Deep Cleaning and White fillings, Please help

[ILoveTangerines]

Hello Everyone,
Please help, I have not gone to the dentist in so long due to Financial reasons, but, just last year I was hired in a big company that offered benefits. (finally, I can have my teeth fixed) Oh, I bought Dental HMO from them. My question is:

Deep Cleaning and White fillings/Root Canal Treatment--

Deep Cleaning?
I went in this morning for a Deep Cleaning. I am still bleeding by the way, and I am still numbed! This is not a problem for me, Because I read somewhere that it is normal, right? But, the problem is......Isn't deep cleaning supposed to take like 1/2 hour per quad, or something?

Here what happened: Todays visit was at 11:00am, I got to the office at 10:55am. Waited in the waiting room for about 5-10 minutes. Waited for the doctor for about 5-10 min, as well. I was given some numbing gel(Preparation for a white feeling, upper left, more on this below) . I waited for 5 minutes for that, then the doctor came in a injected me with the shots. It stings, but I was okay. And she immediately went to work. I left the office at 12:00PM.

White fillings on the tooth that had Root canal treatment?
I don't know, if I make any sense to you helpful people but...Today, beside from the deep cleaning(I think, that's what she did), I also got a white filling.

This filling was done on my upper left side. It was the same tooth, that I had a RCT done on. Is it normal, or was I supposed to have a crown placed on it instead? The Dentist just said, I didn't need a crown for it, and that a filling was good enough. I don't know, why I didn't ask her the questioned then. But, Can someone insure me that is is okay, please. I am so scared to chew.

Here's my dilema, right now

All in all, I left the Dental office at 12:00PM. With some of you guys/gals experiences...........Don't you think, this is too fast? Some say that the Deep cleaning itself should take like 1 hour. WEll, mines didn't. This Wednesday, I have to go back for the right side of my mouth......I am wondering if I should just canceled my appointment, just because I feel as though the deep cleaning that was supposed to be done to me, was infact just a regular cleaning.

What to do.....what to do..........


Thank you for reading. Sorry if I complain too much.

 

[letsconnect]

Hi ILoveTangerines , of course you're not complaining too much, you are sensibly questioning what's going on!

There may well be a perfectly innocent explanation. For example, there isn't really a "fixed" schedule for deep cleaning - it really varies from person to person (see here: Deep Cleaning). And under certain circumstances, a root canaled tooth can be filled rather than crowned (for example, if it's not a teeth that's used for chewing, or if there's loads of tooth structure left, sometimes it won't need a crown).

On the other hand, HMO plans can have their problems.
With DHMO (capitation) plans, contracted dentists are paid a fixed amount (usually on a monthly basis) per enrolled family or individual. The dentists in turn provide some types of treatment to the patient at no charge, while for other treatments, a co-payment is required. Disadvantages of DHMO plans are:

• you can't freely choose your dentist.
• it may encourage undertreatment (ignoring problems), because the dentist gets paid regardless, and it doesn't make financial sense to perform (or put much effort into) treatments that are covered
• treatments which require co-payment may be encouraged even though they are not indicated (e. g. crowns), because that's where the money is

Don't take this to mean that "all HMO dentists are bad" - all I'm saying is that the system may encourage some dentists to take shortcuts in order to cut their losses.

Either of the two scenarios above (the treatment was appropriate vs. the office was taking short-cuts) could be true. It would be really hard to second-guess over the internet... maybe a dentist might chip in though !

 

[ILoveTangerines]

Thank you letsConnect. I feel better some what, but I want to tell you and others here a little bit more about this morning visit.

The filling that was done, was on a chewing tooth(Top left molar, same tooth that had a tooth canal treatment done last Wednesday).

My bottom molars #1 and #2 are all gone(Both side of the mouth). I only have the #3 molar(wisdom tooth left for chewing, this is on both side of my mouth). But, soon I will have to extract those broken #1 and #2 molars in preparation for a bridge or something. I am so so embarrassed, My breath is horrible. And I can't chew. I am a complete mess.


I am begining to believe you, letsconnect. That probably explains why, the deep cleaning was done in such a hurry. Because, this morning...I wasn't the only person waiting in the waiting room(There were 3 others).

What Suck is that I paid the darn co-payment.

$50 per quad. I had lower left and upper left done so that was $100.

The White filling was $120 co-payment. I believe this is wrong, but I paid her already..so, case closed right?

And I still can't chew. what to do, what to do.

Thank you for listening.

 

[Zzzdentist]

The length of time it takes for dental cleanings can certainly vary so there's really no set minimum time. I have run into a variety of hygienists with some not doing very much probably due to inexperience to some being overly aggressive.

Does the root canaled tooth have a tooth opposing it? Sometimes if there's a missing molar, there might not be an immediate need for a crown after a root canal since there would be minimal stresses placed on the tooth.

 

[ILoveTangerines]

Yes, zzzDentist.

When I bit down, it hits the bottom tooth, which happens to be the only molar that is left on my bottom left. All my upper teeth are not missing. Just the 4 bottom molars.

I still do not understand why it hurts when I bite down on it, was it because of the white filling? Silver filling is stronger, right? Gosh darn it, does that mean, they have to take the filling out. That means, I have to pay more for the silver filling.

There is no one to blame for this, except myself. I have finally overcomed my fear of going to the dentist.(financial reasons and embarrassment) Now, it seemed my teeth is not working.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Zzzdentist]

Sometimes root canaled teeth can be sensitive for some time until the areas around the root heal up. It can take quite some time, and even still there can still be some sensitivity.

One other reason to not crown a molar right after a root canal is to see how well it heals up. If any problems persist, it's better to go back in through the filling rather than a crown. Another reason is if there's a bridge planned for the future that incorporates the root canaled molar. You don't want to crown a single molar if you want to use it for a bridge abutment in the near future since it would need to be cut off.

Your dentist might feel that the pressure is not that much on the tooth. You might just want to be careful eating in the area until something more solid is placed.

 

[ILoveTangerines]

I see. Thank you.

Too late. This morning I was so frustrated that I haven't eaten anything solid since 12-12, that I chewed until I can bare no more.


Overall. I really appreciate you taking the time from your busy schedule to help all of us. You sure have helped eased my worries. So thank you, Doc.

Tomorrow, I have an appointment to get the other side of my mouth deep cleaned, and possibly discuss with them all my other treatments(bridges, crowns, extractions, and etc...) Tell then. Happy Holidays Doc.

 

[scaredstiff]

Just a quick hello and to wish you all the best with your appointment tomorrow. I do hope you will voice any of your fears etc to our dentist before he starts any more cleaning just to set your mind at rest and make you relax a bit more. I am sure however, everything will go fine this time and you will feel so much better during and afterwards.