A
atx512
Junior member
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2014
- Messages
- 1
Hello there,
Central Texas here. Just wanted to get some opinions on my situation. Went to a new dentist that was recommended by family member as 'alright'. Got a dental work estimate for 3 cavities, and one root canal rework on an upper front incisor, I thought it would be nicely covered by my insurance so I do not lose 2k in coverage this year.
During the next visit, cavities treatment went pretty well and things were proceeding swimmingly until the dentist opened up the root canal on the incisor. Then he said they will take a couple of additional x-rays. After x-rays he stopped treatment and explained to me that the metal post that was in the upper front incisor could not be extracted as it was 'broken off at the head' so he wasn't able to get a grip on it to extract this. He also explained that the large part of the tooth was already lost, and consisted of a massive filling, which meant the tooth may at some point break off. He also explained that the tooth may be at risk for perforation due to thin walls, and therefore he recommends to extract it. He further proceeded to briefly explain bridge/implant options.
So as I was still under lidocaine and numbed up really well, it was difficult for me to process the information. Somehow I had the impression that my tooth was a huge problem, and I agreed to have the tooth removed right then and opted in for a bridge. The dentist extracted my incisor and also prepped the 2 adjacent teeth for a hanging bridge by filing them down. I also signed the consent form while right in the chair, after they removed the tooth. I literally had to google 'implant vs bridge' on my cell phone during one of the breaks in treatment.
So while I was still in the chair and he was fitting in the temp bridge, I started to put 2 and 2 together and realized that it had been a mistake to actually agree to anything just then. Instead I should have asked to keep the tooth as it had been. I felt angry and hurt, just felt terrible as I thought I was taken advantage of, and I still do after a few days. The incisor tooth gave me absolutely no problems until then, as I generally had taken good care of my teeth and do not have any extensive history of dental treatment other than a few root canals in my youth. It may have had a root canal, but it was just as good as my other incisor from what I could tell in everyday use.
So I have a couple of questions... Was this situation really out of ordinary? And what do I do now? It doesn't seem that he is unprofessional as such, at least the temp bridge looks good cosmetically, I don't have much pain, and his staff was nice to me. I just think it was something of a 'proactive' action, like a solution in search of the problem, and that I was not given any time to think over available options. He never presented a 'do nothing' option or even took time to explain the consequences to tooth extraction and what a bridge/implant considerations are in detail.
My concern is now that prior to that I had a great smile, but now with the temp bridge I already feel self-conscious. What's worse, I'm starting to realize that the bridge maintenance is a long term process and requires much more discipline than proper handling of my own teeth, not to mention that it's never going to look as good as the natural tooth.
Please let me know what you think... I think the whole thing was completely unnecessary, and would like to get some advice on what to do or not to do next.
Central Texas here. Just wanted to get some opinions on my situation. Went to a new dentist that was recommended by family member as 'alright'. Got a dental work estimate for 3 cavities, and one root canal rework on an upper front incisor, I thought it would be nicely covered by my insurance so I do not lose 2k in coverage this year.
During the next visit, cavities treatment went pretty well and things were proceeding swimmingly until the dentist opened up the root canal on the incisor. Then he said they will take a couple of additional x-rays. After x-rays he stopped treatment and explained to me that the metal post that was in the upper front incisor could not be extracted as it was 'broken off at the head' so he wasn't able to get a grip on it to extract this. He also explained that the large part of the tooth was already lost, and consisted of a massive filling, which meant the tooth may at some point break off. He also explained that the tooth may be at risk for perforation due to thin walls, and therefore he recommends to extract it. He further proceeded to briefly explain bridge/implant options.
So as I was still under lidocaine and numbed up really well, it was difficult for me to process the information. Somehow I had the impression that my tooth was a huge problem, and I agreed to have the tooth removed right then and opted in for a bridge. The dentist extracted my incisor and also prepped the 2 adjacent teeth for a hanging bridge by filing them down. I also signed the consent form while right in the chair, after they removed the tooth. I literally had to google 'implant vs bridge' on my cell phone during one of the breaks in treatment.
So while I was still in the chair and he was fitting in the temp bridge, I started to put 2 and 2 together and realized that it had been a mistake to actually agree to anything just then. Instead I should have asked to keep the tooth as it had been. I felt angry and hurt, just felt terrible as I thought I was taken advantage of, and I still do after a few days. The incisor tooth gave me absolutely no problems until then, as I generally had taken good care of my teeth and do not have any extensive history of dental treatment other than a few root canals in my youth. It may have had a root canal, but it was just as good as my other incisor from what I could tell in everyday use.
So I have a couple of questions... Was this situation really out of ordinary? And what do I do now? It doesn't seem that he is unprofessional as such, at least the temp bridge looks good cosmetically, I don't have much pain, and his staff was nice to me. I just think it was something of a 'proactive' action, like a solution in search of the problem, and that I was not given any time to think over available options. He never presented a 'do nothing' option or even took time to explain the consequences to tooth extraction and what a bridge/implant considerations are in detail.
My concern is now that prior to that I had a great smile, but now with the temp bridge I already feel self-conscious. What's worse, I'm starting to realize that the bridge maintenance is a long term process and requires much more discipline than proper handling of my own teeth, not to mention that it's never going to look as good as the natural tooth.
Please let me know what you think... I think the whole thing was completely unnecessary, and would like to get some advice on what to do or not to do next.
Last edited:
