Grace's tooth: Part II
Last month I blogged about having a tooth infection that left me in crippling pain for about 3 days. I was put on antiobiotics which made the pain go away but didn't actually fix the problem. I went in today (after four weeks of stressful waiting) for the actual root canal treatment and thankfully, it went without a hitch. I've decided that aside from my childhood dentist/orthodontist, the evil Dr. Lee (not related to me), most dentists are actually very nice and try their best to put their patients' minds at ease. Mine talked me through every step of the way, which was nice because I like to know EXACTLY what is being done to me.
I also noticed that all dentist and dental assistants tend to have nice teeth. Case in point: after I was finished, my dentist told me that it shouldn't hurt much anymore, but he didn't actually know that from first hand experience because he's never had a root canal, much less a filling. Neither had his assistant. I think this is because if you were someone like me and had crappy teeth and every other visit to the dentist meant bad news, then you'd develop a dislike for your dentist (even if s/he is very nice) and a fear of all things tooth-related. I would never ever want to become a dentist, because aside from spiders and grasshoppers, a trip to the dentist is my worst nightmare. And who would want to spend everyday working in a nightmarish hell?
My biggest practical fear in life is losing my teeth and on a fairly regular basis, I have dreams about getting all of my teeth knocked out. My mother has assured me that I have no need to worry because by the time I will need a new set of teeth, medical technology will have advanced enough so that I can get tooth implants at a relatively low cost and those teeth will never rot out of my skull. Hey, what's to be ashamed of? Some people get breast implants and botox injections, and I'll get shiny new teeth.
Hmmm, the novacaine is wearing off and now I have this weird taste in my mouth. Probably all of those fun toxic chemicals they were using on me...
Flavor: Strawberry Fraise
Country of origin: Canada, eh?
Flav-o-meter (Scale of 1-10, with regular chocolate KitKats being 5): 4
Comments: It was OK. Not great, but not overly weird or artifical either. JP gave it a 7 (I believe), since he thought it was better than a regular KitKat.
Flavor: Mint Chill
Country of origin: Australia
Flav-o-meter (Scale of 1-10, with regular chocolate KitKats being 5): 7 or 8
Comments: Very very yummy. But then again, I'm biased because I like nearly all mint (peppermint, not spearmint. ew.) flavored things. JP didn't like it nearly as much and gave it a 4.
Don't worry, I'm brushing my teeth after all chocolate consumption so that I can help prevent cavities. Three cheers for Listerine!
I can't believe it's already been a week since I went to London to visit Anjali. I have no excuse for not blogging sooner. I'm just lame.
Anju lives in a really cool part of London, close to tons of great shopping (don't worry, I was pretty good about not breaking my wallet), good food, and fun places to hang out. It was really good to just hang out and catch up.
Going for a walk along the Thames.
Big Ben and the Parliament building.
And to top off an already fabulous weekend, Anju treated me a super bday present: Lotsa cool-flavored Kit Kats. I'm so excited and I can hardly wait to try them all! First one up for review:
Flavor: Tiramisu
Country of origin: UK
Flav-o-meter (Scale of 1-10, with regular chocolate KitKats being 5): 8
Comments: Very tasty. Had a marscapone cream center which surprised me at first but ended up being an added bonus because I've never had a Kit Kat with anything other than a crispy wafer center!
London calling...
I'm off to go see Anjali in London this weekend. Only 15 minutes to go before I can duck out early from lab (well, I still put in an 8-hour day cuz I got here at 7:30am so no one can say I'm not working hard enough!) and I will be on a train heading south for a much needed break from lab/school. Hopefully, I'll have some good pics to post in a couple of days. Have a nice weekend, everyone!
Last night, JP and some of our friends threw me a bday party and I used this opportunity to whip up a strange asian-fusion dinner for them. On the menu were standars like kimchi fried rice, potstickers, California rolls, and bulgogi. I didn't think hard-core korean foods would have been well-received, but the power of kimchi doesn't fail and everyone was converted by the addictive draw of Korea's favorite twice-pickled spicy cabbage. Mission accomplished.
