My husband and I recently moved our family into the area and scheduled our routine check-ups and cleanings. After having a baby, I needed more than a few fillings (eight!) and scheduled to have the work completed with Dr. Vu as quickly as possible.
The first appointment went very well. Dr. Vu is very personable and professional. Although she had four teeth to work on, (upper and lower right) she managed to finish the work within an hour. I scheduled my next appointment with her office to have the left side of my teeth filled.
Upon arrival of my next appointment, I was informed that there was a temporary Dentist available to replace Dr. Vu. No one had called to ask me if this was acceptable. We do not as yet have a babysitter for our young children here in Albemarle and my husband had taken the day off from work to watch them. I decided to have the work done by the temporary Dentist. Had I been called and notified prior, I most likely would not have.
I spoke with the hygienist while waiting to meet Dr. Fernandez. She mentioned that he had a "lot of experience but wasn't as fast as Dr. Vu." I asked her to let the Dr. know that I had three children waiting and one of them needed me, as she was still nursing. A few minutes later, I heard her speaking to Dr. Fernandez outside the room and explaining what I had said.
The first thing he said to me was, "I'd like to help you out with the breastfeeding. I could watch, but I don't think I could do anything else." My mouth dropped and I put down my magazines trying to decide if I should take the inappropriate comment as a joke. The hygienist was there and I looked at her. I chose to ignore what he said. In hindsight, that was my second mistake.
Dr. Fernandez gave me the shots to numb the left area of my mouth he would be working on. I waited for 10-15 minutes and he began working. Before each visit I had been reminded of the sign to notify the dentist that I was feeling pain. I put my hand up because I was hurting. He told me that "he was almost finished there".
He began again and it hurt and I put my hand up again. The hygienist called his attention to my hand and he said, "yes, but it isn't up very high." I put my hand up in his face and he stopped working.
I told Dr. Fernandez that he was hurting me. I told him that I needed to know that he was going to pay attention to me when I let him know that I was in pain. He nodded his head and told me that he would listen to me and my signals. The hygienist said that some people have an extra branch of nerves, she was one of them, and suggested that another shot should numb the area completely. My mouth was numb, but Dr. Fernandez gave me another shot in front of the last shot he administered. That shot hurt so bad it made me flinch. He had managed to hurt me even while my mouth was numb. The next day, I had a bruise from that last shot. It stayed for three weeks.
I was left alone for a few minutes to allow the medication to work. In less than ten minutes, Dr. Fernandez came into the room. The hygienist was not there and I did not want to be alone with him. He asked me if I was ready to begin and I told him that we had not waited very long and requested that we give the medication time to properly numb my left side. I told him that I didn't believe that we had waited long enough.
He said, "We'll never know unless we try!"
I told him that I understood if he was busy, but I insisted we wait.
He told me that I was the "only patient left."
Then, he proceeded to explain that it, "wasn't possible for me to be in pain," because my teeth are in order and if the first tooth he drilled didn't hurt, the others shouldn't either.
He then suggested that I had an phobia of dentists.
I left for the front of the office and the hygienist ended up giving me a temporary filling until Dr. Vu could schedule me in. My next visit will be my next rating. read more
