Off to the Dentist again....eek...and a vent too...UPDATE..

[carole]

Well after my last appointment, finding out i needed over a thousand dollars worth of treatment, i was a little depressed about it all, the treatment and the cost ,I decided to go back to my original dentist, as i found out he does intravenous sedation, which is great especially for a person like myself with anxiety issues,and also my other health issues.

Well i was very surprised to find out, the tooth she claimed needed a new filling which did not show up on the xray, is ok, he just put some bonding on it, at a small cost of 40 dollars, this was going to cost me 248 dollars with her, and the other tooth beside the one that needs a filling, is fine,no filling required, the back one is cracked and needs total replacement, he is charging me 187 for each tooth ,compared to her charges of 198 and 298, unbelievable, i am rather cross, she was really pushing the teeth whitening on me, spent like ten mins on that, just because i ticked the yes box when filling in my details, to the question would i like whiter teeth, well who wouldn't unless you are blessed with them, mine have always been of the cream tonings.

On top of that she suggested a saliva test, because of the decay, another 100 dollars later,i don't even need that, because the cracking is due to an old filling which is normal , and the other got decay in it because it had a chip that i did not get fixed when i should have, due to lack of money at the time,Ash needed his dental first.

Anyhow i am relieved about it all, and will be having intravenous on Friday at 3pm, no food or drink from 11am, and hopefully all will go well,not like a general , will wake up and remember nothing,and maybe be sleepy and go home and get some much needed sleep for a change, because of the difference in cost i could afford this option, which makes it a much less scarey and less painful time for me, a jab in the arm is all that is required.

it sure pays to get a second opinion, it did cost me more in the long run, but I sure as heck will stick with My old dentist and stay far away from the other one.

I might add the tooth that she did fix, i cannot even put my floss through, so he has to fix that up as well, not very good in my opinion.

Wish me luck please, i am still a bit nervous.

[davidpizzica]

Sis, I can really sympathize with you on dental costs and procedures. The work I'm getting done would cost several thousand dollars if done by a private dentist. I opted for a dental school which will do the work for a fraction of that cost. Pittsburgh {{{{HUGS}}}} to you, Sis and I don't blame you for being nervous. I'm hoping to have my new dentures by Christmas.

[carole]

Gee David i hope you will post a pic with your new dentures, at least you won't have much ongoing dental care needed with them, maybe a new set in twenty odd years if that, the only down side of keeping your own teeth eh/ THANKS for the support and kind words, i am certain i will be fine, having the sedation is going to make it a breeze in comparison, i might even get a nice sleep afterwards, take ten hours for the drug to wear off, ah sleep,oh i love the idea of actually getting some for a change.

[Catlady711]

I can totally sypmathize with you. I had $700 worth of work done late last year, and need another $700 worth this fall also, crowns. I'm fortunate that my dental ins. is pretty good, so I'm only paying half on each of those crowns instead of $1,400 each.

My dentist is a private dentist, but he's also a dental surgeon, and dental cosmotologist (sp?). Basically he can do alot of big fancy stuff. Yeah I'm sure he costs a bit more, but with my ins. I don't have to pay all that much more and I know the work he does is great. For doing all the fancy stuff they NEVER push extra services I don't need, and always discuss costs before I schedule anything. The staff is terrific also. I've been going there for almost 30 years now I think.

I also understand the anxiety part. I would never want IV sedation, the needles scare me way more than whatever they're going to do. In fact I'm so bad about it that I don't let them use novacaine ever. They just give me an MP3 player I crank the volume on, some gas and I'm good to go. I've had 4 crowns and countless fillings done that way. Although if a sub dentist has to do my teeth I have to argue with them for 10 minutes before they'll work on me without novacaine because it makes THEM nervous. I never move but they don't know that. lol

Anyways I have an appt thurs. for a dental cleaning myself, and then have to schedule the crown and any other fillings I might need later this month.

I will keep you in my thoughts.

[carole]

I don't mind needles in my arm , i cannot stand them in my mouth, besides the needle is very fine and should not be bad, well from what i read, had it done 15 yrs ago, and of course you don't remember much due to the drug, which is an anti-anxiety drug, which makes you not remember much if anything at all, last time i did not remember anything at all, hoping it will be the same this time around.

