Dentists......love em or hate em?

[Doc Brown]

19 hours ago, Sweats said:

So, i've had a toothache for about 3 weeks.......like, i'm talking shooting pain up through my eye, headaches, whole face hurting badly, etc.

I haven't eaten or slept in 3 weeks either and all loaded up on Advil and Tylenol.

I went in to see my dentist and explain what's going on and they make an appointment for the following week, even though they can see i'm in obvious pain. Appointment time rolls around, i go in and they take xrays of my whole face......there is a tooth at the back of my mouth that is split in half, like completely sheared right through. The dentist says, "wow, that looks painful, you must be in a lot of discomfort".........yeah doc, that'll do it.

 

So, he says we have 2 options.......root canal or pull it. For me there was really only one option, just pull it......make the pain go away now.

No problem, he says.......come back at 9am next Friday and we'll work on it.

Can you see the timeline going on here? I went in the first week to make the appointment, i go in the 2nd week to take the xrays and assessment and i don't get the work done till the following week........so that's 3 weeks, which is why i've had a toothache for 3 weeks.

 

Is this a regular thing with a dentist?.......making a person suffer for 3 weeks for no apparent reason?

Anyways, this morning is the day i'm getting it pulled, until he finds another reason to make me come back next week, for whatever reason........UGH

 

Dentists.......love em or hate em?

You'd be dead although if you're looking to lose a few pounds....

 

I suggest finding a new dentist because that's not normal.  Unless the tooth is infected they should be able to pull it the same visit.  Not sure where you live but I'd find a reputable dentist firm with multiple locations.  

[teef]

On 10/4/2024 at 7:53 AM, Sweats said:

So, i've had a toothache for about 3 weeks.......like, i'm talking shooting pain up through my eye, headaches, whole face hurting badly, etc.

I haven't eaten or slept in 3 weeks either and all loaded up on Advil and Tylenol.

I went in to see my dentist and explain what's going on and they make an appointment for the following week, even though they can see i'm in obvious pain. Appointment time rolls around, i go in and they take xrays of my whole face......there is a tooth at the back of my mouth that is split in half, like completely sheared right through. The dentist says, "wow, that looks painful, you must be in a lot of discomfort".........yeah doc, that'll do it.

 

So, he says we have 2 options.......root canal or pull it. For me there was really only one option, just pull it......make the pain go away now.

No problem, he says.......come back at 9am next Friday and we'll work on it.

Can you see the timeline going on here? I went in the first week to make the appointment, i go in the 2nd week to take the xrays and assessment and i don't get the work done till the following week........so that's 3 weeks, which is why i've had a toothache for 3 weeks.

 

Is this a regular thing with a dentist?.......making a person suffer for 3 weeks for no apparent reason?

Anyways, this morning is the day i'm getting it pulled, until he finds another reason to make me come back next week, for whatever reason........UGH

 

Dentists.......love em or hate em?

i'm glad you got that taken care of.  it's so strange with dentistry...things come in waves.  I've seen countless teeth cracked in the last few weeks, most to the point where we just have to take them out.  it usually goes much faster that predicted, but there's so many factors to it.

 

ultimately it just depends on the office, who owns it and who works there.  we have an extremely busy office, but i'm also the only one doing the dental work.  that being said, i've always been pretty quick and we run our schedule pretty effectively.  i'm booked about 2.5 weeks out, but we get anyone in pain in pretty quickly.  here's the catch though...i'll cram people into my schedule so we can get them in, take a look, provide meds, etc.  but rarely with i have time to actually to actually complete a procedure.  they know that coming in, but it at least allows me to see what's going on and book accordingly.  if someone is in pain, i'll work through lunch, come in early, or whatever needs to get done.  other dentist are just unwilling to manage a fluid schedule.  they won't budge and that's when there's a hold up.

 

on top of all of this, there are fewer dentists and even less staff.  we were pretty much at the point where we couldn't accept new patients.  not because of my schedule, but because of hygiene schedule.  i run 3 hygienists at a time, 4 days a week, and were booked up about 8 months.  we can sneak people in if there are cancelations, but it's become easier to see me than get your teeth cleaned.  i've hired one of our subs full time, and hoard other subs just to make sure we don't have open days.  i'm going to build two more rooms for a dentist and another hygienists, but i'm not sure i'll be able to find staff.  there's no one available, and if you do find someone you like, you're paying them an inflated wage just to come on.  it's a very strange show now.

[Sweats]

35 minutes ago, teef said:

i'm glad you got that taken care of.  it's so strange with dentistry...things come in waves.  I've seen countless teeth cracked in the last few weeks, most to the point where we just have to take them out.  it usually goes much faster that predicted, but there's so many factors to it.

