IDK what’s going on...:/

[FearOfTheUnknown]

Ok so it’s not surprise that as a patient with fear, I obviously have bad teeth. I’m trying hard to be on top of that now that I’ve secured a dentist and a plan. I find the longer i go without seeing, the more the fear comes back. But anywho, my last visit I had a standard two back upper right teeth done. One needed a cap due to having been an older previously filled cavity. No big deal, cept it was. I chose a in office crown. I’ve done it before but for whatever reason this time while I was waiting, my novocaine wore off just enough so I felt it when he came to finish. Literally just needed to prep, set and check. But I felt the temps of the drill and no way was I going to let him slop the paste on and push. He tried once to numb it again, and I still felt it. So the next time he tried, he used a higher dose stuff(they said later). Thank God it worked and he finished and even though once it wore off I felt like I’d been socked by hulk, I delt and moved on. FF to a week or so down the road and I knew having to take ibprofin still was not normal. I believed it to be a SLIGHT misaligned bite, as my cheek was def sore. I went in to have it checked and he did the paper and all and said no, possibly a infection and it will take some time for “tissue damage”. This is when I knew he’d gouged something. And he gave me a antibiotic and sent me along. I trust him. But the more I pay attention the more i truly think it’s my bite. It’s been a few months now, and there’s been days I’ve still had to take ibprofin along with salt rinses. I feel like it’s gone from the side of my cheeks up to my both my lips as they are sensitive now and feel like a matte vs a slippery feeling(if that makes sense). I also noticed for quite some time, there was a small hole and it was purplish/blackish(and right in the middle of the inflammation). And idk if this is normal for multiple shots or if I got messed up bad. I am thinking of going back to check my bite again cuz it’s clearly made a dent now even if the paper won’t show it. And idk I was wondering if it could be anything else causing inflammation or if I could be allergic to the type of crown? I doubt it but I just know my mouth has changed drastically since. And when i Do salt rinses, it brings down the inflammation almost immediately(though I don’t do these religiously - should I? Does it even matter, if it’s gonna catch again?!). Though not entirely. Could I be catching it at night? It’s not something I notice when I eat or talk really. He’s done a lot of work on me and this is the second time something bad happened. I’m just so confused and it’s hurting my fear all over again. And it takes a lot to find a dentist and feel comfortable there. I’ve been going off and on for about 5 yrs now! Please give me some professional advice by what you think....thank you.

 

[Niall Neeson]

Hello, firstly I can re-assure you that it does not sound like your dentists had mistreated you and his action seems to be reasonable.

It’s pretty common to have to top up local anaesthetic (LA) for longer procedures. Sometimes it’s required, sometimes it’s not. It’s pretty common to have give more than one dose of LA to an area and it can unpredictable if/when this is required. In the areas that we administer the LA, there are lots of very small blood vessels so at times there will be a localised bleed similar to a bruise. These can look inflamed and can even be tender at times but will generally settle down absolutely fine.

The ongoing issues you have with the crown are a bit of a concern though as one would hope that things would have settled by now. If I were you I would get it checked out again at this stage. If you feel that there is definitely an issue with the bite then make that clear. You are the one who has been living with it day to day after all. It could be a number of thing, for example it may be something relatively simple like the bite in certain movements, it may be related to a clenching/grinding habits at night, it may be a crack or it may be a more infective process requiring further management.

I think it’s reasonable to follow it up again at this stage. It’s an unfortunate sequence of events but focus on the reasons why you trust this dentist and give him a chance to get things sorted for you.