Tag Archives: Root Canal Treatment

Porcelain Veneers

Dentist Gave Me Crowns Instead of Veneers

I’d been talking to my dentist about porcelain veneers. Every email communication he gave me said porcelain veneers. When I went in  for the procedure, he ground my teeth down quite a bit and gave me what he called temporary veneers. After getting the permanent one, I started having  pain with my canine, but the dentist said it was normal. The pain got so bad that I had to go to an emergency dentist. He said the tooth has a massive infection. He also  told me that I didn’t get porcelain veneers but dental crowns. I checked with my insurance and he did bill them for dental crowns. That doesn’t make sense because all we talked about were veneers and there both pages on his website. I was very specific about what I wanted. Since that visit, I’ve needed three root canals. Is there anything I can do about this?

Whitney

Dear Whitney,

Comparison of crowns to veneers tooth prep

I am glad you wrote. I believe you have a case for a malpractice suit here based on everything you’ve said. If he had the two procedures on his website, then the dentist obviously knew the difference between porcelain veneers and dental crowns. There might be some excuse for him if he really didn’t understand the difference but that does not appear to be the case.

He has the information on his website. He was emailing you about veneers while he charged the insurance for crowns. Essentially, he gave you a procedure without your consent, which is a big no-no in dental care.

Sometimes patients ask for a cosmetic procedure that their dentist  did not get the post-doctoral training in. Porcelain veneers is an advanced cosmetic procedure that to do well requires post-doctoral training. Rather than being up front with their patients that they are uncomfortable with veneers, they will sometimes recommend a procedure they are more comfortable with, like crowns.

Unfortunately, instead of being upfront, your dentist just gave you the crowns. Worse, he didn’t even do that well. The large number of root canals you need suggests to me that he was a bit over aggressive when he did your crowns. I would talk to the emergency dentist who treated you and see if he will back you up if you decide to take this to court.

If that is more than you want to do, I would start by telling your dentist that you know he gave you an different treatment than he asked for. Tell him that you don’t want a refund, but rather for him to pay for this work to be redone by the dentist of your choosing. Then, make sure you choose an expert cosmetic dentist. If he gives you trouble, tell him you understand the strength of your case. You can even have a lawyer write a letter on letterhead. This is cheaper than a lawsuit and may be enough to convince the dentist.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Cosmetic Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.

Sedation Dentist

Family Pressuring Me to See Dentist

I have a toothache. I have for a while. My parents keep telling me that I need to see the dentist. They’ve even offered to pay for it. The money isn’t the problem. My real problem is I am terrified of dentists–like throw up at the thought of going terrified. I keep telling them I’m fine and the pain isn’t too bad, but I think my mom can tell I’m hurting worse than I’m letting on. Plus, my cheek has started swelling. Tonight she sat me down and said that people die from infected teeth and she’s very worried about me. Is that true or is she just saying that to get me to go? My mom tends to think of all the worst case scenarios (that are unlikely) because she’s a worrier. If she’s right, what is the easiest procedure I can have to fix this?

Andrea

Dear Andrea,

Woman resting from dental sedation

I’m very glad you wrote. I’ll start by saying your mother is correct. People die from tooth infections every year. This is because your jaw is close to your throat, heart, lungs, and brain. Once the infection gets out of your tooth and spreads, it becomes very dangerous.

Something that starts as a dental emergency (a tooth infection), can quickly turn life threatening if it spreads to one of those areas. Your cheek is swollen, which tells me it has already begun to spread.

Let’s address the dental anxiety first, because knowing you need to go to the dentist and being able to are two different things. It sounds like you have rather severe anxiety. I’m going to suggest that you see a sedation dentist, specifically one who offers oral conscious sedation.

This is administered by a pill, but it is STRONG. This pill will completely relax you, enabling you to not only get the dental care you desperately, need, but allow you to do so in an anxiety free/pain free way. I think you will find it will change your life.

One thing you need to be aware of is that, because of its strength, you will need someone to drive you to and from your dental appointment as well as stay with you for a few hours at home until you are lucid and steady on your feet. I bet your mother would be willing to do that.

Treatment Options

Ideally, you would be able to save your tooth by having a root canal treatment. If that is no longer possible, then the tooth will have to be extracted and replaced.

The best tooth replacement option is a dental implant. This will be the closest thing to having a healthy natural tooth in your mouth again. There are other options if that is too expensive.

The good news is, once you try dental sedation, it will help you with that anxiety, which will allow you to get the care you need much sooner. You’ll find early intervention means much easier treatments.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.

