Dentistry

[Queso]

Hypography, I need your advice.

 

I have this tooth, third from the back on my bottom left (said to be connected to the heart) and it has been killing me for MONTHS.

I went to the dentist and had a root canal and was so happy that I wasn't in pain any longer (with the meds I was on, of course)

but it's been 3 weeks and it gets worse and worse.

I can't even sleep at night it hurts so bad. It's driven me to the point of total madness I just want to scream and throw everything out of my window.

But I don't. Because I have hope.

 

Should I rip my tooth out? Get it professionally removed? Go to a different dentist?

The dentist isn't helping me. He's this fat old man with a harley davidson.

No matter what this guy does my pain only gets worse.

I don't even hang out with anyone anymore.

I can not talk to people. It hurts that bad.

 

The dentist just tells me to wait but I can't wait he tells me it's inflammation but I know it isn't.

 

I feel like I'm going to die.

[Queso]

how long before I die?

I've noticed significant change in my energy/social interaction because of this.

[Boerseun]

I can promise you that:

 

1) Your tooth is not connected to your heart, at least not in the sense you might suggest.

2) You prolly won't die.

3) You need to go see another dentist. Yours sounds like a nutjob.

 

Apart from the pain, a cyst in your jaw will poison you and make you feel like utter crap. You can yank the tooth out if you want, but your tooth is just a casualty of war - the real enemy is rooted (pardon the pun) in your jaw.

 

So - go see a proper dentist, one who doesn't ride a Harley. Dentistry is the occupation most likely to lead to suicide in the US, so when your dentist starts riding around on a Harley, he's prolly trying to fight the soul-sucking suicidal cock-up thats his life, and he doesn't really care for you, your tooth, or your health in general.

[Queso]

that's precisely what I thought! I feel like I am just a money resource for them.

I feel like I'm being screwed over so I just keep coming back....

grrrrrrrrrr ... . . ...

 

Also.

check this out

 

Tooth Chart Interactive - Dental, Baby, Meridian and More

 

Maps the teeth and how they're connected. My killer tooth is 19.

[Chacmool]

Poor orby! I think you should definitely see another dentist. It sounds to me like you still have an abscess, which the dentist didn't remove properly. You'll probably also need another course of antibiotics.

 

Hang in there!

[Cedars]

You do need a different dentist.

 

Check out the licensing on your dentist.

 

License Verification - Dental Board of California

 

Look for restrictions on his license also. Sometimes you have to call the Board of Dentistry office or even make requests in writing to find this out. A dentist who has been called up on the carpet for dispensing drugs will be hesitant to write out prescriptions. You need to ask if there have been any verified complaints against him. If a 'probationary' time has lapsed, it may not be visible on a simple licensure search, but is available usually on request, at least thats how it works in Minnesota. Also, they can only tell you about verified complaints, not allegations that were not proved.

 

File a complaint!

 

Who Can/Should File a Complaint With the Dental Board of California?

A complaint should be filed by anyone who believes that a licensee of the Board has engaged in illegal activities which are related to his/her professional responsibilities. This includes substandard dental care rendered by any of the license categories mentioned above.

 

How to File a Complaint - Dental Board of California

 

It is not unreasonable for a doctor/dentist to give meds a few days to work. It is substandard care when a condition is deteriorating and the professional does not alter the current treatment practice.

[CraigD]

Should I rip my tooth out? Get it professionally removed? Go to a different dentist?

Though I can only guess what you should do, I’d recommend having the tooth removed by another clinician.

 

Most general dentists will refer you to an oral surgeon to have a tooth extracted. Though it seems a simple procedure – just take an x-ray to figure out the right direction, then attach the proper sort of gripper and pull – doing it just right requires skill and experience, as does dealing with it if it doesn’t go as well as possible.

 

IMHO, many dentists are inappropriately reluctant to recommend having a tooth extracted, instead encouraging patients to have a repeated pulpectomy of the root canal, even after an initial one is unsuccessful, as appears to be orby’s unfortunate situation. While there’s merit in saving the outer tooth via this approach, mostly to prevent the possibility of the remain teeth becoming misaligned, or the underlying gum unhealthy, these possible long-term complications of a tooth extraction are inevitable, and can be treated if they do.

 

I had a lower molar extracted about 15 years ago, and have suffered no noticeable ill effect from it. The procedure went very smoothly – the slight scraping of my poor inflamed gums on the plastic film-holder used to take the x-ray hurt more than the extraction itself, which took less than a minute from opening my mouth to no longer having the tooth. I was immediately relieved of pain, and was fully recovered within a day, without the need for any antibiotic drug.

how long before I die?

I've noticed significant change in my energy/social interaction because of this.

Provided you don’t go crazy from the pain and do yourself in (a thought that I suspect occurs, at least fleetingly, though most people with severe dental pain), you’ll almost certainly not die of an abscessed tooth.

 

Left untreated, eventually, the gum supporting the tooth will be destroyed by the infecting bacteria, and the tooth, and possibly others, will loosen and fall out, exposing the infection to other bacteria and immune cells which will most likely wipe it out. This would, however, make a terrible mess of your mouth, and possibly even the bony chambers of your skull’s sinuses. In rare severe cases, such an infection can invade you eyes and optic nerves, permanently blinding you, into your ears, deafening you, or even into your brain, which could be fatal.

 

Bottom line – don’t leave it untreated.

[questor]

Orby, I'm retired dentist with no Harley.

1. no tooth is connected to the heart- two totally separate tissues

2. your tooth is probably cracked, and the bite forces will act to split the tooth further

3. you probably need the tooth removed, some teeth are so damaged they cannot be saved

4. get to an Oral surgeon to have him look at it....NOW!