my dentist but new practice

[letsconnect]

It must be terribly difficult to have any sort of private conversation (and I'd consider medical/dental needs private) in a cubicle situation . It must make it a lot harder to communicate with your dentist openly?

 

[freakout]

Yes it does. Now you know my delemma. I guess I am always afraid to say too much. Actually today when he was taking the crown off I wanted to make a noise, but I didn't want to scare other patients

 

[brit]

Hi Freakout
You've just 'freaked me out' with the thought of that - stifling cries, so as not to scare others.
I'm sure the designers of these 'open plan' dental offices would argue that it's not an issue because the procedure shouldn't be painful...but Lets is so right, what about privacy?
All 4 UK practices I have ever gone to, have had good privacy...in Holland the awful first one, had the Admin Assistant sitting in the surgery as well as the dentist and the nurse...you feel like you're addressing an audience or something  ...

The one my Children now go to has impeccable privacy  , and the new one my husband and I now go to in Holland, is somewhere inbetween in that there is a communicating door between the two treatment rooms and sound could come through; but probably not usually an issue as it's one dentist and one hygienist and seems to have a tranquil feel to it.

I suppose if a child got very upset, they could turn the music up!  I think hearing this would only upset me as the patient next door if I could not hear adequate reassurance being given...no I'll be honest, it would upset me, especially if it were an adult..so I'm sure the patient next door is very grateful to you for keeping quiet!

Are crowns really so uncomfortable?, that's the one thing I've never had....

I can see why it makes it hard for you to communicate in that open plan situation - is it always the norm in the US or just the current trend?

One Dutch practice I considered trying from the internet, turned out to have a window to the treatment room that people walking past on the street could easily look in through ...so that idea also did not appeal!
Best wishes
Brit

 

[harper]

thats part of the reason ive been worrying about going back next week. when i got very upset last time the whole place must have heard me and when i came out i was booking my next app in tears did you have a rct on that tooth or just a crown? mine never hurt but then i had the rct first under sedation.

 

[freakout]

Hi Brit...In the US it varies, some offices have rooms, while others have cubicles. Worse that that is the orthodontists offices, they have 8-10 chairs in a row. No Privacy!. I remember when I had braces, the orthodontist berated a patient in front of everyone for not brushing properly. Telling her how she would have marks on her teeth forever!

It's not the crown that caused a problem, however, he just did a localized numbing rather than a block. So I did feel discomfort upon removing the temporary crown.
By the time I was going to let him know, the crown was off.

 

[kitkat]

Hi Brit...In the US it varies, some offices have rooms, while others have cubicles.  Worse that that is the orthodontists offices, they have 8-10 chairs in a row.  No Privacy!.  I remember when I had braces, the orthodontist berated a patient in front of everyone for not brushing properly.  Telling her how she would have marks on her teeth forever!

I'm from the US too and I can totally relate to what Freakout is talking about.  My childhood dentist had that 8-10 chairs all in a row set up in one huge room with no cubicles or anything as well.  Quite odd if you think about it...as a matter of fact I remember once needing sealants and I wasn't about to let them near me to do it and they actually allowed me to watch someone else get it done on a few teeth first to ease my mind.  They did have a separate room for xrays off to the side and like two backrooms for the actual procedures like fillings and extractons and whatnot. But in my opinion those separate procedure rooms were not a real good Idea because then naturally those backrooms weren't associated with anything good... so if you were being led back there you knew they were going to really be doing something to you that is much bigger then a cleaning and as a child that can induce quite a bit of fear. It was a pediatric dentist by the way, that office seemed to scare me more though then when I was switched over to the general offices for all ages.

The one I have now has separate rooms but the walls are so thin that it doesn't really do much and that does worry me a tad as to how much others can hear. I don't worry so much about what I say as I'm pretty quiet but the dentist isn't, and she can be quite loud in her reassurances which would let in to my fear to others and she is trying to be nice so I can't really "sshhh" her lol.

I hope you are doing a bit better freakout! Good luck on your next appt.

 

[brit]

I'm from the US too and I can totally relate to what Freakout is talking about.  My childhood dentist had that 8-10 chairs all in a row set up in one huge room with no cubicles or anything as well.  Quite odd if you think about it...as a matter of fact I remember once needing sealants and I wasn't about to let them near me to do it and they actually allowed me to watch someone else get it done on a few teeth first to ease my mind.  They did have a separate room for xrays off to the side and like two backrooms for the actual procedures like fillings and extractons and whatnot. But in my opinion those separate procedure rooms were not a real good Idea because then naturally those backrooms weren't associated with anything good... so if you were being led back there you knew they were going to really be doing something to you that is much bigger then a cleaning and as a child that can induce quite a bit of fear. It was a pediatric dentist by the way, that office seemed to scare me more though then when I was switched over to the general offices for all ages.

The one I have now has separate rooms but the walls are so thin that it doesn't really do much and that does worry me a tad as to how much others can hear. I don't worry so much about what I say as I'm pretty quiet but the dentist isn't, and she can be quite loud in her reassurances which would let in to my fear to others and she is trying to be nice so I can't really "sshhh" her lol.

As you say KitKat the 8-10 chairs in a row thing is unbelievably odd - can't understand why American parents put up with this - where does this idea come from that you can treat so many patients at once?

Are parents not allowed in then; and you're supposed to take comfort from all your 'mates lined up alongside you'?

I could just about understand siblings (behaviour modelling) sharing an appointment - this happens in Europe but there's only one chair and they probably wouldn't do anything distressing in front of the other child.

