Warning: Dr. Sharaf will give you a root canal whether you need it or not.
I had a tooth ache caused by a recent filling replacement (getting rid of the mercury filling). Because my dentist was not readily available and I was already convinced my tooth was infected (pain causes you to lose your good judgement), I went to Dr. Sharaf, the emergency dentist who specializes in root canals (which i did not know at the time).
He took an x-ray, and told me he hates to suggest a root canal because of how expensive it is, and it is only a last resort, but that I clearly needed a root canal. Then he asked me to do the "cold test" which is a q-tip that has been cooled with dry ice, applied to the tooth. Supposedly if it continues to cause pain after a few seconds, you need a root canal.
When i went back to my dentist, she was furious that he had done this. She looked at the x-ray and knew there was no way the filling was causing an infection, and there are several other possible causes for inflammation and pain.
The "cold test" is a complete scam. Obviously if you are already experiencing pain, a painful stimulus is going to exacerbate an abnormal pain response. However, that doesn't tell you anything about the ROOT cause of the problem!
However when you are in PAIN, you desperately want to get rid of the pain, and sometimes lose your reasoning skills and trust the wrong people.
I am 25 years old and will live the rest of my life with this mistake and gutted tooth.
From this experience, I believe either Dr. Sharaf is incompetent to read an x-ray, or he is willing to use your insurance if you have it. read more