P
popjaw
Junior member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2017
- Messages
- 4
- Location
- Vegas
Greetings, all. I'm a middle age guy in the States who has struggled with fear of dentists all my life. I don't want my first forum post to be too long a story, so I'll be as brief as I can.
So, I visited a dentist today for the first time in 9 years, for a basic consultation. She was great to me, very kind, patient, understanding and reassuring. However, at the end of the appointment, her assistant had formulated a 5 page treatment plan that included deep cleaning (no problem), refilling ALL prior fillings (they're old of course), fixing a cracked crown, adding an additional new crown on a different tooth, several new fillings, and I think she said at least 2 or 3 root canals (NOOO!!). It'll require a total of 9 visits, and will cost me nearly $6k out of pocket. While I expected the long list of procedures, I hardly expected her to say that all things considered (my age, extensive restoration work, and long history of neglect, etc..etc), my teeth could actually be saved. The thing is this: I REALLY DON'T WANT TO SAVE THEM. When she had me hold a small mirror to my mouth as she explored, I became more and more repulsed at the sight of my teeth. Crooked, horribly stained, and visibly decaying, with receding gums and all. Granted, I'm not in any constant, excrutiating pain or discomfort (yet), but I expect I will be in the near future. The thought of suffering through dozens of hours of torture, spending thousands of dollars I don't even have yet, just to end up keeping these ugly rotten teeth is unbearable to me! Then afterwards, if I go that route, how long would it be until more problems arise, and I'm back in that chair for more painful treatments? It's *possible* that I could get upper and lower full dentures for about half the cost of her estimate, and with many less visits. I definitely need to see at least one more general dentist for a second opinion.
My choice is to A) go through with her plan, B) try to find a dentist willing to yank and replace them all, or C) wait it out until the throbbing starts, and have the bad ones pulled one-by-one until they're all gone, then get replacements. Obviously, C is the worst choice, because I've been doing that for too long already (and is the main reason I'm here), and don't want to risk serious conditions like abscessed tooth, root pain or infections. I still am not sure which way to go, but it's a choice I'll be forced to make soon. I'm researching all the options, patiently and carefully, which is how I found this site. Please chime in with any thoughts you would like to share, I appreciate it much.
I'm looking forward to learning much from all of the other forums and threads here, and will be offering my support and encouragement to all of you as well. Thanks for reading!
Til next time,
Mark
So, I visited a dentist today for the first time in 9 years, for a basic consultation. She was great to me, very kind, patient, understanding and reassuring. However, at the end of the appointment, her assistant had formulated a 5 page treatment plan that included deep cleaning (no problem), refilling ALL prior fillings (they're old of course), fixing a cracked crown, adding an additional new crown on a different tooth, several new fillings, and I think she said at least 2 or 3 root canals (NOOO!!). It'll require a total of 9 visits, and will cost me nearly $6k out of pocket. While I expected the long list of procedures, I hardly expected her to say that all things considered (my age, extensive restoration work, and long history of neglect, etc..etc), my teeth could actually be saved. The thing is this: I REALLY DON'T WANT TO SAVE THEM. When she had me hold a small mirror to my mouth as she explored, I became more and more repulsed at the sight of my teeth. Crooked, horribly stained, and visibly decaying, with receding gums and all. Granted, I'm not in any constant, excrutiating pain or discomfort (yet), but I expect I will be in the near future. The thought of suffering through dozens of hours of torture, spending thousands of dollars I don't even have yet, just to end up keeping these ugly rotten teeth is unbearable to me! Then afterwards, if I go that route, how long would it be until more problems arise, and I'm back in that chair for more painful treatments? It's *possible* that I could get upper and lower full dentures for about half the cost of her estimate, and with many less visits. I definitely need to see at least one more general dentist for a second opinion.
My choice is to A) go through with her plan, B) try to find a dentist willing to yank and replace them all, or C) wait it out until the throbbing starts, and have the bad ones pulled one-by-one until they're all gone, then get replacements. Obviously, C is the worst choice, because I've been doing that for too long already (and is the main reason I'm here), and don't want to risk serious conditions like abscessed tooth, root pain or infections. I still am not sure which way to go, but it's a choice I'll be forced to make soon. I'm researching all the options, patiently and carefully, which is how I found this site. Please chime in with any thoughts you would like to share, I appreciate it much.
I'm looking forward to learning much from all of the other forums and threads here, and will be offering my support and encouragement to all of you as well. Thanks for reading!
Til next time,
Mark