Ramblings of a Procrastinator (yes, I stole your title, Abena!).

Procrastination is the thief of time they say. If you ask me, procrastination is the thief of everything. Let me tell you why:

Early last year, I felt a slight chill in one of my teeth. Every now and then it'd hurt but I'd ignore it. Then I left for Sweden and things happened very quickly. Suddenly I had a daughter who needed my care almost all the time. One day when she was about three weeks old, I couldn't ignore the pain anymore. Because of the pain, I could barely see, think, sleep and I stopped producing milk. I left my little one at the hospital and went off to the emergency dental clinic (which charged me double as I put off going there until a Friday evening and was as such charged the weekend rate).

The dentist put in a temporary filling and sternly told me to have it permanently sorted out within a month, which I promised I'd do, knowing I'd most certainly not. Three weeks later, whilst having breakfast, the filling and one third of the tooth came out. Did I go to the dentist? Nope. Instead, for the past nine months, I've gotten used to eating on the left side of my mouth and after each meal, taking a toothpick to dig out any food which may have ended up in my little grotto!

Yesterday, I finally had the first step of my root canal done. This took three hours, cost me countless cedis (although I know it was cheaper than if I'd done it abroad) and left me with a jaw so sore, I couldn't open it for more than to insert a straw, which means I spent 24 hours living on smoothies (thank goodness for Smoothy's! Goodbye BoneShaker, my new favourite is Piccolo Mondo).

So let's see what procrastinating dental care in general and fixing this cavity in particular has cost me:
Money, lots of money (emergency care, follow up care, transport, smoothies,it all adds up).
Enjoyment of life before Christmas when the pain was at its worst.
Loss of sight (well, only temporarily but still)
Eating in a sane and reasonable manner (what normal person needs to dig for food in her teeth after each meal?)
Milk Production - for about a day, my darling daughter did not get much in her.
Use of the teeth on the right side of my mouth.
And of course, TIME!

So do you agree with me that procrastinating thieves a lot more than time???

Dentist - friend or foe?

Today I spent four hours at the dentist. Yes, f-o-u-r hours. Thought I was going for a quick check up to sort out the toothaches I’ve had on both the left and right side of my mouth, and yes, they did check it out, but I hadn’t counted on the many x-rays, the compulsory teeth cleaning by a dental hygienist and the many, many minutes of waiting in between.

Will have to go back next week for more extensive work to be done, for now I will not talk about that. Have never had a fear of the dentist ever, it’s always been a great experience. Mr. T and I would go together when we were younger, he first, always.

After dealing with his issues, braces, etc. and scolding him for not handling dental hygiene as well as he should, it would be my turn. “Ååååh, så fina tänder!” the lovely Ebba would say (that’s “Oh, such lovely teeth”) and her dental nurse would nod in agreement.

That’s how the majority of my dental checkups have been – always a pleasant visit where I’d be showered with compliments.

Unfortunately, after next Friday, I may join the mass of odontophobics, a majority of human beings, a group that I guess most of you are already part of.