After a pleasant trip to Vienna where the autumnal cold got me feeling that Christmas is just around the corner I got the dreaded sensation of toothache. So on arrival back to Dubai I searched for a suitable dentist to get a check up and see what was a matter.
A quick cry for help on twitter and a couple of SMS’s later I settled on the Modern Dental Clinic who have a branch in Dubai Marina. On entering the dentist it was not hard to spot their target market – the Russian receptionist and literature for teeth jewellery were decent clues.
I was greeted by my friendly German dentist who set about doing a quick exam which involved not only an x-ray but a really nifty camera that took photos of my teeth in exceptional clarity. Aside from the obligatory hygienist session it was clear from the x-ray that my Wisdom teeth were impacted causing me pain. The advice was to get them extracted as soon as possible.
I had a single wisdom teeth removed sometime ago in the UK and the vision of quite a burly dentist pulling with all his might on a pair of pliers was not something that I wanted to go through again. But needs must. My dentist said her husband Mr Torsten would do the procedure and he had been pulling them for 20 years. This was good enough for me. The nice thing that they did was prepare for the procedure. I was given some enzymes to take for three days before and five days after to help reduce the swelling. As well as a homoeopathic remedy Arnica again to help with the inflammation.
So a couple of days later armed only with a whole heap of anxiety I made the walk over to the dentist feeling rather like a condemned man. What follows next is a little bit graphic and you might want to skip to the last paragraph.
After browsing a Cyrillic brochure that seemed to tell me a blue gem in my tooth would be a good look Dr Torsten quickly ushered me into the treatment room. Using the x-ray he outlined what he was going to do.
“This upper one is no problem”
“Ok’”
“This lower one – is inside the jaw bone. So I will shave the bone here and cut the tooth in half and then extract. I will be sure not to go near the nerves here” – he outlined a thin white line close to the back of my tooth.
“Ok” – I was thinking – Dude – that sounds like a serious piece of work. I had a fractured cheekbone in the past and I knew what nerve damage to the face was like and if it does heal, itl takes a long time. The thought of a numb or altered sensation on my jaw would not be a good thing.
A quick rub inside my mouth with a little Novocain set him up to give me the local anaesthesia – this consisted of seven injections. As I hate needles – I thought the worst was over- oh how wrong I was. I would feel some “pressure” but no pain. So this was ok.
Dr Torsten after checking if I could feel anything set about removing my upper wisdom tooth. Quite unlike my experience in the UK this was without drama. I felt that familiar pressure, then a weird cracking sound and it was out. It probably took him about three minutes. That was quickly earned $400.
Then onto the lower tooth extraction. I now have to admit that I closed my eyes throughout the whole thing. I really didn’t want to see the “torture weapons” he was putting in my mouth. The first thing he did was to cut a gum flap to expose my jaw bone. That done he then used a drill of some sort to shave back the bone. The smell of burning was a little worrying and he quickly stopped.
“I will use the ultra-sonic drill – it will help with your healing – just a moment to prepare it.”
Good I thought – that last one was nasty.
So the ultra-sonic drill was in use and the high pitched squeal that came from it – was to my mind far worse than any drilling noise that I had experienced. After about 20 minutes:
“Good – I can see the tooth now”
“Mmmmphhhh” – Crikey, I thought – that was only the appetizer!
Then for the next hour – I went through a very difficult tooth extraction. It consisted of a lot of drilling, squeezing, waggling, cracking, pulling, blood and when he cut the tooth close to the nerve in it. Pain.
At the point where I was just about done with it and was going to ask him to stop – he did.
“Time for an x-ray”
It showed that about 85% of my lower wisdom tooth was gone. He explained that there was just no movement in it – try as he might. And that we could spend another hour trying but it would be risky as he would need to go closer to the nerve than he or I would want. It would be fine for the tooth to be left there – it was far from my rear molar and should not cause any further issues.
With that he closed and I got six sutures in the gum flap but none on the upper extraction as well as a little packing which they took out the next day.
When I got out of the chair – I felt battered and bruised. He tapped me on the shoulder
“You are a tough guy”
I looked at him – he was exhausted and covered in my blood. He had given it his all and I am thankful for his twenty years of experience to make the right choices for both me and him.
“Mmmpphhh thank mmmppphhh you”
I was then given details on the recovery – the first 24 hours was crucial. No talking, no exercise, no “excitement”, no disturbing the clot and if there was bleeding to stuff it with gauze for an hour. As well as this I have been icing my jaw 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off for 72 hours after. It also helped with the pain management as well as helped with the swelling.
The walk back home was hard. I was in a daze – my jaw was numb and feeling very strange. It is at a time like this you don’t want to be by yourself and my Dad was soon close to hand to help me out.
As I write this it is the sixth day following the extraction. I am still swollen and in pain. The upper tooth extraction site is healed but the traumatic procedure on my lower tooth is going to need more time. I had the sutures out two days and the prognosis was good – swollen but healing well.
In the meantime – the pain has been intense and I have been taking 600mg Ibuprofen like smarties, as well as the enzymes and Arnica to help with the swelling. Despite not being able to go to the gym – this has been offset by being forced into a diet consisting of soup, scrambled eggs and fish. Anything else is just too much for me to deal with right now.
I will be going back to see Dr Torsten in two weeks – I still have one more Wisdom tooth left also in my lower jaw. I don’t think I will be having this pulled in a hurry.
If you are looking for good dentist in Dubai I have no qualms about recommending these Dr Torsten and his wife. Professional, experienced and they have all the latest dentistry tech which makes a gadget lover like myself a happy man.
After all of that I am now off to buy the top of the line Oral-B electric toothbrush – a little bit of retail therapy is sure to help, right?