 

ultimately it just depends on the office, who owns it and who works there.  we have an extremely busy office, but i'm also the only one doing the dental work.  that being said, i've always been pretty quick and we run our schedule pretty effectively.  i'm booked about 2.5 weeks out, but we get anyone in pain in pretty quickly.  here's the catch though...i'll cram people into my schedule so we can get them in, take a look, provide meds, etc.  but rarely with i have time to actually to actually complete a procedure.  they know that coming in, but it at least allows me to see what's going on and book accordingly.  if someone is in pain, i'll work through lunch, come in early, or whatever needs to get done.  other dentist are just unwilling to manage a fluid schedule.  they won't budge and that's when there's a hold up.

 

on top of all of this, there are fewer dentists and even less staff.  we were pretty much at the point where we couldn't accept new patients.  not because of my schedule, but because of hygiene schedule.  i run 3 hygienists at a time, 4 days a week, and were booked up about 8 months.  we can sneak people in if there are cancelations, but it's become easier to see me than get your teeth cleaned.  i've hired one of our subs full time, and hoard other subs just to make sure we don't have open days.  i'm going to build two more rooms for a dentist and another hygienists, but i'm not sure i'll be able to find staff.  there's no one available, and if you do find someone you like, you're paying them an inflated wage just to come on.  it's a very strange show now.

 

 

 

When i lived in Ontario, we seriously had dentists on just about every street corner, so if you had an emergency, you just called around until you could get in......and if you told them it was an emergency, they took you immediately.

Since i moved to northern Quebec about 3 years ago, this is the first time i had to see a dentist and the experience was a friggin nightmare. True, we don't have nearly the amount of dentists up this way and i'm starting to see why people are walking around up here with only 3 teeth in their mouth, but when they see a guy walk in with a broken tooth, they know from experience that the guy is in some pain.

 

 

* call to make an appointment

* go in the first time for them to have a look

* come back a week later for x-rays and an assessment

* go back even one week later for a partial root canal

* i have to go back in another week to finish the root canal

 

I have seriously never seen, nor heard anything like this. They knew i was in obvious pain, they did nothing and just kept telling me to come back another day and time.

In what universe does this make sense?

[DrW]

I had just the opposite experience. To get a new bone-strengthening drug from my oncologist, I needed a dentist's clearance. My regular dentist found two abscessed teeth which surprised me a bit as I was not in any pain, but it was clearly visible on the x-rays. He first wanted to pull both teeth, but then referred me to an endodontist and got me an appointment two work days later. The endodontist told me that one of the teeth (an incisor) was salvageable, but he was not sure about the other one (a molar). If I would have 2 hours time, he could do the root canal on the incisor immediately. It was a full success, and I did not experience any pain even after the anesthesia wore off. He also had a second look at the molar and said it might be possible to do also a root canal here. The operation is scheduled for next week. 

[boater]

This appeared in my morning internet surfing. This kid got an appointment on the spot.

 

[teef]

57 minutes ago, Sweats said:

 

 

 

When i lived in Ontario, we seriously had dentists on just about every street corner, so if you had an emergency, you just called around until you could get in......and if you told them it was an emergency, they took you immediately.

Since i moved to northern Quebec about 3 years ago, this is the first time i had to see a dentist and the experience was a friggin nightmare. True, we don't have nearly the amount of dentists up this way and i'm starting to see why people are walking around up here with only 3 teeth in their mouth, but when they see a guy walk in with a broken tooth, they know from experience that the guy is in some pain.

 

 

* call to make an appointment

* go in the first time for them to have a look

* come back a week later for x-rays and an assessment

* go back even one week later for a partial root canal

* i have to go back in another week to finish the root canal

 

I have seriously never seen, nor heard anything like this. They knew i was in obvious pain, they did nothing and just kept telling me to come back another day and time.

In what universe does this make sense?

it is strange.  this first "look" appointment is what we use to take any films/assess, and schedule what needs to get done.  Sometimes it's that day, sometimes in a week depending on the problem and time needed.  It might be because you were a new patient.  my usually patients can always get in a bit easier.  it's not even that i'm giving them priority, but if they call me with a problem and tell me where it is, i can check films, medical history, etc and schedule them quickly.  we had a patient come in recently that hadn't been in years.  she had a number of teeth that needed to come out, and we told her to come in for a look.  we need a current medical history, meds, new films and a exam.  turns out she needs a few teeth out, and is on blood thinners.  when i told her i had to contact her physician and find time for multiple extractions, she was pissed.  now i absolutely squeezed her into my schedule to get the ball rolling, and what was her comment to me..."why are you wasting my time?"    that B word was out of my office so fast her head was spinning.  i'll do whatever i can to help, but i'm also busy enough that i can tell people to f off.  it's a very fine line right now.

