Indexing Title: JGGuerra’s Medical Anecdotal Report (06-04) 

MAR Title: Of Being a Patient 

Date of Medical Observation: April, 2006 

Narration           

It has been more than a decade since I had my tooth extraction. I thought  it has no difference. Here is my story…

Despite the coolness of the dentist’s air conditioned clinic, I felt some beads of sweat beginning to form just above my forehead. For a split second, I thought of postponing this tooth extraction. I am not immune to the majority’s stereotype of what, or rather how pain can be further redefined inside a dentist’s office.  But the week long throbbing pain just inside my cheeks reminded me not to delay the inevitable extraction. Rational thinking surfaced above my absurd fear of a simple procedure. And besides, anesthesia would be used before my wisdom tooth would be forcibly removed…

I was called in by the receptionist and was led to the dentist chair. I was comfortable, and yet oddly nervous at the same time. A few seconds later, my dentist came in and began to aspirate the anesthesia into a glass syringe. I watched as the clear liquid filled the syringe, and then after topical anesthesia was applied, I felt the drug being injected inside my gums. And with that, local infiltration of the anesthetic was done. So there I was, sitting with my mouth hanging open as a couple of seconds passed. But still no numbness had settled in. My dentist started to cautiously pull my tooth. I looked straight into her eyes as though telling her that the anesthesia did not take effect.

            A curious expression was pasted on the dentist’s face as she explained that she would like to try a mandibular block to produce anesthesia. I agreed as I had no choice.

            I was becoming impatient as I waited for anesthesia to set in. I felt the numbness over my right mandible. I though this was it. Suprisingly, neither that too did not work on me.  My dentist was clearly puzzled. And so was I. 

            As the pain came in surges again, feelings of frustration were settling in. I felt as if I am already on the brink of breaking from ache, and yet somehow, my grasp on that freedom kept on slipping away from me.

            The next technique was to apply the anesthesia intradental, and to no avail it was still painful.

            The last three failed attempts to induce anesthesia eventually compelled the dentist to carry out the last resort- an interapulpal route of administration of the drug. This was according to her the most painful and difficult route of administration. 

            The pain was dreadful. I expected my pain to be relieved and yet the pain was becoming blindly worse as the needle pierced through my root canal. 

            I sat there, nearly 4 hours in total, with my mouth wide open, before I was finally done with my “simple” tooth extraction. 

Insights: ( Discovery, Stimulus, Reinforcements / (Physical, Psychosocial, Ethical)                  

            Certain problems manifest themselves as being simple, hence, having a simple solution. So sometimes, we are caught unaware as our solution backfires on us.  An expected simple appendectomy may sometimes turn out to be a complicated one, causing one to stay at the OR a bit longer than planned.

            Anticipation of the worse can equip us with the security of a back up plan. It may sound a bit pessimistic- that of which things may not work out the way we planned it to. But sometimes situations have been known to deviate away from our planned outcome. So it is merely practical, and sometimes life saving, to have an alternative plan.

            One’s approach to anything should have the feature of being flexible. As Thomas Edison once said when asked how he discovered the light bulb he answered, “I discovered a hundred ways how not to make a light bulb.” One cannot solve a problem with a failed solution. Attempting to do the same thing all over again would not result to a different outcome! So try again, but with another solution.

            On the lighter note, we should and always make sure that the best treatment for our patients are being carried out. Always make them feel comfortable when they are under our care. Remember, it is not their privilege to be treated and operated by us but rather, it is OURS. Don’t wait to be a patient yourself to realize what an ill patient feels whenever they feel something undesirable in the course of  their treatment, emphatize…