Since I was a child I did not have any teeth pain at all… until December 31^st 2011 when I wake up early in the morning with strong pain in one of the left back teeth. It started about two days before, when I thought I get my wisdom tooth (which would be a little late, but since I never experienced any pain, I thought it is the time). But this morning it is terrible. Still thinking about that wisdom tooth, I try to get over it and meet my appointment with the masseur at 9 a.m. It’s the last day of the year and we’re in Goa… so it should be awesome! I take a painkiller and get myself a relaxing morning. And the painkiller works well, so we spend our day on the beach and doing some shopping with the friendly people from Kashmir. Eventually the painkiller loses strength and here it is again, my wisdom tooth (as I thought). I start thinking, it can’t be the stupid tooth only, there should be something serious going on. So I decide not to spend the afternoon on the beach, but visit the dentist instead.

Since Franky knows everything, he guides me to the Palolem Dental Clinic 5 minutes from our resort. And here I am, in a small cool waiting room. There are 3 people waiting, 2 Indians and a Swedish lady, which I later learn spends the entire season from October till March in Palolem. As instructed on a plate on the wall I ring the bell and wait. A short Indian lady comes out. I tell her my problem (don’t know if they have other protocol there, but I was in terrible pain again) and ask her to give me an appointment as soon as possible. She tells me I should come back on January 2^nd and shows me there full schedule for the day – com’on, who is going to the dentist on December 31^st? Everybody in Palolem! At this point I picture our extended holidays at the Goan beach I thank her and want to leave when she asks me whether I can wait for 30-45 minutes and she will try to get me in. I thank her and sit with the other patients. The two Indians enter shortly after and I start chatting with the Swedish lady. We’re talking about the people outside who’re picking coconuts from the palm in front of the dentist’s building and are surprised how quick they get up on the really tall palm and throw the nuts down, where another person collects them into a basket.

When she gets in to fix her tooth, I have time to run over some dental research magazines and wonder about what I will find in the dentist room. Twenty minutes passed and even if the next patient came already, the lady asks me to enter first.

I get in and see a small white extremely clean looking room, another lady assistant dressed in pink and the dentist, a tall, young, good looking man with perfect English and a little Indian accent. He asks me friendly how I was, when I immediately start telling him my sad story (afterwards I thought that the short “how are you?” was more of American style). However, he asks me to take a seat on the special chair, where I am taken care of by the assistant who equips me with a light green paper bib, puts a plastic cup with water next to me and arranges my head. The equipment of the latest generation look exactly like those I’ve seen in the research magazine outside. To be frank, the dentist I’ve seen once in Kassel hadn’t had such modern stuff.

And it is my wisdom tooth giving me troubles; it’s just not coming out now, as I thought, it’s already kaputt The doctor makes an x-ray to see it better and gives me some antibiotics for the next 5 days, as well as some stomach friendly painkillers, which I should buy from the chemist down the road. I wish him a happy new year and get out to the waiting room. When I want to pay, I am surprised by the fact that the checking, the counseling and the x-ray cost me 4,5€ (!!!) Later, I walk to the chemist and get to know the real life of the non-touristic area of Palolem – like!

I am happy, my tooth is still hurting but the New Year’s Eve is saved!

Photo source: www.cosmeticdentalexperts.com