I Hate Dentists, II
Okay... “hate” is too strong a word. My dentist today was Romanian, and she wasn’t bad. But the results were not what I expected.
I arrived twenty minutes early to get all the paper work out of the way. I was then taken to the examination room where she was to start the procedure of extracting the tooth. She determined the tooth was too inflamed to do anything. I complained that there was a growth in my mouth that was bothering me and causing more pain. She examined it and determined that it was an abscess caused by all the infection. She offered to lance it and drain it, which totally grossed me out. I said, “Hell no... not in this lifetime!” That kind of lost her, but there was a translator there who conveyed my exact feelings. She also wasn’t sure about the implant. She said the infection had most likely damaged bone tissue - the same tissue that would accept the implant. So, it looks like if I do get an implant, it could be months away - just as you said Mary. I'm wondering if I should start taking calcium tablets.
She told me that she would not do the extraction until the infection had been controlled. She prescribed 875mg Amoxicillin tablets. She also said that if I would come back in a week, they would set up an appointment with the doctor who would be doing the implant, along with the extraction. He would take the case from here on out. That sounded better to me, so I will see him Saturday, April 1st (April Fools Day). At least I won’t be pushed around from one dentist to another.
She asked what I was taking to control the pain. I told her this really super heavy duty dose of Motrin. She said, “That won’t touch this kind of pain.” I said, “You are right. It’s doing nothing.” She wrote me a prescription of Vicodin with Acetaminophen and told me that it would probably turn everything off. So, I guess that’s for bedtime.
So, I have a week to deal with this, but she indicated that the pain should subside when the infection starts subsiding. Fun! Fun!
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: I Hate Dentists, II.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://billandkent.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1906
7 Comments
Leave a comment
I was told that the only part the insurance would cover would be the extraction and anything other than an implant. They would cover a bridge or something along those lines. But I want something very permanent. They will pay for 80% of the extraction and 50% of a bridge if I went that route. They will not pay for an implant and I was told the cost can be as high as $4000.
Oh, and on my dental insurance (that I think sucks), the yearly maximum on everything covered is $1000!
Good luck with the recovery! I had an implant done 2 years ago... it went well except for the outrageous $$$. My dental insurance doesn't cover a penny of an impant. Then my dentist told me it would be $2000. So I went for it. Then, after shelling out two grand, I was told 'oh, that doesn't include the tooth!' A tooth to put on my implant was another grand. So they only got the price wrong by 50%. Ever buy a car and get told after paying, 'oh, that doesn't include the engine!'?
Well, I'm feeling much better today. I guess the Amoxicillin is pretty powerful stuff. The pain is down to almost zero and the fever is gone. YAY!!!!
I've taken no pain killers today and holding up pretty well. I think I can make it through the week to next Saturday. Then I get the tooth extracted and we start the next phase of it all over again - waiting until I have enough bone mass for the implant to take. That's probably 4-6 months out, but I can deal with that as long as I have a good temporary tooth in the meantime.
The Vicodin is going into the medicine case. I have to tell you, that stuff is wild. Last night, I was watching TV and I felt like I was on a ship at sea. The whole room was swaying back and forth. The pain was gone, and I was sitting there giggling at apparently nothing. If only it were real. :)
Geez Bill, I feel bad I got in on this thing a bit late.
I hope you are feeling better, and I certainly hope you are pain free by now.
I wrote you before about my problems with a dishonest dentist I went to a few years back over a cracked tooth. I knew I couldn't afford my regular dentist who I had been with for years because of crappy insurance, so I went to this crooked outfit that took the even more crooked insurance my company signed on with. (My sister the orthodontist knows the guy who put the plan together. She said he's shadier than the New York during a snow storm. Or something like that.)
Anyway, I ended up back with my own dentist after the crooks at the other place wanted to run up a bill that involved not only my cracked tooth, but replacing all my old fillings as well. I must admit though, the crooked dentist was WAY hot. Had I not been married I might just had let them go ahead and replace all those fillings. The thieving insurance company would have covered it anyway.
Take care, Bill, and again, I hope you are feeling much better, and that any future dentist visits involve nothing more than a good cleaning.
yuck yuck yuck yuck yuck!!! Hope you feel better ASAP!
Thanks Mary for your kind comments and concern. I've been able to be basically functional for the last couple of hours, but the pain is returning now. I'm not sure when I will be on line again. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. I'm taking the Vicodin now.
You poor thing. Take care of yourself, be careful with the Vicodin (it makes me throw up unless I've eaten something major - also, if you drink wine with it, it will send you to a different level of consciousness (or unconsciousness, as the case may be - I remember it wasn't exactly unpleasant). The antibiotic will help, too. Get a lot of rest, Bill.