Since when do Dentists have salesman?? RANT

[themarquis]

Piratekitty,

Take lots of ibuprofin (or pain reliever of choice) every 4-6 hours on the dot (or whatever the label says) so it can build up in your system and offer the greatest relief. Use orajel or another brand/preparation of OTC tooth pain reliever as often as needed (it will only numb the area for a short period of time. this was my savior when I had a toothache a few months ago -- douse your entire tooth/gum area with it liberally). Alternate hot and cold packs. Put a favorite DVD on the tv to take your mind off the pain.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Its 10:20 now, I thought that I would go to bed early, the pain meds kicked in. So I hit the sack about an hour ago, and woke up in more pain. This is ridiculous. I'm probably going to be up all night. Thank God that appt. is early. This definitely can't be just a "cavity".

Take a teabag (regular old lipton,etc) and dunk it in hot water briefly. squeeze out the excess water and place it between your cheek and the aching tooth. Leave it wedged in there. It will provide you with some relief from the pain. It's not a bad idea for post treatment, either. Don't ask me how it works, but as the daughter of a dentist who has been practicing for 44 years (you read that right!), I learned this trick as a kid!

Good luck!

 

[PirateKitty]

Thanks everyone for your support and advice. Its now 5:52 a.m. here, and I've gotten probably around 4 hours of sleep. I've been using the ice pack to help with the swelling, but it is still very swollen and tender. I'm going to try the tea bag for now to see if that helps. My fiance can't wait to call that other place today to give them a piece of his mind. Worst case scenario with this is a root canal. I hope its not too late to save the tooth.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Keep us updated

 

[PirateKitty]

Well, I went to the dentist at 8:00 this morning, and I am so glad I went. The first thing he noticed was my giant cheek, and then he asked me to explain what happened in detail. I brought all the papers that this $#&!hole dental center gave me, and he said he was going to start from scratch. After performing x-rays, he came in and said "they sent you home???" As it turns out, not only did I have 1 abscessed tooth (not a cavity as the other place told me), the infection was spreading and that was what was causing the swelling in the cheek. I was there for over 2 hours, he performed a root canal, and there was quite a bit of drainage (pus), so he wanted to make sure most of it was out before he put a temporary filling in. He also prescribed me with more antibiotics and vicodin . He wants to follow up within the next week, and said if I am still in pain on Friday, to call him day or night and he will get me in there.

I am so thankful that he was able to help. He was in shock as well, that these places are scamming people into having unnecessary work done, not to mention mis-diagnosing someone and trying to get them to sign a contract to have extensive work done to their teeth before they will help them. I'm glad I brought that piece of paper in, because the x-rays that I had done today proved that I would have been putting myself through procedures that would have been unnecessary! But I feel better knowing that I don't have as many "cavities" as they told me I did. And I'm hoping that when I wake up tomorrow, the swelling will have subsided a bit more, and the pain will decrease. It already has a tiny bit, but is still very uncomfortable. I can only imagine if I had taken the advice of that dental center and waited to get that tooth "filled", especially since I have a very bad infection.

Thanks to everyone for your support. My advice, steer clear of those places and find a good dentist. Its totally not worth the pain its caused me.

 

[salmoneous]

I had an eye doctor like this once. There are all sorts of seminars out there teaching doctors how to extract more money from their patients.

I told my eye doctor I felt the selling was an unethical violation of the doctor/patient relationship and that he was no longer my doctor.

This sort of thing needs to be slapped down immediately.

 

[gypsydoodlebug]

So glad it worked out for you. As an adult in braces who has to have Xanax and nitrous oxide to have her WIRES changed each month, I understand your fears completely! And it sounds like you've found yourself a nice new dentist.

 

[agnes!]

Another thing that can work for pain relief is to chew or crush a clove or two onto where the tooth hurts (being careful not to end up with clove bits getting stuck in cracked teeth etc).

Orajel (or anything for teething pain relief) can be useful. Also, if you have a cracked tooth, you can get braces-wax, that you can stick onto the cracked tooth to keep you tongue from getting ripped up.

agnes!

 

[paras4ri]

Glad to hear things went well for you today.

 

[minniecarousel]

So glad you found a dentist you can trust PirateKitty!

My Mom ordered the extra dental coverage with her supplemental health insurance a few years ago and the dentist in one of those "dental clinics" made her wait so long, didn't do the cleaning and gave her a print-out with a HUGE list of stuff that she should have done! She was 85 and had all her own teeth - we're just looking for maintenance here people - not a new mouth! She also has to take anti-biotics when she has any dental work done, so it had been a wasted mega-dose of that too. Needless to say, we cancelled this extra dental insurance, I took her to my dentist (who was appalled at that print-out from the other place) and my Mom pays for her own cleanings, but my dentist just keeps her teeth functioning. It's a shame that some dentists have resorted to these tactics!

 

[Chuck S]

I love our dentist. I was using the water pic, and hit a spot that was so painful, I just knew it was something serious. So I called him and they worked me in. He did X-rays, and checked the tooth. He probed it pretty hard and asked if it still hurt, I said, "No, it seems OK, now." He said, "Sometimes teeth are just weird, if it does it again, come back in." He didn't charge me anything. But it gets better...

Mom had a filling pop out on a Sunday, and her tooth was hurting, so we called the office, to see if there was an emergency number. We called it, his wife answered and said he was golfing at the moment, but here...call his cell (and she gave me his cell number). He said, "I'll call back when our round is finished & I'll stop at the office on the way home. Park in the back and use the back entrance." We met him at the office, and twenty minutes later, Mom had a nice new filling. Again...no charge!!! He said, "Hey, emergencies happen, and I take care of my patients."

I think he's a keeper, don't you?

 

[tiggger1]

that is why I am so happy that my dentist is a close family friend...

 

[alexis_fate]

I feel you on the pressure they put on you. I went in may to a new dentist because of new insurance. I walked out with a print out for $6,000.00, they made me think all my teeth were going to fall out that day. Now I did have some problems but they should not scare people to death. I just had 2 root canals in less than 8 days. I am not a happy camper.

I do hope you get to feeling better!!!!