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nostalgia
Jul 12, 2006, 7:39 PM
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I've recently been through some dental debacles, and I'm not sure if I should be annoyed with my dentist(s) or if they're not really at fault.
Let's let the RC.com community decide! Always a popular choice ;) Here's the story. It's a little lengthy, but there's a lot to tell:
About a year and a half ago, I had Dr. M put a filling put in one of my top molars (#15). Afterwards, it was annoying me, with food getting stuck between the last two molars up there, causing frequent gum irritation. Went back to Dr. M, and he said the teeth are too far apart. He can fix it (for a price), or I can keep flossing a lot. I decided to floss and see how it went.
A few months ago, my wife an I decided he was a jerk for other reasons, and found a new dentist. This dentist, Dr. S, was much friendlier. He recommended replacing the amalgam (metal) fillings that Dr. M put in with the white composite fillings. I decided not to, but my wife did. She eventually talked me into it, and Dr. S said he could fix the gap in my back teeth while he was at it. Note that I had no tooth pain to this point, only the annoyance of getting food constantly stuck in those teeth, and occasional gum irritation because of it.
So Dr. S did the work, replacing the two fillings Dr. M had put in, noting that the filling in tooth 15 was unusually deep, right down to the nerve. He said he wouldn't have touched the filling at all had he known how deep it was. He put some medicine in and put the composite filling in.
The next day, tooth 15 was hurting. I called the office, and they said that was normal, and the tooth needs to heal like any other body part that was subjected to trauma.
A week later, when it still hurt, I went back. Dr. S ground the filling down a little because the bite was still off.
2 weeks later, when it still hurt, I went back again. I told him it hurt all the time, but mostly in the morning. He said that's because I clench my teeth at night, and the pain is coming from my jaw. No, I don't. Yes, you do. It's the only explanation, he said. He then ground the filling down a bit more to make sure the bite was right, and gave me a pamphlet on a special night bite guard he designed.
2 weeks after that, I was struck with completely debilitating pain radiating from that tooth. The kind of pain that was so bad, I couldn't lift my head to tell someone about it. I called his office to make an appointment and he wasn't there. His backup dentist wasn't working for the weekend. Her backup dentist wasn't working for the weekend. It was now about 5pm on a Friday, so I went to my regular Dr. who gave me an anti-inflammatory, an antibiotic (in case it was an infection), and Tylenol-3. The painkillers were useless, but I did find out that ice took the pain away.
The next day I managed to find a dentist in the next town over who was working, Dr. D. Dr D did an emergency procedure. We found out that I have a "hot tooth", meaning the Novocain doesn't deaden the root. Guess when we found that out?
After almost an hour in the chair he told me I was done. "Now, you need a root canal." I could have wept.
So on Monday I went to an endodontist, who continued the root canal that Dr. D started. I spent 2 hours in the chair this time. Apparently I have a curved root, making life very difficult for him. I now have a small piece of reamer forever embedded in the root of my tooth.
I still have to go back to the endo to have the last part of the root canal done. I also have to go back to a regular dentist to have a cap/crown put on the tooth. I don't even want to imagine what all this is going to cost.
So I ask you: am I right to be very pissed off at Dr. S? Am I overreacting by not trusting him to do the cap/crown on my tooth after the root canal work is done? I really liked the endodontist, but I don't feel comfortable asking him the same questions, since he probably knows Dr. S, and may not give me an honest answer. Either way, I don't want to put the endodontist in a bad position.
-Joe
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thomasribiere
Jul 12, 2006, 8:30 PM
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Did you say he put a #15 in one of your molar???
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the_pirate
Jul 12, 2006, 10:11 PM
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One thing confuses me: Was food getting stuck in the gap before you had the original filling done?
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thedus
Jul 14, 2006, 2:33 AM
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Well I'm not a dentist, but I've had a bunch of teeth worked on, so I'm somewhat experienced with these matters.
