I switched to this dentist because it was closer. I had a checkup done, including x-rays, and after reviewing them and my teeth, she told me everything was fine: I had no signs of cavities, and my old fillings looked fine. We then started having some small talk about my teeth, and I mentioned in passing that I had a tiny metal filling done on my lower left molar 12 years ago.
Then she changed her mind and said I would need to get it replaced, without even looking inside my mouth again or re-checking the x-rays. I asked why, since she had just told me the filling looked fine, and she said that metal fillings were bad because over time, they expand and contract and can cause cracks in teeth. So to prevent that from happening, it needed to be replaced every few years. That sounded reasonable, so I scheduled the appointment and had my metal filling replaced with a composite one.
The filling itself went fine. The problem came after the filling had been completed, while they were shaving it down. The dentist was chattering with her assistant when all of a sudden, she slipped, said "oops!" and accidentally shaved the opposite side of my tooth (the part of the tooth that was not being worked on, that had no filling. AKA, my healthy enamel). I felt a sharp pain when it occurred, but it left as quickly as it came.
Now, as a new nurse grad, I know that healthcare professionals are human and can make mistakes, so I honestly didn't mind. I figured she'd just add some filling in the new dent she had made on the other side of my tooth.
She didn't.
Instead, she exchanged a worried look with her assistant and then sent me home with a nervous smile.
I figured she had sent me home because she had assessed that the new indentation she had created was not deep enough to require a filling. Surely, she would not choose to ignore a problem, putting a patient's health at risk, in order to save face, correct?
Wrong.
Every now and then, I would feel a small pain in the indentation whenever I'd eat hard foods. It was barely noticeable, so I figured I'd wait until my next appointment (a cleaning 6 months later) to see if it went away on it's own.
It didn't.
So 6 months later, I came in for my cleaning and usual check-up. She took some new x-rays, reviewed them, and then checked my teeth. Then she said everything looked fine; no signs of cavities, again.
I went home and noticed my indentation was particularly sensitive after the cleaning and decided to schedule an appointment to finally get it fixed.
I brought her attention to the indentation and she said she would put a filling in, but not before shaving it down some more. On top of that, she said she'd redo the filling she had put in previously on the other side of my tooth while she was at it.
I asked why. There were no signs of infection, no cavities. So why did it require shaving down? And why redo the old filling, which was fine? She then rolled her eyes at me and said "I'M the dentist. I KNOW what I'm doing." and then she proceeded to giving me anesthesia and doing the filling.
During the procedure, it hurt whenever she'd shave down the indentation. I brought it to her attention, and she said "It's all in your head." and continued to shave down my tooth.
After the procedure, I noticed that half my tooth had become filling. She had joined the old filling with the new indentation she had made last time. What had once been a tiny, superficial metal filling on one side of my tooth had now become a deep filling that was 5x's the size of the old one and that encompassed half of my tooth.
But I didn't mind, so long as it did not hurt anymore. But it did. And even worse than before; to the point where I couldn't even eat on that side of my mouth anymore.
So I finally switched to a new dentist, and brought my old x-rays and let him compare it to new x-rays he took in his office. He was shocked to see how much of my healthy enamel she had shaved down - she had shaved my tooth down all the way down to the pulp, which is where all the nerve endings are. And he also said that the metal filling I had in the first place was fine and that it should not have been replaced.
So basically, I had an unnecessary procedure done, during which she shaved down my tooth far too aggressively, and what once was a healthy tooth had now become irritated and inflamed.
We're now working to save the tooth with a medicated filling, but I might end up having to have a root canal if the pain doesn't settle down.
Again, I understand that we are all human and we all make mistakes. I would never hold that against someone. But I do not condone pushing for unnecessary procedures, ignoring ones mistakes, and putting a patient's health at risk in order to save face. That is not ethical, and I do not wish to be under the care of someone who would choose to go down that route. read more
