soreThe most important part of this story is that I'm terrified of dentists. Also, I went through about 2 years of depression and taking the best care of my teeth was pretty low on the list.
The dentist was working closely with one of her assistants. The assistant had one of the metal tooth scrapers (I think; it was a metal hook thing), and was prodding at some of my teeth. Her hand slipped and the tip caught on my lip. I didn't care: my entire mouth plus tongue was numb. The dentist, in order to rest her hand, rested it on the bridge of my nose. It hurt a little, which I explained to her as best as I could with a numbed mouth. She said, "Oh, I'm sorry" and lifted her hand up...for all of ten seconds. I am not a dentist, so I figured she was moving her hand in order to see her work better and didn't complain again. She kept her hand there for the entire time I was getting fillings.
She did two fillings, all the while interjecting her story of her month vacation in Italy with suggestions that I get a root canal. (I'm not exaggerating about her Italy vacation, nor am I trying to say that she was suggesting a painful and expensive procedure to pay for her next vacation. She really did talk about her vacation while suggesting a root canal.) When I said "Pull it or fill it, but I can neither afford nor tolerate the pain of a root canal," she sighed and filled it. I must have annoyed her then, or it may have been when she numbed one side of my gums and not the other. (By the way, when I told her I could feel the drill against my teeth, she replied that it wasn't possible, added more novacaine to the same side...rinse and repeat three times. Alternating needles and drills in my teeth and gums do not a pleasant visit make.)
When she filled my teeth, she had me bite down on a few pieces of cotton until the filling was dry. Then I paid and left. When I got to the car, I noticed three things immediately. 1. My lip was swollen, bloody and had a cut almost three inches long from the inside of my mouth to the tip of my outer lip. 2. My nose was swollen. 3. Both eyes were blackened on the corners closest to my nose. Later on, I realized that the dentist hadn't made sure my fillings were shaped properly, meaning I couldn't chew food properly and the fillings would grind against my bottom set painfully.
Even later, maybe two months later, the tooth she suggested needed a root canal...well, let's just say it was cracked when I got home, then a chunk of it broke off. I was not happy.
She did two fillings, all the while interjecting her story of her month vacation in Italy with suggestions that I get a root canal. (I'm not exaggerating about her Italy vacation, nor am I trying to say that she was suggesting a painful and expensive procedure to pay for her next vacation. She really did talk about her vacation while suggesting a root canal.) When I said "Pull it or fill it, but I can neither afford nor tolerate the pain of a root canal," she sighed and filled it. I must have annoyed her then, or it may have been when she numbed one side of my gums and not the other. (By the way, when I told her I could feel the drill against my teeth, she replied that it wasn't possible, added more novacaine to the same side...rinse and repeat three times. Alternating needles and drills in my teeth and gums do not a pleasant visit make.)
When she filled my teeth, she had me bite down on a few pieces of cotton until the filling was dry. Then I paid and left. When I got to the car, I noticed three things immediately. 1. My lip was swollen, bloody and had a cut almost three inches long from the inside of my mouth to the tip of my outer lip. 2. My nose was swollen. 3. Both eyes were blackened on the corners closest to my nose. Later on, I realized that the dentist hadn't made sure my fillings were shaped properly, meaning I couldn't chew food properly and the fillings would grind against my bottom set painfully.
Even later, maybe two months later, the tooth she suggested needed a root canal...well, let's just say it was cracked when I got home, then a chunk of it broke off. I was not happy.
I've moved on. I have a new dentist who reshaped her shoddy work (for free!), told me she had no reason to suggest a root canal, and numbs my gums (haha, it rhymes) with a numbing gel before numbing it completely with a needle.
But...any thoughts? I don't have pictures because all the numbing stuff they shot into my gums made me really sleeping and sick to my stomach for almost a week. My friend may have taken pictures, but I barely remember that week at all.