I went to the dentist...Nightmare!!

[SteyrAUG]

You should be seeing an oral surgeon, not a dentist.

This.

[chuckman]

Man, that is tough, and I am sorry you are having to ride that ride.

Cysts going without proper treatment may impact your health; I agree with seeing if medical insurance will cover any of it. Another suggestion is trying a local dental school (if there is one) as they will often have much reduced rates. An attending will be supervising; it ain't like you get some schmoe.

[elephant]

the problem is that dentist in general know that there is not dental insurance that is worth a shit and yet they charge a price that would require most people to have insurance. Ive talked to 3 dentist/ oral surgeons and the price I had was in around $3k of each other. Look, were not banging rocks together here, they all said the same thing except one said he could possibly salvage one tooth if I cut the gums around that tooth and expose more tooth for a new crown which would cost the same amount of money. I had my appendix taken out in January and went to Medical City Dallas and that cost me $39k and I had to pay almost $6k out of pocket.- ridiculous!!

[Pilot1]

My Dad was a DDS, and an oral surgeon. It is a specialty of dentistry like Orthodontics, or Periodontics.

[Hmac]

My Dad was a DDS, and an oral surgeon. It is a specialty of dentistry like Orthodontics, or Periodontics.

No, not at all. Oral surgeons are dentists that do an actual residency in head and neck surgery, and many or most of them actually get an MD degree as part of their training, making them DDS, MD's instead of just DDS. Oral surgery is leagues beyond dentistry when it comes to diseases and conditions of the mandible and oropharynx. Their training goes WAY beyond teeth and gums.

[SteyrAUG]

No, not at all. Oral surgeons are dentists that do an actual residency in head and neck surgery, and many or most of them actually get an MD degree as part of their training, making them DDS, MD's instead of just DDS. Oral surgery is leagues beyond dentistry when it comes to diseases and conditions of the mandible and oropharynx. Their training goes WAY beyond teeth and gums.

Absolutely this. And not to put too fine a point on it, root canals gone wrong are nothing to screw around with. Thankfully most of the problems are on the jaw, if you get that shit going on above the top row it can actually kill you. There isn't a whole lot going on between the roots of your teeth and the bottom of your brain.

But even infections / cysts on the bottom are a really big deal and you want to get it done right the first time. Once everything is said and done and you are good to to again, I'd honestly contact a lawyer about the first dentist who seems to have managed an incredible level of indifference regarding his root canal work.

Sorry you are going through this, it's a serious kind of pain. Lastly, be damn careful with the meds.

[militarymoron]

Sorry you're going through this, Elephant.
Thanks for this thread though - tonight I'm going to brush, floss and rinse extra carefully!

[JC5188]

My Dad was a DDS, and an oral surgeon. It is a specialty of dentistry like Orthodontics, or Periodontics.

My cousin is married to an oral surgeon. My brother called him a Dentist once...ONCE!

Lol.

Not the same.


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[elephant]

Attachment 46454

Attachment 46455

Well, here is the postop. In the middle of June I went in and had the first of 4/5 operations. This operation was specific to removing the cyst in the lower gums and the upper gums, extracting a total of 5 teeth, these apparently were not salvageable, they were hoping to get away with only removing 2. I left the dentist after a 2 hour procedure with a mouth full of stiches and the dentist didn't even have the decency to prescribe me pain pills. Luckily I have a supply. In October, I go back and I have the gums re-lacerated to expose the bone and the cavity left by the cyst and I get a bone graft consisting of partially my bone taken from locations in the roof of my mouth and lower jaw, and with bovine bone as well, I've been told that I will leave in the same condition as the first surgery, "a mouth full of stitches". In January of 2018 I will have to go to a different dentist to have a special kind of root canal, where they "clip the tops of the teeth, but they do it from lacerating your upper gums and exposing the bone. "apparently this way is better", anyways more stiches. In March or mid April, I can start the implant procedures where they re open the gums around the missing teeth and drill and tap a 4.3mm hole and put in a titanium helicoil and let the gums heal over. Later in June of next year I can go back and open the gums back up once more and install post for the implants. Then I have to have the gum line receded because of the scar tissue and I then I can have my permanent teeth cemented in place. Looking forward to July 2018!!! On a side note: The operation on the lower jaw, the picture is of the scar tissue, all of my bottom teeth are completely numb, the nerves were damaged by the cyst and the cyst was the size of a quarter and left such a huge cavity, my teeth shifted into the present position.

[Pilot1]

My cousin is married to an oral surgeon. My brother called him a Dentist once...ONCE!

Lol.

Not the same.


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My Dad was a dentist in the Army from 1945 and I think to 1949. He practiced for fifty years total, and back then oral surgeons were not MD's. That is a more recent phenomena. He was on surgical team in the Army that reconstructed the faces of soldiers that were injured in WWII. Maxillofacial surgery. He did have to go to additional two years of school while stationed in Germany.