Zoom Whitening

Whitening Teeth Myself

I asked my doctor about why I couldn’t whiten my teeth using Clorox bleach and he gave me a whole litany of reasons. After he acted like I was an idiot and pretty much said so, he also added that dentists don’t use bleach like I was planning to but a peroxide bleaching gel. I was too embarrassed to talk to him any more about it. Now that I’m home, I’m wondering if I can use household peroxide to do the same thing? Please don’t tell me I’m an idiot. Just explain yes or no.

Carla

Dear Carla,

Person under a zoom whitening light
Patient Under Zoom Whitening Light

 

I’m glad you wrote. First, you should never suffer verbal abuse or condescension from a medical professional. I would like to gently suggest you look for a new dentist. Your question was not stupid and neither is the one you asked me. Rather, it shows an inquisitive mind trying to put together care for herself with the information she has.

While peroxide does whiten, what you get with a bottle you could purchase over-the-counter will not give you what you need. It is only 3%. What your dentist will use will be a minimum of 33%. However, the strength is not the only obstacle. The peroxide would need to stay on your teeth for a minimum of fifteen minutes to have an effect. The only way to keep that on your teeth with the home peroxide is to swish it around in your mouth for that length of time. That would be challenging to say the least.

Your dentist accomplishes this by using it in a gel and either putting it in teeth bleaching trays to keep it on your teeth or painting it on with Zoom Whitening.

A second consideration is the importance of being under the care of a dentist during the procedure. There have been cases where someone used an over-the-counter whitening product that is considered safe and still ended up needing a root canal treatment as a result of the whitening. The last thing you need is ending up with a dental emergency simply because you wanted a whiter smile.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.

Dental Implants

Dentist Only Gave Her One Option, Which Is Unethical

I had a couple of accidents when I was in elementary school I had a couple of accidents that damaged my front tooth. Over the years it has turned an ugly brown. I want to get it fixed but my dentist said I’d need a dental implant to do that because there is not enough root to do anything else. The problem is this isn’t the only dental work that I need. I’m not sure I can get the crowns I need on my molars and fix my ugly tooth. Are there any other options for me?

Abigail

Dear Abigail,

dental implant diagram

First let’s talk about your root resorption. The accidents you had in elementary school damaged the nerve and blood supply on your tooth. That causes the tissue inside the tooth to die, which leads to an infection. A root canal treatment given at that time would have had a chance at saving the root. However that is not guaranteed. It only ups the chances.

While a dental implant is the best tooth replacement, it is also the most expensive. The good news is that it is not the only treatment option available to you. Your dentist is ethically obligated to give you all of your options. The fact that he didn’t makes me wonder about his motives. This may not be the best dentist for you.

Some of your other options include:

I would get a second opinion to discuss which of these will work best for you. I will say a dental bridge suspends a false tooth between two dental crowns. This option makes sense if you already needed a crown on one of the adjacent teeth, allowing you to deal with two issues at the same time. The dental flipper, while the least expensive option, is really designed to be a temporary option while you wait on or save up for the more permanent option.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.

Emergency Dentist

Is a Tooth Infection Dangerous?

I had a problem with a tooth, but I will be honest that I ignored it because I have pretty severe dental anxiety. The other day part of my molar broke off. Then, my cheek started hurting. Now the pain has wound its way around my ear and to the front of my neck. A friend of mine says that this is dangerous and I need to be seen right away. Is this an overreaction or does she have a point?

Sheryl

Dear Sheryl,

Woman holding her jaw in pain

I’m glad you wrote. Yes, your friend is correct. You are entering into a dangerous situation. When you have an infected tooth, the only way to treat it is by removing the infected pulp. That can be done by either a root canal treatment, which will save the tooth, or by a tooth extraction.

If the tooth does not get treatment, then the infection will continue to spread. This is what is happening to you now. You don’t want to leave this to continue to spread. Otherwise, what is currently a dental emergency can turn to a life threatening one. You will need to have this tooth treated. Without that, it can spread to your heart, lungs, brain, or even close up your throat to where you can not breathe. Believe it or not, people still die from tooth infections every year. I do not want you to be one of them.

I know you have dental anxiety, which has kept you from getting the care you need. The good news I have a solution for this. I would love you to see a sedation dentist. This can allow you to get your tooth treated the way you need to without any pain or anxiety. In fact, if you use something like oral conscious sedation, then you can actually sleep through your appointment if you want to. You’ll find that sedation will actually change your life.

You will finally be able to get caught up on all that dental care that you’ve needed but your anxiety has kept you from. Your oral health will improve, which you’ll find also improves your general health.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.

Emergency Dentist

Are They Misdiagnosing a Dental Emergency?

