Dentist problems

[RolandRat]

Was suffering a minor discomfort so decided to visit a local Dentist.

Cruised around awhile and after ignoring what looked like really old places, found a shop that looked nice and Modern etc.

Dentist was nice, gentle etc and after examination informed I needed a filling. Ok, proceed.

She was pretty good, gentle etc and job done I left.

2 days later the filling fell out , tooth collapsed, had to go back and have what was left of the tooth removed ! Not impressed.

Go forward 2 years, having problem again with sensitivity, go find another Dentist. After examination, X-rays, determines a root canal is required.

This was going to take 3-4 appointments as had to be done in stages. First appointment went ok, a little heavy handed, minor discomfort had to stop half way through and give more anaesthetic.

Left the surgery and about an hour later, instead of the anaesthetic wearing off it started to spread up my face, into my eye and my face looked like I had a stroke or something. I couldnt control my eye or blink and it was streaming with water. Concerned I got the wife to telephone the Dentist who assured it was fine, not to worry and it would soon pass. Which 3 hours later it did.

Next appointment, starts to work in my mouth and I am thinking " she has forgotten the anaesthetic", whats she doing?, maybe she'll do it in a minute, then the drill starts, next second I am like a cartoon cat screaming and pulling myself off the ceiling !! I have never experienced pain like it, excruciating pain I stopped her and through my wife asked why no aneasthetic ?? and why was she drilling etc.

answer: "because you had slight problem thought wouldnt put this time" !!!! I said NO, never work on me without it, ever ! she smiled and said Ok, I do now. She did and that treatment was concluded sometime later.

Next appointment, didnt forget the numb juice but still very uncomfortable afterwards, and although by now the nerve apparently is removed its still uncomfortable and I have to go back for a final appointment this week. So, all in all, nearly 2 months of appointments and still got the same discomfort today as I had when I started, been really hurt in the process and not looking forward to the next and hopefully final appointment. I am considering just having it removed and have done with it as the constant discomfort just makes you miserable.

Just bad luck or poor Dentistry ? dont have a lot of confidence in Thai Dentists to date, thats for sure. They dont seem to have the same level of skill or care as I have experienced in the west.

[stoneyboy]

May help if you inform us where this unfortunate incident occurred.

[RolandRat]

I dont think the "where" is really important its more about the general standard of Dentistry here that I have encountered. But it was provincial not in the Big city like Bangkok etc.

[Pib]

I've never had any issues with dental work in Thailand...nor has the wife...nor has the mother-in-law with her dental work since I've known her....and my wife and MIL has had some serious dental work in Thailand...I've been lucky in only needing one filling an just doing semi-annual cleanings. The dentists all seem very qualified and professional...and speak basic English....the dental work has been fine and low cost. I'm in Bangkok.

[padped]

Is this the same dentist that stuffed up a simple filling ? If so why did you go back to her ? You have to do your homework and find a good dentist ... BIDC in Bangkok are excellent .. I would recommend them to anyone wanting any sort of work done...I have had implants, crowns , fillings all without a problem...done 9 years ago and going strong. Their clinic is up to date and the dentists highly qualified...I travel 4 hours by public transport just to get there but it is worth it. I am sorry you have had such a terrible time...my implant dentist at BIDC has a Masters from London University and the others in the whole BIDC team are highly qualified so I guess it depends where you go...you cannot generalize and say that dentists in Thailand do not have the same level of skill or care as in the West...I found the team at BIDC skilled. caring and gentle, far more than any dental specialist I have seen in the West.

[NickJ]

I had a tooth with an older filling crack. I was sure I would need a crown. When I saw a dentist. He sent me to a crown specialist. This dentist said I didnt need a crown as he could repair it. That eas three months ago and now I need both a crown and root canal.

[RolandRat]

Is this the same dentist that stuffed up a simple filling ? If so why did you go back to her ? You have to do your homework and find a good dentist ... BIDC in Bangkok are excellent .. I would recommend them to anyone wanting any sort of work done...I have had implants, crowns , fillings all without a problem...done 9 years ago and going strong. Their clinic is up to date and the dentists highly qualified...I travel 4 hours by public transport just to get there but it is worth it. I am sorry you have had such a terrible time...my implant dentist at BIDC has a Masters from London University and the others in the whole BIDC team are highly qualified so I guess it depends where you go...you cannot generalize and say that dentists in Thailand do not have the same level of skill or care as in the West...I found the team at BIDC skilled. caring and gentle, far more than any dental specialist I have seen in the West.

No it wasnt the first Dentist, I looked around and found another as a result of the first encounter.

[stoneyboy]

I dont think the "where" is really important its more about the general standard of Dentistry here that I have encountered. But it was provincial not in the Big city like Bangkok etc.

Well in this instance the where obviously is a factor in my opinion,I've had dental work done in Bangkok never an issue,I've also had dental work in the provinces,the later resulted in terrible discomfort for 3 days after and all I had was a simple filling replaced that had also fallen out.

I have all my work done in either Bangkok or the UK depending on my circumstances at the time.

[NancyL]

I wonder if the OP is having regular semi-annual visits to a dentist for cleanings? From the way the OP is written, it seems doubtful. Often problems can be detected during these regular visits and appointments made to correct the problem -- rather than waiting until a dental problem gets to the point that it actually creates pain.

Where the incident occurred is indeed relevant. If it's in one of the provinces, someone could recommend a better dentist in, say Chiang Mai or Khon Kaen or Ubon or some other big city depending upon where the OP lives. As another poster pointed out, it may be worth a 4 hour bus ride and even overnight stay to see a dentist in a larger city.

[payanak]

So sorry to read about your experience. You seem to have been a recipient of both questionable dentistry and bad luck. These days one cannot be assured that a practitioner is skilled merely because they graduated from dental or medical school. Too long an explanation to go into here but this is the case even in America.

The anesthesia spreading to your eye was probably the result of the injection being given too far back. Occasionally this is done deliberately and is called a second division block. On rare occasions it happens accidentally to all of us. Give her the benefit of the doubt for now.

There is almost no reason any root canal treatment should take four appointments. This could only be from lack of experience. Even multi-rooted posterior teeth are usually done in one appointment, occasionally two. Anything grossly out of the ordinary should be referred to an endodontist. This is what specialists are for. Root canal treatment have been a basic part of the curriculum in every North American school for decades.

Hearing about patients being worked on without anesthesia makes me cringe just to read it. No responsible dentist would allow this to occur with any patient. No dentist wants inflict any discomfort on his/her patient. Do not tolerate this kind of treatment from any dentist, in any country.

And last, NancyL make a great point. Go and get regular checkups! Get problems diagnosed and fixed before crisis level.

Happy Trails