First some history... Age 8 I was told I had 3 cavities. Got 2 filled & an apt. for the other. Missed the 2nd apt. Next dentist apt. age 13 later with a different dentist & gave me a clean bill of health. Cavity must have disappeared.. Next apt. age 20 to remove wisdom teeth.
Now I'm 34 & never had any real issue with my teeth but a friend suggested I go for check up & cleaning. I chose Dr Glen Chan because reviews said he's "understanding." "Very fair about what he charges" "doesn't recommend procedures that are unnecessary to make more money" (I didn't find this to be true)
I get a cleaning done & a clean bill of health. I decide to do whitening because I quit smoking. Dr Chan noticed my 2 old fillings. Dr Chan said "we can change those to white for you." I say "really!" He says "yea we do it all the time."
He changed the fillings, fast quick & painlessly. As I'm leaving I'm told to expect tenderness that'll last 3-4 mon. Wish they'd mentioned this prior to doing it. Also wish they'd told me that unless it's necessary you shouldn't F with your teeth because any time you get anything done there's a chance of infection. If I was told this I wouldn't have changed the fillings as there was no issue with them.
Months later & teeth are still sensitive. I book an apt but they're so busy I can't get in right away. By my apt. date I'm not having pain so I cancel.
A few weeks after I cancelled my apt. I got horrible shooting pain from one of the teeth that he replaced the filling in. Called dentist office, Dr Chan wasn't in but the other dentist, Dr Harker was, so they book me in for an emergency visit. Even though Dr Harker was busy I felt he listened to me & explained things to me. He prescribed antibiotics & pain killers. He told me the pain should subside as the antibiotic takes effect, in about 2 - 3 days. He said that I need a root canal & crown. The quote $3400.00... all because Dr Chan didn't tell me of the possible consequences of changing fillings.
4 days later, Sunday afternoon & the pain is getting worse. Pain killers aren't helping. I had taken 800mg ibuprofen & 2 T3's & am almost in tears, holding my jaw, rocking back & forth... I'm also suffering from a side effect of the antibiotics, diarrhea, a mean case of diarrhea.
I call Dr Chan's office Monday morning & tell his assistant what's going on I mention I've looked on line & it suggests trying different antibiotic & pain killer. She must not have liked this because she got so rude. She told me "Dr Chan said he will not change the antibiotic as it's the best one for the infection" She wanted me to book an apt. right away for a root canal. I said that it would have to wait a week or 2 until after an exam I was studying for. Then she got really mad & let me go. A while later she called back, she was far nicer, & said she talked to Dr Chan & he could call in another prescription for the same antibiotics & a different pain killer. Though before she called me back I was so upset that I called a different dentist that my sister had went to & made an appointment with him. He tested my tooth to make sure the root was actually dead. He told me all my options not just a root canal. His quote for root canal & crown was $2400.00.
A week after I finished taking the antibiotics my mouth starts to hurt again, the next day my face is noticeably swollen (looked like I had a baseball in my mouth) It's Easter Friday, I call the dentist office & they are closed but they do list home #s for both Dr Chan & Dr Harker on the answering machine. I call Chan & left a message, then just to be safe I call Dr Harker as well. Dr Harker got back to me with in 20 min & apologized... said he hoped I hadn't been waiting long, as he was driving through the mountains & just got reception. He listened as I explained the situation, I told him about the side effects of the last antibiotics. He talked to me about different antibiotic options & he told me what to watch for with the swelling so I would know if/when I would need to go to the hospital. Then he called a prescription in to my pharmacy, but before he let me go he also gave me the # to the cabin where he was staying.
It's been 3 days so far & I still haven't heard from Dr Chan. I'm sad to say I've lost trust in dentists. I just feel Chan was more concerned with making money then making the safe & healthy decision for me. Why didn't he just warn me... I wouldn't have done it. Now it has been almost 8 months of being in some degree of pain or another & it's not even over yet. AND it's going to cost me so much money that I don't have.
Side Note: The Reception Ladies are wonderful. read more
