I had to get a dental implant because of a serious infected tooth. I had a crown but there was another infection, so the dentist said it had to be pulled. He suggested I get a dental implant. When he gave me the Novocain for the tooth extraction, it felt like the needle went into my brain. Ever since then, I’ve had a burning in my mouth that is driving me crazy. I complained about it on every check up appointment for my dental implants, but he kept saying it was normal and would go away after a few weeks. Then, it came time to place the dental crown on the dental implant. He had trouble getting it on and had to press it super hard. It hurt like mad the entire time. While I was at that appointment, I told him the burning was still happening. He said it was Thrush, which seemed like an excuse to me. He did give me an antibiotic but that didn’t seem to help.
Then, a couple of months later, I was on vacation and the crown just fell off. I went to see a dentist there who told me that the implant was infected and needed to be removed. Now, I’m stuck with no tooth. I don’t think I want to go through everything with a dental implant, so am thinking of getting a dental bridge. Is there a way I can get the dentist to refund me for the failed implant?
Carl
Dear Carl,
I am sorry this has happened to you. What a disaster! The burning in your mouth that you’re feeling is burning mouth syndrome. It is obvious to both of us that you did not have thrush. He just used that as an excuse. The common denominator for people with this condition is a traumatic dental appointment, which you certainly had.
As to whether you can get a refund, you can always ask. If the dentist has integrity he will want to do the right thing about a failed implant. I suspect he will not give you the refund. In that case, you have limited options. You could take him to court, but you’d have to prove that he was at fault. It would be helpful to have another dentist on your side for this. I think the failed dental crown is more easily provable.
I have some doubts about the infection because you didn’t mention anything about pain or a fever. Those usually follow an infection.
If you don’t want to start over with a dental implant, a dental bridge is your best second option. I still think an implant is possible, but you’d want to do it with a different dentist.
Given that you’ve had some traumatic dental appointments, I want to suggest that you see a sedation dentist. This will give you a pain-free/anxiety-free dental appointment.
This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.