{aside}
Few years back, went to a dentist picked more or less at random from that paltry list of available. Got a very clean young man who looked like he might have just gotten off his shift of Mormon evangelizing. Got me seated, instruments of torment at hand, had me open my mouth, and then said…
“Is it safe?”
Belly laughs are marvelous anaesthesia.
{/aside}
I sympathize, Leah. I went through this last week. Since it was a back molar I had it extracted. There is only one dentist left in my area that does extractions. All of the others want to send patients to a specialist. Like you, I neglected my teeth because I didn’t have insurance, still don’t, and little money.
I got lucky though. The dentist I found was very competent and nice. He had my tooth out in 45 minutes, gave me scripts for an antibiotic and vicodin. He explained that dentists around here aren’t doing extractions anymore because of the time and effort it takes and that a specialist would charge me 3-5 times the amount a regular dentist would. He also said he refused to stop doing extractions because it was a necessary service and a lot of his patients could not afford the specialist.
A week after the extraction I was still having pretty severe pain so I called his office to get a refill on the vicodin. He wanted to see me but I explained I couldn’t afford another visit right now. They told me to come in anyway and didn’t charge me. I was so grateful I was almost in tears. While there, every member of his staff came in the exam room to talk to me and see how I was doing.Turns out going back was the right thing to do because the blood clot didn’t form correctly and bone was exposed. He packed it with gauze covered in medicine and didn’t even charge me for the gauze.
Tooth extractions may mean no long term care for that tooth and less money for the dentist but the treatment I received guarantees I will return to that dentist for any other tooth problems, check ups, and maintenance.
My husband recently had to have a root canal, and the dentist said he would have to finish it a week or so later, because he wasn’t sure he got the entire root. The next visit, the file broke off, and is now lodged in my husband’s jaw. :eek: (I don’t think it was the dentist’s fault, but still… ow!)
So now he goes to a specialist in another two weeks, to extract this piece of metal from his head, and finish the root canal. He’s walking around with a piece of a dental instrument stuck in his jaw. I find that so disturbing, more so after I saw the x-ray.
Threads like these make me so glad I have the dentist I do. He’s an absolute sweetheart of a guy and dedicated to the proposition that nobody should suffer. When I need work done, he gives me nitrous oxide first, then a topical where he’s going to give me a shot, then the shot. He’s a DDS and an MD (anesthesiologist). I met him when I installed TVs facing down in the ceiling above his chairs. I wired in headphone sockets to each chair. The experience of being in his chair, watching TV, remote in hand, stoned on laughing gas? Whatever is happening in your mouth seems like war in some far-off country you’ve never heard of - you know it’s probably bloody and awful, but it doesn’t really concern you all that much.
He tells me that the DEA rakes him over the coals on a regular basis about every one of his painkiller prescriptions. If he were less dedicated to the comfort of his patients, his job would be a lot easier.
I feel for you, Leah M. My boyfriend just went through something similar. Luckily he’d just got some state funded health insurance a month before and he’d already seen a dentist so they were able to prescribe him something, and he was very lucky that his pain kicked in on a Friday morning and not later.
The best sound ever is the sound of someone you love no longer screaming and sobbing in agony, and instead sleeping peacefully.
It really upsets me, though, how much “I have wrenching, agonizing tooth pain” is heard as “I’m a big ol’ drug addict.” And there’s nothing that can be done after hours- no emergency dental clinics on weekend; the best you can do is go to the ER for an antibiotic and some ibuprofin or Tylenol 3 if you’re lucky. And if you’re really super special lucky the ER doc will tell you to lay off the meth because there’s noooooo other reason that a poor person might have a bad tooth.
:eek: $450? :eek:
My dentist – a gem, a pearl, she is the MOST WONDERFUL EMPATHETIC SKILLFULLY CAREFULLY NOT-HURTING DENTIST IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE!!!
Ahem.
