So less than two years ago I went to a new dentist. My job and dental insurance changed so I had to go to this guy. Truthfully, it had been a year or two since I had been to the dentist at that point, but I have never had trouble with my teeth before. I really went to see him because I desperately wanted my teeth cleaned. So dentist declares that I need all sorts of work done on my teeth, including a filling on a back molar and a crown on another tooth. I felt weird about him from the beginning, but thought the work probably needed to be done. Long story short, he completely screwed the crown up and had to redo it a couple of times (meaning that I had to take extra time off work). The filling I thought was pretty straight forward. Wouldn't you think that is the first thing that dentists learn how to do? I paid the guy a ton of money out of pocket and got out of dodge. Since then the side with the filling has been super sensitive (something it wasn't before he worked on it). After such a rotten experience, I didn't go back to him. He was the only one my insurance dealt with locally and so I was a bad grown up once again and didn't go any dentist.
A month ago the filling he put in less than two years ago started crumbling. I do all the paperwork to find a new dentist and go see the new guy, thinking that it will be a matter of having the filling redone (which I am pretty cranky about as I paid hundreds of dollars two years ago to have the filling done in the first place!). New dentist takes lots of xrays and pictures and comes in with the bad news. The old filling had disintegrated due to continued decay underneath it. The tooth has now decayed almost to the nerve and I need a root canal. In addition, it is likely that I will need to go to the periodontist to have surgery so the bone can be ground down enough for the now required crown to have something to adhere to.
So because the old dentist was a quack and idiot, I have to shell out thousands of dollars to fix the problem, a problem he should have fixed two years ago.
The new dentist referred me to a guy who did the root canal and another guy who will do the periodontal work, so I know he didn't recommend it to line his own pockets. He was very good and very clear when he went though all the pictures with me. I really like the new dentist. I am mad as heck at the old dentist and want my money back!!!
Last Friday morning I went to have the root canal. The appointment started at 10am and the receptionist said it would take about 2 hours. I was there four hours. The poor guy drilled for three hours straight. He later said that if he kept a scrapbook of really hard teeth, my tooth would be on the cover. It was the hardest root canal he has ever done. Apparently my roots are long and curved like a banana. Of course. No reason for us to think this would be easy. The root canal guy was great and even called me later to make sure I was okay. He prescribed lots of ibuprofen since my mouth was wide open for three hours. Ouch.
All of this because the first yahoo did a crappy job. Is there a board to report him to? Doctors can get hit with malpractice. What do dentists get hit with?
A month ago the filling he put in less than two years ago started crumbling. I do all the paperwork to find a new dentist and go see the new guy, thinking that it will be a matter of having the filling redone (which I am pretty cranky about as I paid hundreds of dollars two years ago to have the filling done in the first place!). New dentist takes lots of xrays and pictures and comes in with the bad news. The old filling had disintegrated due to continued decay underneath it. The tooth has now decayed almost to the nerve and I need a root canal. In addition, it is likely that I will need to go to the periodontist to have surgery so the bone can be ground down enough for the now required crown to have something to adhere to.
The new dentist referred me to a guy who did the root canal and another guy who will do the periodontal work, so I know he didn't recommend it to line his own pockets. He was very good and very clear when he went though all the pictures with me. I really like the new dentist. I am mad as heck at the old dentist and want my money back!!!
Last Friday morning I went to have the root canal. The appointment started at 10am and the receptionist said it would take about 2 hours. I was there four hours. The poor guy drilled for three hours straight. He later said that if he kept a scrapbook of really hard teeth, my tooth would be on the cover. It was the hardest root canal he has ever done. Apparently my roots are long and curved like a banana. Of course. No reason for us to think this would be easy. The root canal guy was great and even called me later to make sure I was okay. He prescribed lots of ibuprofen since my mouth was wide open for three hours. Ouch.
All of this because the first yahoo did a crappy job. Is there a board to report him to? Doctors can get hit with malpractice. What do dentists get hit with?
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