My dentist visit experience as a Hep C'er

[ScarlettOscara]

   My first visit to the dentist while I "knowingly" had Hep c was a bit embarrassing. The dentist did not ask me how i "got it" at least. But I found it ODD that  I had a filling that was old and needed to be replaced and when I asked him if he could do this he said it was better to leave it alone. He cleaned my teeth and did use the little hooik to chip away some of the tartar on my teeth but not all. I did bleed allot and of course had warned him about the hep c before hand ..so I can't really blame him. I f he didn't do a thorough job because he was afraid of becoming infected how can you not understand that. He told me I needed to see a periodontist, which didn't surprise me because I had had gum surgery when I was only 21 for gum disease. (I was about 44 at the time of THIS dentist visit). I went home but never called a periodontist because I was just too embarrassed.
   Yesterday I went back to a new dentist a co-worker kept nagging me to go to. My co-worker does not know I have Hep C. He kept bugging me to go to see his dentist ..there are not many dentists in my area that accept the insurance I now have and I really neede to see a dentist since I hadn't been in 4 years..so I finally went.
   I did the what I consider the right thing and told him right away that I had Hep C and asked him if he was alright with this. He asked me if had consulted my doctor, and said that I may need to take antibiotics first like people with heart murmurs and such, before getting dental treatment. I told him I had never heard of that for Hep C.  He then asked me how I got Hep C. This was really humililating to me since I don't see why that matters, but I told him it was probably from some tattoos I had gotten when I was younger. The truth is I USED to main line heroiin way before anyone knew about AIDS and HEP C and I probably got it back then..but I really don't feel comfortabe telling people I used to be a junky..Now i am Not but NOW i have Hep C and no matter how clean I live my life now and how STUPID i NOW know I was I will ALWAYS have this Hep C to remind me of my passt and it really *****! He looked at my x rays and told my I had a large cavity and gum disease, he said he would only polish my teeth and to talk to my doctor. Before leaving I asked him that if I talk to my doctor and he tells me it is OK to go to the dentist, I wanted to know honestly if the Hep C would be a problem with him, he said he would have to see after I spoke to my doctor.
   On the train ride home I felt so depressed and dirty. I started to think paranoid thoughts about him telling my co-worker about me, "You know that woman you reccomended to see me...she's got Hepatitis C!!!" Oh God ..I hope not, but it does worry me. When I got home I  told myself it would be alright, I will find another dentist. I went online and looked for dentists that take my insurance. I found a good dentist in my area after MUCH web surfing and am going to call tomorrow morning for an appointment.
   And now the Question that BURNS in my brain...Do I tell THIS dentist I have Hep C!!?? I know the morally correct answer is YES..YES OF COURSE! But now I think if this dentist is afraid to treat me I have just about run out of options, my dam tooth is hurting and I need to get it fixed AND then see a periodontist...AND aren't dentists SUPPOSSED to clean all their utensils THOUROUGHLY?  Also, so many people have Hep C and don't even know.
I am thinking of just asking the dentist to please be sure to thouroughly clean all the equipment because a "friend" I  know contacted Hep C from haveing dental work and thereby asking them how well they clean everything...would that be responsible enough?? I would never never want to pass this Hep C on to anyone , am I correct in thinking if the dentist is CLEAN no one will be infected from me? Would it be horrible not to tell the dentist I have Hep C?? And if I do tell the dentist and I end up losing all my teeth because I can't find a dentist how will take my insurance AND treat me...THEN have I done the right thing??
DEPRESSED AND CONFUSED.
  

[Rockerforlife]

They are supposed to completely sterize the room before the next victim....they dont...i seen it....now i ask to see the tools taken directly from the machine and want to see how thay clean up after ....ALWAYS

[Rockerforlife]

The first thing you gotta do when you go to a dentist is ask to see the sterization procedures they practice....you willbe shocked by some...SHOCKED

[IMstacie]

One more thing, people have caught hep c from dental procedures!  Maybe we should also be scrutinizing them!  I have two types now, I sure don't want a 3rd.  Or worse yet, get clear and then re-infected.

[IMstacie]

There are a lot of doctors that are not familiar with HCV, there are probably more dentists.  Also, if you are on tx maybe you should take your latest lab results so the dentist can make an informed decision, i.e., if your platelets are low maybe now isn't the best time.  Heck, maybe we need to just educate them.  It's possible the problem is not the fact they may contract HCV as they all should be using standard precautions, it may be the fact, that they are afraid of doing further harm.  Just a thought.  I had my last visit before tx, I didn't mention it.  I had been going for years before I even knew I had it.