That gap was probably caused by the properties of amalgam fillings coupled with the location on the tooth of the original cavity. Amalgam stays in your tooth because it's compressed into the hole (essentially). Because of this and the shape of the tooth and location of the cavity, it wasn't possibly to recreate the original contour. One of the problems with amalgam fillings is that dentists have to drill away more tooth to put the filling in. That, and a deep cavity, caused the next problems.
That sucks about the hot tooth. I have one of those, too. Fun stuff. I also have a curved root in the one tooth that's had a root canal, but my endodontist didn't have any problems with it.
To answer your question, it sounds to me like Dr S did as good a job as possible, even if it sucked for you. That doesn't mean you can't be pissed. High spots do happen with composite fillings, and it's pretty hard to tell if you have a high spot when you can't feel half your face. His guess of you clenching your jaw was reasonable, even though it turned out not to be the case.
I wouldn't worry about asking your endodontist questions about your dentist. He'd probably say about the same things that I've written, and doctor-patient confidentiality would (hopefully) keep him from spilling the beans to Dr S. Good luck with your future drilling. If you don't have insurance, all of this should only set you back a couple grand (ouch).
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nostalgia
Jul 14, 2006, 1:31 PM
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Thanks for the input, thedus. I was just very surprised that when a patient comes back twice for constant pain that only started after a procedure the dentist did, that he wouldn't even consider the pain was a result of the procedure. I had never complained about jaw pain/headaches before.
I will talk to my endo and get his opinion. He's earned my trust.
-Joe
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climbsomething
Jul 15, 2006, 1:24 AM
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In reply to: So Dr. S did the work, replacing the two fillings Dr. M had put in, noting that the filling in tooth 15 was unusually deep, right down to the nerve. He said he wouldn't have touched the filling at all had he known how deep it was. He put some medicine in and put the composite filling in.
In reply to: It was now about 5pm on a Friday, so I went to my regular Dr. who gave me an anti-inflammatory, an antibiotic (in case it was an infection), and Tylenol-3. The painkillers were useless, but I did find out that ice took the pain away.
In reply to: We found out that I have a "hot tooth", meaning the Novocain doesn't deaden the root. Guess when we found that out?
In reply to: After almost an hour in the chair he told me I was done. "Now, you need a root canal." I could have wept.
In reply to: Apparently I have a curved root, making life very difficult for him.
In reply to: I don't even want to imagine what all this is going to cost.
In reply to: So I ask you: am I right to be very pissed off at Dr. S? Am I overreacting by not trusting him to do the cap/crown on my tooth after the root canal work is done? I really liked the endodontist, but I don't feel comfortable asking him the same questions, since he probably knows Dr. S, and may not give me an honest answer. Either way, I don't want to put the endodontist in a bad position. -Joe |
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the_pirate
Jul 15, 2006, 1:46 AM
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Unless you are looking for more pain, it's probably best to stay away from both doctors S & M. :lol:
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pinktricam
Jul 15, 2006, 2:34 AM
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I'm looking forward to getting to the dentist monday morning. My guy fit me into his very busy schedule as an emergency. I developed acute pain in my lower left molar yesterday and called his office immedately. He called in a prescription to ease the pain, but I didn't like the side effects. I've been dealing with nausea, vomiting and light-headedness all day from it. I only took one pill and I'm not going to take any more. I sure hope it's not going to be an extraction or a root canal or are they one and the same? Shit...this sucks.
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justthemaid
Jul 15, 2006, 4:49 AM
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In reply to: I knew it! It also makes life difficult for you. My roots are straight but I metabolize Novacaine very quickly. My dentist has to jack me up with enough Novacaine to fell a horse.
Wow- so I'm not crazy.
The last time I had fillings done they were having to shoot me up every 20 minutes because the numbness kept wearing off. I had to have 5 shots in one visit and I was still squirming with discomfort. They weren't able to finish.