[teef]

38 minutes ago, DrW said:

I had just the opposite experience. To get a new bone-strengthening drug from my oncologist, I needed a dentist's clearance. My regular dentist found two abscessed teeth which surprised me a bit as I was not in any pain, but it was clearly visible on the x-rays. He first wanted to pull both teeth, but then referred me to an endodontist and got me an appointment two work days later. The endodontist told me that one of the teeth (an incisor) was salvageable, but he was not sure about the other one (a molar). If I would have 2 hours time, he could do the root canal on the incisor immediately. It was a full success, and I did not experience any pain even after the anesthesia wore off. He also had a second look at the molar and said it might be possible to do also a root canal here. The operation is scheduled for next week. 

this is how things should run.  it's good you followed up with the new (i'm assuming bisphosphonate) medication.  the only time it becomes a large concern is if you need extractions while on it.  they got you in, took a scan, tx in being completed.  perfect.  it should be this smooth, but depending on where/when you go, it may not be.

[Augie]

1 hour ago, DrW said:

I had just the opposite experience. To get a new bone-strengthening drug from my oncologist, I needed a dentist's clearance. My regular dentist found two abscessed teeth which surprised me a bit as I was not in any pain, but it was clearly visible on the x-rays. He first wanted to pull both teeth, but then referred me to an endodontist and got me an appointment two work days later. The endodontist told me that one of the teeth (an incisor) was salvageable, but he was not sure about the other one (a molar). If I would have 2 hours time, he could do the root canal on the incisor immediately. It was a full success, and I did not experience any pain even after the anesthesia wore off. He also had a second look at the molar and said it might be possible to do also a root canal here. The operation is scheduled for next week. 

 

Unrelated to dentists, my wife was having some serious issues that nobody could pinpoint. They ran tests and found something abnormal on her pancreas. She was referred to an oncologist who could not see her for FOUR MONTHS. Four months just to come in and get started for something abnormal on her pancreas! It makes me think of the ending of Top Gun when he basically says this thing could be over well before that. 

 

Thru a miracle my wife met someone who made a phone call and got her in with one of the top OB/GYN’s in the country the next day. My SIL is an OB/GYN a few hours away, and she wanted to come just to meet this guy. Apparently he’s a rock star in that world. He asked how long ago the film was of the pancreas. She told him and he confidently said “that’s not it,  you’d be dead by now.”

 

The lack of urgency for what might have been a life threatening event was shocking to me. He did the surgery and changed our lives. 

[DrW]

4 hours ago, teef said:

this is how things should run.  it's good you followed up with the new (i'm assuming bisphosphonate) medication.  the only time it becomes a large concern is if you need extractions while on it.  they got you in, took a scan, tx in being completed.  perfect.  it should be this smooth, but depending on where/when you go, it may not be.

 

It is actually denosumab, a monoclonal antibody with similar purpose as biphosphonate. 

[Bill from NYC]

I could not be any happier with my dentist and my dental surgeon. They both are skilled, compassionate people. I have dental implants. My bottom teeth are one implant bridge. This alone cost me 25K, and this was 5 years ago. The uppers are implants as well. Now I can bit into a ribeye with no problems.

 

If anyone is thinking of implants and has the money, just do it. It will change your life.

[Gugny]

On 10/7/2024 at 10:52 AM, teef said:

i'm glad you got that taken care of.  it's so strange with dentistry...things come in waves.  I've seen countless teeth cracked in the last few weeks, most to the point where we just have to take them out.  it usually goes much faster that predicted, but there's so many factors to it.

 

ultimately it just depends on the office, who owns it and who works there.  we have an extremely busy office, but i'm also the only one doing the dental work.  that being said, i've always been pretty quick and we run our schedule pretty effectively.  i'm booked about 2.5 weeks out, but we get anyone in pain in pretty quickly.  here's the catch though...i'll cram people into my schedule so we can get them in, take a look, provide meds, etc.  but rarely with i have time to actually to actually complete a procedure.  they know that coming in, but it at least allows me to see what's going on and book accordingly.  if someone is in pain, i'll work through lunch, come in early, or whatever needs to get done.  other dentist are just unwilling to manage a fluid schedule.  they won't budge and that's when there's a hold up.

 

on top of all of this, there are fewer dentists and even less staff.  we were pretty much at the point where we couldn't accept new patients.  not because of my schedule, but because of hygiene schedule.  i run 3 hygienists at a time, 4 days a week, and were booked up about 8 months.  we can sneak people in if there are cancelations, but it's become easier to see me than get your teeth cleaned.  i've hired one of our subs full time, and hoard other subs just to make sure we don't have open days.  i'm going to build two more rooms for a dentist and another hygienists, but i'm not sure i'll be able to find staff.  there's no one available, and if you do find someone you like, you're paying them an inflated wage just to come on.  it's a very strange show now.