Anyway, she advised me a while ago that I needed a night guard because of tooth grinding doing some damage to my teeth; in fact, it’s what caused the demise of one tooth that needed extraction. She told me she could fit it, or I could go to the drugstore and buy a Doctor’s NightGuard and do it myself at home. The thing cost me about 20 bucks, the instructions were easy to follow, and I got an excellent fit that served the purpose just fine. I did have one little area that wasn’t quite right, so she Dremeled it to a better fit (no charge).
Did I mention she’s GREAT?
This thread title made me laugh.
I remember watching the movie Marathon Man with some friends several years ago. One of my friends remarked “it must be like having Mengele in your mouth”.
I’m also fortunate to have found an extremely dedicated and attentive dentist, who clearly really cares about his work. Prior to discovering him, I had no idea that testicular palpation was a part of the routine exam. Or that it involved his testicles, and that he would be the one using nitrous. Or that my teeth needed cleaning so often.
I got the fancy, dentist-molded night guard for my grinding, clenching habit - worth every penny so far (it was completely covered by my husband’s dental plan). I was wearing off, fracturing, and breaking my teeth - if I’d gotten the night guard decades ago, I probably wouldn’t have the cracks in my teeth I have now. Plus, I think it’s helping my snoring a little bit. 
Leah, dear god in heaven, find another dentist, and this time, bring an advocate.
Find the snippiest, snarliest, most uptight person you can to come with you to the dentist, and put them in charge of making sure you get appropriate treatment. If the dentist balks at pain control, tooth extraction, reasonable cost, and timely follow-up, give your advocate the signal and let them tear the dentist a new one.
You are in too much pain to fight this fight yourself. Get someone to do it for you.
And get better, okay?
Do it! It may be worth paying out of pocket for a second opinion.
I had one tooth go through crown, root canal and ultimately extraction. The crown and RC cost about 2 grand total (IIRC, admittedly insurance paid a good part of that) and still had to be yanked. I wish I hadn’t wasted the time and money on the first two steps. I’ve got another one that’s in similar condition and I wish I hadn’t wasted the money.
Re the anxiety - I’m in the same boat. SEVERE dental anxiety. Fortunately I found a new dentist who believes strongly in pain relief (had to have 4 shots of novocaine last week to have a crown placed - not even the drilling step but the finishing step; the drilling step involved a strong sedative and nitrous oxide). Makes life MUCH easier.
Unfortunately I’m in a bit of a lonesome boat here, and don’t have any friends that could tag along. My sister would be the closest thing I’d have, and she can’t take off work just to accompany me to a dentist.
I managed to wind up with a fever, an ear infection in the opposite side (despite being on Amoxicillin AND Metronidazole) and pain in pretty much my entire face last night. They wouldn’t let me off work, and the ER won’t touch me now, so I’m calling my own regular MD in the morning and see if they’ll take pity on me. I can’t even wear my CPAP anymore (for my sleep apnea), because it’s a full-face mask and hurts like hell, so I have not slept in about a week, now, really.
Thanks for the well wishes though, it’s appreciated.
Yeah, the estimate out-of-pocket for me is between 500-700$ for just the crown. About 200$ is what they quoted me on the RC. That, and my dental plan has a ridiculously low maximum amount that insurance will cover (1,200$ or somesuch, which for dental work, is ridiculous), and after that, everything is out of pocket, too.
My mom gave me a rare phone call shortly after I posted this, and I was crying to her about the whole thing (what else are mothers for?). The first thing she said, was that I needed to find another dentist and get the hell away from Dr. Mengele.
I started laughing, despite the pain in my face, just because we were on so much the same wavelength that it was scary.
I can empathize, Leah M. I’ve had three abcesses, all excruciating, but probably not as bad as yours. Fortunately, my city has an excellent endodontist, and his root canals are quicker and only half as uncomfortable as a filling. Even he says, though, that he can’t do anything til you get the infection under control.
I also had a tooth break in between the two parts of a root canal. My break was lower than ETF’s, and our local extractor Dr. Mohler (not making that up) had to do minor gum surgery to get to one of the roots. Not every extraction is the same.
In the meantime, any drugstore can sell you a little sweet surcease without a prescription. One brand name is Ora-gel; if there’s a house brand of oral anaesthetic, the label will tell you if it’s the same thing.