Thanks to everyone who commented on my blog, sent me an email, mailed me a card, and took me out to dinner! It made turning a quarter-of-a-century old a lot more fun and bearable!
One more day of antibiotics left and tooth feels much better. I can now bite without too much weird-tingly-ness. Can't chew really hard or crunchy things, but oh well. I'm only 24 and already eating soft foods like an old person. I guess things could be worse.
Anjali and I got into a conversation yesterday about Kit-Kats and how America is lame because we only have two different kinds: milk chocolate and white chocolate (which some would argue isn't even chocolate at all, since it has no actual cocoa in it, but I digress). Our obsession with Kit Kats started when I went to Japan and noticed that they had at least half a dozen different types of Kit Kats, with my ALL-TIME favorite one being the green tea Kit Kat. I was so enamored of them that I even brought a bunch of them home with me to give out to people as Christmas presents. Japan is way more obsessed with new kinds of chocolate/candy and a lot of companies put out special regional or seasonal flavors. In addition to the stock standard American flavors, I also had the opportunity to try lemon cheesecake (2003's seasonal pick), green tea (2004 seasonal flavor), passion fruit (2005's Valentine's Day edition), pumpkin (Hokkaido's specialty, tastes like pumpkin pie), strawberry, cafe au lait, and one covered in cocoa powder.
I haven't really looked into what the UK had to offer in terms of special edition Kit Kat flavors, but Anjali recently informed me that she had found a tiramisu Kit Kat!! I looked EVERYWHERE in Manchester and couldn't find them, but I've been assured that when I go to London next weekend, we will go visit the
CyberCandy flagship store, which is just a few minutes walk from Anjali's dorm! Check out their selection: redberry, tiramisu, dark chocolate, maple, cappucino... the list goes on and on!
I know I shouldn't have chocolate because of my tooth crisis, but I think I'm going to have to give in on this one and try some new Kit Kat flavors!
For those of you who have asked, here is my mailing address:
Philips A, Flat 7A
Opal Gardens
2 Hope Road, Anson Road
Manchester
M14 5EW
United Kingdom
Hooray, it's Friday!
I'm in a better mood today. I think the antibiotics are starting to work. My tooth is still really tender, but there's no longer a throbbing ache (I could literally feel my heartbeat through my tooth, kinda gross. Sort of like if you put a band-aid around your finger too tight and you can feel your pulse in the tip of your finger). I've decided to not eat solid food for a while which has fortuitous good timing with the healthy food diet upon which me and a couple of my MRes buddies have embarked. All of the evil foods that tempt me--potato chips, cookies, and chocolate--require chewing to a certain level and while chocolate doesn't necessarily have to be chewed, my ever-present tooth paranoia has been recently been heightened and I've decided against all that cavity-causing goodness.
This also goes well with my two New Year's resolutions (which I decided NOT to reveal for a little while, just to make sure I kept them for at least a few weeks before caving in to temptation and laziness). Late last year, I joined a gym but hadn't been going regularly so I decided that resolution #1 should be: go to the gym at least three times a week. So far so good! Some weeks, I've even managed four trips! Hooray! Resolution #2: Drink no soda (diet is acceptable but still frowned upon because the carbonation can still promote tooth decay). Because of my re-kindled dental paranoia, I haven't really been drinking any diet soda either. Boo-yah! Let's see if I can keep this up. Fingers crossed.
On a related note, I forgot to mention that during my emergency appointment yesterday, the dentist gave me two options. For £60 I could get a root canal treatment and my tooth would be rescued, or I could pay £12 to get my tooth removed. I think I'll invest in the ~100 bucks to have my tooth fixed. As if getting my tooth pulled out was even a remotely viable option!!
As for the scientist or not post, Eva was the only one who made the guesses and I commend her for the effort she put in. Eva, you get an "A" for effort. However, I will have to fail you on accuracy becuase the only person you guessed correctly for was Steph, who is indeed a scientist (she's also an MRes student like me). It's kind of funny cuz you mixed up all of the scientists and non-scientists. Oh well, better luck next time.
