The above title was the title of a poem by Pam Ayres in my English literature book in class 9th (CBSE). It describes the pain faced by the author while having treatment of her
tooth by the dentist and her regret of not caring about her tooth earlier.In my 8th class a dental camp was organized in my school, the doctor had told me I have cavities in my multiple teeth and I need to get it fixed but the day I decided to visit the dentist, however, their clinic was closed. Fast Forward to next year, I changed my school and went to a hostel in Bhopal (2013). There I read the poem, By reading the poem, I was sure that I will learn from her mistake and take care of my tooth by brushing my tooth twice. Ironically I didn’t and after 4 years I found myself in a dentist’s chair in great pain in my tooth (2017). He told me either my 2 teeth will be removed or I have to go for root canal treatment (RCT) of the affected tooth. I choose rct however the treatment was left unfinished as the doctor went on a trip. After extreme negligence for years, I found myself in a dentist’s chair and he has to remove my two teeth and 4 teeth need treatments for cavities in them. When the dentist was removing me I was thinking about the poem I read in class 9th and how I failed my tooth. And the small mistake of mine brought so much pain and I can’t feel half of the face due to anesthesia for the dental surgery.
What I learned from my above experience is, never leave a treatment unfinished. I always used to go to the doctor when I felt pain in my tooth and As the doctor gave me medicine, the pain used to vanish. Which used to give me an excuse for leaving the treatment unfinished. Secondly, always brush your tooth twice once in the morning and once after eating the food at the night. The doctor told me that fast food and snacks like chips and cake are the culprits for my misery because they contain carbohydrates, the favorite food of bacteria. So I would urge the you to please learn from my mistake and take care of your tooth.