The wisdom tooth appears in a mortal’s mouth between the ages of 18 and 21. In my case, it erupted when I graduated from college with acquired wisdom.
Unfortunately, one of my wisdom teeth grew horizontally and collided with the last molar. Since the impacted wisdom tooth did not cause any discomfort, I did not go to a dentist. But, food particles took refuge in the crevice between the molar and the wisdom tooth frustrating the dexterity of my toothbrush.
In due course, the impacted wisdom tooth and the adjoining molar gave warning signals by way of toothache. I approached a dentist. The dentist poked at the teeth with an explorer. He said the wisdom tooth was not the one which was causing pain. The culprit was the decayed molar. He took an X-ray. “The decay is deep. We need to do root canal treatment of the molar to arrest further decay and then cap the tooth,” said the dentist.
“When can you do the root canal treatment?” I asked. “A root canal treatment expert visits my clinic on Saturdays. He will treat it. You may require two to three sittings,” said the dentist. He also explained to me the cost of it which ran into a few thousand rupees. Since there was no alternative except to lose the molar and an essential biting surface, I agreed to the terms and conditions put forth by him. He prescribed medicines to cure the toothache which was bothering me and asked me to appear at a fixed time on a Saturday before the root canal specialist.
The specialist injected local anaesthesia on the gum and drilled the molar to locate the root canals. After he found the root canals, he cleaned them up and filled them with chemicals and plugged them permanently. He applied dental cement on the treated molar and asked me to come next Saturday. After a week, he enquired if there was any pain in the treated area. I replied in the negative. He confirmed that the root canals had been treated well and handed me back to the dentist.
The dentist told me a ceramic crown would be placed on the molar. But, before that he wanted the impacted wisdom tooth to be removed by a dental surgeon. I went to a dental surgeon recommended by the dentist. He asked, “Have you any other health issues?” I said no. “Can I remove the tooth?” he sought my permission. I had no choice and said, “Please do.” He administered a local anaesthesia, cut open the gum, extracted the wisdom tooth and sewed the gum. After a week, the dentist removed the sutures. When the wound healed, he took a dental impression of my molar and sent it to a ceramic crown fabricator. The dentist called me when the crown was ready and fitted it deftly on the molar.
Thus, four specialists put their heads together and restored a dead molar to a biting fit condition.