I am not nearly as nervous as i would be if i were getting the normal treatment, with the locals,and for me sitting in the chair for over an hour really puts enormous strain on my muscles and back, so it is very uncomfortable in that sense and the next day i am in a lot of pain from that, so that is why i have chosen this method.

Dental insurance is hardly worth it here in NZ, you can only claim about 500 dollars per year so most people do not have it, including myself,luckily we do have free dental up to the age of 18 , but then you are on your own.

Thanks for the well wishes, i appreciate it.

[carole]

Well folks thought i might just tell you how it all went,after reading my post I don't mind needles in my arm, i have to say my opinion is now different.

The procedure did NOT go well at all, the doctor put the needle in and went through the vein the first time, so of course we tried again, guess what same thing happened, by this time my anxiety was overwhelming me, i just wanted it all over and done with, actually i just wanted to go home,and the whole idea of having the intravenous was to reduce my anxiety not increase it, which is what happened,anyhow i burst into tears, how embarrassing,so then they let my husband and I to have a chat alone and decide what to do, i decided one more go, by this time they had given me hypnoval an oral relaxation medication they also use for dental procedures,so i was feeling ok,infact i don't recall the third try,which was also a disaster, same thing happened, so they call in another doctor, who took about three quarters of an hour to arrive, and charges a thousand dollars an hour,the one i had charges 360 an hour, hubby informed me of all of this ,as i have no memory,only seeing another face,but not of the actual procedure,no problem, I have a small prick mark where he did it and i took a pic to show you what the other doctor did.

The dentist assured me he had used her many times and was very good at what she did,hmm i beg to differ, she asked if I have trouble getting blood tests, and I don't.

I for one do not understand why she did not try the other arm, or down by my wrist where he did.

Anyhow i have no memory of getting home,or the procedure which should have only taken 20 mins, we were there for two hours.

I did ring my mother and talked to my son who rang, and had dinner, then crashed and slept from 6.30pm to 3am, then i was wide awake, but managed to get back to sleep.

Next day i was on top of the world, i am sure some of the drug must have been in my system still, but sunday i came a crashing down in a big way, had trouble concentrating, felt exhausted and my head felt bad,however as the day went on I felt better.

Anyhow that was my not so good experience, i am nervous now about having it done again that way, but I also know it has many benefits, i did not get a fibro flare up,and it really is the best for me,i guess it might not happen again, hopefully.

This is how my arm was left,a bit bruised you could say lol.,actually it looks worse now as it is all yellow.

[davidpizzica]

Well folks thought i might just tell you how it all went,after reading my post I don't mind needles in my arm, i have to say my opinion is now different.

The procedure did NOT go well at all, the doctor put the needle in and went through the vein the first time, so of course we tried again, guess what same thing happened, by this time my anxiety was overwhelming me, i just wanted it all over and done with, actually i just wanted to go home,and the whole idea of having the intravenous was to reduce my anxiety not increase it, which is what happened,anyhow i burst into tears, how embarrassing,so then they let my husband and I to have a chat alone and decide what to do, i decided one more go, by this time they had given me hypnoval an oral relaxation medication they also use for dental procedures,so i was feeling ok,infact i don't recall the third try,which was also a disaster, same thing happened, so they call in another doctor, who took about three quarters of an hour to arrive, and charges a thousand dollars an hour,the one i had charges 360 an hour, hubby informed me of all of this ,as i have no memory,only seeing another face,but not of the actual procedure,no problem, I have a small prick mark where he did it and i took a pic to show you what the other doctor did.

The dentist assured me he had used her many times and was very good at what she did,hmm i beg to differ, she asked if I have trouble getting blood tests, and I don't.

I for one do not understand why she did not try the other arm, or down by my wrist where he did.

Anyhow i have no memory of getting home,or the procedure which should have only taken 20 mins, we were there for two hours.

I did ring my mother and talked to my son who rang, and had dinner, then crashed and slept from 6.30pm to 3am, then i was wide awake, but managed to get back to sleep.

