Thread: Question about dentist.

I am 66 and until the last yr I had never lost a tooth. Now in the past yr I have lost 5. Our dentist of years died about 6 yrs ago. We floundered around and went to 3dentist before we settled on the one we have been going to for the past 4 yrs. The first tooth I lost can not be blamed on him but the other 4, I am not sure. I take care of my teeth, brushing and flossing. I lost 2 teeth on top because he said after he got inside they were too decayed to save. He had an exray in his hand. How much can he see on an exray. I thought a lot. I went to a different dentist who said these 2 have to come out because they are decayed under the cap. I had root canals so that is why no pain. I am very upset. I am now going to yet another dentist. My husband didn't change when I did. He came home Thursday and said he had to go to another dentist and have a tooth pulled because the one he thought he was going to get filled was too far gone when the dentist got inside. I think there is a problem with this dentist. He never even suggested a bridge or anything. I guess he just thought I would gum my food. I am very upset. I have always taken good care of my teeth with every 6 months check ups my whole life.
Shouldn't a dentist be able to tell if a tooth is pretty gone when he has an exray in his hand? Now I have another dentist and $10,000 worth of bridges ahead of me. I don't know where the money is going to come from. I think I will have to get them fixed over a period of several yrs.

If you are going to spend the money, I would get an implant. Five implants shouldn't cost $10,000!

I just had a 3 tooth bridge and it was only $1500

Maybe I better check around but I have to do it fast. My appointment is Wed to start. It is $3000 to get 2 teeth on a bridge.

Originally Posted by buglebe

Maybe I better check around but I have to do it fast. My appointment is Wed to start. It is $3000 to get 2 teeth on a bridge.

is that w/ out insurance?

even though you may like a dentist pretty well, you can never be really sure of his work. My mom lived in another area for years and swore by the dentist she had, and when she got here and started going to my dentist she found out she had all sorts of problems. Decay can occur anywhere. I had to have some major dental surgery a couple of years ago because i had an impacted wisdom tooth. I was told by several dentists that it would probably just lie there along my jawbone the rest of my life, never giving me any trouble. Well, guess what? It started decaying. I had to go to a specialist to get it out because my dentist was afraid to take it out, he said he was afraid he would crack my jaw. I suggest you look and see if your new dentist will accept care credit, and if he does to get yourself a care credit card. www.carecredit.com It has saved our life a bunch of times.

Originally Posted by SLance68

The best person to ask would probably be Yankee hater (not sure of his exact screen name) he works for a dentist.

YNKYH8R is his screen name.

I suppose dental costs are different in different sections of the country. I have checked around and her charges are in sinc with the others around here. She will put 2 teeth onto the tooth on each side requiring crowns on each one to be connected to. So this involves 4 crowns. Yes we do have dental insurance.

I would get dentures, you can get them for a FRACTION of the cost