S
ScaredyKitty
Junior member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2012
- Messages
- 11
Hello all,
Can't tell you how relieved I am to find your forum! Even more relieved to be able to access real dentists who KNOW about this stuff. Would you please help me with some thoughts and advice?
I apologize in advance that this is long - but I'll try to be clear at least.
I'm not the worst dental phobic out there, but I'm not the bravest either.
A few years ago, I broke two molars in one week. This happened after I had developed a number of health problems and had to quit working entirely. I have applied for disability but have not received approval yet.
At the time they broke, I saw a dentist who wanted to do two crowns - one for each tooth, but I couldn't afford the $2000.
I saw a second dentist who also wanted to do two crowns, but his price was lower. I thought I'd afford his work, until he milked out the cost of a cleaning, and two other appointments before he started working on the broken teeth. I ran out of money again and he wouldn't accept payments.
For a few years, I lived with the broken teeth. Then I found a place that said they'd do the crowns - but when I got there the dentist said, "you need a large filling in one tooth and a root canal in the other. We don't do root canals. Go somewhere else for root canal, then come back and we'll fill the filling." Of course, I couldn't afford the root canal work, so I was out of luck again!
I went to another dentist for a second opinion. He advertises as being SUPER gentle and he seemed like he and his staff would be. His staffer spent an hour with me explaining the plan etc. They were so nice. He said I probably did need a simple root canal on the one tooth - and that he could do it - for $2000 for the one tooth. He said it was questionable whether the root or pulp was infected or damaged, but that it was safest to assume it was. He offered me a payment plan - but there was no way I could come up with the downpayment or the monlthly money for it. So I couldn't have the work done.
FINALLY, I was told about a dentist who does advanced dental work and general dentistry. (He is not an oral surgeon, nor is he a root canal specialist, however.) He agreed to work on my problem teeth for a payment plan I could afford. However, I'm really afraid that I'm not getting the right work done.
The two broken molars were significantly broken. I am sure that a crown was the minimum they needed. One of them never gave me any trouble in all these years, and I could chew on that side. The other molar was plagued with irritations and problems during these years. I could not chew on that side AT ALL. Sometimes it would zing me when trying to bite on it. Twice, the gum above the tooth swelled up and I took antibiotics (doxycycline) which cleared it right up quickly. I had to brush, floss, and rinse with baking soda and salt at least 4x a day (often more) to keep that tooth clean, but I couldn't floss right next to the broken one because one dentist told me I'd pull out the temporary stuff they'd spread over the break. (The temporary was done without drilling and it broke away in days.) The dentist I'm NOW seeing said that he felt there was a good chance that the pulp or root was NOT involved, so he said we should clean out (drill out) and fill the tooth and leave it for 6 weeks and wait to see if an infection flared up. Then if everything was okay, he'd crown it. He said if he sealed it off and the root/pulp was bad, I'd be in massive pain within 6 weeks time. When he did this treatment, he told me he discovered the tooth had a length-wise crack - and it must have been flexing during these years. So - six weeks passed without incident. I thought everything was great. But ...
Then I went for my follow up appointment, and the dentist seemed to forget everything he had told me. He forgot we were going to work on that tooth again during the appointment - and instead chose to work on another tooth entirely. (not the other broken one.) At the end of the appointment, I told him I couldn't chew on my first repaired tooth and he was shocked - I had to remind him he said it needed a crown. He seemed surprised. I asked why I couldn't chew on it without discomfort - and he said, "maybe it is cracked ..." and I reminded him that he told me it is cracked. Another issue that day was that his novacaine didn't last long enough and I could feel him drilling. It hurt a lot. He said he uses a special type that doesn't aggravate my migraine condition - and that it often wears off quickly. (I'm also a red head and I read that we're hard to numb!) This novacaine also is fast acting - meaning he can start working on me immediately after giving the shot.
