Well my nightmare is still ongoing so here I am again

[ScaredyCat22]

Thank you so much Abby, you have given me hope... maybe not courage lol but at least hope. I really miss my life the way it used to be before all these dental fiascos. I would love to be pain free and get back to my life before I am too old to enjoy it. Sometimes I just feel so helpless and hopeless.

 

[kemmie777]

Scaredy is there a particular reason you wouldn't consider implants?

My jaw is hard to get numb too but the periodintist that I've started my implant with doesn't believe in letting you sit in pain and made sure she did everything to numb me nice and good. She told me to not be a good patient and not to sit in discomfort if anything hurt beyond some pressure. After all was said and done with my bone graft she even injected more Novocain before I left the office to make sure I would be still numb when I got home. No dentist or endodontist ever did that for me.

And she made me take both Advil and Tylenol at the office so they would be in my system working when all was worn off. I also automatically was given a script for the good pain killers as well. I felt really comfortable with her and am happy she will be the one taking care of placing the implant in the future.

 

[ScaredyCat22]

Scaredy is there a particular reason you wouldn't consider implants?

yes, sheer terror. a bridge is a class 1 medical device meaning low risk. implants are a class 2 higher risk. If 2 dentists botched 4 bridges on me I thank God I didn't let them drill into my jawbone. Also although I quit smoking years ago I still use nicotine which automatically makes me a higher risk for implant failure. I do not want any metal screws in my jaw. I do not even have the nerve to go through another root canal and if that is what they tell me I need I will opt for extraction.

 

[ScaredyCat22]

6 days to my appointment. I am a nervous wreck. with this weird pain in my jaw I am scared that if they take my tooth I may still be in pain. with the luck I have had so far. I read that referred pain never crosses to the opposite side. so why do both sides of my face ache

 

[ScaredyCat22]

4 days to my appointment. worried sick and terrified. and if I ever feel any better I probably will report the dentist who kept my money and left me this way. not that I expect it will do any good, still waiting for news of anything happening with the last shoddy dentist.

 

[FearfulInMA]

. I can only begin to imagine how awful this has been for you. I know you've had to eat almost exclusively on the other side of your mouth for so long now and I wonder if that could be causing pain on the other side? You know I'm thinking about you and sending good thoughts!

 

[ScaredyCat22]

Thanks Fearful, yes that is what I am wondering too, chewing on one side for nearly 2 years can't be doing me any good.
I am so afraid, and nothing is working to calm me down. I used to be able to tell myself that the fear of the appointment is always worse than what really happens... but all my appointments have exceeded my worst expectations. If it's possible to have post traumatic stress from dental work I think I have moved on from phobia to ptsd people have tried to comfort me by telling me I am in control and the dentist can not do anything to me without my permission.. and yet so many things have been done to me without my permission. if I get through this hurdle of ridding myself of this tooth I will still need to do something, and everyone will want to talk me into implants or some $50,000 smile makeover and they do not get and do not care that I am not interested in having a Hollywood smile. I don't care if my teeth are not brilliant white and straight. I just want to eat and speak and live without pain and without losing my top teeth from them having nothing to bite on with the bottom molars gone. teeth are not a fashion statement to me and it seems like that is all dentists care about. they all claim they can help me and they leave me worse off and blame me by saying "well your bite is very specific and hard to work with" yet they don't say that when they meet me, they wait til they take my money and leave me worse off. and they don't get that it is not just the money. I don't want to hear how can you put a price on a smile. I would not want implants even if they were free. I am too afraid. sorry I am rambling now. terror does this to me.

 

[Leftie]

I know exactly how you feel Scaredy - I have got caught a few times by thinking the person in the white coat is working solely for my health and well being and then you realise they are business people as well with bill to pay.

Stay strong and stick to your guns for them to do what you want them to do, or walk away.

Just make sure you get there and with all your will power get through it.

