Toothache!

If you had to choose between toothache and any other pain you could have, which one would you choose?

I've been suffering a terrible terrible toothache these last days. It came from out of nowhere. One night it started to come through in the back of my mouth. I'd just been to the dentist to book a check up appointment and even I'd felt something brewing at that very tooth, I'd not expected it to break out this abruptly. In the middle of the night to Friday last week I woke up with this horrible horrible toothache.

Bummer and such a stopper for the expectations of a nice weekend in Macau with friends and a nostalgic concert. The Village People and Björn Again at the Venetian Theatre.

In the morning to Friday the ache had faded down and I felt somehow fine, fine enough to get to work. Knowing the danger I called the dentist to ask if I could come for a wee look and at least pick up some painkillers to get me through the weekend and Monday, until Tuesday, and my appointment.

She could see me at 6:30 PM. OK, very late start for the weekend trip to Macau and unfortunately a cancelling of a team dinner out with colleagues from year 2.

One thing good though, I could play football before going to the appointment and I played quite a good game if I am allowed to express so my self. All day no sign of - or not much - that toothache.

As I finally came to sit in the chair and my dentist took a look and hammered on all teeth in the area, it turned out it was the tooth I'd expected and it had a crack.

I kind of already decided by then it had to come out. My dentist, she is very good and honest, gave me three options. Pull it. Repair it with some kind of ring to hold it together and lastly the root canal treatment.

The root canal treatment. I seriously hate that. However effective it is, the treatment is so long and painful even under anaesthetic. Don't you agree, even with a shot of drugs, it feels like you can feel every bloody instrument the dentist put inside your tooth and roots for several hours.

"After that we need to observe it" she added. Right away I knew it had to go. "Observe it". Yeah, right. This is short for "from now on this tooth will give me pain and trouble until I break apart anyway. Not only pain, also money.

It must go, I told her. I can live without and have done so in the other side of my mouth where the twin tooth cracked and got pulled more than 15 years ago.

"We can do it now! She offered.

I did think we maybe should do it, however I was on my to Macau for a nice weekend with good food and entertainment, and also felt it was a bit rushed and I would rather procrastinate and push the pain ahead of me until the coming Tuesday.

So I declined using excuses like: "no, not tonight, it is late on a Friday and you should also be going home and I am on my way to Macau and all that. So I pushed it out and took a selection of painkillers from the dentist to keep my up.

Not many things is worse than a toothache.

And I felt this later the same evening after arriving to Macau. The toothache came creeping again as I winded down to go to bed in our lovely hotel.

"Pain always comes during the night to tell you the areas you have trouble with". The wise words from my wife's physio therapists. I tended to the selection of painkillers.

" I give you two different painkillers. Some not so strong and some very strong. Take the not so strong first. If it doesn't help take the strong ones. They'll last 24 hours".

I really thought they not so strong ones would do the job.

They didn't. After an hour with no relief, there was no way out and I got out of bed and swallowed on of the mega painkillers and went back to bed. With such severe toothache I thought I would not get any sleep.

In the morning I woke up and the ache had faded. Still I could sense it and now and then it came through like a little annoying kid who always make sure you won't forget about him.

The breakfast at out hotel is one to enjoy and somehow the tooth left me alone during breakfast. Later we were out and about it suddenly kicked back in. "Hello, it's me again, your toothache".

Man, did I regret not having pulled it out the evening before.

Then like out of nowhere it was like the painkillers decided to start helping me and I got some relief. Enough to enjoy some hours exploring the old town of Macau.

From then I started to take the painkillers in succession of each other, like advised by the dentist and I took booth of them together, which seemed to help and I could make it through the days away.

I too, the last one of my little helpers this morning at 11 and phoned the dentist again to ask if I could come for more to keep my happy until the appointment Tuesday evening. I just couldn't face another night in pain.

In fact the dentist clinic called me to remind me about my appointment tomorrow and I took the opportunity to ask if she could see me today. A quite funny and abrupt conversation followed in which both I and the dentist assistant from time to time didn't understand any of it. And so I turned up at 5 palm as I believe I'd understood she said I could. In my mind just to get some painkillers to keep me safe until the appointment Tuesday afternoon.

There was a patient in the chair as I arrived. As he came out I got invited inside and sat down in the chair.

"Have you slept these last nights", she asked and I admitted I had a bit but also that I'd had been in real pain.

"We can take it out now".

This time I didn't chicken out.

"I need to inform my wife I said".

"Fine, but let me give you the anesthetiser first".

No way out anymore, and here I am now. No more toothache. With a light head but somehow numbness in my left chin and a taste of blood in my mouth. In front of me two more small plastic bags with colourful pills. Some for pain relief and then a full five day course of antibiotic to finish.