Well - enter appointment number three. He worked on the second broken tooth. I was in so much pain from the novacaine wearing off that I thought I'd pass out. He gave me another shot but it did NOTHING. He kept drilling and when it was done he said he was aware it wasn't working but he wanted to test out how bad the tooth was, and wanted to get it very clean. ??? Ack! He said something about not having to come back until next year - and I had to remind him about the first tooth not being complete. He acted like this was news to him - and said, "make an appointment - maybe we'll have to put a crown on that ...."
Here's the thing - if I put floss between that first tooth and the one next to it, if I push the floss up against that tooth sort of hard, I can make it feel uncomfortable. It is a little pain. None of my other teeth do that. If I try to chew on that tooth, it feels like it isn't strong enough to handle the pressure and so I don't bite down further. Is it smart to put a crown on there? Is there something more wrong? Is this normal for a cracked tooth? Is this the right treatment? Should I beg the other dentist that I liked, but couldn't afford, to do a second opinion and pay for the opinion?
I just don't know what to do. I can't stand getting drilled again and having the novacaine wear off. I was just about over my fear - because he's really good at using the needles so that I don't feel a thing while he numbs me, but it wears off SOOOOO fast! I have a lot of health conditions and I can't take meds very well. I'm terrified of a root canal. I'm terrified that if I endure the crown session that maybe we're capping a bad tooth?
Help?????
PS: I forgot to mention, at one point this dentist told me that doing a root canal on a cracked tooth was utterly worthless - and that if my tooth needed a root canal he would instead extract the tooth and give me an implant instead. I don't understand enough to know if that is good advice. This dentist doesn't speak much - and never tells me what he is doing once I'm in the chair. I have a hard time with that.
PPS: He also didn't do any cleaning, but told me to just floss and brush better - then next year we'd do a cleaning to take care of the stuff that had already built up on my teeth. I told him that when I floss next to the long term damaged teeth it has a bad smell - but he just said everyone has certain teeth that collect debris and to not worry about it. But I DO worry about that. This just doesn't sound right at all to me.
Can't tell you how relieved I am to find your forum! Even more relieved to be able to access real dentists who KNOW about this stuff. Would you please help me with some thoughts and advice?
I apologize in advance that this is long - but I'll try to be clear at least.
I'm not the worst dental phobic out there, but I'm not the bravest either.
A few years ago, I broke two molars in one week. This happened after I had developed a number of health problems and had to quit working entirely. I have applied for disability but have not received approval yet.
At the time they broke, I saw a dentist who wanted to do two crowns - one for each tooth, but I couldn't afford the $2000.
I saw a second dentist who also wanted to do two crowns, but his price was lower. I thought I'd afford his work, until he milked out the cost of a cleaning, and two other appointments before he started working on the broken teeth. I ran out of money again and he wouldn't accept payments.
For a few years, I lived with the broken teeth. Then I found a place that said they'd do the crowns - but when I got there the dentist said, "you need a large filling in one tooth and a root canal in the other. We don't do root canals. Go somewhere else for root canal, then come back and we'll fill the filling." Of course, I couldn't afford the root canal work, so I was out of luck again!
I went to another dentist for a second opinion. He advertises as being SUPER gentle and he seemed like he and his staff would be. His staffer spent an hour with me explaining the plan etc. They were so nice. He said I probably did need a simple root canal on the one tooth - and that he could do it - for $2000 for the one tooth. He said it was questionable whether the root or pulp was infected or damaged, but that it was safest to assume it was. He offered me a payment plan - but there was no way I could come up with the downpayment or the monlthly money for it. So I couldn't have the work done.
FINALLY, I was told about a dentist who does advanced dental work and general dentistry. (He is not an oral surgeon, nor is he a root canal specialist, however.) He agreed to work on my problem teeth for a payment plan I could afford. However, I'm really afraid that I'm not getting the right work done.