 

[ScaredyCat22]

I know exactly how you feel Scaredy - I have got caught a few times by thinking the person in the white coat is working solely for my health and well being and then you realise they are business people as well with bill to pay.

Stay strong and stick to your guns for them to do what you want them to do, or walk away.

Just make sure you get there and with all your will power get through it.

Thank you Leftie, I appreciate the support as my time ticks down to getting back in that awful chair.

 

[Leftie]

It is the waiting that does it for me too, anticipation and all that. It helped me to try and take control of my situation - telling them what I wanted from asking them to give me multiple choices to choose from. In the end so what if you want or have to have the tooth removed?

In my opinion it is not such a terrible thing, I have a partial upper and no lower back teeth, when I first had the upper I only had teeth on the left and front. If you go to denture specialist I am confident they could make it comfortable for you. It has to be better than being in pain all the time. Weird as it is in "that chair" I was willing them to remove the teeth get it out now kind of attitude it helped me. Also a very basic distraction technique from a history of anxiety is counting backwards from 399, in 2's!

Please make your appointment and as I say try to drive the appointment rather than let yourself be driven, tough I know!!

 

[ScaredyCat22]

have you ever got a partial for your lower back teeth? that is where mine would go. I don't know how to find a denturist. everyone I find is a general dentist masquerading as a cosmetic dentist who wants to push implants because of big money. If I do lose this tooth it will be because of it having been worked on so many times by 2 dentists who could not get 4 bridges to fit me properly and my tooth not recovering from the trauma. my tooth was healthy a year ago before it went through 3 bridges 4 temp crowns 1 temp bridge and the last dentist broke my tooth and then crowned it I absolutely do not want implants and would rather get a partial. at least then I would know if it hurts me I can just take it off.

 

[Leftie]

Similar story to mine in a lot of respects. I have had teeth treated and re-treated and in the end just told them to remove them.

No I left the bottom without any back teeth. I have a huge overbite and clenching problem and my mouth just felt too full with bottom teeth as well!

So I cannot really help with how a bottom partial will feel with just one side. In the UK we have people who only make dentures and denture moulds they tend to be better at it than a general dentist.

I agree the advent of implants seems to have become the holy (money making) grail to solve everything, like you I couldn't think of anything worse.

If I don't get on here before, I really hope it goes well, make sure you go and try and be confident and in control and remember to count backward in the waiting room! and Leave it to the last minute to go in, I have been known to ring the receptionist and ask them to call me in the car when they ready to see me lol!

 

[ScaredyCat22]

Similar story to mine in a lot of respects. I have had teeth treated and re-treated and in the end just told them to remove them.

No I left the bottom without any back teeth. I have a huge overbite and clenching problem and my mouth just felt too full with bottom teeth as well!

So I cannot really help with how a bottom partial will feel with just one side. In the UK we have people who only make dentures and denture moulds they tend to be better at it than a general dentist.

I agree the advent of implants seems to have become the holy (money making) grail to solve everything, like you I couldn't think of anything worse.

If I don't get on here before, I really hope it goes well, make sure you go and try and be confident and in control and remember to count backward in the waiting room! and Leave it to the last minute to go in, I have been known to ring the receptionist and ask them to call me in the car when they ready to see me lol!

So you are still able to chew ok without any bottom molars? That is what scares me a lot, that I won't be able to eat. That plus I have been watching some videos on youtube of people who say their top partial is ok but their bottom never fit right and moves around too much. But I guess I should stop getting ahead of myself. There will be plenty of time to worry about a partial later. Right now I have to worry about making it through the appointment tomorrow. Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot to me.

 

[FearfulInMA]

Sending good thoughts and energy for your appt tomorrow. I like the advice that someone gave about driving the appt instead of being driven. You have been very clear on here about what you want and what you will and won't do. I know it's easier said than done to speak up when feeling so vulnerable... It took me years with my current dentist to be able to say more than a couple of words at a time to him and I'm not someone who is at a loss for words or timid in any other context. But, at this point, you also have nothing to loose by being clear and honest. I will offering virtual hand-holding tomorrow! Hang in there.

