Smile While You Still Have Teeth

I spent two gruelling hours at the dentist's yesterday.  An old tooth, half decayed, had to come out.  I had hoped and prayed that it would be a quick, clean extraction but it turned out to be a nightmare.   My dentist, a youngish man, assured me not to worry and that it would be over in a few minutes, but unfortunately that was not the case.  I squirmed in my chair as he nudged, pushed, poked and pulled until the offending and stubborn tooth finally came away in his hands.  It was an exhausting ordeal for both dentist and patient and if it hadn't been for the local anaesthesia, it would have been a very painful process.  I was sent home with some painkillers and cotton wool to stop the bleeding.  

When I looked in the mirror this morning, I was shocked to see that my right cheek was actually swollen - the result of many jabs of anaesthesia to kill the pain!  So now as I am writing this, I have one hand holding an ice pack to dab at my poor swollen cheek.  Gosh, I will have to wear a mask when I go out!  

Take good care of your teeth, everyone, they're more valuable than you may think - and don't forget to smile while you still have teeth!