Rant here...

[meatdrink9]

I'm in serious dental hell right now. The tooth that was supposed to be fixed last spring (at a cost of $2000) is now destroying my entire mouth. I have an abscess. I'm losing bone in my face and if it doesn't stop I could lose more teeth. There were serious mistakes made when the crown installation happened. No follow-up apointment to check on the work. I have to go under an IV and have the tooth removed tomorrow (just barely found all this out from a different dentist). The wife will have to drive me home. The next bill is $3300. Insurance covers nothing. I need bone grafts. Then a metal post installed later. 6 months of wearing a flipper (pretty much no front tooth). I've got sores in my mouth from the infection. Must supress desire to kill.

I don't want sympathy or advice. So don't give any. I just wanted to bitch. I have numerous answers that may or may not work, but the waiting and this new info is just eating me up.

Bitch away here if you feel like it.

:mad:

[Buster Highmen]

OK. I hear you. Sucks, eh? I had a root ccanal w/ no anesthetic when I had no money. Can you say "it bites"?

[Ski Beaver]

Rip them all out and get some of these:

Bill Bob teef (http://www.faketeeth.net/Search.bok?category=Billy+Bob+Teeth)

[mr_gyptian]

JERRY: So you won't believe what happened with Whatley today. It got back to hime that I made this little dentist joke and he got all offended. Those people can be so touchy.
KRAMER: Those people, listen to yourself.
JERRY: What?
KRAMER: You think that dentists are so different from me and you? They came to this country just like everybody else, in search of a dream.
JERRY: Kramer, he's just a dentist.
KRAMER: Yeah, and you're an anti-dentite.

JERRY: I am not an anti-dentite!
KRAMER: You're a rabid anti-dentite! Oh, it starts with a few jokes and some slurs. "Hey, denty!" Next thing you know you're saying they should have their own schools.
JERRY: They do have their own schools!
KRAMER: Yeah!....

[mrryde]

The only bigger ripoff than dental work is dental insurance

[13]

Jesus fuckin' christ. I'm glad I have been with the same dentist for my whole life and a dentist in the family should he drop dead.

Hope it works out, buddy. :(

[Ski Beaver]

I'm glad I have been with the same dentist for my whole life and a dentist in the family should he drop dead.


Um, this sounds a little gay.

And to consider someone in your own family is illegal.

[Twoplanker]

There's this woman who goes to the dentist. As the dentist leans over to begin working on her, she grabs his balls. The dentist says, "Madam, I believe you've got a hold of my nutsack." The woman replies, "Yes. We're going to be careful not to hurt each other, aren't we?"

[iskibc]

Ouch! Kind of in the same boat as you right now. I'm staring down a $3,000 treatment plan right now. Unreal.

[skibe]

The next bill is $3300. Insurance covers nothing.
:mad:

My first thought is your insurance company is a bunch of quacks. Hope it turns out ok for ya.

[splat]

J - I'm so bummed to hear that. I have a dentist I wish you could see - he's kind of a homeopathic DDS and his take on dental health is interesting and his work excellent.

On another note - I met a Brazilian dentist (and his enitre family) in Buenos Aires when the hurricane had us stranded, a dental surgeon, actually.
You could fly to Rio and have the work done for 1/4 of the cost, honeymooning with Mindy (not that she'd want to kiss you) while getting the work done. Basically, it's be about the same cost in total, but an exotic vacation thrown in. I'm thinking about doing this very thing.

[Buzzworthy]

If ya let all but one front tooth fall out, you could legitimatly call yourself a West "By God" Virginian.

[Sublime]

I have my fucking wisdom teeth coming in. I'm not sure if I have room or not but it fucking sucks to have the little fuckers slowly rip through my gums. I most likely have a cavity or maybe even a root canal that needs done. Not having dental insurance is the fucking worst the dentists don't even spit before they rape you in the ass.

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Blurred]

I guess we should all re-think our strategy of running all the dentists off of TGR.

[Rusty Nails]

Obviously if someone did faulty work the first time with no follow up, sue the living shit outta them. This, dear friends, is why tort law (and med mal specifically) exists. Typical settlement on dental claims is usually 2-3 time medical costs.

