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I need to see an oral surgeon, but I can't find the courage to get the consultation

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falken

Junior member
Joined
Apr 5, 2013
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5
I need to see an oral surgeon, but I can't find the courage to get the consultation

I had bad gum pain in my mouth that felt like it did when I had periodontitus years ago. I went to the dentist and he did x-rays. He said there is a lot of infection, I need 7 teeth extracted. 3 are roots remaining from teeth that had broken, 2 are wisdom teeth, 1 is the last molar before the wisdom tooth on the left side and one more. I need a root canal on one tooth from another specialist, then I need to go back and have scalling and rooting done.

When they told me $250 it was no problem, until I realized that's only for diagnosis, now I have to go to a specialist (Which financially means, the more expensive doctor). I have no insurance, this is obviously a pre existing condition so no insurance will cover me but that doesn't matter anyway since any insurance I've ever seen only covers $1,500 annually and some of the procedures they'll make you wait forever for. So I have to pay out of pocket. I have nobody that can assist me financially, but the pain is so unbearable I will commit crime to fund my dental procedures, I guess if I get arrested they'd be forced to help me in jail right?

It's ridiculous because my dentist said this could really kill me, the infection could spread to my heart, liver or brain. I asked what do people do that can't afford this. He was very nice and all, but the gist of the information is, you need to find a way to come up with the money and hope that the facility will work with you on a payment plan.

The extraction of 7 teeth with iv sedation must cost a fortune. With no assistance from insurance, I'm sure this will be the cost of a car, how would one with terrible credit convince a specialist to perform surgery on someone who can't afford it but would do a payment plan? I hate to think I could die because I don't have enough money to fix my teeth.

My dentist perscribed 40 pills of Clindamycin 150mg. 4 pills a day. So far, the pain hasn't come back as bad. I THINK I'm tasting the medicine occassionally through my sinuses when mucas drains, so I spit it out all the time because I'm afraid I'm swallowing bacteria from the bad tooth traveling through my sinuses.

The dentist asked if I was fatigued alot, I said yes. He said there is a lot of infection so that's why he asked. He says my immune system is constantly fighting this but it can't beat it and that will make me very tired.

I went to a dentist about 7 years ago that did rooting and scaling on one side of my mouth, they also said I needed a root canal. I was so scared, I told them I wasn't mentally prepared for that yet, and paid and took off so fast I left my hat at their office. Never went back to finish scalling on the other side which is the side that hurts. But there's infection all over the mouth. He said he's suprised I wasn't "Forced" to come in earlier.

Now that I know from the mouth of the dentist himself and not just reading on websites that this infection could spread and kill me, I'm freaking out over every little feeling I have in my body. I'll think I'm having a heart attack, or that my brain is getting infected. My left ear has clogged up and I can't really hear out of it, but it's not wax.

Once I do go in for surgery, I'm afraid the IV won't work but I'll be knocked out and completely aware of everything with no pain killers like what happened to some people in suregery on a 20/20 show I watched.

I'm afraid of being awake for the procedure. I'm afraid because I read that their medication makes you "forget" the unpleasent experience. So is that to say the pain in intense but you won't remember it?!

I'm so terrified, I have no money, and I don't want to die. The most I could get together would be about $2,000 and I'm afraid with surgery that doesn't even get me in the door without insurance.


ALL of the above is secondary to my crippling fear that makes it difficult for me to even call the Oral Surgeon to schedule a consultation. (How much will that cost?!)

What is this clindamycin doing? I'm so terrified, I want to just sleep all the time so I don't have to think about it.
 
Re: I need to see an oral surgeon, but I can't find the courage to get the consultation

Hi falken :welcome:,

deaths from dental infections are incredibly rare in first-world countries where people have access to antibiotics (when such a death occurs, it tends to make newspaper headlines). The Clindamycin you have been prescribed is such an antibiotic, and will temporarily deal with the infection. Unless the source of the infection is removed though it will keep coming back, hence your dentist's insistence that it needs sorting. While he may have said these things with the best of intentions, it is sad that his comments have left you terrified in the meantime. Of course you should try and sort this out as soon as you can (as repeated courses of antibiotics may mean that the bacteria become resistant and also there may be an increases risk of developing allergies against them). But I don't really agree with resorting to scare tactics.

I'm not in the US so I don't know how much IV sedation and the extractions might cost there, sorry :redface:.

Once I do go in for surgery, I'm afraid the IV won't work but I'll be knocked out and completely aware of everything with no pain killers like what happened to some people in suregery on a 20/20 show I watched.