My dentist gave me the impression she thought I might be over reacting, or it might be mental. I'd had fillings before with absolutely no pain, and I'm not afraid of dentists, so the attitude annoyed me.
Sadly, I had to ditch my dentist I've had for years and go elsewhere because I was freaked out, and couldn't go back. I found a new dentist who managed to keep me numb long enough to finish the job, but the tooth hurt for MONTHS afterward.
It was kinda the same situation- I kept going back over and over to have them look at it and grind it down (I do grind my teeth) . They could never find a reason for the lingering pain. It eventually went away.
Bummer you (OP) ended up needing a root canal.
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climbsomething
Jul 15, 2006, 6:05 AM
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In reply to: I sure hope it's not going to be an extraction or a root canal or are they one and the same? s---...this sucks.
With an extraction EVERYTHING goes.
I'd pick the root canal, even though I think it's more complicated and an extraction may be cheaper. How much do you think you need that tooth? I'm missing 2 of my 4 upper right molars and I'm used to it, but chewing was awkward at first. Plus I think I look funny (one of the holes is visible) but I'm used to that too ;)
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pinktricam
Jul 15, 2006, 6:23 PM
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In reply to: How much do you think you need that tooth? |
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climbsomething
Jul 15, 2006, 7:41 PM
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Well, having sick teeth well and truly sucks. Put on your big girl panties and get the filling, root canal, extraction, whatever the dentist comes up with. It'll be worth it in the long run.
Once I got a cavity so bad it started infecting the jaw bone, and the bone reacted by trying to expel the tooth on its own. Not. Cool. At. All.
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jred
Jul 16, 2006, 8:06 PM
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[quote="pinktricam"]In reply to: How much do you think you need that tooth? |
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jred
Jul 16, 2006, 8:10 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: How much do you think you need that tooth? I dunno...I'm kinda partial to keeping them all if I can help it. Thankfully the pain is down to just a dull ache this morning, but I feel like it's moved a little lower down into my jaw. I'm thinking it may be some kind of abscess now. My dentist called in a script for an antibiotic too, but I didn't pick it up (the pain was a bigger concern at the time). I think I'm going to go pick it up now though. This truly sucks. |
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pinktricam
Jul 17, 2006, 11:56 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: I sure hope it's not going to be an extraction or a root canal or are they one and the same? s---...this sucks. With a root canal, they drill into your tooth and suck out the root(s), but the tooth is otherwise intact. It has to be capped, though. With an extraction EVERYTHING goes. I'd pick the root canal, even though I think it's more complicated and an extraction may be cheaper...
Thanks for the material. It brought about a moment of levity in the midst of anxiety.
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climbsomething
Jul 18, 2006, 11:16 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: In reply to: How much do you think you need that tooth? I dunno...I'm kinda partial to keeping them all if I can help it. Thankfully the pain is down to just a dull ache this morning, but I feel like it's moved a little lower down into my jaw. I'm thinking it may be some kind of abscess now. My dentist called in a script for an antibiotic too, but I didn't pick it up (the pain was a bigger concern at the time). I think I'm going to go pick it up now though. This truly sucks. Looks like somebody is being punished by god for naughty acts with the mouth!
Oh, you weren't talking to me :oops:
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jred
Jul 18, 2006, 11:26 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: In reply to: In reply to: How much do you think you need that tooth? I dunno...I'm kinda partial to keeping them all if I can help it. Thankfully the pain is down to just a dull ache this morning, but I feel like it's moved a little lower down into my jaw. I'm thinking it may be some kind of abscess now. My dentist called in a script for an antibiotic too, but I didn't pick it up (the pain was a bigger concern at the time). I think I'm going to go pick it up now though. This truly sucks. Looks like somebody is being punished by god for naughty acts with the mouth! Ultimately rewarded and encouraged though. Remember, I'm missing teeth. Gums are softer and smoother than teeth. Oh, you weren't talking to me :oops:
You have made me blush using the written word, well done!
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