I had a wisdon tooth extracted 18 months ago and I understand the anxiety you experienced as you walked towards the dentist. My only concern had been finding a competent dentist and I struggled to find a dentist whom I felt confident in their ability. Fortunately the woman who operated removing the wisdom tooth is the best dentist I have ever met. While the operation passed without complications the problem I experienced afterwards were in my abs’. I had been that nervous during the operation I held my feet about 3 inches above the chair for approx. 30 mins, and for the following 5 days experienced horrendous and painful cramps and muscle ache in my abs’. I consider finding a dentist you have confidence in the most important aspect to consider before undergoing any type of dental treatment. Any lingering pain you are experiencing will subside in a few days and then you will feel much better for having your wisdom tooth removed. You will be back at the bar next week playing drinking games and socialising so at least you have something to look forward to.
Mat.
By: Mat on November 17, 2009
at 11:53 am
Hi Mat – thanks for sharing! I have to admit to clenching my hands together pretty tightly during the whole ordeal though doing a leg raise during the whole thing just sounds way too painful.
By: Aaron on November 17, 2009
at 12:35 pm
I had a broken tooth removed – dug out more accurately – at Modern Dental Clinic’s Knowledge Village surgery.
Dr Vladimir is the man. It was a difficult iob and hard work for him but he did it expertly.
I’d planned to post about it (without your graphic detail!) but never got around to it so this is a recommendation for Dr Vladimir.
By: Seabee on November 17, 2009
at 3:18 pm
If I ever have to have my impacted ones out, I am going to demand the following thing:
General Anesthetic.
I would have wimped out at the noise of the drill. I know it
By: Emma on November 18, 2009
at 1:28 am
why oh why did i read this post? i have to have all four of my wisdom teeth taken out cause they are coming in crooked and are causing me pain. get well soon.
By: ilka on November 19, 2009
at 11:50 am
Aaron what a painful experience you have had!
Sounds horrendous but hope you are feeling better now. I would need a general to have teeth out! I would need a general to have my ears pierced!
By: Robyn on November 19, 2009
at 1:47 pm
@seabee – I was actually going to use the Knowledge Village branch but the location at the Marina was too good. Sorry for the detail!
@emma – If i have the other lower one extracted it will be a knock out job for sure
@ilka – sorry about that. I really it goes well with your extraction. The good news is that it has now been a week and I am feeling a lot better – still painful but the swelling has died down a lot.
@Robyn – I am feeling much better now thanks!
By: Aaron on November 19, 2009
at 2:02 pm
Hi,
Long time reader, first time commenter (I think). Anyway, here in the States, it is very common now for people to have their wisdom teeth removed before they are 20 as a preventative measure (and because the healing process is faster when you are younger.
I was not so fortunate as I had three removed when I was 32. However, I had a general anesthetic and all three were out in less than 20 minutes. I can relate to the pain but there the doctor was a firm believer in pain management (smallest dose of oxycontin along with 800mg of motrin every 6 hours). There were lots of pretty colors every where if you know what I mean. I could not have done it the way you did it. Hope you feel better soon.
By: Joe Lima on November 23, 2009
at 5:45 am
Hi Joe – really nice to hear from you and thank you for the comment. I wish I had them all removed years ago as healing is certainly harder as you get older. I am feeling a lot better now though my teeth are still a bit sore. A bit better everyday though.
By: Aaron on November 24, 2009
at 2:40 pm
I had my own wisdom tooth surgically extracted 5 days ago, it was the lower one – impacted, partially out of the gum and severely decayed due to its angled growth. It began causing me pain in the beginning of Dec 09 and during the last two months I consulted 8 dentists. This shows the struggle I faced in finding a competent one who was confident of doing the job. I was told by many of them that my case was very complicated. Others saw my apprehension and advised I get the same extracted under general at a hospital. Being the coward that I am, I finally made up my mind to go for mild general anesthesia (70%) with sedation and I had scheduled my operation at nmc hospital. I was told that the operation would take upto 2 hrs.
Then almost by chance, I met Dr. Afzal from the Dental Lounge Clinic. He was a God-send! He was professional and confident and ran me through the entire procedure – a small incision of only 3 mm, followed by cutting the wisdom tooth in half and then its removal. He told me that he would be done in 20 mins tops.
Now I am a coward, I hate needles and cannot tolerate blood/pain very well. There was no way I would have been able to go through with something like this under local anesthesia. However, the doctor had faith that I could – and this is what actually gave me the confidence to go ahead.
The anesthesia injection was the worst part. I had 3 of them. My apprehension was at the peak at the time and after the first injection I actually felt dizzy and almost started trembling. I requested to take a break and he kindly obliged. Thereafter it wasnt that bad at all – however I have to admit that I kept my eyes tightly shut throughout! The bleeding was minimal. I had no scarring. He was done in 30 mins (10 mins extra because of my frequent requests for breaks) and I got 4 stitches.
Post the operation too – bleeding, swelling, pain was very very minimal. I was on 400mg of brufen (which I stopped taking after 3 days) and I am finishing my 5-day antibiotic course today. I have not felt any discomfort and give all credit to my doctor – I highly recommend him. His follow-up has been incredible and he has called to check up on me almost every day since.
I am a big fan of my dentist!
By: Krish on January 28, 2010
at 5:10 pm
The best dental surgeon in Dubai is Dr Afzal who is trained in Maxillofacial surgery in the UK. Any of his patient wouldn’t give you a different story. I was suppose to have my Wisdom teeth removed under GA and luckly heard about Dr Afzal through a friend. even though my teeth were in horizontaly impacted once, my post operative dicumfort was barely anything.
He is very fast and caring. His rates are very resonable. He is at the Dental Lounge Satwa.
By: Firaz on February 5, 2010
at 2:01 am