Dentist drilled hole in wrong tooth

Carlito_ElGuapo

Hi All,

I went to the dentist yesterday to have a root filling. The dentist suspected that my abses might be over two teeth. She said that she would need to drill a hole into both of my teeth. If I felt any slight pain then the tooth was ok and did not need to be worked on.

Anyway one of the teeth turned out to be fine and I now have a hole in my tooth (it small but very annoying). I’m going back next week to get the root filling finished but what I wanted to know is does this sound like a normal procedure? If so should the dentist fill this hole for free? I don’t see why I should pay for this as she drilled the whole in the first place.

Cheers

mda99das

yes this can sometimes be used prior to LA being given.

It is called a test cavity.

The hole is very small and perhaps could be filled with GIC or composite.

Toothsmith

Occasionally this can be the only way to see if a tooth really is alive or not.

She drilled the hole to find out what was wrong with YOUR teeth.

What would you have preferred? That she didn't carry out proper diagnostic tests?

Or just root filled both and charged you 2 root filling fees?

Or just done one root filling and risk having the second tooth blow up in pain sometime later?

She might well not charge you, but I wouldn't hold it against her if she did. It is all part of your care, and she seems to be doing a very good thorough job.

Carlito_ElGuapo

I'm not complaining. I had no idea if this was a proper diagnostic tests or not. As long as she is doing her job properly then everything is fine.

Toothsmith

It isn't the test of first choice!

But sometimes, X-rays can be inconclusive, and the usual test to see if a tooth is alive or not is to hold something cold against it.

This can be very unreliable as well.

So - yes. I think she is doing things very well, and better a tiny filling than an unnecessarily root filled tooth.