And the second opinion came years later, which was yesterday. I left office earlier to see a dentist at Jurong East, recommended by one of my colleagues. As it was my first visit there and i didn't ask for any specific doctor, they assign a female dentist to me. Some colleagues had actually advised me to get a male dentist, as they claimed that female dentist may not have enough strength to remove the wisdom teeth and may thus prolong the surgical time. Anyway, it was too late and i felt inappropriate to request for a change of dentist based on gender.
After the x-ray, the dentist said it would be best for me to remove both the lower wisdom teeth. Since the one on the left lower jaw seemed to be in worse condition, we decided to take that out first. I then asked her about all the horror stories that i had heard about damaged nerves after the removal of wisdom teeth. She told me that risk is involved in every medical procedure even for small operations, and thus i would be required to sign a consent form before the surgery. However, the x-ray showed that there was a safe distance between my wisdom tooth and the nerve so the risk is minimal. I figured that this is a risk worth taking to prevent further damage to the neighbouring teeth.
Anyway, i've arranged for the operation on next Monday 4pm. I would be given 5 days of medical leave after the operation, and frankly, that was part of the reasons why i wanna do it now so that i don't have to go to work.
Now i just hope that the procedure would go smoothly and there won't be any post-operation complications. I'm always nervous whenever i visit a dentist. Even yesterday when she was doing the scaling and polishing, i was clenching my fists all the way. Hope i won't pass out at the sight of the surgical equipment on the day of the operation.
