Seeing Qin Jiang’s reaction, Zhang Wei’ai suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.
Could my breath really be that strong?
From this far away, it shouldn’t be bothering Dr. Qin, right?
Just as Zhang Wei’ai was thinking this, Qin Jiang spoke up, “Go ahead and take off your mask. I’ll take a look.”
Zhang Wei’ai nodded and removed her mask.
“Open wide.”
Qin Jiang held a flashlight in one hand and a tongue depressor in the other, asking Zhang Wei’ai to open her mouth as wide as she could.
It had to be said, Zhang Wei’ai’s bad breath was already quite severe.
Even though Qin Jiang was wearing a mask and had mentally prepared himself, he was still almost overwhelmed by the smell.
Qin Jiang carefully looked inside and quickly spotted the problem.
“Alright, I know what’s going on.”
Qin Jiang swapped out the tongue depressor, then took a pair of tweezers from the drawer and began sterilizing them.
Zhang Wei’ai asked curiously, “Dr. Qin, do you know what’s wrong with me?”
Qin Jiang nodded.
“You have tonsil stones. Luckily, it’s not too severe. I can remove them with the tweezers right now.”
“Tonsil stones?”
Everyone was baffled.
They knew what tonsils were, but stones growing on them? That was a new one.
That’s incredible.
Qin Jiang explained, “The tonsils are located deep in the mouth, near the throat. They’re quite far back and not easily visible.”
“All around them, there are small pits or indentations on the surface, kind of like a honeycomb.”
“When we eat, food debris and other particles can get trapped in these pits, and over time, they harden into stones.”
Hearing this, Zhang Wei’ai felt like her eyes were opened.
She then asked curiously, “So my bad breath is because of these stones? That seems a bit extreme.”
Qin Jiang shook his head.
“It’s actually not extreme. These stones are made up of food debris, dead epithelial cells from metabolism, various secretions, and minerals.”
“Think of it like a drainpipe in your house. Over time, the proteins in these stones break down and rot, giving off a smell like rotten eggs or spoiled meat.”
“Your case isn’t severe. If it were, surgery might be needed to remove the stones, and it could even cause complications like throat swelling and pain.”
Qin Jiang’s explanation suddenly made things click for the viewers in the live stream.
“According to Dr. Qin, does that mean the older you get, the worse your breath gets?”
“That makes sense, right? The older you are, the more food you’ve eaten over your lifetime, so the higher the chance of forming tonsil stones.”
“Plus, older people usually have weaker digestion than younger people, so it’s no wonder most elderly have bad breath.”
“Oh my gosh, I had no idea tonsil stones even existed. I need to go to the hospital and get checked out sometime.”
People nowadays are more conscious about hygiene and have the means to do deeper cleaning and care.
It’s like how the previous generation rarely went for teeth cleanings.
For them, getting a teeth cleaning felt like undergoing surgery. Even if it was good for them, who would willingly go for a procedure just for the sake of it?
Similarly, with tonsil stones, many people either don’t know about them or, even if they do, don’t pay them much mind.
After all, it’s just a little bad breath—it doesn’t really affect daily life.
Once everything was ready, Qin Jiang said to Zhang Wei’ai, “Try to keep your mouth as wide open as possible. I’ll need to insert the tweezers quite far in.”
“But I might not be able to keep my mouth open that long. It gets really tiring.”
Qin Jiang glanced at Zeng Zhu, who was standing nearby.
“Go wash your hands and disinfect them, then help your girlfriend hold her mouth open.”
Zeng Zhu quickly did as Qin Jiang instructed and, following his directions, used his hands to hold Zhang Wei’ai’s mouth open.
The cameraman moved behind Qin Jiang and zoomed in for a close-up shot.
Zhang Wei’ai was clearly a very cleanly person. Her teeth were white and healthy, and there were no signs of ulcers or bleeding gums.
Qin Jiang placed the tweezers near her tonsils and gently pressed down.
A small, white, grain-like stone appeared before everyone’s eyes.
It was exactly as Qin Jiang had described earlier.
The stone looked like it was embedded in one of the small pits.
Qin Jiang carefully used the tweezers to tease it out. The stone even had a strand of mucus stretching from it!
The live stream viewers erupted with comments.
“A little gross, but also kind of satisfying. Why is that?”
“I know, right? It feels so good to finally get that gunk out.”
“I can’t take it! I’m going to the hospital tomorrow to get checked! I need to clean out my tonsil stones too!”
“Whoa, look at that! There are more!”
After Qin Jiang removed that one large stone, everyone thought that was it.
But then he used the tweezers to probe a little further and revealed two smaller stones!
Looking at the densely packed pits on the surface, everyone felt a shiver run down their spine.
It looked like the flesh had been gnawed on by ants, making for a very unsettling sight.
Fortunately, Qin Jiang’s movements were skilled and swift. In less than three minutes, he had removed all the stones from Zhang Wei’ai’s mouth.
He placed the three stones on a tissue, then sterilized his instruments and washed his hands.
Zhang Wei’ai couldn’t resist leaning in to smell the three stones and nearly passed out from the stench.
“Oh my god, that’s disgusting!”
If she hadn’t smelled it herself, Zhang Wei’ai would never have believed something like this came out of her own mouth.
“Doctor, why couldn’t I smell my own bad breath before?”
Qin Jiang explained calmly, “The olfactory receptors are mainly located in the mucous membrane of your nasal cavity. There aren’t any in your mouth.”
“So no matter how bad these stones smell in your mouth, you wouldn’t be able to detect it yourself.”
Zhang Wei’ai then asked, “So that means I’ll still have to rely on others to tell me if my breath is bad in the future? That’s so awkward.”
Qin Jiang said, “If you want to test your own breath, it’s actually simple.”
“Either cover your mouth and nose with one hand at the same time, breathe out through your mouth and in through your nose.”
“Or you can lick the back of your wrist, let it dry for a moment, and then smell your wrist. That’ll tell you if you have bad breath.”
Hearing this, Zhang Wei’ai nodded, indicating she understood.
The bad breath problem that had been bothering her for days was finally resolved, and Zhang Wei’ai was overjoyed.
Qin Jiang pointed to the QR code on the table and said, “While the stones in your mouth are gone, your digestive system still has some issues. The bad breath isn’t completely cured yet.”
“I’m going to prescribe you some medicine. Take it as directed when you get home, and you should be fine in about a week.”
Qin Jiang pointed to the QR code on the table.
“Go ahead and scan to pay. It’s 600 yuan total.”
Zhang Wei’ai nodded and readily took out her phone to scan the code and pay.
