I guess it had to happen, but my tooth eventually went ballistic and I was in a lot of pain. But with no dentists in TL and certainly no dental X-ray machines, it was either go for tooth extraction locally or endeavour to get out of Dili and have it all handled properly. I chose the latter but not before getting THE doctor to load me up with anti-biotics and painkillers for a couple of days.

It wasn’t easy but I eventually got an appointment in Darwin, where (like many other places) dentists appear to be in short supply. I hadn’t actually had any dental work done since I was a kid and I was expecting some sort of discomfort. Having someone spend 30 minutes working away in your mouth with the mouth wide open is not exactly comfort, but once the anaesthetic kicked in, I felt no more pain.

The root canal job was done and I was told that once the anaesthetic wore off, I could experience some severe pain. I still had my smorgasbord of painkillers so I believed I had everything under control.

I decided to celebrate no more mouth and jaw pain with a lunch. However, my mouth/face was still under the influence of numbness. I ordered a noodle dish which had the suitable softness required to protect the temporary filling.

I warned the waiter that I might dribble uncontrollably and had to guide the glass of water to my mouth with both hands so that I hit the target. The food was great. By the end, my face was coming out of it.

And I never experienced any more pain at all once the anaesthetic wore off. Ball-tearingly brilliant !!!