Dentist

On Mother's Day, I found myself in a dentist office, clutching the chair for dear life. What is more scary than giving birth in a third world country? Going to a dentist in a third world country. Ok... slight exaggeration, but it's right up there! I had been experiencing tooth pain for over a year. Weeks would go by with no pain and then "wham!"... I would get hit with terrible pain in one of my teeth. It caused pain to radiate though the whole right side of my face. It was terrible and medicine couldn't help it. I would just have to wait it out. It happened a couple time while Marli was here and the sweet girl she is massaged my face to help alleviate the pain. I have been hoping to wait until we go to the US go get treatment. I hate dental stuff in the US, so the thought of going here was terrifying. There is no routine dental check ups or cleanings. The only solution for pain is to pull the tooth.

On Mother's Day weekend, the pain was horrible and this time, it did not go away. Friday night, I told George I had to see someone. On Saturday, I asked a friend of mine where to go and she said "DO NOT see anyone in Moshi (town)." She recommended going to a hospital about thirty minutes away. Another friend of ours picked me up and we headed up towards Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was raining and the roads were terrible. Our little car (my friend's, not ours) was slipping and sliding all over the place. I can't believe we made it through the mud. When we arrived, I was devastated to learn there were no dentists there on weekends. I had to come back on Monday.

We headed back down the mountain and made it safely back to Moshi. There was no way to wait until Monday so our friend Margaret made an appointment for me to see a dentist... IN TOWN! No! Not one in town!!!! I was so scared, but there was no choice. I resigned myself to the fact I would be getting my tooth pulled. By then, a filling had fallen out and I didn't know if it could be repaired. The bad tooth was one of the side molars, one that is visible when I talk and smile. I wasn't looking forward to having a hole in my mouth, but I accepted the idea and tried not to be so vain.

Sunday Morning, Margaret picked me up and we went to the office. No x-rays were done. I just sat in the chair and the dentist got to work. He said he needed to fix the one with the missing filling and I had two other cavities to fill. He rubbed some gel on my gums and teeth, telling me that was lignocaine. What? No injection? I hate injections during dental work, but I prefer them to the pain. He started to drill and I gripped the chair so tightly, praying the whole time.

He worked on me for two hours! The procedure wasn't as bad as I expected. However, he wasn't as gentle as ones in the US and my face and gums were poked many times. When he finished, I felt pretty good! The pain was gone. Yay! As I began to feel around in my mouth, I noticed it appeared he patched two teeth together. I could no longer floss between the bad tooth and the good one next to it. Oh well... at least it wasn't hurting anymore. Unfortunately, that night the pain came back, although not as bad as it was. For a week and a half I had to take pain medicine, but a few days ago, it stopped hurting altogether. So, for now I am in the clear! I never thought I would be excited to see a dentist, but I want to run to one in the US when we come home!