[ram921]

I used to pat myself on the back for being so up front with any medical or dental professionals re: my having hep C. I was naive. Not any more.  

[zooz333]

yeah right........"rockerforlife"......;-)

yours truly.....zooz333.......:))

[streamline52]

Seems a little strange to me that any health care worker would care if we have hep c or not. Are they the very health care providers who never offered a blood test for hep c that so many of us now being told 20+ years later we are infected with?and can do little for now.
I have gone for many surgeries and a annual blood test my whole adult life and just now at 55 I'm told I have hep c and it may be the start of chirosis. If only my doctor had told me years ago I would have taken much better care of myself never to end up in this position.I do take responsibility for my mistakes, but just maybe the health professional should take responsiblity for their mistakes as well.

[Rockerforlife]

dont forget everyone on this site knows you have hep c too...MILLIONS OF PEOPLE

[zooz333]

i think you should keep the fact that you have hcv always to yourself, except for people who are close to you!!!!!
people unfortunatly don't respond well to the fact the you have it and many medically illiterate people will even be scared of you and treat you like ******, which ofcourse is very humiliating
even the dentist, why would you tell him anyway. he should always exercise caution regardless he knows or not. What if a patient has it or has HIV and doesn't know about it?? he should always be carefull anyhow and that's the dentist you should pick in the 1st place for your OWN safety. There could be another patient who had HBV and doesn't know, how about that for you...
anyway that's my personal opinion....the ONLY people who know I have HCV are My parents, girlfriend, sisters and my hepatologist!!!!

cheers.......

[GreatBird]

If a dentist won't treat you because you have Hep C or doesn't treat you well (providing the service that you are paying for) then you should not only stop seeing them, but you should inform your insurance company (by letter) that the dentist is unacceptable why.

Complaining to the *right* place often brings results. It's also perfectly fair to expect your insurance company to provide you with a dentist who will take good care of your teeth--hep C or not. That's the whole point of having dental insurance!

[nygirl7]

I dont really think that most dentists think about us all that much after we leave the office really and doubt that one would be prompted to tell another patient that you have the disease.  A LOT of people do and it's only the correct thing to do to tell the dentist.

About the antibiotics...........they no longer give antibiotics to people who have heart murmurs (in general) - I just recently went to the cardiologist who told me that practice has been abandoned, so I doubt that they would ever think it necessary to give them to someone with hepc. There really would be no need for such a thing that I can think of.

Nobody should be treated like krap for having hepC but we do all realize that there are ignorant morons in the world - dentist or not........and if one treated me badly I'd just up and leave him and go elsewhere. Not everyone is a complete idiot and you are bound to find a decent person eventually. I've been to several different dentist and none of them have treated me poorly due to my disease.

[fretboard]

>>If we are ashamed of our disease, or embarrassed, or in anyway feeling that it makes us less we are opening the door to be treated like we should be.<<

I don't know about the warm fuzzy part of having the disease or if having higher self esteem should even come into the picture.  By saying that, I think you're making an excuse for dentist to treat some patients like krap.  Just because you haven't been stigamatized doesn't mean that it doesn't happen.  Also I think it happens across the board and I don't think it happens because of the above mentioned.  However if you are right, then please post some evidence that says that it's ok for a dentist to treat you like krap and the acceptable reasons for doing so.

[pitter]

I personnally thought that these posts on this today were really good!
What we think of ourselves does create what others think!  your own CONFIDENCE in your self rules alot.
thanks, that wa so important to see.
Pitter

[epiphiny]

Thanks for saying that, I completely agree with you and that was also my experience.  Once I stopped feeling 'bad' about having HCV, I stopped projecting my feelings on to other people.  I always think people are a mirror to us, they are just reflecting ourselves back to us.

[Rockerforlife]

The sad thing is,,,as we speak....thousands every year still get infected..

[GreatBird]

Should have reread that one for clarity . . .

>>If we are ashamed of our disease, or embarrassed, or in anyway feeling that it makes us less we are opening the door to be treated like we should be.<<

What I meant was that if we feel our self-worth is less because of this disease others will treat us like we are worth less.

But we are not.

