I will admit to being a bit afraid of going to the dentist. But, a few weeks ago, I started getting pain in a tooth. I finally bit the bullet and scheduled an emergency appointment with a dentist. He did an x-ray and found that there is a cavity in a back tooth, which already has a filling. He said there is only 10% of the tooth viable and he doesn’t think he can save it. He wants to extract it and then schedule me for a dental implant procedure. I have to tell you this absolutely terrifies me. Is there another option?
Elle
Dear Elle,
I think you need to get a second opinion. If your tooth were actually that far gone, you would not need an x-ray to be able to tell. If only 10% of the tooth was viable, you would be able to see it with the naked eye. In fact, I am fairly certain that your filling would have caved in on itself. I am having some doubts about the motives of this dentist. While most are ethical, every once in a while, as in every profession, you run into a dud or worse. I suspect you have one of those.
I want to address something else I think will help you. You mentioned having dental anxiety, which has kept you from the dentist. You should know that you are not alone in feeling like this. There are dentists who are completely sympathetic to your situation and provide a means for fearful patients to have a solution to give you an anxiety and pain-free dental appointment.
Because of that, when you look for your second opinion dentist, do a search for a sedation dentist. They are used to treating patients with dental anxiety and have medication that can relax you while you are in the dental chair. Go ahead and schedule another emergency appointment but this time with a different dentist. When you do, don’t tell them who the first dentist was or what their diagnosis was. You want it to be a completely blind second opinion.
This blog is brought to you by Grosse Pointe Woods Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Patel.