tooth ache

i'm seriously considering the possibility of my tooth genes being defective. i had one molar extracted and several filled. i'm saying several, cos i can't even remember exactly how many had tooth decays. a rough estimation would be >6.

i don't think i've been brushing my teeth in such an abnormal way that does not help cleaning my teeth over years. i've been following the most standard brushing way in fact.

years ago my upper left incisor had a decay. the dentist drilled a hole on the tooth and filled it up with weird stuff. i was then safe for 1 or 2 years if i'm not wrong. later i went to singapore. and one day the fillings dropped when i brushed my teeth--see, i brush hard enough. i desperately looked for a dentist there, regardless of the possibly non-reimbursable dental charges. meanwhile, i dared not laugh out loud to show my teeth, cos one can obviously pointed out the hole on my front tooth--that just made me look extremely funny. so i had a tooth filling again. the dentist was skillful, but quite intimidating. she told me that if i can't keep the tooth intact from decaying then i may have to face a tooth canal surgery. well, obviously i didn't get what she meant by "tooth canal" which i learnt yesterday from washington. it means that a part of the tooth will be grinded away, showing the tooth cavity inside. and the dentist will extract the nerves branching into the cavity then fill up the grinded part at last. i kinda trembled when i heard the exact meaning. no wonder the singaporean dentist sounded like threatening me that day... the surgery does sound very threatening. i can even imagine the facial anaesthesia done before the surgery, cos i've done that before when one of my tooth debris had to be cleaned when i was young. i was lucky that time that the debris fell itself just on time. i can still feel the fear when the tooth drill was approaching my widely opened, helpless mouth. even the dentist looked like a demon. when i had my incisor filled again, that was 4 years ago.

early this year, that incisor began to ache when i ate very cold or sour stuff. i realised that its inevitable hour was coming. 4 years, that is already very very long. i can't help admiring the dentist's excellent skills. lucky the pain only showed intermittently. i went back to china this summer to have an annual dental check and took an X-ray for the incisor. it was found to be fine. the nerve was still intact in the cavity and the filling was still sitting there, adhering tightly to prevent further tooth decay. well, it is surprising that i can even have my incisor decayed. that's pretty rare.

yesterday it began to ache, quite heavily. i can't even focus on other things. strangely i can feel the pulse in the tooth. then i was like, damn, the nerve's gonna be damaged... (since the nerves and blood capillaries are interwined in the cavity, the fact that i can feel the pulse shows that the nerves may be very exposed already) in the end i had to take an aspirin pill to kill the pain. wash told me that it might be the weather turning cold drastically yesterday. i dubitated about his words, especially about his comment on when i can recover from the pain--he said never. stupid guy.

and this morning i woke up finding the pain was getting better, but my gum and upper lip felt weird. later i found out that they were swollen. my lower face was slightly distorted from the swelling. i was thinking of taking some anti-inflammatory drugs, but decided to see a doctor if the swelling isn't getting better tmr. washington's words were partially right. afterall i may really have to blame the weather. hope tmr i can get better. i don't want to see a dentist.