The dentist
I had a dentist appointment with a new dentist this morning. I'm switching dentists because (after having a filling replaced twice and still not being able to chew on that side of my mouth) my dentist just kept telling me to wait longer for it to get better on its own (it's been 8 months).
So I have to have a new patient examination, which is much more thorough than at my old dentist. Unfortunately the insurance company won't pay for two new patient exams in the same year, so I had to pay for it.
One of my teeth is "hollow" (so a dentist told me many years ago, perhaps 10 years ago now). Dentists always say that tooth looks like it has a huge cavity in it, and then they poke and prod it and test it and look for an entry point for the cavity and don't find it and eventually tell me, "well, it doesn't bother you, so we're just going to leave it alone."
This new dentist says she thinks she sees the entry point for that cavity and I have an appointment to fix it in a couple weeks. With luck, I won't need a root canal (she's concerned that the decay has been there so long that the tooth might be dead).
The filling in the back that was the reason for changing dentists in the first place is also troublesome: the filling is very close to the nerve and my options are
1) Wait longer to see if it gets better on its own.
2) Have a temporary filling put in that is medicated and designed to calm the nerve. If it gets better, then after a few weeks they can put a real filling back in. If it doesn't get better, ROOT CANAL (and crown). The temporary filling would not be covered by the insurance because they only cover replacement fillings once every two years. So it's an expensive option that might end up unnecessary/excessive.
3) Forget the temporary filling and go straight for a root canal + crown. The root canal would most likely be covered by insurance but the crown would most likely only be covered at 80% (crown is $900 apparently).
So right now I'm just waiting (and in the mean time, still not able to chew on that side of my mouth).
I have more decay on that side of my mouth now that I've stopped chewing on that side (instead, stuff just collects and then decays--greeeeat). So I will probably need more fillings in the future.
I should probably brush my teeth/floss more regularly as well.
I think this is the worst dentist appointment I've ever been to (several cavities, possibly two root canals needed...). The only thing I have scheduled to fix though is the "hallow" tooth (the one with the big cavity in it that can only be seen through X-ray).
OH YEAH, and this dentist thinks I might need to have my wisdom teeth out even though the last dentist said I probably wouldn't need to.
I do trust the new dentist more (she was extremely thorough and communicative, also pointed out errors in the new patient exam I got at the other dentist when she saw the records).
They had a lot of nifty software and gadgets. They recorded my initial mouth data by software (one person examined my mouth, another person entered the data on a screen on the wall). And at one point she entered data by speaking into a microphone and giving voice commands to the software. And they took photographs of my mouth with a camera wand and showed me the pictures. It was the first time I had ever seen the filling that has been giving me so much grief for 8 months. Then they took a picture of my face for my file, "say cheese!". They made a tidy digital file with photos of my teeth, x-rays of my teeth, and the tooth-chart of all the data they recorded. I was impressed.
And the office was much more professional than I was expecting. For some reason, because the dentist is so conveniently located near my office I had assumed in my brain that it was going to be some shabby "just convenient" place, but it's as nice as any place I've been to. Even the billing process was clearly explained and thorough.
Here's hoping I can stick with this dentist.
Also here's hoping I don't have to spend a fortune and have lots of pain in dental work in the near future.
So I have to have a new patient examination, which is much more thorough than at my old dentist. Unfortunately the insurance company won't pay for two new patient exams in the same year, so I had to pay for it.
One of my teeth is "hollow" (so a dentist told me many years ago, perhaps 10 years ago now). Dentists always say that tooth looks like it has a huge cavity in it, and then they poke and prod it and test it and look for an entry point for the cavity and don't find it and eventually tell me, "well, it doesn't bother you, so we're just going to leave it alone."
This new dentist says she thinks she sees the entry point for that cavity and I have an appointment to fix it in a couple weeks. With luck, I won't need a root canal (she's concerned that the decay has been there so long that the tooth might be dead).
The filling in the back that was the reason for changing dentists in the first place is also troublesome: the filling is very close to the nerve and my options are
1) Wait longer to see if it gets better on its own.
2) Have a temporary filling put in that is medicated and designed to calm the nerve. If it gets better, then after a few weeks they can put a real filling back in. If it doesn't get better, ROOT CANAL (and crown). The temporary filling would not be covered by the insurance because they only cover replacement fillings once every two years. So it's an expensive option that might end up unnecessary/excessive.
3) Forget the temporary filling and go straight for a root canal + crown. The root canal would most likely be covered by insurance but the crown would most likely only be covered at 80% (crown is $900 apparently).
So right now I'm just waiting (and in the mean time, still not able to chew on that side of my mouth).
I have more decay on that side of my mouth now that I've stopped chewing on that side (instead, stuff just collects and then decays--greeeeat). So I will probably need more fillings in the future.
I should probably brush my teeth/floss more regularly as well.
I think this is the worst dentist appointment I've ever been to (several cavities, possibly two root canals needed...). The only thing I have scheduled to fix though is the "hallow" tooth (the one with the big cavity in it that can only be seen through X-ray).
OH YEAH, and this dentist thinks I might need to have my wisdom teeth out even though the last dentist said I probably wouldn't need to.
I do trust the new dentist more (she was extremely thorough and communicative, also pointed out errors in the new patient exam I got at the other dentist when she saw the records).
They had a lot of nifty software and gadgets. They recorded my initial mouth data by software (one person examined my mouth, another person entered the data on a screen on the wall). And at one point she entered data by speaking into a microphone and giving voice commands to the software. And they took photographs of my mouth with a camera wand and showed me the pictures. It was the first time I had ever seen the filling that has been giving me so much grief for 8 months. Then they took a picture of my face for my file, "say cheese!". They made a tidy digital file with photos of my teeth, x-rays of my teeth, and the tooth-chart of all the data they recorded. I was impressed.
And the office was much more professional than I was expecting. For some reason, because the dentist is so conveniently located near my office I had assumed in my brain that it was going to be some shabby "just convenient" place, but it's as nice as any place I've been to. Even the billing process was clearly explained and thorough.
Here's hoping I can stick with this dentist.
Also here's hoping I don't have to spend a fortune and have lots of pain in dental work in the near future.