Today they sealed the work just done. But I feared a full set of x-rays would find more problems, and they have.
Another bridge, this one needing the anchor tooth extracted next Tuesday, with a bone graft, three month wait for that to heal and ultimately an implant, as they try to rework the bridge to be a cap for the other anchor tooth. Maybe two implants.
Plus antibiotics, which make me feel ‘off’, with no holidays possible: got to get this book in and get started on the other.
I do not look forward to this. At all. It’s just so tiresome, dental pain, sore spots, and more and more and more meds.
I’m not feeling too good. Frustrated. Headache from the morning’s procedure. And a bigger headache in terms of just hauling myself up and getting back on even keel.
“This too shall pass.”
Mine’s done, after almost a year at OHSU/SoD, a final bridge from lower canine to lower canine. And maybe a substantial 60% of the price a local dentist quoted.
The first molar after the bicuspid on the left lower jaw has decided to become very tender. This is the one that broke back in March, and while it’s not a stabbing pain, it’s enough that it hurts to put any pressure on it. I don’t know how much I have left on my insurance, but the dentist’s office said that my out of pocket expenses were going to be in the neighborhood of $1650 after they finish with the extraction, the two crowns, and the bridge to replace the extracted tooth. …..I don’t know when I’ll be able to do this, but I’m looking at possibly January when the insurance rolls over to a new year.
Believe me folks, the antibiotic is much nicer than an infection. Once upon a once, I had a root canal done by a dentist who told me I was numb and proceeced over my protests. When I called back two days later in excruciating pain the message relayed by his secretary was, “My work doesn’t get infected”. To make a long story short, I ended up with a 1/4 inch round empty space where the infection had eaten away the bone. Antibiotics good; some dentists, not so good.
I’d have walked into his office, demanded they look at my mouth, and proceed to tell them that “Yes, his work DOES get infected, and I’ll be contacting the State Board of Dentistry to lodge a complaint. No, you are not going to touch my mouth again. I’ll find another dentist.” I’m not afraid to let them know they screwed up, and I’m not afraid to let their patients know, too.
Anecdote: The Veterans Hospital in Dayton, OH had a BIG flap a few years ago when the chief of dentistry was accused by two of his assistants of not properly sterilizing the equipment, of not washing his hands between patients, and being a vector for passing Hepatitis C from one patient to another. The chief retired a few months later, and STILL gets his full retirement benefits. Nothing has ever been done or said to ease the worries of the people who actually WENT to this guy………one more reason why I don’t use the VA medical system…..even though I’ve got a 50% disability, and am eligible for care at any VA medical center….um, no. Just no.
My response would have been “You are going to pay for me to have this repaired by a competent dentist.” Were you referred to this incompetent boob, was he your regular dentist and you just never had discovered his poor technique previously, or was he new and you were trying him out?
He was an Army dentist who saw me on an emergency basis for a cracked tooth. I was a dependent. We were outprocessing, so nothing could be done through either the state or the Army. I was just lucky it didn’t go systemic.
Nuts. Sounds like Joe got it right, re: the ham-handed military dentist.
From one who shares similar dental woes, an extra helping of sympathy, CJ. I’ve teased my hubby over the years, saying that he should have checked my teeth before he married me.
I hope all dental work goes smoothly for you.