Hurt by dentist - Need 2 root canals - TERRIFIED!

[okiemomto5]

I want to share with you my dental dilemma in hope that someone here can possibly help me. A sweet friend of mine works for a dentist here intown. She talked me into seeing her. I went on Wednesday afternoon. The dentist said that I have an abscess and need 2 root canals in adjoining teeth on my left side. She stated that she doesn't do root canals but the endodontist next door does. I left her office and went next door to see if they could fit me in and they were closed. I finally was able to make an appt for June 8th. After being in pain all night Friday night and not being able to see the endo for several weeks, hubby suggested I go to dental depot because it's in network and they are open on Saturdays. We have used them in the past at 1-35 and also in South OKC and did ok. I agreed reluctantly because I just have to concentrate on something else other than my mouth hurting. I saw Dr. Ryan Boles. I got in, took the gas and the hygienist numbed me up with shots. They hurt pretty much but I handled it without any problems. You could not ask for a more compassionate assistant or hygienist who administered injections. Then he came in and started drilling and hit a nerve and I raised my left hand. He shot more shots and he left for over an hour with me on gas. The assistant finally turned it to oxygen. Then he came back started drilling and he hit a nerve and at the same time that I raised my left hand I jerked a tiny bit out of reflex. It actually startled me that I did that. My face was just soaked from tears from hitting the nerve. He was livid and rude. He yelled "don't don't ever do that or I won't treat you. I mean it don't ever do that again. You could give me a disease that you have. He then said that "pain is part of medical treatment and that I needed to accept pain. If you want I'll just stop right now! You need sedation!" I said yes please.To be honest I was hurting so badly and it happened so quickly that I was startled it happened and that this guy was having a tirade. I found out later from the office manager that he was giving me an interpulpal injection that causes a startle reaction. I had no idea since he didn't explain anything. He said the root canal might not even save the tooth anyway! He stomped out. The nurse hugged me and said "I am so sorry. It wasn't your fault. It was a reflex from the nerve. You didn't do anything wrong. That tooth is just HOT from the infection" By this time I am sobbing. She had to get him to come back and put in a temp filling in. Then she insisted he give me an antibodic and something for pain. I said I was fine with what the other dentist had given me on Wed. (Tylenol 3) He told me I needed to take lortab 5. I said I am allergic to it, I just want to go. He said I still needed to take lortab and with phenagram.( I did not fill that script. ) The asst kept saying it wasnt my fault and that the tooth was "so hot" You would think that for several thousand dollars he could have some bedside manner. I feel like a freak show. I have had tons of dental work done (fillings and wisdom teeth extractions) throughout my adult life and never felt drilling. This wasn't pressure. It was shooting, sharp, excruciating pain. I know the difference now. I felt like someone being operated on with no anesthesia. It doesn't take anyone long to research that the cause of the pain was the infection surrounding my tooth that rendered it unable to numb. Another thing that was very disturbing is that when I walked out to my car and my face was numb from my chin to my nostrils and I pushed on the gum where the infection was puffy over the tooth and I could feel the toothache when I pushed. That tooth was no where near dead.

It doesn't end there. Hubby was eating breakfast next door waiting on me and I called him to meet me at the car. He went back in and talked to them (Dentist was in hiding) and when he said that the dentist had said that I might give him a disease. The asst. Managers response was......"Well does she?" For the record, no I do not! But that brings me to another point. If they take federal funds of any kind, they are not to discriminate. What if I did have a disease/disability? What about patients that do! Do they have to tolerate painful procedures?

Yet this dentist wanted to blame me! The bad experience I had prior was nothing to this. I have never in my life been treated so rudely by a licensed professional. There is no way I can get a root canal now. I don't even think I can get it pulled. I just don't know what I am going to do. It hurts so bad at times I can't think. I have fear but I usually can handle procedures. It's just fear of going to the dentist. My own Dr. has told me in the past that I have a high threshold for pain and should be mindful of that and not to put off getting things that result in pain to be checked out.

I think that I am most disturbed that we have had him work on my disabled son, and didn't listen to the valid concerns he had about this rough, incompetent dentist. That is what is keeping me up tonight. I pray that he gets the same compassionate service (NOT!) in his mouth or anywhere else in his body someday.

I have nothing against young professionals, but this guy is super young and I think immature and just a plain rude person! I plan to do everything I can to make sure that someone else (primarily children) never has to experience the wrath of his adolescent tirade and painful, inhumane treatment of patients. His comments were insensitive, inappropriate and incorrect.

I promise I am a not a nut. I'm not. My experience that led to fear in the past was just a rough hygentist making rude comments. Nothing like this at all. I don't think I can ever tolerate that drill again or even the sound of it. I am afraid to be sedated afraid that I will not be able to respond if this happens again. My trust is zero now. I want to file a complaint but I am not sure if I should. Please give me some ideas of what I can do.


