I had a terrible toothache that night. I took a couple of Panadol tablets but they were of little use as the relief was short-lived and the pain returned with greater intensity. I tried rinsing and gurgling with Listerine but that was no help either. I could not sleep a wink that night as the toothache also caused the left side of my face and head to throb with pain. When morning came, I took a very quick shower and made for the dentist. There were a couple of patients before me and I had to wait my turn. I registered at the counter and took a seat near the dental surgery.
I took a magazine and flipped its pages but trying to read was out of the question. The words simply did not register. All I felt was the excruciating pain. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on the soft music being played over the speakers hoping that it would distract me from the pain I felt. But the pain obstinately remained. Almost an hour later, my name was called. I stood up and walked slowly into the surgery. I noticed the reclining chair fitted with all the usual dental equipment: the dental drill, the syringes, the dental pliers and a host of other gadgets whose names I do not even know.
The dentist asked me what was wrong and I told him of my toothache. He then indicated the reclining chair and asked me to be seated. “Open your mouth wide and relax,” the dentist ordered. I did as was told and he peered into my mouth with the aid of a small mirror on the end of a stick. After the examination, he shook his head and told me that the tooth cannot be saved and had to be extracted. The dentist then filled a hypodermic syringe with a colorless liquid. He told me that it was Novocaine, a local anaesthetic, and he would be injecting it into my gums to numb the area where the extraction would be done.
Shortly, I felt the prick of the needle and then in seconds, my toothache was gone and I felt the numbness in my gums. The dentist was very skilful and soon he had painlessly extracted my tooth and put a wad of cotton on the wound. I got up from the chair and thanked the doctor as best as I could for my gums were still numb and there was a wad of cotton in my mouth. I left the surgery and paid the fees at the counter. Then, feeling much better than when I had stepped into the clinic, I walked towards home.