So I finally got my wisdom tooth extracted. Two, in fact.

Allow me to detail the entire procedure.

I went for the dental appointment at 2pm, and told the dentist of my problem with my tooth, which was preventing me from eating normally. And that, to me, is a very big problem. So he took an X-ray of my jaws, and recommended that I remove both the lower one and the upper one. He showed me the X-ray, and said that there was no point in keeping the upper one, since if the lower one wasn't around, the upper one can't be used to chew. Moreover, it might give me problems in future. So I said, alright. The upper one was a normal extraction, so it cost only $100, where else the lower one was the problematic one, so it cost $350.

Then, he showed me the extent of the lower tooth, and I was shocked. The gum around it was totally swollen, and there was even pus coming out of the gum. It was that bad. No wonder it hurt so much. Boy, am I glad I had the offending bone out.

So I had like 5 injections of local anesthesia. While waiting for the effect to sink in, I had to sign a consent form, since anesthesia was used, and also to understand what I was getting myself into.

Then, I was instructed to take off my specs, and had my eyes covered with, umm, what do you call those? Never mind. Then, the procedure started. Originally, it was supposed to be on my lower tooth, but I said it hurt pretty bad, so the dentist pumped a few more doses in there and worked on my upper tooth. It wasn't too bad, it came loose early but make some resistance about coming out at all.

Back to the lower tooth. The lower tooth was still hurting as the dentist tried to shake it out. It was pretty bad, but I gave up asking for more anesthesia, cause I realized it wasn't helping things anyway, and that I should just bear with it until it finally came out. It took a long time, and the dentist had to crack it into two pieces before taking each piece out. I'll see if I can get a scan of both the teeth. Click here to see both my wisdom tooth.

So, finally, the dentist put the sutures in for me, popped both the teeth into a nice small ziploc bag for my inspection, and ushered me to the counter, where I paid for and got some instructions about care and things to take note. As well as the all-important MC.

The torture started 90 minutes after the procedure, when the anesthesia wore off. I was warned that it would hurt when it did. And it certainly hurt. Like hell. I was writhing in pain, and trying desperately to surrender myself to the sweet oblivion of sleep. And I didn't eat the whole day. So when dinner came, all I had was bread. White bread, with some organic jam my mum got from her shop.

Not fun at all. Even if it meant I had 5 days MC.

And the wound's bleeding all the time. Its still bleeding now. All day long I've been tasting my own blood, and getting pretty sick of it. GRrrr.... And I couldn't resist the temptation to get something decent to eat, I've been starving the past few days. Got fishball noodles for myself just now. Now, that felt good.

So I'm gonna be stuck at home for the next two days healing. And watching what I eat.

But I'm glad its out. And I just inserted another gauze to bite on to absorb the bleeding.

Anyway, I'm wondering how insurance companies make money from life insurance. Ya know, those policies whereby they guarantee you money back after it matures? Well, see, if I'm not wrong insurance agents get 50% of the premium you pay every month. And at the end of 25 years, you'll get all the money you paid in premiums back, + a certain percentage. Wouldn't the fund invested in have to do very well, for your money to grow at least 100% to cover for what the agent levies? I don't know, but it all sounds interesting. Actuary studies, one of the most lucrative jobs in the world, deals with calculation of risks and possibilities of various outcomes, and the commercial leverage needed to offset these risks. Basically, they are the ones who calculate how much you pay for your insurance premiums every month. Very hot job, and very high dropout rate.

That's it, I'm gonna sleep early, and hope my bleeding stops tomorrow.