What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Connecticut
Long story short...shortly after having a crown procedure, I developed an infection in the tooth right next to it. Now the dentist is telling me I have to have that tooth extracted and it's unrelated to the crown. I was having no tooth symptoms at all prior to the crown. I had them install the crown at their suggestion because they'd noticed a crack in the tooth and thought it wise to get it taken care of before it became a problem. The tooth never bothered me but I trusted them. It's been nothing but problems since. Details below...
I take pretty good care of my teeth. I brush and floss. I've gone for my cleanings/check ups every 6 months for the past decade at least. Haven't had a cavity since I was 14 or so years old. During my cleanings, the hygienist kept pointing out that I had a crack in one of my back teeth and recommended that I have a crown put on before it becomes a problem that requires a root canal. The first couple of times I just thought if it aint broke, don't fix it. It wasn't bothering me at all...so let's just wait. Then during my last cleaning, back in the fall, I decided...what the heck. Let's do it. I didn't want to have to deal with a root canal. So around November, I had the crown put on.
Almost immediately, I started having problems with the tooth. Unbearable sensitivity to both hot and cold and persistent aches that shot up the right side of my face and through my right ear. After about a month of tolerating that, I go back to see what they can do. They gave me some sensodyne toothpaste and told me to give it a few more weeks to allow everything to settle in.
Well this past Saturday, New Year's Eve...the ache got really bad. I had to call my dentist on her emergency number and she called in a prescription for vicodin. The office was closed on Monday for the holiday, so she told me to make an appointment first thing Tuesday morning. When I go in on Tuesday, I don't see my usual dentist. The dentist I see seems like he's too busy to be bothered and spends all of about 90 seconds with me. He asks me to point to which tooth is bothering me and when I do that, he simply says I need a root canal and tells the hygienist to give me a referral to a specialist. I asked why I needed to see a specialist and was told the dentist that performed my crown no longer works there and because there's already a crown on the tooth I'd have to see a specialist. The receptionist calls to schedule my appt for me and they can't see me until Thursday. Now the pain is unbearable at this point and I ask what am I supposed to do in the mean time. The dentist tells me to "double up" on the vicodin. Which I have been doing. One vicodin alone does nothing for the pain. Two solves the pain temporarily...for a couple hours...but makes it pretty hard to drive to and from work...never mind concentrate...so I've taken the whole week off. Now....If you're still reading...this is where it gets interesting...
Tuesday night I'm home trying to kill time and high on vicodin when I notice my tooth feels weird when I bite down. So I go into the bathroom to look at it. While I'm poking around I discover it's not the crowned tooth that hurts but the tooth right next to it. Even more upsetting...that tooth has become loose! By the time Wednesday morning gets here, I have a gumball sized abscess on my inner gum. Of course I went back to the dentist Wednesday morning and saw my usual dentist. She drained the pus from the abscess and told me I would have to have this tooth extracted then replaced by a bridge or implant. Then I get another referral to a different specialist.
Now this is outrageous to me. I was having no problems. Upon their suggestion I attempted to be proactive and now I'm going to lose an unrelated tooth because of it? I can't help but feel this infection occurred because of something during the crown procedure. I asked the dentist how the infection could occur and she said probably because of gum recession. But I've gone for check ups every 6 months...and they perform tests to measure gum recession and they're always within normal ranges.
I should mention...the dentist I refer to as "my usual" dentist, just bought the practice about a year ago or so. I've been going to the same office for over 10 years, but most of the people working there are new and I've heard complaints from others I know that go there.
Do I have a case here? The main reason I went with the crown now was to avoid the added cost of a root canal...and now I'll have to fork out maybe a couple thousand of dollars for an implant...not mention the pain I've endured and will continue to endure during the process. It just doesn't seem right.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
Thank You,
Rob
Long story short...shortly after having a crown procedure, I developed an infection in the tooth right next to it. Now the dentist is telling me I have to have that tooth extracted and it's unrelated to the crown. I was having no tooth symptoms at all prior to the crown. I had them install the crown at their suggestion because they'd noticed a crack in the tooth and thought it wise to get it taken care of before it became a problem. The tooth never bothered me but I trusted them. It's been nothing but problems since. Details below...
I take pretty good care of my teeth. I brush and floss. I've gone for my cleanings/check ups every 6 months for the past decade at least. Haven't had a cavity since I was 14 or so years old. During my cleanings, the hygienist kept pointing out that I had a crack in one of my back teeth and recommended that I have a crown put on before it becomes a problem that requires a root canal. The first couple of times I just thought if it aint broke, don't fix it. It wasn't bothering me at all...so let's just wait. Then during my last cleaning, back in the fall, I decided...what the heck. Let's do it. I didn't want to have to deal with a root canal. So around November, I had the crown put on.
Almost immediately, I started having problems with the tooth. Unbearable sensitivity to both hot and cold and persistent aches that shot up the right side of my face and through my right ear. After about a month of tolerating that, I go back to see what they can do. They gave me some sensodyne toothpaste and told me to give it a few more weeks to allow everything to settle in.
Well this past Saturday, New Year's Eve...the ache got really bad. I had to call my dentist on her emergency number and she called in a prescription for vicodin. The office was closed on Monday for the holiday, so she told me to make an appointment first thing Tuesday morning. When I go in on Tuesday, I don't see my usual dentist. The dentist I see seems like he's too busy to be bothered and spends all of about 90 seconds with me. He asks me to point to which tooth is bothering me and when I do that, he simply says I need a root canal and tells the hygienist to give me a referral to a specialist. I asked why I needed to see a specialist and was told the dentist that performed my crown no longer works there and because there's already a crown on the tooth I'd have to see a specialist. The receptionist calls to schedule my appt for me and they can't see me until Thursday. Now the pain is unbearable at this point and I ask what am I supposed to do in the mean time. The dentist tells me to "double up" on the vicodin. Which I have been doing. One vicodin alone does nothing for the pain. Two solves the pain temporarily...for a couple hours...but makes it pretty hard to drive to and from work...never mind concentrate...so I've taken the whole week off. Now....If you're still reading...this is where it gets interesting...
Tuesday night I'm home trying to kill time and high on vicodin when I notice my tooth feels weird when I bite down. So I go into the bathroom to look at it. While I'm poking around I discover it's not the crowned tooth that hurts but the tooth right next to it. Even more upsetting...that tooth has become loose! By the time Wednesday morning gets here, I have a gumball sized abscess on my inner gum. Of course I went back to the dentist Wednesday morning and saw my usual dentist. She drained the pus from the abscess and told me I would have to have this tooth extracted then replaced by a bridge or implant. Then I get another referral to a different specialist.
Now this is outrageous to me. I was having no problems. Upon their suggestion I attempted to be proactive and now I'm going to lose an unrelated tooth because of it? I can't help but feel this infection occurred because of something during the crown procedure. I asked the dentist how the infection could occur and she said probably because of gum recession. But I've gone for check ups every 6 months...and they perform tests to measure gum recession and they're always within normal ranges.
I should mention...the dentist I refer to as "my usual" dentist, just bought the practice about a year ago or so. I've been going to the same office for over 10 years, but most of the people working there are new and I've heard complaints from others I know that go there.
Do I have a case here? The main reason I went with the crown now was to avoid the added cost of a root canal...and now I'll have to fork out maybe a couple thousand of dollars for an implant...not mention the pain I've endured and will continue to endure during the process. It just doesn't seem right.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
Thank You,
Rob
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