[Mountain Junkie]

Well, at least I feel better about the hundreds of dollars I've spent on PT for my knee that hasn't done a damn thing. I even have a collection agency after my ass. Go US healthcare!!!

Seriously, that sucks. Health insurance becomes more and more of a contradiction every year.

[meatdrink9]

slowly calming down...things look to be improving. I don't want to sue anybody. My boss had me talk to his cousin (lawyer) and it scared me. He's a nice guy but when it got to talking about getting money the green eyed monster showed up in his eyes and I ended the conversation. The lawyer asked if I could "sue the ski area". That ended it. No one is to blame for the injury but me. However the dentist's assistant made some serious mistakes that turned a routine 20 minute apt into a 4 hour pain fest and probably caused the procedure to fail.

The doc is a real nice reasonable guy. I sometimes play a nice reasonable guy on TV. We were able to work some things out tonight. GT has some plans that might improve the overall appearance and pricing (maybe even get me a couple of UT trips for the work)... starting to worry less. It's still going to be awkward for the better part of a year and very painful on probably 2 or 3 different occasions.

[Rusty Nails]

right on. The reasonable human approach is always best. Lawsuits are a last resort. Besides, you prolly have more dentite compassion than others via GT.

Hope things work out as best they can for you.

[CaddyDaddy77]

I hate the dentist, not the man or woman, I hate the idea.

I read this with a cringe, I am the world's biggiest three-year old when it comes to teeth. I hate going, I don't like it, I never will. Bill Cosby's bit in the early 80's is my waking thought of going to the dentist, pain, agony, sharp instuments, and fire. All bad things, all things I do not want in my mouth.

I need to go to the dentist, I have for a while, but have no insurance, and really have no $. About two years ago my life long dentist put in a filling between my furthest back molar and the one in front of it. At the time it hurt afterwords, I beared it for awhile, and then went back. He said it was fine, but it hurt constantly, I got used to it and away I went. About three months ago it cracked and fell out, it felt really good, yes good. My mouth felt like it should have, not cramped like before when the filling was in. I know I need it filled again but I don't have insurance or $, so I am postponing and flossing lots. I think I would not be so against going if I knew it wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg, wish these guys would do free estimates.

I hate the dentist.

Good luck J, see if the guy you are going to has a payment plan, my old dentist before he retired had a payment plan, and I know that's the only way my brother got braces.

[seldon]

You british by any chance?

[Crinkle]

I hate the dentists that I have not the ones that I have met on this board ;) .

I have had my fare share of shitty dentistry work done. Crappy dentist in Philly that I swear was a S&M freak, but didn't realize that I wasn't into pain as a kid.

I had a filling when I lived in Jersey, where the dentist was a tool and drilled too deep and infected the root, forcing me to get a medical filling, which made me smell and taste cloves for weeks, ugh. Then get the filling refilled. When the dentist tried to bill me i laughed at him then almost punched him. I asked him how the hell I was supposed to pay for treatment from something that he did wrong. :mad: Best of all he was a no pain dentist, they didn't give out pain pills or use nitrous, so i had to hit up my street dealer. I just recently had to get a filling that the same dentist did because it had failed and it looked like I had a huge coffee stain on my front tooth. Jackass! That being said my new dentist has been clutch, does good work.

[Karl Stall]

Sorry, J. that sucks. I lost a tooth this year as well - traumatic.

[doofdoof]

I have had 4 abcesses over the last 20 years in one of my front teeth. Half a dozen root canals - same tooth. 3 separate crowns (again same tooth), one of which had a ceramic post that snapped in half when they were trying to remove it because they could not relieve an abcess.

Had the tooth pulled about 5 years ago and switched to a Maryland bridge. This snapped off once (my fault), but has not given me a problem for about 4 years now. The implant you are considering should work well I believe, but is much more expensive that my bridge. Ask your dentist about the option.

