T
Tabaluga
Junior member
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2025
- Messages
- 5
- Location
- Germany
I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this since I've never really had a fear of dentists, but I wanted to share my experience and hear your opinions.
It's been a while since I last visited a dentist, not because I was avoiding it but because I've been focused on other things. I man going to the dentist isn't my favorite hobby. However, lately, I’ve been dealing with some tooth pain, and since I’ve been working on improving my overall health—losing weight, feeling better, etc.—I decided it was time to finally get it checked at my dentist.
He’s a super nice guy and very professional. I never had a problem with his work. Everything he does He did an X-ray and explained that the pain might be caused by my wisdom tooth, but it’s more likely from the tooth just in front of it, which has a cavity. He suggested it wouldn’t hurt to have the wisdom tooth removed first, just to be safe, and after that, I could come back so he could fix the cavity in the other tooth. However, he told me that he couldn’t extract the wisdom tooth himself because it’s very close to the nerve and requires a specialist.
So, I booked an appointment at a clinic that specializes in oral surgery, thinking everything would go smoothly. But it turned out to be a complete disaster.
The issues started right at the reception, where the staff seemed uninterested and unprofessional. At first, I thought they were just stressed or busy, but things only got worse once I got to the treatment room.
The dentist at the clinic began by saying that the procedure was routine and would take less than a minute per tooth. However, after quickly reviewing the X-rays, he changed his mind and insisted on a 3D scan because the 2D X-rays weren’t sufficient. I was charged €300 for this scan, which my insurance wouldn’t cover. He did mention I could wait weeks for a free CT scan, but I went with the paid option, trusting the clinic’s expertise.
After reviewing the 3D scan, the dentist said that the tooth should still be easy to remove but warned that it was close to a nerve, and there was a slight risk of nerve damage. His explanations were a bit inconsistent, but I decided to trust his professional judgment.
Then came the actual procedure. After administering the local anesthetic, the dentist responded to the assistant's question about the dosage with, “The more, the better.” Honestly, I’ve never heard anything so unprofessional in my life.
What made it worse was that the dentist said something along the lines of, “I’ll just poke around and see where it makes sense to inject.” He then proceeded to give me seven injections in different spots. I don’t have a fear of needles, but the way he went about it felt completely random and unstructured. At one point, he even remarked, “For this one, we’ll need five times the normal dose.”
For comparison, my regular dentist has only ever needed to give me one injection. It was precise, effective, and my tooth was completely numb in no time. He got the job done perfectly—no pain, no drama. But this experience at the clinic was the exact opposite, and it left me seriously questioning if they had any idea what they were doing.
When the procedure started, the dentist reassured me that I’d only feel pressure, not pain. But the pain was so intense that I screamed. At one point, the dentist exclaimed, “Oh shit, this drill is completely blunt. I can’t work with this!” He then instructed his assistant to fetch another drill. When she brought it, he looked at it and said, “Oh, this one is worn out too... oh well, it’ll have to do.
He continued using the second dull drill, and the pain only got worse. By the time he finally stopped, because i needed to abort I was shaking, drenched in sweat, and completely overwhelmed. I have never felt pain like that in my life—I was writhing in agony in the chair, barely able to cope.
The dentist looked at me and said, "Oh, you’re one of those rare cases—maybe one in a million—where local anesthesia doesn’t work properly." He said it so casually, as if that explanation would make everything better, but at that point, I was already in so much pain and disbelief that I couldn’t even respond. It felt like such an excuse for what had happened, and it didn’t do anything to reassure me
I also can’t understand why the dentist started working on the side where I had no issues at all. I clearly told them which tooth was causing me problems, but they completely ignored it.
To make matters worse, I also have a broken tooth on the other side of my mouth that’s already infected—a condition that, according to my knowledge and a paramedic I personally know, could become dangerous if left untreated. That infected tooth should have been their first priority to extract, but they didn’t even touch it. It’s beyond frustrating and makes me seriously question their priorities and competence.
And then, as if nothing had happened, they told me they wanted to put me under general anesthesia the very next day to finish the procedure. It felt rushed, unprofessional, and completely inconsiderate of the trauma I had just experienced.
Since I’ve never had general anesthesia before, I wanted more time to process everything and arrange for someone I trust to accompany me. They also insisted that I bring someone I personally know, but when I explained that I couldn’t arrange that on such short notice, the dentist actually said, “You could just grab someone off the street.”
That was the final straw for me. The complete lack of empathy and professionalism in that statement left me utterly speechless. It felt like they didn’t care at all about my wellbeing or the seriousness of the situation—they just wanted to push through the procedure as quickly as possible.
After discussing this with other medical professionals, I decided not to return to that clinic and to have the procedure done elsewhere. If they think I’d ever trust them again—especially with something as serious as general anesthesia—they’re completely out of touch with reality.
The last two days, I’ve woken up from nightmares, drenched in sweat. Every time I think about the whole ordeal, I get this sinking, uneasy feeling in my stomach.
To be honest, I always thought having wisdom teeth removed was just like pulling any other tooth. It wasn’t until after this whole ordeal that I looked it up online and realized that wisdom tooth extraction is actually a much more complex procedure. Apparently, it’s not as straightforward as I thought, and the wounds need time to heal properly afterward.
This has made me even more anxious about how things were handled at the clinic and how I should proceed. I feel like I went into this situation completely unprepared, and now I’m dealing with the fallout both physically and mentally.
Has anyone else had a nightmare experience like this? Am I overreacting, or was this truly unacceptable? Any advice on what to do next would be greatly appreciated.