The two broken molars were significantly broken. I am sure that a crown was the minimum they needed. One of them never gave me any trouble in all these years, and I could chew on that side. The other molar was plagued with irritations and problems during these years. I could not chew on that side AT ALL. Sometimes it would zing me when trying to bite on it. Twice, the gum above the tooth swelled up and I took antibiotics (doxycycline) which cleared it right up quickly. I had to brush, floss, and rinse with baking soda and salt at least 4x a day (often more) to keep that tooth clean, but I couldn't floss right next to the broken one because one dentist told me I'd pull out the temporary stuff they'd spread over the break. (The temporary was done without drilling and it broke away in days.) The dentist I'm NOW seeing said that he felt there was a good chance that the pulp or root was NOT involved, so he said we should clean out (drill out) and fill the tooth and leave it for 6 weeks and wait to see if an infection flared up. Then if everything was okay, he'd crown it. He said if he sealed it off and the root/pulp was bad, I'd be in massive pain within 6 weeks time. When he did this treatment, he told me he discovered the tooth had a length-wise crack - and it must have been flexing during these years. So - six weeks passed without incident. I thought everything was great. But ...
Then I went for my follow up appointment, and the dentist seemed to forget everything he had told me. He forgot we were going to work on that tooth again during the appointment - and instead chose to work on another tooth entirely. (not the other broken one.) At the end of the appointment, I told him I couldn't chew on my first repaired tooth and he was shocked - I had to remind him he said it needed a crown. He seemed surprised. I asked why I couldn't chew on it without discomfort - and he said, "maybe it is cracked ..." and I reminded him that he told me it is cracked. Another issue that day was that his novacaine didn't last long enough and I could feel him drilling. It hurt a lot. He said he uses a special type that doesn't aggravate my migraine condition - and that it often wears off quickly. (I'm also a red head and I read that we're hard to numb!) This novacaine also is fast acting - meaning he can start working on me immediately after giving the shot.
Well - enter appointment number three. He worked on the second broken tooth. I was in so much pain from the novacaine wearing off that I thought I'd pass out. He gave me another shot but it did NOTHING. He kept drilling and when it was done he said he was aware it wasn't working but he wanted to test out how bad the tooth was, and wanted to get it very clean. ??? Ack! He said something about not having to come back until next year - and I had to remind him about the first tooth not being complete. He acted like this was news to him - and said, "make an appointment - maybe we'll have to put a crown on that ...."
Here's the thing - if I put floss between that first tooth and the one next to it, if I push the floss up against that tooth sort of hard, I can make it feel uncomfortable. It is a little pain. None of my other teeth do that. If I try to chew on that tooth, it feels like it isn't strong enough to handle the pressure and so I don't bite down further. Is it smart to put a crown on there? Is there something more wrong? Is this normal for a cracked tooth? Is this the right treatment? Should I beg the other dentist that I liked, but couldn't afford, to do a second opinion and pay for the opinion?
I just don't know what to do. I can't stand getting drilled again and having the novacaine wear off. I was just about over my fear - because he's really good at using the needles so that I don't feel a thing while he numbs me, but it wears off SOOOOO fast! I have a lot of health conditions and I can't take meds very well. I'm terrified of a root canal. I'm terrified that if I endure the crown session that maybe we're capping a bad tooth?
Help?????
PS: I forgot to mention, at one point this dentist told me that doing a root canal on a cracked tooth was utterly worthless - and that if my tooth needed a root canal he would instead extract the tooth and give me an implant instead. I don't understand enough to know if that is good advice. This dentist doesn't speak much - and never tells me what he is doing once I'm in the chair. I have a hard time with that.
PPS: He also didn't do any cleaning, but told me to just floss and brush better - then next year we'd do a cleaning to take care of the stuff that had already built up on my teeth. I told him that when I floss next to the long term damaged teeth it has a bad smell - but he just said everyone has certain teeth that collect debris and to not worry about it. But I DO worry about that. This just doesn't sound right at all to me.
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