Dentist Disaster

jessegee

A few months ago I had two teeth out and some other work at my local NHS dentist
This was estimated at about £250 total cost
They sent me to another dentist to have the extraction, a sweet little old man, so kind, but very doddery, he missed and got me in the face with the injection first try !
I had two molars out, and for the next 7 days I was in agony
I was sure something wal it with my finger nail
I went back to my dentist and showed her , and insisted she xray
She was reluctant, but finally agreed
They stood me at the big machine which whirled around my head, but I dont believe they took an xray. They havent been able to show it to me, and the girl didnt even put an apron on. I also didnt hear a beep etc

I ran out of courage and was so relieved when the pain finally stopped that I didnt arrange another appt to finish the work
They havent contacted me either

Now I have to have two molars out the other side, and I went to a private dentist who xrayed the previous extraction, and gave me a copy
Its clear to see a tooth sized something down in the jaw, possibly a broken shard left behind

I'm having the other two out with her, and finishing the work for a total of 350
I know I should go back to the original but I dont trust them, I think they lied to me
I dont want to sue, I think we sue too much in this country already, but I'd like to negotiate at least to write off the outstanding debt of 250
I had to take extra days off work short notice to recover, which meant I had to attend a disciplinary ( if all had gone as expected I would not have had to take time off or lose my bonus this year)

So I am pretty peeved !

How should I go about it negotiating them letting me off the old bill?

jessegee

dmg24

You should have gone back to the original dentist before completing the work elsewhere, even if just to renegotiate your bill.

Where are you in the UK? £250 is not an NHS charge.

Toothsmith

This all sounds a bit far-fetched to me!

I've been qualified 20 yrs, and even when I trained we didn't have to wear lead aprons to take x-rays. Goodness knows where you've got that expectation from.

With a 'tooth sized' thing in your jaw, could it have been a tooth? An unerrupted wisdom tooth prehaps? A dentist would know if he'd left a substancial piece of tooth behind, and there really wouldn't be much point not telling the patient, as that could lead to a whole heap of trouble.

It's not unusual to feel a few boney fragments in the socket after a tooth extraction, if you go poking about, but these are normal.

Did the second dentist say it was a root left behind on the x-ray? What explaination did he give for the 'thing' in the jaw?

As dmg24 says £250 is not an NHS charge in England or Wales, which might be dodgey if you live in these countries, but I can't see anything out-of-the-ordinary in the treatment just yet.

jessegee

just for an update, and I do appeciate your replies, I have had the work done somewhere else and havent contacted the previous dentist yet and they havent contacted me either

The bill was an approx, I didnt think you'd all want to know the exact, which I cant remember off the top of my head

I have a proper x ray print off that shows the thing left in my gum which is still unidentified but not solid like a piece of scalpel or anything so as its stopped hurting I have left it, its been months and a recent 2nd x ray shows its still there
(I had appointments at the hospital to see the facial maxillio specialist or however you say it )
The x ray I had was worlds apart from the first x ray that I dont believe they took, just the exact positioning of my head and biting on the plate thing, before the cameras went around my head, very different from the first one where the cameras went round and I just stood there

Its been so long since all this has happened, and for the forst time in years I am without pain, I am just going to let it go, unless they contact me. I'm not moving or anything so they can find me if they want to and I will be ready for them if they do!

Just to confirm I have paid for all my other work on the day, I dont hold with having work and not paying for it, but as only another phobic will know, having dental work is upsetting, and !!!! ups are keenly felt.
I appreciate my new dentist who is quick accurate and efficient, and helps me get a grip so she can do the work

thanks for the replies ,

jessegee

pulliptears

I dont think tooth shards are unusual. I had an extraction 2 years ago and recently felt something sharp in the gum on that area. It was a very small shard of tooth that must have worked its way out over the years