Trip to the dentist

Exactly a year ago I was making daily treks across town to have treatment for an infected root canal (ouch - really!). Guess what. It's back. Same problem, same pain, so back to see the same dentist, Masataka (David calls him MassiveAttacker). At first Masataka didn't believe me when I told him I was in pain. He showed me the x-rays showing nothing out of the ordinary and sent me home. I suffered over the holiday weekend and went in again on Tuesday. The clinic was so busy that they had almost run out of slippers (you have to take your shoes off before entering). I was left with a choice of a pair of extra large ones or a pair of Miffy ones (especially for college-aged girls?). I went for extra large and they kept falling off. It's hard to be dignified with a swollen mouth, a pair of giant slippers and crap Japanese. I came prepared with a book and whiled away 45 minutes listening to cheesy muzac versions of Disney songs (as if they weren't bad enough to start with). Is that meant to relax you? Anyway, daily treatment and antibiotics have once again commenced. I know the drill, it's the same as last year. I had to BEG for painkillers. I swear I had to produce real tears in order to break MassiveAttacker. Pretty humiliating in an open plan dental clinic. Just like last year, I will probably have to administer some sketchy DIY treatment over the summer while I am travelling. This is a major nuisance, especially when camping. I managed to do it last summer in basic conditions in Indonesia, so I'm sure I'll manage again (blog from last summer)