I had no problems with going to the dentist... Until yesterday. Never want to go again now.

[LukeM]

I had no problems with going to the dentist... Until yesterday. Never want to go again now.

I've got a long history of dental problems, let's just make that clear now. I've had weak enamel, I've had teeth pushed and pulled in every manner imagineable. I've had fillings, seals, extractions galore... And I never thought that I would actually get any problems with my wisdom teeth.

How wrong I was.

I haven't lived in Brisbane (Australia) for all that long. My first trip to a dentist here (without private cover) cost me $235 for a scale, polish, checkup, fluoride treatment and 2 small x-rays (only to later find out when the dentist mentioned that I really needed to do something about the wisdom tooth that I would get one bulk-billed for them to have a closer look at the wisdom tooth anyway).

So I got that xray done duly, and I took it back and showed my dentist who then did up the referral forms and I gave the maxillofacial surgeons a call and arranged a consultation (which was 3 months down the track from date of booking, because that was the earliest they had).

We discussed all the options in the consultation. Not a problem. The surgeon seemed like a nice enough guy, we were able to openly talk about everything... all pretty relaxed etc. After much debate and seeing the prices (in excess of $4000 for having all 4 teeth removed in hospital under general anaesthesia)

Eventually I settled for having just the one troublesome wisdom tooth (that had erupted, but grown sideways at a 90 degree angle and pushing into the side of the molar next to it) at $475 and had to pay $50 for the necessary drugs.

Loaded on 10mg of valium and 2 Amoxil I stumbled my way into the surgery, barely able to walk. I was well aware of the intentions of taking valium: it's supposed to act as a sedative, make you calm and a bit sleepy. All it did for me, was make me feel very drunk and I could barely walk. I had 3 teeth removed under general anaesthetic aged about 10 and the other major one I had was a canine tooth removed in the chair. I didn't like the general anaesthetic... obviously.

The canine wasn't so bad. 2 injections, bit of pulling, and it was all over and I was back to normal the next day pretty much (minus a little bleeding).

I was still in panic mode when I got into the surgery. A lot worse than I thought I would've been. They gave me some surgical grade mouth wash, advised me to not swallow it. Fine I thought (but still starting to get un-nerved). They smothered my lips in vaseline and then gave me a cotton bud with topical anaesthetic around what would be the site of the injection. That tasted pretty bad. I think at that point I was really thinking "What have I let myself in for??"

The injections... I've had them before. Let me be honest, I've not many problems with needles but generally speaking I'm an odd case who would rather have an injection in the gum than in my arm (maybe because it's easier to see what they're doing and harder to tense up your gums!) but these were rough. The surgeon I thought was very, very rough and unsteady. I mean come on, I'm a guy, I'm supposed to be able to handle these things right?? After 2 I was like... ughhh finally and then he told me there was 2 more

Then they give you that long wait between numbing up and doing anything

That was the point where I was just laying there helplessly thinking "Why..." I think I was also trying hard not to break down at this point, not knowing how it can possibly get any worse than that.

The incisions into the gum, I didn't feel at all. I started to think "maybe that was the worst of it?" and I vividly remember the part where they cut the tooth up. It was just like having it drilled out for a big filling. Cool with me again, even though it did start to get quite uncomfortable near the end.

And then it got worse again!! They separated the parts of the tooth out... that was so so so uncomfortable, and then pulling the pieces out as well.

I got the usual 3 stitches, they stuck some gauze and such in there and dazed and confused with the instruction sheets in hand I get up and have to go pay up my $475 and leave very much disgruntled and upset.

I thought I could handle it. If I'd had any apprehensions, I would've done it differently. I think the first thing I said to those waiting for me on the other end was "I should've gone to hospital"

And damn I wish I had.



After that... I'm never going back to the dentists again. Not even for a checkup... just in case they find something else wrong! I just can't bare to think about yesterday any longer.

That and the fact that the painkillers are making me feel rather ill. I can barely eat. My face has swollen up on one side pretty bad and I'm feeling kinda feverish. I've got a doctor's certificate for the remainder of the week and a 3 day extension on my assignment @ Uni because every time I try to concentrate on that I dribble all over the pages. My bedsheets need changing, I've just remembered.

So my advice - if you think you can handle it, you might not necessarily be able to, just go get knocked out!! I wish I had now.

 

[brit]

Re: I had no problems with going to the dentist... Until yesterday. Never want to go again now.

Sorry you had such a bad time - I think a lot of people would share your view that for some wisdom teeth, ignorance is bliss whether this be i/v sedation or even GA. You did get some oral sedation it sounds like but this is much more hit and miss.
I'm sure people will be happy to lend support to help you through this trauma and for that reason I've moved it to the support section.

Of course the answer is not to avoid the dentist but to find yourself a dentist you like and trust whom you can trust to do painfree treatment without sedation. If you did do this and they recommended getting other wisdom teeth removed there would be no rush to go along with this unless they were causing you pain. Some dentists want to remove wisdom teeth 'just in case' rather than because it really is a good idea. Big variation between UK and USA on this.

Remember that you previously had no real issues with modern dentistry, you just met a bad apple I'm afraid, it happens sometimes. It happened to me when I was 10/11, couldn't be happier with my current dentist though. You can't let one b****** put you off forever and it sounds like your reaction is entirely normal to a traumatic experience. Protect yourself from this in future by being really careful who you get your care from, dentists really are not all the same.

 

[LukeM]

Re: I had no problems with going to the dentist... Until yesterday. Never want to go again now.

Thanks.

A little bit of additional info: I used to live in the UK, and moved to Australia in 2010. I had no private insurance when I got here and I had to pay a princely sum of $235 for my first checkup. This encompassed a clean, checking all the teeth as normal, fluoride treatment, scale + polish and 2 small xrays. I didn't particularly like the Dentist. I just picked them because they were the nearest dentist to where I was living and the tooth was giving me a little grief at the time so I wanted to get them to have a little look at it. I knew what they would say about it so I just kinda took that and ran with it. They gave me a referral to an oral surgeon... whom I had the consultation with and eventually decided to go for it how I did, thinking I could handle it.

It wasn't the surgeon who ran the consultation who actually extracted it. I mean, the guy was nice enough, can't fault him as a person but as a dentist... my God. How rough can you get??

Extraction cost - $475
Drug cost - $47

Crazy times. I also found out after getting a second opinion from another dentist following the consultation with the maxillofacial surgeon that the dentist I was going to who gave me the referral was under review because of malpractice and some of the dentists who worked there were potentially in serious shit... so guess where I'm not going back to then!! LOL

 

[brit]

Re: I had no problems with going to the dentist... Until yesterday. Never want to go again now.

The fees you quoted are normal for private dentistry and not really excessive (build it into your budget - dental insurance tends to be a waste of time since it only covers so much usually, you pay whether you need anything or not and it may tie you to certain undesirable dentists); and look what you got for that, in UK NHS you'd get a quick hello - goodbye for 15 pounds,(usually no clean no x-rays) which is cheap but not comparable really at all. What you should also have got is some 'chairside manner' - as you said this was lacking as you didn't like him - sounds like apart from the surgeon bit, you had a lucky escape though.
Choose your dentist based on reputation in community, pleasant premises/atmosphere and reasonable but not cheap pricing. You could post on one of the Expat websites asking for recommendations for your area...could save you a lot of grief.
Websites can also give a good impression of their philosophy and who runs the place and how relaxing the premises are. It is usually best to see the practice owner - i.e. organ grinder not the monkey.