My Teeth

 

X-ray of my teeth on 15 March 2024 at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital

Since last year, I had been having dry mouth.  My teeth was painful when eating and also when not eating.  It caused lots of pain when eating food.  I did not know what was the reason and I thought that I had diabetes since I feel thirsty.  However, blood test shows that I do not have diabetes.  The doctor just asked me to drink more water.  So I went to Chinese doctor, Ma Kuang TCM at Causeway Point.  I had the chinese medicine for almost a month, and the physician asked me to go back to the western doctor.  So the doctor referred me to the General doctor at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.  

Last year September 2023, I went to 888 Plaza, First Impression dental clinic.  The dentist was a locum and she never even do a thorough check on my teeth and she just 'refer' me to the hospital.  I asked her for a referral letter, she said I need to book appointment myself.  For that 'advice' (consultation?) she said I need to pay $10.  So from that visit, I did not go back to any other dentist.  I just need to take good care of my teeth.  

Isaac said that I brush my teeth too hard.  He also had problems with plaque and the nurse need to clean for him.  So in January, he came across an electrical toothbrush, Aquasonic Power Toothbrush.  

Photograph of the Aquasonic Toothbrush charging on the dock and the UV sanitizing chamber

The toothbrush comes with five modes -- clean, soft, whiten, massage and deep clean. There is a timer also so that when you are brushing your teeth, you can know how long you have brushed each segment of your teeth.  After brushing your teeth, the brushes can be put in the UV sanitizing chamber to kill all the germs.  So every morning, Isaac and I will take out the brush heads from the sanitizing chamber, put it onto the aquasonic toothbrush.  There are altogether 3 slots of spaces for you to put 3 brush heads in the sanitizing chamber.  Isaac and I each one took a corner of it.  

Using an electric toothbrush is so much easier to brush the teeth.  It is so effortless when brushing with aquasonic toothbrush.  With the timer, it has really helped me to time my toothbrushing on the teeth.  We bought Aquasonic Toothbrush from amazon.sg.  I really recommend this product because it is very good.  If you want to see the details of this product, click on the link.  After using this product, I am not using too much force on my teeth already.   

Photograph showing the UV- sanitizing chamber of the Aquasonic toothbrush

Now my teeth is so much better, but the dentist said that I need to do a root canal treatment for my upper second premolar tooth because it is a dead tooth.  She said that somehow this tooth had experienced some trauma and is dead.  There is a black cavity on top of the tooth inside the gum if you see the x-ray carefully.  So I need to go back to the dentist for another 3 more session to do treatments to my teeth.  

Grandma

 

Isaac and my hand placed and aligned on each other 

Last night, I looked at Isaac's fingers.  They are so long!  So we put our hands together, aligned properly, and his fingers are now longer and his hands bigger than mine!  

My hand holding Isaac's hand on 25 May 2009

My 3 lovely children, taken on 25 May 2009

Today I brought Isaac to see doctor.  In the room, the doctor asked me, "Are you the grandma?"  

This is not the first time people thought that I am Isaac's grandma.  If Isaac's brother and sister get married young, perhaps I will become grandma.  Some of my cousins who are younger than me have become grandparents already.  My elder brother and sister are grandparents now too.  

To be addressed as grandma sound so old, and indeed I am getting old...

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Gojek or Grab

 

Photograph showing my mother's bag trolley

Recently, for a month already, my hands are pain at the elbow.  Both hands cannot lift heavy weights.  Simple light weight will experience pain also -- sweeping the floor, taking a cup to drink water will also be painful.  I went to see doctor twice already.  The first doctor said if after two weeks still pain, go back to see doctor.  Went back second time to see doctor and this time I was told that there was no cure.  It is part of aging he said.  The doctor told me to do exercise.  Then he showed me what sort of exercise to do.  

So I went to my mother's house on 4 April 2021, Sunday.  As usual, she gave me lots of things.  I had to call taxi to go home.  I tried Gojek before as it was cheaper.  On that day, again I checked both Gojek and Grab to see which was cheaper.  Going to Woodlands from Bukit Batok would cost about $16 from Gojek and a three dollars more, that is about $19 if going back taking Grab.  So I definitely chose the cheaper one, Gojek.  

Actually I did not want to take the trolley bag, because I still need to carry the whole bag when boarding the cab, but my mother insisted.  So I pulled the trolley bag, went to the lift and waited at the shelter linkway for the cab to be here.  When I reached downstairs, the car was there already.  I asked the driver if I should put the bag in front or behind.  He instructed me to put behind.  I pulled the bag to the back.  I had difficulty lifting the bag.  So I knocked the bag against the car, but not heavy knock, but sort of gliding sound can be heard.  The car owner came down and he said angrily, "Be careful of my car, spoil you have to pay!"  He saw me struggling to put the trolley into the car.  Eventually he helped after saying those words and so angry, he 'flung' and threw the bag into the car boot.  

How would you feel if you were me.  I never said anything.  In the car, he again said, "If my car spoil, you have to pay!"  He spoke in Chinese.  Then he even said, "I only own a few dollars!"  I told my mother later.  She said, "What about your things?  He threw the bag and what if the food and things were spoiled too?"  

So I definitely did not have a good ride this time.  Second time on Gojek.  The first time I took Gojek was a woman driver.  She was a very careful driver, and I had a pleasant ride.  This time, I did not have a pleasant ride.  I was not feeling good of course.  Then I began to think of how people would treat you if you are being quiet always.  How my husband left me and how people treated me.  It was not a good experience.  I don't know how to describe my feelings.  

So throughout the journey I was quiet and bottled up all my feelings.  I thought of last time in the newspaper how Quan YiFong had similar experience.  The taxi driver never helped to take her luggage and she had a fuss over it as well.  So I was thinking, whose job is it when customer have trolleys and luggage to take along.  Do customers have to put them in the car boot or is it the driver's job to help out?  I think it is better for the authority to train and advise on the driver and public so that it will be clear to everybody.  Since we are paying for the service, the car ride, the drivers should help us and not sit in the car waiting for customer to do all the work.  And there should be clear knowledge on what if the taxi driver spoil our things as well, and not only if we spoil their car!

Should I take Gojek in future again?  For a three dollar difference, is it worth it to take Gojek?  I had taken countless trips on Grab and all went well.  Most of the drivers were so friendly and polite.  They would greet you and so far I had pleasant journeys.  

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