UPDATE: I now have an appt. with another endo on Tuesday to do 2 root canals and evaluate a third. Hubby wants them to do all 3. I have been reduced to child like fears and have been having anxiety and panic attacks all day and I still have 3 days. The endo wants to to come 1 hour early and is going to give me Halcion and nitrous. I am scared to DEATH! I am scared that I won't be able to respond and that he will hurt me. My hubby thinks I have lost my mind and become OCD. Please help!

 

[brit]

okiemomto5
I am so sorry to hear of your awful experience. It shouldn't be like that. Just because a tooth is infected doesn't mean it can't be got numb, just that it is more difficult sometimes; and intrapulpal is not the only method. It is also common to get a patient to take antibiotics first and try again another day. They are not usually expected to just 'put up' with the pain.

Anyways regardless of the techniques used (local anaesthetic doesn't have to hurt either btw) he was completely rude unprofessional and out of order and you must make sure he never sees your son ever again (avoid all dental chains in USA - they are universally bad news from what we can gather on here).
The first dentist you saw was also pretty remiss since she washed her hands of you instead of stressing to next door endo that your case was urgent and she should also have put you on immediate antibiotics to clear any infection.

I'm sure the endo will be a much better experience - tell them what happened and how afraid you are and hopefully they will be able to reassure you that they can help without causing you pain. Endos are much more likely to be good with advanced local anaesthetic techniques (there are several which can be used before intrapulpal is resorted to) sometimes needed to numb 'hot infected teeth'.
There's info here about what a competent root canal should be like:

My root canal experience

Do you want to find out what root canal treatment really feels like? Get a blow-by-blow account (and no, it's not scary)!

www.dentalfearcentral.org

Trust me when I say from experience that you don't need sedation to get a pain-free root canal and your young so-called dentist is going to find himself very short of patients if he uses that line about 'pain being part of medical treatment' too often...if he really thinks that he is in the wrong job. He is gloved up to protect himself from bloodborne disease, sounds like a complete jerk, if I know that he should know that...how is a patient moving an issue anyway... only person likely to get hurt from moving is you tbh.

You seem to have more than your fair share of dentist jerks in USA, think it might be because they are so money=-motivated in the first place rather than patient-care centred.

Find yourself a dentist/endodontist who actually cares about their reputation in the local community as a kind and caring practitioner, not someone working for a chain. Don't leave your kids alone with Medicaid dentists in future (see the dentistthemenace website for more harrowing info if you need it to convince yourself).

Best wishes if the endo has a good reputation then I think you will get a much better experience.

 

[norwegianchick]

You can have a RCT and you are NOT a nut!

Anesthetizing an inflamed tooth, wether it's from irritation of the nerve or infection requires good technique, but it can certainly be done. It also requires the attitude from the dentist that it's NOT OK that the patient is in pain.

I've had dentists completely fail to numb up my inflamed teeth, but my endodontist was always successful.

If you are worried, I think you should call up the endodontist and ask if they'll have any trouble anesthetizing your painful teeth, it should be routine for them, and they should be able to put you at ease.

Seriously, my root canals were less uncomfortable than my fillings, so it should be nothing to be afraid of.

 

[okiemomto5]

My dreaded appt. for my 2 root canals on teeth 12 and 13 and possibly 5, is tomorrow at 2. I have to be there at 1 for them to sedate me on Halcion. (I guess it's like Valium-never ever taken anything like that before) I am normally ok and easy going but my recent toothache has forced me to deal with a severe dental phobia that I have kept in the closet. Now my teeth are falling apart and I am too. I have been having moderate panic attacks every hour for the past 3 days. I have never had these before! After the bad experience last week, I don't know if I can sit in "the chair" on Tuesday. I don't think I can tolerate the sound of the drill either. Yep, fun-loving me is a nut case now! Crazy after all that I have been through in life and I stay strong and well adjusted, and a little twirp of a young dentist has now pushed me over the edge. I honestly don't know what I am going to do to move past this terrorizing fear that is immobilizing me. I am a 45-year-old mother of 5 with a professional career and I am panic-stricken.

I have tried to prioritize my fears and it's this:
The Chair
The Tools - THE DRILL!
The Injections
Afraid my tooth won't numb
Afraid that I'll have to have another intrapulpal attempted (Been an Amox and a zpack for a week)
(Honestly, don't feel that I can survive that)
Afraid the new endo will yell at me like the idiot dentist did last week over the interpulpal injection)
Afraid to be sedated with the Halcion
(afraid I will be alert and will know I am being terrorized, yet the Halcion will wipe away memory)
Generally concerned about the length of time in the chair.