Next day i was on top of the world, i am sure some of the drug must have been in my system still, but sunday i came a crashing down in a big way, had trouble concentrating, felt exhausted and my head felt bad,however as the day went on I felt better.

Anyhow that was my not so good experience, i am nervous now about having it done again that way, but I also know it has many benefits, i did not get a fibro flare up,and it really is the best for me,i guess it might not happen again, hopefully.

This is how my arm was left,a bit bruised you could say lol.,actually it looks worse now as it is all yellow.

Oh, Sis! I'm so sorry you had that dreadful experience at the dentist's office. (gentle) {{HUGS}} to you. I hope your arm heals soon It seem to me that they should have tried to find the vein before putting the IV in. Pittsburgh prayers for you to get through this problem.

[carole]

Thanks Bro, i am fine now, just not over excited about doing it again in a hurry lol, they did the usual stuff, you know getting you to open and close your fist, but yes i think she could have done better, and at least tried the other arm too, oh well,such is life, over it.

[Catlady711]

WOW! Sorry you had to go through all that. Hopefully it will be the last time things go that badly.

That almost always happens to me when they try IV which is another reason why I hate needles even in my arm. It's rare that anyone can get a vein on me first time without poking around in there unless they are VERY good, and I'm fairly relaxed. Apparently for me when I get nervous/anxious my veins roll making it very hard for them to get the needle in, then when they do manage that it collapses. Took them 6 times to IV me when I got my tonsils (sp?) out. I was in a state of near panic by the 2nd try.

I hope your bruises heal up soon.

I have to go in on Thurs. 18th this month for my crown, not looking forward to that.

[carole]

Oh dear you and I sound the same,but for me i have never had the problem before, maybe it was because i was nervous, but i was not as bad as i could have been, because i knew i was getting the intravenous, i had it 15 yrs ago,no problem at all,yes it certainly puts you off having needles,she said my veins were very thin, well first time i have been told that.

Good luck with your crown, i feel for you i do.

[Catlady711]

Good luck with your crown, i feel for you i do.

Thank you.

The dentist did tell me I can take a tranquilizer before I leave home that day and they use gas there so it shouldn't be too bad. I've had several crowns before and have never needed novacaine yet, but it certainly ain't pleasant. lol

[moosmom]

Boy, did they see YOU coming!!! That so angers me when they see a woman coming. I'm glad you went to your original dentist.

I had the same thing happen to me. My front tooth had an abcess. The dentist I was going to was a sailing buddy of my then fiance'. He told me I had two options - a root canal or have the tooth pulled. This was a front tooth we were talking about. I told him I'd have to seriously thing about it. I went to a woman dentist who used to be his associate. She injected my gums with an antibiotic which got rid of the abcess. She told me that I have bone loss in the tooth and to be careful. That was over 20 years ago. I still have my original tooth.

[Catty1]

Just wondering - sometimes using a warm (DRY) covering/towel wrapped around your arm helps the veins swell a bit. Or do you have a heating pad you could take with you and they can plug in?

My sister had small veins also - and when she was immobilized with MS, they got even smaller!

Catlady, I hope everything goes well for you. And Carole, I hope you feel better soon!

[carole]

Well i never knew that, yes i could use a wheatpack before i leave next time,hoping there won't be a next time for some time though lol.

Donna the other dentist was a young woman, who is just opened a new practice near my mothers home, that is why i went there, as i could walk to my mother's house afterwards and see her, and hubby did not need to take any time off work,but alas was a bad decision, i noticed it was not very busy, and she took ages with my treatment,so i guess she is trying to get business, but charging like she does and telling me i need treatment i don't is not the way to go, i will never go there again, and tell everyone else to stay away too.

I did have the option of taking a medication before i left and Nitrous oxide gas,but i choose the other as it is better for me, however i have not tried the other before, maybe i will have to next time, anyhow it might not happen again, just have to be optimistic about it all,the great thing with the intravenous is you don't remember any of the dental procedure, although you have injections in your mouth, you don't remember getting them,and believe me that is the best part of it all, if you have good veins and can afford it, i say get it, just be prepared for the side effects of the drug afterwards,luckily for me my mother paid for the intravenous,and i only had to fork out for the dental treatment itself,don't you just love your mothers.