I should have had my tooth pulled 15 years ago. It's cost me about two weeks in a heli all up

[Squirrel99]

Hey MD9,
I totally empathize with you. When I had my wisdom teeth removed by my 'family dentist' of 15+ years, the fucker told me none of my teeth were impacted. Guess what, all four were f*n impacted. Doused me just with some novacaine. I had to ask for repeated shots of novacaine- prolly ended up having close to 25 shots or so? Fucking asshole freaked me out- my throat swelled up, I started panting, etc... I've never been such a complete asshole in my life. After having other dentists tell me later on, "oh, you probably didn't need all of those removed" :mad: :mad: :mad:

Thought crossed my mind that I should have sued him- not for the $, but to put him in his place. Problem was my dad was friends with the guy. But I haven't spoken to him since. And that's been like 8 years now.

On a positive note (since you're in Denver now), When I got back to school at CU, I went out looking for dental referrals for a new dentist. Lots of great recs for Dr. Dana Johnson. He has an office on Canyon- a few blocks East of Folsom. Anyhow, I can't say enough for this guy. I had some more dental work done by him (and yes, I always get scared of that shit so I totally relate) and him and his staff always put my fears to rest. He put on a bunch of porcelyn vineers that were incredible. I've been to three other dentists while moving around from CO to UT to WA. First thing they all asked me was who did the vineers and a few cavity refills? "they look awesome". So yeah, if you're ever in doubt, seriously, look up Dr. Johnson in Boulder.

Ahh, that felt good to rant! Good luck, buddy. I'm sure everything will turn out fine for ya. ;)

[Lynx]

damn, the thought of finding a new dentist is up there with the thought of buying new boots and getting them fitted again. not fun. i grew up skiing with my dentist back east (family friend). he rules. the end.

[char]

I've got a non-dentit rant....

Fucking my fucking fucks of roommates. Not neccessarily bad people, just don't know where certain lines are. Seriously fed up with this shit, I'm trying to finish my degree this year...I go outta my fucking way to be nice and what do I get in return? Shit. bah!

[Zeedashbo]

[saving this space for L&I rant]

wtf that's ten characters damn computer

[jibij]

Wasn't this addiction supposed to be better than crack because you got to keep your teeth??

That REALLY sucks, J. Tooth pain is the WORST, for me.

[acostiga]

you want dental-related bullshit? check this out:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04281/391758.stm

guess who had a root canal done at this guy's office in 2001? guess who's tooth broke (i have the titanium post thing into my jawbone going on), who's root canal failed/abcessed and who can't sue a piece of shit dentist because of bullshit legal technicalities? me.

md9, to steal a quote from slick willy... i feel your pain.

[13]

Thanks for the laugh, Beav. It's shaping up to be a long day at work.

I seriously have no idea what people are talking about when people bitch about pain at the dentist's office. I don't think I've ever experienced pain when I shouldn't have. I appreciate my dentist a HELL of a lot more now.

I had 5 wisdom teeth yanked. Even under general anesthesia, I felt a lot of what felt like hammering and strong tugging.

I asked Dr. Fear (no joke, that's his name) what the deal was.

"Oh yeah, that last one was a sonuvabitch -- after we made room in the jawbone, I basically cracked it in half hammer & chisel style and extracted it in two pieces."

Dear god, I can't even imagine how much that would have hurt if they hadn't used Demerol.

[MacDaddy]

I had 5 wisdom teeth yanked.


dood, I only had 4 yanked, you are truly wise :p


MD9 freaking horror story!!! :eek: I feel for you my brother.

[meatdrink9]

The dentist was cool. Probably really good at his job. I don't really blame him. Unfortunately one of his assistants forgot a step when gluing in the temporary crown. When it came time to remove the temporary it wouldn't come off. He was pretty upset with the assistant. Instead of the procedure taking a few minutes they had to cut and tug this thing for close to 4 hours. All of this was happening on a new root canal with a fairly tender root. I think it caused the whole thing to fail. They never bothered to schedule me for a check-up on the work after the incident (I guess I could've done the same, but didn't want to pay more and was kind-of scared of going back). Fast Forward 6 months and this is where I am. Obviously I could file a lawsuit very easily, but all I want is my tooth fixed for the original amount I paid. I messed up and broke my tooth. That's my responsibility and that should be my responsibility to pay for, but the mistakes made and the cost to fix those mistakes beyond the original fixing price shouldn't have to be paid by me IMHO. The dentist was really cool in our last appointment. I don't think he's trying to screw me over or anything. I'm sure it will all work out.

char, more roommate rant.