I still don’t know how much damage has been done to the wisdom tooth after everything, and honestly, on Tuesday, I told myself I would never go to the dentist again. But of course, I know that’s not realistic. The pain and the unresolved issues mean I’ll have to go back eventually, but I’m really struggling with how to move forward now.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
It's been a while since I last visited a dentist, not because I was avoiding it but because I've been focused on other things. I man going to the dentist isn't my favorite hobby. However, lately, I’ve been dealing with some tooth pain, and since I’ve been working on improving my overall health—losing weight, feeling better, etc.—I decided it was time to finally get it checked at my dentist.
He’s a super nice guy and very professional. I never had a problem with his work. Everything he does He did an X-ray and explained that the pain might be caused by my wisdom tooth, but it’s more likely from the tooth just in front of it, which has a cavity. He suggested it wouldn’t hurt to have the wisdom tooth removed first, just to be safe, and after that, I could come back so he could fix the cavity in the other tooth. However, he told me that he couldn’t extract the wisdom tooth himself because it’s very close to the nerve and requires a specialist.
So, I booked an appointment at a clinic that specializes in oral surgery, thinking everything would go smoothly. But it turned out to be a complete disaster.
The issues started right at the reception, where the staff seemed uninterested and unprofessional. At first, I thought they were just stressed or busy, but things only got worse once I got to the treatment room.
The dentist at the clinic began by saying that the procedure was routine and would take less than a minute per tooth. However, after quickly reviewing the X-rays, he changed his mind and insisted on a 3D scan because the 2D X-rays weren’t sufficient. I was charged €300 for this scan, which my insurance wouldn’t cover. He did mention I could wait weeks for a free CT scan, but I went with the paid option, trusting the clinic’s expertise.
After reviewing the 3D scan, the dentist said that the tooth should still be easy to remove but warned that it was close to a nerve, and there was a slight risk of nerve damage. His explanations were a bit inconsistent, but I decided to trust his professional judgment.
Then came the actual procedure. After administering the local anesthetic, the dentist responded to the assistant's question about the dosage with, “The more, the better.” Honestly, I’ve never heard anything so unprofessional in my life.
What made it worse was that the dentist said something along the lines of, “I’ll just poke around and see where it makes sense to inject.” He then proceeded to give me seven injections in different spots. I don’t have a fear of needles, but the way he went about it felt completely random and unstructured. At one point, he even remarked, “For this one, we’ll need five times the normal dose.”
For comparison, my regular dentist has only ever needed to give me one injection. It was precise, effective, and my tooth was completely numb in no time. He got the job done perfectly—no pain, no drama. But this experience at the clinic was the exact opposite, and it left me seriously questioning if they had any idea what they were doing.
When the procedure started, the dentist reassured me that I’d only feel pressure, not pain. But the pain was so intense that I screamed. At one point, the dentist exclaimed, “Oh shit, this drill is completely blunt. I can’t work with this!” He then instructed his assistant to fetch another drill. When she brought it, he looked at it and said, “Oh, this one is worn out too... oh well, it’ll have to do.
He continued using the second dull drill, and the pain only got worse. By the time he finally stopped, because i needed to abort I was shaking, drenched in sweat, and completely overwhelmed. I have never felt pain like that in my life—I was writhing in agony in the chair, barely able to cope.
The dentist looked at me and said, "Oh, you’re one of those rare cases—maybe one in a million—where local anesthesia doesn’t work properly." He said it so casually, as if that explanation would make everything better, but at that point, I was already in so much pain and disbelief that I couldn’t even respond. It felt like such an excuse for what had happened, and it didn’t do anything to reassure me
I also can’t understand why the dentist started working on the side where I had no issues at all. I clearly told them which tooth was causing me problems, but they completely ignored it.
To make matters worse, I also have a broken tooth on the other side of my mouth that’s already infected—a condition that, according to my knowledge and a paramedic I personally know, could become dangerous if left untreated. That infected tooth should have been their first priority to extract, but they didn’t even touch it. It’s beyond frustrating and makes me seriously question their priorities and competence.
And then, as if nothing had happened, they told me they wanted to put me under general anesthesia the very next day to finish the procedure. It felt rushed, unprofessional, and completely inconsiderate of the trauma I had just experienced.
Since I’ve never had general anesthesia before, I wanted more time to process everything and arrange for someone I trust to accompany me. They also insisted that I bring someone I personally know, but when I explained that I couldn’t arrange that on such short notice, the dentist actually said, “You could just grab someone off the street.”
That was the final straw for me. The complete lack of empathy and professionalism in that statement left me utterly speechless. It felt like they didn’t care at all about my wellbeing or the seriousness of the situation—they just wanted to push through the procedure as quickly as possible.
After discussing this with other medical professionals, I decided not to return to that clinic and to have the procedure done elsewhere. If they think I’d ever trust them again—especially with something as serious as general anesthesia—they’re completely out of touch with reality.
The last two days, I’ve woken up from nightmares, drenched in sweat. Every time I think about the whole ordeal, I get this sinking, uneasy feeling in my stomach.
To be honest, I always thought having wisdom teeth removed was just like pulling any other tooth. It wasn’t until after this whole ordeal that I looked it up online and realized that wisdom tooth extraction is actually a much more complex procedure. Apparently, it’s not as straightforward as I thought, and the wounds need time to heal properly afterward.
This has made me even more anxious about how things were handled at the clinic and how I should proceed. I feel like I went into this situation completely unprepared, and now I’m dealing with the fallout both physically and mentally.
Has anyone else had a nightmare experience like this? Am I overreacting, or was this truly unacceptable? Any advice on what to do next would be greatly appreciated.
I still don’t know how much damage has been done to the wisdom tooth after everything, and honestly, on Tuesday, I told myself I would never go to the dentist again. But of course, I know that’s not realistic. The pain and the unresolved issues mean I’ll have to go back eventually, but I’m really struggling with how to move forward now.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
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