I broke a front tooth while on vacation about three years ago. I saw an emergency dentist who did a root canal treatment on the tooth. He did the filling part and said my dentist could do the crown when I returned home from vacation. When I did get home, my dentist removed the filling just to check out the work and said that everything looked fine. He replaced the filling and then provided me with the dental crown. Everything was fine for two years. Now, I’m living in a new state and the tooth starts hurting again out of nowhere. It became sensitive to hot and cold. I went to see my new dentist. He said that he didn’t see anything wrong and nothing showed up on the x-ray either, but did send me to a root canal specialist. That dentist didn’t see a problem with the crowned tooth but thought the problem was coming from the tooth next to the one that is crowned. There was nothing wrong with this tooth up until now so I’m not sure why it would be the problem. Are they overlooking a dental emergency with the tooth that is already crowned?

Amelia

Dear Amelia,

Man holding his jaw in pain

If the root canal treatment was done on your front tooth, then there will be no pain from that area. You had two dentists verify the root canal was done. When it is a back tooth, there can be some hidden canals that can be overlooked, but you are dealing with a front tooth so there would be nothing odd or challenging about that case.

Because of the extent of damage your tooth received, I would be shocked if the adjacent teeth did not also incur some trauma at the same time. It is fairly common for a tooth that underwent trauma to not show any signs of a problem until a few years down the line. When the pulp of a tooth is inflamed, it will not show up on an x-ray. That will only become a visible problem after the tooth develops an infection that starts to leech out into the bone.

If the tooth is no longer hurting, then it is not a dental emergency and you can leave it alone. Then, make sure you do an x-ray at least once a year. If anything changes, such as it develops pain again or something shows up on the x-ray, then you will know it is time to get treatment for the adjacent tooth. It will be a simple matter of having another root canal treatment and crown done.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.
Click here to learn about one-visit dental crowns.

Emergency Dentist

Tooth Hurts and Dentist Can’t Figure Out Why?

I had an accident while I was out of town. I had an emergency emergency dental appointment that resulted from that accident because of trauma to the tooth. I had two teeth hit. One of them was broken. The other was okay. The dentist did an emergency root canal treatment on the broken tooth. When I got home my dentist checked the work and said it was okay, then put a crown on the tooth. Now it’s been a couple of years and the tooth has really started hurting again, but the dentist cannot find anything wrong with it. There’s nothing on the x-ray and it does not hurt when he taps on it. I insisted it was hurting, so he sent me to a specialist. Unfortunately, the specialist can’t find anything wrong with it either. It is not hurting at the moment and I’m at a loss and worried I’ll lose the tooth, especially because it is a front tooth. Have you seen anything like this before?

Christine

 

Dear Christine,

Man holding his jaw in pain

I’m puzzled why both your dentist and the specialist, which I am assuming is an endodontist, are finding this hard to diagnose. While it is true that root canal treatments can fail, I don’t think it is likely that your front tooth did. There aren’t any surprise canals that are hard to reach on a front tooth the way there is on a molar.

You did have trauma to two teeth. My feeling is that you are having referred pain from the adjacent tooth that experienced the trauma but did not break.

Until an infection starts to spill out of the tooth, it is not unusual for nothing to show up on the x-ray with the pulp inflamed. It would not hurt when tapped at that point either.

If it is no longer hurting, that tells me that either the tooth has recovered or it is dying. If it is dying, that will eventually show up on an x-ray. The tooth will eventually start turning darker as well. I would not consider it a dental emergency, but I would keep an eye on it. You may find yourself needing another root canal treatment and dental crown at some future date. I would just keep up with your regular dental appointments and periodically have the tooth x-rayed.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesh.

Emergency Dentist

Getting a Refund from a Dentist Who Made a Mistake

I had a tooth that was slanted from thumb sucking. My dentist put a crown on it in order to fix that. A few weeks later, it became sensitive to both hot and cold. The dentist told me this was a normal condition in the first few weeks and my tooth would adjust. I was in pain for months and the side of my face swelled up so much I ended up in the E.R. That was pretty much was useless, because they just charged me a small fortune and told me I needed to see a dentist. I didn’t want to go back to the same dentist, but needed to see someone. I called around to see who else could get me in and one dentist said they kept some room for emergency patients. Thank the heavens for that! They told me the tooth with the crown was infected and I’d need a root canal treatment. I asked them how in the world that could happen and she told me the crown was not put on properly and left open margins. I don’t know what this means. She did try to explain it and showed me the x-ray, but I was so freaking angry at my other dentist that I wasn’t really paying attention after that. She got me out of pain and we scheduled the root canal. I contacted my other dentist trying to recoup the money I’d paid and they said that once the crown is placed I’m responsible for what happened to the tooth. What they heck? They placed it wrong. How can I be responsible for that? Is there any way I can get my money back? I can’t afford random dental procedures?