[Cornholio]

I have no sympathy or advice, so it's a good thing you didn't want any.

You're right about not paying for the extra, though. He may be a nice guy, but he's responsible for his assistant's work. I really appreicate the approach you're taking-- it's cheaper and faster and more human and less antagonistic. But, if you end up having to pay for any of this extra work, I think that's wrong. And that's where the legal system can work for you.

Ok, I did have advice. And I do sympathize.

edit: wanted to be clear about distinction between work that was your responsibility and work that's his.

[The Reverend Floater]

I'm sorry, Jared. I know you're not looking for sympathy but that just sucks the salty balls.

I, too, went to an MD yesterday. I have had this fuct up shoulder for many years now, presumably the result of lots of baseball, hitting a couple of trees over time skiing and tumbling many a time on my mountain bike growing up. Well, it's been really bad lately--so bad that I'm having trouble sleeping and it seriously hurts to drink a beer. My "drinking motion," as I told the doctor, causes extremely sharp pain in my shoulder. Long story short, I've always been told that it is a excessive scar tissue in my rotator cuff and that surgery was not a guaranteed fix. PT plus regular conditioning was the best I could do. Now I see this different doctor yesterday and he thinks it's something totally different! So now I have three doctors with different opinions, all telling me to do different things! The only way to solve it, apparently, is an MRI which will cost a pretty penny. I wish I was made of rubber like I was at 12. :(

[Cornholio]

Rev, when you're in Cleveland to ride our indoor mtb park this winter, I can get you a free MRI. But don't tell anyone.

[Keoni]

Since this is a rant thread ...

The most recent ex-wife had some dental work done right after we got married. Fortunately for her, Dr. Feelgood kept her fully stocked up on Vicodin for about a month and a half. Unfortunately for me, I knew nothing about these unlimited scrip refills for about a month and a half. When I found out, I called Dr. Nick and told him to knock it off because I suspected that there was a little addiction thing going on (DUH!). When I got the doctor-patient confidentiality talk from him, I went off ! To my knowledge, he stopped with the refills and such.

Being the moron that I am, totally unaware of what was happening; it (the addiction) did not stop there...

There was about a six month period that elapsed after Dr. Nick, where the Ex would “Hop” from one urgent care clinic to another, lather, rinse and repeat. The symptom: Pain (of course), the solution, yup, painkillers. She’d hide the medical bills when the mail would come, so I was unaware for quite a while. Something was not quite right, so I kind of “lost” her key to the mailbox.

Soon, it all became pretty clear, bill collectors calling, collection notices in the mail, missing cash, new credit card accounts, the whole fucking nine yards. All in my name! Thousands of $$$$$$$$

Bottom line, Oregon Family Law can hold me liable for the medical bills, even though they were incurred for the purpose of attaining prescription drugs to support an addiction

[Cornholio]

rant

Ooh. That's a good rant.

[INDY GS]

Can't beat keoni's rant, but heres my dentist related rant.

[small rant] I had a filling in one of my upper back teeth that was quite large, never bothered me or anything, just lots of silver up there. Anyway I switched dentists, because my wife wanted to use the same one for simpler billing, cheaper, etc. Well anyway this new dentist says your too young to have this much silver in yer mouth and we should replace that bad boy witha crown. I procrastinated for a while. by the next visit, I had somehow made a small chip right in the edge of that tooth, very small, a little bit of sandpaper prolly would have fixed er' right up. Well this dentist says it is imperitive for me to get the crown now. she says insurance will cover most of it, with me paying a small amount (ended up costing $35.00). Well in the process they made the temporary crown and glued it in place and sent me home untill the permanant one was made. In the meantime I go home and a few days later the stump is bothering me and the temp crown comes off.

