D
Davee
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2013
- Messages
- 138
I have been afraid of dentists since I had a bad experience as a kid. I had my two teeth damaged by a bully in school. I needed a root canal when I was 11. The oral surgeon did not like it when I cried in fear when he brought out a scapal. So he put his hands over my mouth and nose and told me "If you want to breathe you will be quiet and be a big girl". He did a horrible job (drunk?) and my whole mouth became infected as he had cut the gum on most of my front arch.
Years later my root canal failed and was redone. It failed again and I was told I had a large cyst that needed to be removed. I always loved to brush my teeth, but since I never had routine cleanings I had gum disease. No worries my new dentist said. A deep cleaning and you will be fine.
But I wasn't fine. He could never get my front flipper (partial) to fit due to my overbite. So he shaved down my bottom teeth. Next he told me he needed to have my lower teeth shortened and crowned to make room for the front teeth implants that were planned after my bone graft and healing.
I wanted to see an orthodontist as I thought it would be good to fix the bite and not grind down healthy teeth. "Very expensive" the dentist said. The orthodontist told me I would have room for the imlants and not need my teeth shortened even without braces. So I started not to trust my dentist.
A few days ago two of my old fillings broke due to my new habit of clenching my teeth. I never did this before but the pain from the ill fitting flipper and lack of trust of my dentist really wore on my nerves. I had such a bad feeling that the dentist would say I needed root canals (even though my x-rays showed no cavities) that I went to another dentist today. He filled my broken cavities with white ones. He was very nice.
He was also very thorough. He took complete x-rays and told me I still had active gum disease. Gum pockets of 4 and 5 around my molars. He showed me on the x-rays all the plaque that was not removed from last month's deep cleaning. He said it was "basic dentistry" to clean your teeth completely. In fact he felt so bad for me he had the hygenist do a deep cleaning on my bottom arch without charge. My other dentist charged me $500 for this.
So here I sit with new fillings and a sense of hope and dread. My insurance maxed out at 1K and it has cost me $4500 for the recent work. My new dentist said "I wish I had seen you before your front teeth were removed". I wish I had too.
I am going back to my new dentist in a week for a deep cleaning on my top arch next week. I may not be able to get braces due to my 1 to 2mm bone loss. Either way I have to wait until I get the gum disease under control. I am kind of crushed right now as I thought my gum disease was under control. The orthodontist measured my pockets at 2 to 3mm. But I know when I saw the x-rays that my new dentist was correct as he measured between my teeth. The orthodontist just measured front and back.
With all the bad stuff that seems to have occurred I worry that new fillings will have problems. I think I may be getting paranoid. But maybe I was not paranoid enough as I should have gotten a second opinion before I let the other dentist shave my teeth.
Anyways.....thanks for reading.
Years later my root canal failed and was redone. It failed again and I was told I had a large cyst that needed to be removed. I always loved to brush my teeth, but since I never had routine cleanings I had gum disease. No worries my new dentist said. A deep cleaning and you will be fine.
But I wasn't fine. He could never get my front flipper (partial) to fit due to my overbite. So he shaved down my bottom teeth. Next he told me he needed to have my lower teeth shortened and crowned to make room for the front teeth implants that were planned after my bone graft and healing.
I wanted to see an orthodontist as I thought it would be good to fix the bite and not grind down healthy teeth. "Very expensive" the dentist said. The orthodontist told me I would have room for the imlants and not need my teeth shortened even without braces. So I started not to trust my dentist.
A few days ago two of my old fillings broke due to my new habit of clenching my teeth. I never did this before but the pain from the ill fitting flipper and lack of trust of my dentist really wore on my nerves. I had such a bad feeling that the dentist would say I needed root canals (even though my x-rays showed no cavities) that I went to another dentist today. He filled my broken cavities with white ones. He was very nice.
He was also very thorough. He took complete x-rays and told me I still had active gum disease. Gum pockets of 4 and 5 around my molars. He showed me on the x-rays all the plaque that was not removed from last month's deep cleaning. He said it was "basic dentistry" to clean your teeth completely. In fact he felt so bad for me he had the hygenist do a deep cleaning on my bottom arch without charge. My other dentist charged me $500 for this.
So here I sit with new fillings and a sense of hope and dread. My insurance maxed out at 1K and it has cost me $4500 for the recent work. My new dentist said "I wish I had seen you before your front teeth were removed". I wish I had too.
I am going back to my new dentist in a week for a deep cleaning on my top arch next week. I may not be able to get braces due to my 1 to 2mm bone loss. Either way I have to wait until I get the gum disease under control. I am kind of crushed right now as I thought my gum disease was under control. The orthodontist measured my pockets at 2 to 3mm. But I know when I saw the x-rays that my new dentist was correct as he measured between my teeth. The orthodontist just measured front and back.
With all the bad stuff that seems to have occurred I worry that new fillings will have problems. I think I may be getting paranoid. But maybe I was not paranoid enough as I should have gotten a second opinion before I let the other dentist shave my teeth.
Anyways.....thanks for reading.
to the forum. 
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