Please help me. My husband is so wonderfully supportive yet thinks I have lost my mind. (He will be with me through the whole procedure) With my new patient info, I sent the dr. a brief letter telling him that I am terrified and to please be patient. Will he even read it. I feel like pinning a note to my shirt that says please don't hurt me, please don't yell at me.

How do I get myself in the office and sit in that chair? That is what I am afraid of for starters. That and the halcion.

Please tell me how I will feel with the halcion. What am I going to know? How will I keep my mouth open? etc, etc. What if I get nauseated and throw up? Is that a side effect? How will I get to the car? How will hubby get me in house?


How do I deal with one of these panic attacks if it happens during the procedure?

Can I/should I take a soft blanket from home? Ipod?

Thank you for being supportive.

 

[comfortdentist]

Make sure that the dentist understands your concerns - this might be the most important step.

If a blanket and ipod helps then please bring it.

Halcion is not a problem with nausea.

And if you get really sleepy the dentist can use a bite block. In fact, for many patients, a bite block is more comfortable especially since you will have a rubber dam on to keep the tooth isolated.

 

[okiemomto5]

Oh and I forgot to mention that I am also having nitrous along with the Halcion.

 

[brit]

I really think you are going to be fine - try to calm down and focus on the fact that you are now in much better hands.

 

[Pianimo]

Hi okiemomto5.

First off, I just wanted to say that having anxiety about the dentist, after what you've been through, certainly does NOT make you crazy! Even someone without a pre-exisiting phobia would surely have been shaken up by the (indefensible) way that that dentist treated you. I honestly think you're doing amazingly well to be going to this appointment, in spite of your fear, and it shows how strong you are, even if you don't feel it right now.

Secondly, I'll have a go at answering some of your questions. Now, full disclosure - I've never taken Halcion, or used nitrous, only undergone IV sedation; but, to my understanding, that has essentially the same effects as oral sedatives, except it can be stronger. It's also best to bear in mind that each person's experience of sedation can vary. That said, I know I found it helpful before my first time to read of other people's experiences, so I can tell you what it was like for me:

Please tell me how I will feel with the halcion. What am I going to know? How will I keep my mouth open? etc, etc.

When I was sedated, my overriding sense was of feeling sleepy. I still had full control of my body, so I was able to hold my mouth open, and respond to my dentist when she needed me to open it a bit more etc. I also had no difficulty communicating, and was able to say or ask anything I needed to. There are large sections of each appointment I either can't remember at all, or only very vaguely - due to a combination of actually falling asleep, and the amnesia.

afraid I will be alert and will know I am being terrorized, yet the Halcion will wipe away memory

I think this is probably the most common fear about sedation - something bad happening but being unable to do anything, then not knowing afterwards - it was the major one for me too. I think there are two answers for this: firstly, as brit says, you're in better hands now - hands that hopefully you can trust not to 'terrorise' you. Plus, your husband will be there the whole time - if anything at all were to happen (not that I expect it to), he will be there to stop it, and his memory will be fine! Secondly, as I said, sedation is not designed to incapcitate you, just to make you very relaxed. In one of my appointments, I started to feel a bit of pain, so I told my dentist, who promptly made it stop. If she hadn't, I could've protested. Even under sedation, you are still in control. The only times I wasn't, was when I was asleep, but I was only able to sleep because the work going on was painless - I couldn't have slept through any 'terrorising'!

How will I get to the car? How will hubby get me in house?

Again, I can't speak to Halcion specifically, but this shouldn't be a problem. The dose they give you will be aimed to last during the appointment, then wear off afterwards (and I think the effect of the nitrous stops pretty musch as soon as you stop breathing it). At the end of my appointments, I still felt a bit woozy, wobbly on my legs, dizzy if I stood up too quickly etc. But it only took 5 minutes or so (and they should allow for this recovery time as part of you appointment) for me to be ok to stand up and walk out. I did lean on my escort, to be on the safe saide, but I reckon I could've walked unaided if I'd tried, and certainly by the time I got home (25 minute journey) I could walk completely normally. You certainly shouldn't need carrying or anything - you may still feel the effects of the drug, and feel sleepy or a bit 'out of it', but physically you should be ok.

How do I deal with one of these panic attacks if it happens during the procedure?

