lose more teeth
4 extractions! oh my!