How My Impacted Tooth Is Taking Over My Life

What exactly is an impacted tooth? I hope this photo explains it well so that I won't have to go technical about it:

I think I have a case of a partial eruption, and it's taking over my life. Here's the timeline:

• A couple of months ago, I was complaining about what I believed was a simple toothache. It didn't come as a surprise because my last visit to the dentist was (this is embarrassing) more than 5 years ago. So I thought I just had to get fillings and brush more frequently and all would be well. But nooooo...
• A few weeks after, the pain became more intense. I imagined it to be a cavity or some food debris stuck somewhere and that I really had to see the dentist... and get fillings. So yeah, I was still doting then.

• Three weeks ago, a typhoon caused our building to issue a blackout warning. This led to the suspension of the day's work, so I went home early.
• That night, because a dental clinic was along the way to our village (yes, all this time, there was a clinic nearby), I thought it was about time to pay a visit. I had my teeth checked, and the findings changed my life...
• Well, not really. I was just shocked to learn that I had a serious case of an impacted tooth. It was growing in an abnormal direction and was on impact (get it?) with its neighbor. The dentist told me that it requires extraction via surgery worth P8000.
• She also said that if I just let it be, all of my teeth and jaw will be affected and will eventually necessitate more complicated (and expensive) surgery. Moreover, she said that I need 4 tooth fillings, which costs around an additional P1000.

The scary part? The surgery. The life-threatening part? The price. Nine freakin' THOUSAND pesos?! LORD GOD. So I thought I'd leave it be until someone buys my thighs by the pound.

And now, it haunts me. The pain is taking over my life. Pain scale: 5. That's a high score for a pain that's dealt with daily. It has even spread to the other parts of my mouth, and it scares me that the dreadful consequences might occur all too fast.

It distracts me at work and it adds to the butt pain and hunger pangs I feel on my way home. Sometimes, I just wish to be stabbed with a knife rather than feel my stubborn impacted tooth pushing its older siblings. You know what they say, toothache is one of the worst human pains.

So, do I still consider myself sane despite all these? Probably. Did I change something in my daily routine? Yes, I brushed more frequently. Did I alter my diet? HELL NO.

In fact, for today's pain, I fight it with a pack of nostalgia-inducing jelly candy:

I miss the old Orange Swits packaging.

Note: All Orange Swits photos are mine.