 

[ScaredyCat22]

Sending good thoughts and energy for your appt tomorrow. I like the advice that someone gave about driving the appt instead of being driven. You have been very clear on here about what you want and what you will and won't do. I know it's easier said than done to speak up when feeling so vulnerable... It took me years with my current dentist to be able to say more than a couple of words at a time to him and I'm not someone who is at a loss for words or timid in any other context. But, at this point, you also have nothing to loose by being clear and honest. I will offering virtual hand-holding tomorrow! Hang in there.

Thank you Fearful
I wish I could take you there to speak for me. When I get so upset and scared I can barely speak without crying.
The not knowing what will happen is the worst. If I knew for sure my tooth was getting extracted I could prepare myself a bit for it. I don't know if he will say, my tooth is bad or my crown is bad or maybe it's my gums infected because that is where most of the soreness is, deep in my gums where I think the root of the tooth is. but for all I know it is irritated because this jerkwad dentist left bristles from a brush he used on it cemented in my crown. they were poking out from under my gums and I broke them off but there will still be some in the cement.
so I am left just going over all the what ifs in my head and worrying over each of them. what if he says my tooth is bad.. ok then I want it extracted and do not want a root canal. what if he says my tooth is ok my crown is bad... then I still think I just want it extracted because it is broken anyway and probably not enough tooth structure left to do a crown again without root canal and I am not doing another root canal.
what if it's infection in my gums? that one puzzles me. maybe try antibiotics to see if it gets better? or just pull it anyway. what if the infection is deeper in my jaw? scary thought.
then there is this pain in both sides of my face. I have never had tmj disorder before but maybe I do now from my bite being off for 2 years. I don't want any surgeries and have heard horror stories of people getting all their teeth adjusted to fix their bite and ending up worse off. These are more what ifs than I can handle.
scariest of all is what if he does nothing? just says sorry I can't help you til you go find a dentist to diagnose you?

 

[Leftie]

So you are still able to chew ok without any bottom molars? That is what scares me a lot, that I won't be able to eat. That plus I have been watching some videos on youtube of people who say their top partial is ok but their bottom never fit right and moves around too much. But I guess I should stop getting ahead of myself. There will be plenty of time to worry about a partial later. Right now I have to worry about making it through the appointment tomorrow. Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot to me.

Hi if molars mean the big back teeth then yes eaten fine no restrictions when I had all my upper teeth, I think the bottom ones might be 25+ years without them honestly nothing gave me trouble. I didn't even notice not having them.

Just to clarify that I have a full set on the bottom from the teeth opposing the upper canine thourh middle but nothing to the rear on either side.

The partial upper restricts me a bit now with sticky chewy stuff but no big deal. I have heard about lowers as well but then I have heard horror stories about uppers too and it took me 6-8 weeks to get used to them and hate it without!

Good luck tomorrow and positive thoughts from me try and think of it as a pain relief - hopefully Oral Medicine will be the right one this time.

 

[Leftie]

Thank you Fearful
I wish I could take you there to speak for me. When I get so upset and scared I can barely speak without crying.
The not knowing what will happen is the worst. If I knew for sure my tooth was getting extracted I could prepare myself a bit for it. I don't know if he will say, my tooth is bad or my crown is bad or maybe it's my gums infected because that is where most of the soreness is, deep in my gums where I think the root of the tooth is. but for all I know it is irritated because this jerkwad dentist left bristles from a brush he used on it cemented in my crown. they were poking out from under my gums and I broke them off but there will still be some in the cement.
so I am left just going over all the what ifs in my head and worrying over each of them. what if he says my tooth is bad.. ok then I want it extracted and do not want a root canal. what if he says my tooth is ok my crown is bad... then I still think I just want it extracted because it is broken anyway and probably not enough tooth structure left to do a crown again without root canal and I am not doing another root canal.
what if it's infection in my gums? that one puzzles me. maybe try antibiotics to see if it gets better? or just pull it anyway. what if the infection is deeper in my jaw? scary thought.
then there is this pain in both sides of my face. I have never had tmj disorder before but maybe I do now from my bite being off for 2 years. I don't want any surgeries and have heard horror stories of people getting all their teeth adjusted to fix their bite and ending up worse off. These are more what ifs than I can handle.
scariest of all is what if he does nothing? just says sorry I can't help you til you go find a dentist to diagnose you?

