Paying a Visit to the Doctor

3/2/2023 – Third day of #Blogchatter daily write challenge 

Today I visited the doctor; no, not the usual doctor but an ayurvedic doctor at the Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala at its Bangalore branch in Jayanagar. I have had good results from ayurveda in the past on issues such as back pain. This time, actually my problem started a while ago on 25th October 2022, when I felt some pain in the mouth that I believed to be a dental issue.Normally,  I would not have taken it that seriously so as to rush to see the dentist on a Deepavali, festival day. I would have waited a couple of days to see how it went. However, this time it felt like some electric current passing when I brushed my teeth or spoke loudly. 

I went to a corporate run clinic near our residential area where I usually go for general health requirements.But, this was the first time that I was going to their dental wing. The lady doctor who attended to me claimed that 5 composite filling @ Rs 1700 each was required, although only one was more important. As I was concerned about becoming okay, I told her to go ahead. She was not paying much attention to what I was explaining about the symptoms. For her, it was a business opportunity to make Rs 8500 on a general holiday. She kept on telling me that she was an experienced dentist of over 11 years of practice. The bill was made out in the name of another doctor though for reasons best known to the clinic.

After the procedure, I found that things had gotten worse in a couple of days. When I came back, I decided to consult the doctor on whose name the bill was prepared. Even as this lady was looking into my mouth, the doctor who had done the procedure rushed in from the adjacent room and said that everything should be fine as she had 11 years of experience and that the best possible had been done. Things would get better with time. When I was advised to brush well for maintaining oral hygiene, I pointed out that brushing and eating food had become even more difficult and painful after the procedure. However, the dentist who did the procedure was in denial. The other person prescribed me an ointment to numb the areas in the mouth each time I brushed or had food.  

With no improvement in my condition, I returned and the dentist (one in whose name bill was made out) refered me to a lab for an Xray. She said that the lab would send them an Email of the result and that there was no need for me to rush back with the physical Xray report. They would call after examining the report. However, when no call came even after two days, I decided to consult another dentist. After examining me, the dentist said that one of the fillings had been done incorrectly and that the cement had stuck in between the gums of teeth which was causing the problem. He therefore removed the filling from the tooth and said further treatment if any can be done after it has healed. 

This was when I started checking on the internet as to what could be my real problem as I had an electric shock like pain on the face while touching my right cheek and while shaving apart from the seemingly dental pain. I found that apparently I had this condition called "Trigeminal neuralgia", a very painful condition that is caused by irritation of the trigeminal nerve. I met an allopathic neuro physician to know more about it but decided to turn to Ayurveda which has helped me in the past for chronic conditions. I met doctor and bought a month's requirement of medicines at Kottakkal Arya Vaidaya sala when I visited Kochi, Kerala and am now continuing the treatment in Bangalore. I have got very good relief through the ayurvedic treatment. 

The irony of this ordeal is that I had spent Rs 9200 ( 8500+ 700 for removal of negligent filling) for dental procedures that were not required in the first place. In a world that is increasingly seeing everything as "for profits", health and education which were once held "noble professions" have fallen into the hands of unscrupulous elements. In corporate hospitals the "dead" are kept alive for days so that they can fleece the hapless relatives. I recently came across this very interesting video on you tube that draws attention to how our lives have been manipulated and changed in the past few decades to suit the convenience and profits of vested interests. 

The morality and commitment in respect of all professions have deteriorated over the years but the price we have to pay is very heavy when it comes to areas such as health or public infrastructure as borne out by the recent collapse of the suspension bridge over the Morbi Macchu river in Gujarat, killing 140 people and injuring over a 100. As a society, it is high time we woke up and treated health, education, safety etc. as sacred, to be placed in the hands of competent and morally sound persons. As of now, this appears a tall order with corporatization of health services that has the primary motive of profits and many educational institutions owned by politicians whose primary concern is also profits.