Hopefully that won't be possible - if the sedation works effectively I doubt it could happen. When I first went in the room for my first sedation appointment, I didn't have a full on panic-attack, but I was crying and physically couldn't stop shaking. If you're struggling when you arrive, hopefully they will be understanding and help you (as my dentist/team were with me...didn't stop the panic, but helped me to cope with it), and remember you'll have your hubby with you, all the time. Once the sedation had kicked in, I felt really sort of laid back and at ease. It's a bit like when you're really tired, and starting to fall asleep, and someone tries to talk to you, but you just can't bring yourself to listen/reply - I knew things were happening that should be bothering me (not bad things, but normal dentist-y things that would normally be a problem for me), but I just couldn't bring myself to mind them! Even when something happened that did bother even the sedated me, it was as if my reaction was 'muted', so although I could recognise the anxious feeling (I know it well!), it was really mild...kind of 'diluted', if that makes sense?

Can I/should I take a soft blanket from home? Ipod?

As comfortdentist says, definitely bring these - and/or anything else you think could help you.

Generally concerned about the length of time in the chair.

I know this isn't strictly a question, but I wanted to speak to this - my only negative experience from a sedation appointment was partially due to being in the chair for too long. In my case, this was about 2 hours, and towards the I felt exhausted, the sedation was wearing off, and i'd had enough, basically! You don't mention a time, and I'm sure the dosage of Halcion you're given will be set to last the planned time (my problem was that my appointment took longer than intended), but long appointments can be wearing for anyone, phobia or otherwise. It may work for you to get all the work over and done with, in which case that's great, but if you do feel you'd prefer to leave something until a future time - whether you decide before your appointment, or during - you should say so. It's your treatment, so really is up to you.

With my new patient info, I sent the dr. a brief letter telling him that I am terrified and to please be patient. Will he even read it. I feel like pinning a note to my shirt that says please don't hurt me, please don't yell at me.

Well, if you patented that shirt design, I'm sure there'd be plenty of other takers! I hope he has read the note, but just in case, it's probably worth writing something to take with you tomorrow too. You could also write down - either to give to him, or remind yourself to say (my mind always goes blank I walk through the door!) - any questions you have, like the ones you've asked on here, so that he can answer some of your worries before you start.

Oh dear, I'm very sorry for such a dreadfully long-winded reply...unfortunately I have an absolute inability to say anything succinctly! But, I hope at least some of it was helpful! And, eitherway, I really hope it goes well for you tomorrow.

 

[okiemomto5]

I wrote the other day about being terrified of having my root canals done. I had it done 2 days ago by a competent, caring and kind endodontist. I will write more about my experience later today.

This endodontist is in a group of 5 solo practitioners. He bought his practice about 3 years ago. Here is my question. Is it wrong for me to ask him if he would consider doing the rest of my dental work ( deep fillings, core and crowns and replace veneers in front after clearing some decay under)? He isn't completely full because he believes people are hurting when they call and need to be seen within a few days. The economy here is slow still. I really liked him and felt that I could trust him. He also didn't seem to have a problem working with a terrified and Halcion sedated me either.

Do you think he would be offended? If I do ask, give me some pointers. (I am thinking knees on floor begging

Thanks for your wonderful support!

Terrified Dental Phobic me had my first work in decades done - 2 root canals, 2 days ago by a competent, caring and kind endodontist.

 

[norwegianchick]

I don't think he'd be offended, but maybe it's a better idea to ask him if he knows a good general practitioner he can refer you to.

I'll give my friendly endodontist credit for TRYING to pull out my tooth, but it wasn't really her field of expertise, so I was off to the oral surgeon's office pretty fast . They are good at root canals, but they don't do the other stuff often, so it's probably better to see a general practitioner for that.

 

[Justdoit454]

Dear Okiemomto5,

I hope your appointment on Tuesday went well! How was the Halcion? My dentist Rx'd Xanax and that + an iPod was enough coverage for my recent root canal experience. (No nitrous.) Despite my tearful anxiety and fear, it was painless and the endodontist was kind and gentle. I hope your experience was just as positive.

Best wishes!

 

[drhirst]

Hi,
Well done on having the strength to face your fears and get that work done.
I am pleased to hear that you found such a caring and competent dentist. I am sure he would not be offended by you asking him to do the rest of the treatment. Indeed, he will probably be flattered.
I am not sure how things work in the USA but there may be two potential reasons why he may not be able to do it:
1) Local regulations may require him to restrict his practice to endodontics. I think it may work this way in some states but as I say, I don’t know for sure.
2) He may not want to do it because other dentists may stop referring root canals to him if they think they will lose the patient to him completely.
No harm in asking, and even if he cannot do it, he may know of another dentist who is as good as he is.
Good luck
Lincoln

 

[brit]

Maybe he can refer you to one of the other dentists at his practice? He must know which of them is most like him in helping nervous patients. Congratulations on coping so well.

 

[comfortdentist]

Don't ask as the endodontist hasn't done that in years!
Ask for a referral to someone who is best for you instead.