Posted by shar on April 30, 2003, at 19:58:13
In reply to Re: Dental - Horror Story #2, posted by coral on April 30, 2003, at 17:55:31
Wow, I wonder how this stuff happens! You'd think bruxism would be a fairly simple diagnosis, and regular doctors that deal with face pain would be alert to the area of the mouth and everything that can go wrong there!
One of my worst is another face pain story. I thought it was a sinus infection because I live in an area where allergies and sinus infections are rampant, and it was reminiscent of when I'd had one before. I went to (over time, and as pain continued) the regular dr, ENT, minor emergency...and finally ended up at the emergency room with a huge, bulging pocket in the roof of my mouth. Yep, a tooth (in which I'd had a root canal) somehow got infected (possibly an incomplete job) and the stuff, I guess after filling up available space elsewhere, started seeping stuff into the roof of my mouth.
After months of excruciating pain--face pain is so bad--the tooth got pulled and relief was instantaneous (with antibiotics). I'd already been prescribed antibiotics (at least two courses of them over the months) for the 'sinus infection', but that didn't take care of the tooth problem. All the while I had been seeing my regular dentist, telling her about it, she had taken xrays....
I am grateful the pocket at least ended up in the roof of my mouth, pointing people in the right direction...had it been elsewhere I might have ended up with a nose job or something.
The crowning glory of the day at the ER was that my car battery had been dying for a couple of days, when I turned off the car, so I got a jump start ($40) to drive to the ER, and one (another $40) to drive home. It was, of course, a Sunday. God, life sucks so bad sometimes.
I was too depressed to seek out reparations from the root canal dr., plus nobody would say for sure it was a bad root canal. Pull the wagons in a circle, protect their own.
On a more positive note, I've had three root canals and none of them were painful, at least not more painful than other regular dental work. Weird, I guess. All were done by 'specialists' not my regular dentists.
Sigh.
Shar
poster:shar
thread:222890
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030426/msgs/223515.html