I had the same dentist for over 20 years and he ran his practice exactly how you do. 
 

In fact, I first went to him because I had a toothache and a coworker recommended him. 
 

My dentist got cancer and worked as long as he could. At my last appointment with him (and the last time I ever saw him), he looked me in the eye and said, “I am trying to find a dentist who will take this practice over … I can’t find anyone.”  And I could see how hurtful that was to him. 
 

A month later, all of his patients got a letter, recommending another local dentist and announcing that he was retiring. 
 

He passed about a month later. 
 

Keep doing what you’re doing.  Believe me when I say this: your patients appreciate it. 

[Augie]

1 hour ago, Gugny said:

I had the same dentist for over 20 years and he ran his practice exactly how you do. 
 

In fact, I first went to him because I had a toothache and a coworker recommended him. 
 

My dentist got cancer and worked as long as he could. At my last appointment with him (and the last time I ever saw him), he looked me in the eye and said, “I am trying to find a dentist who will take this practice over … I can’t find anyone.”  And I could see how hurtful that was to him. 
 

A month later, all of his patients got a letter, recommending another local dentist and announcing that he was retiring. 
 

He passed about a month later. 
 

Keep doing what you’re doing.  Believe me when I say this: your patients appreciate it. 

 

That sounds exactly like my father-in-law. He got cancer, went as long as he could but the way things unfolded he was unable to sell his practice. My wife growing up was his assistant for weekend and evening emergencies. 

[teef]

4 hours ago, Gugny said:

I had the same dentist for over 20 years and he ran his practice exactly how you do. 
 

In fact, I first went to him because I had a toothache and a coworker recommended him. 
 

My dentist got cancer and worked as long as he could. At my last appointment with him (and the last time I ever saw him), he looked me in the eye and said, “I am trying to find a dentist who will take this practice over … I can’t find anyone.”  And I could see how hurtful that was to him. 
 

A month later, all of his patients got a letter, recommending another local dentist and announcing that he was retiring. 
 

He passed about a month later. 
 

Keep doing what you’re doing.  Believe me when I say this: your patients appreciate it. 

i can't tell you how many new patients we have from family, friends, co-workers, etc.  we try to get everyone in just to continue growth and help people out.  also, i can't tell you how many dentists come to the end of careers, and end of having strokes, heart attacks, cancer...it's awful to watch.  nothing like working hard to not be able to enjoy it.  the guy a bought a practice from had a heart attack and i just heard today he had passed away.  he was maybe 65.  

 

not being able to sell is a new problem.  dentists coming out are anywhere from 260k-400k in debt, and it's hard to buy a practice.  some guys are selling out to DSOs who by the practice and let you work as an employee.  there's post retirement dividends to share, but i have no desire to work for a corporate structure.  my hope is that i live long enough to have one of my kids take it over.  

[Augie]

1 hour ago, teef said:

i can't tell you how many new patients we have from family, friends, co-workers, etc.  we try to get everyone in just to continue growth and help people out.  also, i can't tell you how many dentists come to the end of careers, and end of having strokes, heart attacks, cancer...it's awful to watch.  nothing like working hard to not be able to enjoy it.  the guy a bought a practice from had a heart attack and i just heard today he had passed away.  he was maybe 65.  

 

not being able to sell is a new problem.  dentists coming out are anywhere from 260k-400k in debt, and it's hard to buy a practice.  some guys are selling out to DSOs who by the practice and let you work as an employee.  there's post retirement dividends to share, but i have no desire to work for a corporate structure.  my hope is that i live long enough to have one of my kids take it over.  

 

My FIL didn’t have any of the debt, the Navy came along when he was short of graduation and said “close enough.”  He was actually on the USS Missouri when the peace treaty was signed. They then took a victory cruise around the world for a year or two. What a great guy. 

[Sweats]

My original dentist in KW, Ontario was an older guy who handed down the business to his kids. For the longest time when the old fella had it, it was a very small practice, but as soon as the old man passed away and the kids took over, they knocked the old building down and expanded the business to a mega empire where it actually became more of a business type thing......when the old man had it, it was more of a family type ordeal.

 

Then my business took me away from the area and i ended up working all over the world, so imagine the nightmare when you have dental issues, and you are working in another country where no one knows you, you don't know anyone, you don't even know if you have any insurance, and you have to try to find someone to do some work on your mouth and everyone just basically sends you to the local hospital where they won't go anywhere near the problem because it's a dentist issue.........UGH.

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]