Nadia

Dear Nadia,

Man holding his jaw in pain

I’m sorry this happened to you and am frustrated on your behalf! Bear in mind that I have not examined you myself but based on what you’ve described, your dentist owes you that refund.

He violated the standard of care by leaving open margins. After placing the crown, he is supposed to run an explorer around the margins to make sure everything is properly seated for the crown. It sounds like he either didn’t do this or did it and ignored the fact that they were open.

You have a couple of good things going for you here. First, a dentist who is willing to say the first dentist messed up. Second, she took x-rays, which is solid evidence.

One of the problems about this kind of case is there often isn’t enough money involved to make going to court worth it, but you do have some steps you can take to encourage that refund.

First, tell him you will go to the dental board and that you have x-rays to back up your claims. Most dentists want to avoid this. Second, you could ask the new dentist to call your old one. This can be very persuasive. No one likes to look bad in front of their peers. Third, get an attorney to write a threatening letter on an official letterhead. This costs less than an actual lawsuit but can make the dentist think you’re willing to go to court.

You’ve probably already decided this, but if I were in your shoes, I’d switch to the dentist who saw you during your dental emergency from now on. It sounds like you’d get better care there.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.

 

Sedation Dentist

Need Advice about a Tooth Extraction

Years ago I had an infected tooth. I avoided the dentist because I have never had a good experience with one. When I could not take the pain anymore, I schedule an appointment. He said the tooth was infected and performed a root canal treatment. I was supposed to schedule a follow-up appointment for the cap, but never did. I probably should have because it seems like the tooth got reinfected. It hurt again and pieces started falling off. I went to another dentist who confirmed the infection. I received quite a lecture about the state of my teeth and not getting regular care. He told me it would be a tough extraction. The best he could offer me was nitrous oxide. If I didn’t think I was able to handle the procedure, he could refer me to an oral surgeon. I was thinking I would go with the oral surgeon. However, it turns out they are a LOT more expensive. Would I be able to get this done with a dentist and it not be an absolute nightmare or do I need to take out a loan and see the oral surgeon?

Imogen

Dear Imogen,

Woman resting in dental chair from dental sedation

I am going to say right off the bat that this dentist you saw will not be the best dentist for you. What you need is compassion and a solution, not a lecture. That does not lend toward helping patients feel comfortable going to the dentist.

You should not have to take out a loan and go to an oral surgeon for this extraction. The right dentist can do this extraction for you. What I think you need is a dentist who offers other, stronger, dental sedations options, such as oral conscious sedation.

They are generally more compassionate with anxious patients than the dentist you just experienced. Let them look at the tooth and tell you whether or not they can do the extraction. My guess is you will find someone. It sounds more like this dentist was out of his comfort level and was trying to push  the blame off on you.

With oral conscious sedation, you are not knocked out, but will be so completely relaxed that you will be able to sleep completely through the procedure if you want to.  Most patients who use dental sedation find it completely changes their life and they are able to get the dental care they have always wanted.

The only downside is, because of its strength, you will need someone to drive you to and from your appointment, as well as stay with you for a few hours after the procedure. They will want to make certain you are lucid and steady on your feet.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.

Sedation Dentist

Dentist Cannot Get Me Numb

My dentist tried a paste and seven injections and still could not get me numb. I am in desperate need of a root canal treatment, but the procedure was too excruciating. He ended the appointment and refunded my money. He told me he’d do some research, but I may need to get this extracted surgically with anesthesia if we can’t do the root canal treatment. I really want to save the tooth if possible. He prescribed me some more antibiotics and said he’d be in touch before the prescription runs out. Do you have any way that I can avoid losing this tooth?

Angela

Dear Angela,

Woman resting in dental chair from dental sedation

I am sorry for the horrible experience you went through. The fact that you still want to try and save your tooth says a lot about your character and perseverance.

The good news is I have a solution for you. It sounds like your dentist may not yet be aware of the connection between dental anxiety and the ability to get numb.

When you have a high level of dental anxiety, which many do, your metabolism can burn off the numbing medication before it can be of any use to you.

While you cannot just will your anxiety away, there is a medication that sedation dentists can provide for you that will do it for you. Not only will the medication completely relax you, but if you wanted to you would be able to completely sleep through your entire appointment.  Because of this, some people have dubbed it sleep dentistry.

My suggestion is you see a dentist who offers oral conscious sedation. This is administered by a pill that you will take before your appointment. Be aware that it is strong. In fact, it is so strong you will need someone to drive you to and from your appointment as well as stay with you for a few hours after your appointment. This will be important because you will still be a bit woozy and unsteady on your feet. I would plan on a day of napping or binge-watching your favorite streaming channel.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.