I'm afraid of being awake for the procedure. I'm afraid because I read that their medication makes you "forget" the unpleasent experience. So is that to say the pain in intense but you won't remember it?!

It's different with IV sedation as the pain control is done using local anaesthetic. The sedation is used to make you feel relaxed. You will also be conscious enough to communicate your needs, you won't be paralysed with conscious sedation (unlike with general anaesthesia). You won't feel pain during the procedure because of the numbing. It's true though that you may not remember much of the procedure due to the effect of IV sedation on memory.

I'm sorry I can't really comment on the money issue, does the OS offer free consultations/quotes? I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that the fees will be within your budget and that you will be out of pain soon :grouphug:
 
Re: I need to see an oral surgeon, but I can't find the courage to get the consultation

Thank you so much, that puts me a lot more at ease. I read this, then I went right to the phone to make the appointment. They're closed! It was 3:23 pm. I'll have to call on monday. Will this clindamycin help keep the infection from flaring up and causing pain? I just have to go 48 hours, today it didn't seem to act up at all, but I've been taking those pills when I'm supposed to.

My dentist wasn't bad about it at all, he was very patient with me, very calm and nice. He explained everything that needed to be done but seemed to want to indicate that I should not just ignore this and blow it off because if untreated it could kill someone. I'm glad to see it's rare enough that it would make newspaper headlines.

Why does this have to happen during tax time? I have to pay :(
 
Re: I need to see an oral surgeon, but I can't find the courage to get the consultation

Hi, Falken,
I just wanted to chime in about the cost of IV sedation. It is EXPENSIVE...............something like $500 per hour.
When I had my 9 extractions done in 2008, my total bill was close to $3,000, I think it was about $2,000 for the sedation costs and $1,000 for the dentist charges. My insurance covered the dentist's charges, but would not cover the sedation. The sedation clinic (or company, whatever you call them) wanted their money BEFORE the day of my procedures.
I applied for and received Care Credit and put the sedation charges on that. Care Credit is a credit card that will give you credit but charge NO interest as long as you pay off the balance in 6, 12, or 18 months. The length of time they give you usually depends on the amount...............bigger amounts get the longer payment periods.
The catch is, you MUST pay the required mininum balance every month and you can't be LATE even once.......if you are.............then they charge you the interest. Kind of a "90 days same as cash" sort of thing.
You would also have to check and see if your dentist and/or sedationist take Care Credit. I found out right away, because I knew I was going to need help financing my IV sedation.
:hug4:'s.
 
Re: I need to see an oral surgeon, but I can't find the courage to get the consultation

Thank you for this information. It may seem crazy, but I am ok with that price, if it's about $3,000 I can cover it without any insurance, the tax man will have to take a much smaller payment and accept a payment plan, but they seem to be fine with it as long as you don't leave them in the dark and make arrangements. When it's done, I'll be broke but pain free.

So far the Clindamycin has been working a number on the infection. My ear was clogged at first, but it is now cleared up. My gums have all turned into a healthy looking pink color and all the pain is gone. More supprisingly, this constant fatigue I have had for several years (Possibly close to 10 years!), is subsiding.

This by no means is any indication that I will ignore my dentists suggestion. The antibiotic seems fine on me, but reading about it online seems like it's a very dangerous antibiotic that can cause serious diarrhea problems that can cost thousands of dollars to correct, and I have no medical insurance either so if this isn't done right, I could end up having to file bankrupcy by the end of the year.


I really wonder if anyone sells drugs or commits major crime to pay for their health care. The costs are so high, many people don't have enough to pay for it. And the dentist you went to wouldn't help you without paying up front.

Makes the old saying "Crime doesn't pay" seem to be obsolete in this day and age.

The procedure will not get done if you're broke. If you went in with drug money cash, you're teeth would be fixed no problem.
 
Re: I need to see an oral surgeon, but I can't find the courage to get the consultation

Hi,
I have to clarify what I said in my last post. Only the company doing the sedation wanted their money upfront, and that's where Care Credit came in. I gave the sedation company/clinic the credit card numbers and I was set to go.........................I had 18 months to pay it off without interest charges (which I did).
My dentist filed the insurance clain for me and waited to see how much the insurance was going to pay. I have a $50 dollar deductible, then they covered 80% of the $1,000 I owed the dentist............so I paid him $250 in 3 monthly installments. Of course, my insurance maxes out at $1500 per year, so I only had enough for my cleaning and to get a couple of fillings done for the rest of that year.
:grouphug:'s!!
 
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