You are in control, if you want it out just say so! (Tough I know) Just brace yourself and ask what your options are - then decide based on how you feel about it.

If you had TMJ you would really know about it, it could be all the work has irritated a nerve or two, but my understanding is TMJ is "normally" one sided. Anyway Oral Medicine (In the UK) is one of the specialities we get referred to for potential Nerve\TMJ problems

If you have the tooth out the infection if there is one should resolve and the Dentist should know when the tooth comes out if there is\was an infection.

Good luck impossible to help other than ask you to try your best to get what you want from the meeting, rarely do they do thing straight on the first consultation (in my experience) it will questions and answers and a look around\Xray etc. Although having re-read your earlier posts maybe it looks like you booked an extraction?

Good luck it will be all over soon!

 

[ScaredyCat22]

You are in control, if you want it out just say so! (Tough I know) Just brace yourself and ask what your options are - then decide based on how you feel about it.

If you had TMJ you would really know about it, it could be all the work has irritated a nerve or two, but my understanding is TMJ is "normally" one sided. Anyway Oral Medicine (In the UK) is one of the specialities we get referred to for potential Nerve\TMJ problems

If you have the tooth out the infection if there is one should resolve and the Dentist should know when the tooth comes out if there is\was an infection.

Good luck impossible to help other than ask you to try your best to get what you want from the meeting, rarely do they do thing straight on the first consultation (in my experience) it will questions and answers and a look around\Xray etc. Although having re-read your earlier posts maybe it looks like you booked an extraction?

Good luck it will be all over soon!

Yes by molars I mean the really big back teeth. I am so relieved to hear you do ok without them. I will have none on one side on the bottom, and the other side is kind of iffy as to whether I can keep them or not.
Thank you so much for the pep talk Leftie. I feel a little better now, though I will probably toss and turn and have nightmares over it if I sleep tonight.
I will try to stay strong and just tell him to take it out.
I will pop in tomorrow after it is over to let you know what happened.
Thank you again.

 

[FearfulInMA]

You know I would go with you if I could! I'm fierce when I'm advocating for someone else... A force to be reckoned with. Lol! I hope you can try to channel some of that during the appointment. The what-ifs are THE WORST! Thinking of you!

 

[ScaredyCat22]

Just got home. still bleeding, but still alive. he took both the teeth, the one broken under the crown and the one bothering me on the other side. when he made me tell what happened I started to cry, and because I was upset he wanted to send me away! he wanted me to make an appointment to come back and do it under general anesthesia because he said in light of what I have been through and considering a tooth might break and make it take longer he would rather I would be put under and not be further traumatized. I totally freaked out and said I have already been worried sick for 2 weeks over coming to this appointment, I can't keep worrying myself sick over it. I was terrified you were going to tell me go have a root canal but now you tell me just come another day.
He relented I guess because he didn't want a sobbing woman refusing to leave. we did it with nitrous. I told him I was afraid I would not get numb because the last dentist couldn't get me numb at all. he said he didn't have trouble getting me last time and didn't expect to this time. and it took one shot each side and I was numb in under a minute. so that dentist who tried to make me think it is my fault that I can't get numb was just plain doing it wrong. It took him barely 30 seconds for each tooth.
so here I am with no molars bottom left and only one molar bottom right.
He gave me the name of a dentist that he says is very good, and I would call him in a couple months to ask about making me a partial.
I'm gonna go lay down now, fear is exhausting.
Thanks for being here for me.