My wife suggests that I put some anbesol on it to dull the pain.

Here is where things go to hell. DO NOT PUT ANBESOL ON AN EXPOSED TOOTH ROOT! The gut wrencing, skull piercing, near blinding pain was awful.

I ended up going in for emergency dental work the next morning. That day I switched back to my old dentist and never went back there again.

Moral of the story, don't take dental pain advice from my wife. she will lead you down the wrong path.

[/rant]

I feel for you md. Hope it all works out.

[homerjay]

I have a kick ass dentist in Denver I'd gladly refer you to. Though the hygenist Jodi-licious no longer works there.

[Stikki]

Whoa, this got a bit longer than I thought it would.

MD9, your story sounds similar to what I am going through. I broke a front tooth about a year and a half ago. The original dentist I went to for emergency work didn’t really explain anything and says I need an implant, the most expensive procedure they have. I ask about a million questions and he reluctantly gives me a few other options. I opt to have the nerve removed and the tooth glued back together. Besides the fact that I have to be careful not to take direct blows to the tooth or bite really hard with it, everything seems fine. I research further options but the tooth seems pretty functional so I forget about it.

Fast-forward ten months. Swelling is growing in my gums and the tooth is pulsating with pain. I return to the dentist and he confirms that I have an infection and a small abscess. He says the abscess is draining so it isn’t an emergency but it will continue to flare up until I remove the tooth or get a root canal. He says a root canal will most likely fail and again pushes for an implant. I believe that he’s just trying to take my money, most dentists are also businessmen and they are trying to be financially successful. In a stroke of luck, a girl on my soccer team says her dad would like to see me, he’s a grad level dental professor and she had told him my story. I talk with him and he refers me to a root canal specialist and suggests an implant is only a last resort. I see someone he suggests and this dentist can’t believe the original dentist suggested I need an implant, that is until I tell him who that dentist is. Apparently they used to practice together so suddenly he changes his story and says the first guy must be right. I’ve fallen prey to some sort of dental network. He says I could try a root canal but it could fail, maybe in a month, maybe in five years.

I see the professor again and using the report of dentist number two he determines I will most likely need an implant. To save me money he assigns me to one of his grad students. While they are making molds of my mouth for the flipper he still questions the need for an implant. Rather than yank the tooth out he schedules me for exploratory surgery. This was not fun but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. They cut open my gums and examine the root. At one point I had three students and three professors standing over my opened gums. It’s determined that a hidden hairline crack extends a little too deep into the root so they decide to remove the tooth. So the tooth is removed, the socket is carved like you’d carve a pumpkin, and multiple bone and tissue grafts are placed.

Fast-forward five months. Right now the socket is nearly healed and I’m just about ready to have surgery for the implant screw. Having a flipper sucks, it’s really annoying. It took me two weeks to learn how to talk without a lisp and doesn’t look great (what do you expect, it’s a plastic tooth on a retainer). I agree, dental work is a pain in the ass. Trust is the key, it can be hard to establish but once you find someone you can trust you can build confidence in your decisions.

[Below Zero]

Hang in there MD9! Hope everything works out!

[Tippster]

Fuck State Farm Auto Insurance straight to fucking hell.

I lasted 22 years before I filed my FIRST FUCKING CLAIM, and will go another 22 years before filing again. between the deductible, my valuable time, and mental pain & suffering I would have ended up breaking even by simply eating the cost of the repairs myself.

I hate you all (insurers.) What a goddamn scam.

[freshie247]

hey J,that's a drag.Best of luck!

My story:I had put off getting my cracked filling replaced until I couldn't take the pain any longer.The guy I chose luckily was completely cool & chill,he even skis!He told me it was touch & go between drilling out decay & refilling it for $150,& root canal for $850. I just caught it in time & after a couple of weeks it still hurt & I went back for a free evaluation.He ground a little off & after a few days of readjustment & freaking over whether or not I'd have to pay for a root canal,it mellowed out & I'm righteous now!

Hey Guys,take it from me,don't put this off!!!