My mum tells me that as a toddler I used to play on the floor 'under a dental chair' (early 1960's) and she says it was a terrible strain for her in the days of 'fillings with no anesthesia' as she had to behave as if she were having a wonderful time for my benefit; when quite clearly she was not!!!  

 

[harper]

hi all
well it would seem my troubles arent over yet this morning i ate something and heard a crunch from the tooth thats been hurting but no sighns on the xrays . i cant see anything except the gap between it and the one next to it is bigger than it was it was crooked to start with but the gap is def bigger better get my courage up i was hoping to tell c it was ok but now i cant

 

[brit]

hi all
 well it would seem my troubles arent over yet  ..... better get my courage up i was hoping to tell c it was ok but now i cant  
 

Sorry Harper
We've rather hijacked your thread   with all this waiting room/privacy stuff...good to find out some things (privacy) are heaps better in the UK.......but I think the reason we have been sidetracked is because your next appointment is so far off; or maybe I should say was so far off.....sounds like you need to get him to have another look sooner...hope it turns out ok for you....REMEMBER it's not your fault your tooth won't behave itself...maybe it'll be easier to work out what's really wrong now you've had this 'development'. Don't worry about others overhearing you being upset before - you said it was a 'quiet waiting room' but highly unlikely the same people will be there and for the staff, patients getting upset sometimes is probably 'par for the course' - you know who receptionist from hell   isn't important in the scheme of things as we've discussed before.   
Bon courage! Let us know how you get on.
Brit

 

[harper]

thanks brit
i dont mind hijack away
there was me worrying my app was 3 wks away and now its next wk and im just starting to fret about going i SO want everything to be ok was doing really well not thinking about what he said but ive just starting worrying again esp now this has happened . some lovely person said to me what do you expect if you dont go in 20yrs. bad bad mandy

 

[brit]

some lovely person said to me what do you expect if you dont go in 20yrs. bad bad mandy

No, bad mean dentist for scaring you to death in the first place.....the important thing is that it's being sorted out now. Count your blessings (as my Mum always says) - at least most of your teeth have proved to be saveable - not everyone posting on here is in that fortunate position. And it wasn't your fault the horse added to your problems.....people often say things and they don't come out right....she's probably still a lovely person really.

 

[freakout]

I totally agree with Brit. The same thing happened to me. After I had the accident that broke most of my top teeth, and the rest were in bad shape, my dad told people the reason I had to get a denture was because I didn't take care of my teeth!! Instead of the accident, which caused most of the damage. I still am offended that he has said that. Funny thing is...He has a top denture, from neglect, but the excuse he uses is that because of having six kids, he could afford to go until it was too late. It is partly true I'm sure, but I think that was an easy excuse, because he had really good insurance.

My point is that people sometimes say things, without thinking. You can let it upset you, but chances are somewhere along the line they have neglected something too. Maybe even the same thing that they are blaming you for.

My parents both live with me & many times they have said things like, "see if you had taken care of your teeth" I have let them know that is a sore subject, and they know now not to discuss it. After all they live in my house. lol

 

[freakout]

Oops I forgot one other thing. My parents thought by telling me I better go back to the dentist or I would lose the teeth I had left would help, somehow. I finally lost it I yelled at them, something I never do. I told them I knew that. But they really left the subject alone, and with the help of this site I was finally able to go back...shaking like a leaf, but I went back

 

[harper]

hi guys
i know what you mean and im working on the bit about what people say to me unfortunetly she did mean it but then i was upset at the time but not now shes a spoilt brat anyway iam lucky to still have them but i suppose because im very down at the moment i cant see it

 

[brit]

Harper
If she's a 'spoilt brat'  then it doesn't matter what she says or thinks - I misunderstood and thought you were saying a person 'you liked and trusted' had said that to you...but 'lovely person' was sarcasm....you can't always tell when it's written down. I think that's less of a problem then, apart from the fact that you have to interact with her???

You will get there   - having saveable teeth was lucky; the horse kicking 'a woman when she's down', was extremely unlucky....c'est la vie....I bet by August it will all look so much better....you can get a lot of dental appointments   in between now and then!

 

[harper]

hi brit
i kinda have to see her its where my horse is but i can try and ignore her too. dont blame the horse although i might send the owner the bill (only joking)
once i feel better in myself it will all look better feeling sorry for myself today

 

[brit]

Actually, that shouldn't necessarily be a joke....the owner could well have insurance for liability to third parties...why should you have no redress if someone else's horse kicked you - depends on the circumstances I suppose.

 

[letsconnect]

Actually, I was assuming that you'd be covered by your employer's insurance ? (this is to harper)... probably worth checking out if you haven't already done so - it might ease the financial strain a bit!

 

[harper]

difficult one that. the owner is well was my boss she brought him to break in i was helping her and he reared up and kicked me and squashed her when she came off. he went straight back to where he came from. so i think i might put it down to bad luck.although really someone should take responsability because its not just the problems im having with this tooth but i had to have an rct on one next to it which the bloody horse killed. can you claim for emotional stress if only i could laugh about it,maybe after nextweek?
lets,i was kinda thinking that cos yeah they do have insurance but at the moment i cant take anymore stress . at least c isnt expensive well not really luv mandy
ps my minds gone today i cant spell!

 

[freakout]

Hi Mandy...So sorry to hear you are having a difficult day. I know how you feel though it's not a great one for me either. Kind of sore today. Unsure what it is really, just the whole left side sore and achey. If I touch my face, it hurts Really didn't want to work today, but I had no option as I have employees off today, and the owner needs to be out this morning. Hopefully the day goes by fast