Swollen cheeks, tooth problem?

Last week, Sunday, Kelvin had toothache. It got worse and his cheeks were swollen. 

The following day, he still went to school with plans of going to the school dentist for a check up. We were already expecting another filling or worse, tooth extraction. Unfortunately, the dental clinic for this month only opens Thursdays and Fridays (sudden change in schedule as it was supposed to be open the whole week). Hubby and I thought the situation wouldn't be able to wait until Thursday so I called the Health Promotion Board, which handles health care needs of school-going kids (I think). Unfortunately, for dental cases, the students had to be checked by the school dentist. Since Kelvin's school dentist was not around, Ms. Jenny, the HPB admissions/appointment officer I spoke with, advised that we bring him to the school dentist nearest to our place. Good thing there were a few school within walking distance to our place. Ms. Jenny helped in calling the schools to check if there are available school dentists to attend to my son in the earliest possible time. Fortunately, the school just across the street front of our block had dental schedule for Tuesday afternoon. I received a few call backs from Ms. Jenny to update me on school schedules and also on appointments she made on our behalf. I was so thankful for her help and very efficient service. Before an hour passed, I received a call from the school mentioned. The school officer confirmed that Kelvin could visit their school dentist from 2-4pm the following day. I was relieved.

As for Kelvin, the swelling on his cheeks got worse, and by the time he came home in the afternoon he looked like he had some fishballs on his cheek (quoted from his classmates). 

The following day, he didn't attend class so he could rest. We went to the school dentist for the check up. That day, the swelling subsided a bit and the toothache was bearable. Surprisingly, when the dentist checked him, she did not see anything wrong with his tooth or his gums. She asked if he had any accidents over the weekend, but he did not. So there was really nothing to worry about. She gave a referral letter for xray just in case we decided to dig deeper into the real cause of the swelling. But other than that, she said Kelvin should be ok. If the swelling goes back we could push through with the xray appointment and further dental check up.

I was quite impressed with how efficient the system is. With the HPB connecting us to the different school dental clinics and finally getting an immediate appointment. Thumbs up to that and to Ms. Jenny.

Contact for Health Promotion Board: 6435-3765