[GreatBird]

I've never had anyone treat me that way. Not a medical professional. Not a friend. Not an acquaintance. I've had medical professionals ask me why I'm not treating and be concerned about me, but that's the extent of it. I have never hidden my status from anyone (although I don't go around telling people about it either unless it's appropriate).

If we are ashamed of our disease, or embarrassed, or in anyway feeling that it makes us less we are opening the door to be treated like we should be.

Did anyone here *choose* do have hepC? I don't think so.

[Rockerforlife]

i meant...."im NOT saying its right"

[Rockerforlife]

The truth of the matter is.....reverse the situation...if you were the dentist and a patient told you he had a deadly contagious disease?...im saying its right....but thats reality....oods are most people will trat you like a leper if you tell

[R Glass]

I have had both good and bad experiences with Health Care Workers. Some added to my depression and some made me fill good and upbeat.
Now that I am SVR, I attend to continue having my “Come To Jesus Meeting” with them. The only thing that will change is, they will fully understand that I am more afraid of them than they are of me. I don’t care if they may think that I need Mental Help for my “Blood Phobia” but, there will be no misunderstanding, they will completely sterilize any thing they plan to use on me.

[Marcia2202]

I have not had one single negative reaction from anyone I've told that I have hep C. I even tell people at the spa, acupuncturist, etc. I was diagnosed in March this year. My dentist and her assistant were very sweet to accommodate all my appointments that I would be finished with all the dental work before I started treatment in August. I have been going there for 10 years and my husband for over 25. They were concerned for me that I am ill and are wishing me all the best to get well.

Maybe the health professionals etc are more educated about this disease here in Denmark, as none of them seem to care at all treating me. I usually get this, 'don't worry about me, we are prepared for this in our profession'. They must be learning about the risks in medical school and in beauty school.

[fretboard]

I had a dentist appt. for a cleaning around a month ago.  I've been seeing this same dentist for over 30yrs. except I did stop going there for awhile after I told him that I had HepC.  In 1992 when I was diagnosed, I promptly notified my dentist on the forms and in person.  The day I told him and his assistant I was infected, I felt like I had just told them that I was gonna rob them or something, the looks they both gave me made me feel really small.  It was totally unbelievable, I don't remember ever being treated so coldly in all my life.  I stopped seeing him for 3 or 4 years after that.  On my last appt. for the cleaning, the hygenist asked me what kind of hepatitis I had, I said that I had HepC.  I'm sure I may even hear more about this and if I do, and I don't like how it's handled I will certainly say something.  I won't even be surprised if the dentist says that he can't see me anymore, that's his right and I will accept it cause it's the right thing for me to do.  Hopefully it's handled alot better than it was when I told him back in 1992.  Since that bad experience, I don't share my HepC status with any dentist and I don't feel like I'm being dishonest or anything.  Some ppl have decent experiences when they tell their dentist that they are HepC positive, I didn't at all.  good luck

[epiphiny]

I understand how hard this is for you, it is difficult to deal with other people's prejudice and especially now that you have 2 bad experiences but honestly, Scarlett, I can't see the difference between telling the dentist you might still have hep c and you have hep c, other than the moral judgment that you are presuming the dentist will make.

What about ringing a few dental surgeries and being upfront about the situation; tell them you have Hep C, you have had compromised dental treatment in the past and you want to know you will receive the best treatment possible from the dentist before you go ahead.  If they have a problem they can say so immediately and no one is forced to be embarrassed or to have to lie.

I also see that you said you are limited in your choices due to your insurance, can you travel a bit further to broaden your horizon for an appropriate dentist, or as a last resort pay for the treatment yourself if the dentist you find is not covered by your insurance?

Btw, a GOOD dentist will always use appropriate safety and sterilization procedures so I don't really think you need to tell them to glove up.  If they didn't glove up etc I would be out of that chair in a shot.  There are more things than Hep C that you can catch from unsterilized procedures and equipment and some of them kill faster.

Make a few phone calls, decide to tell the truth and hold your head up high!

Good luck!

Epi :)

[ScarlettOscara]

On re-reading my last post, I need to talk about that scenerio again where the gay guy feels frisky and does,not tell his partner anything..I was in NO way saying it would be Okay to tell him you MAY have hep c and to use protection. The whole scenerio just kind of freaked me out. I think that would be a really horrible thing to do.

I  really don't think it's the same as telling a dentist you may still have hep c and to use protection. A dentist sees so many people a year that if everyone was suggesting he suit up and clean everything thoroughly it would be a good thing. I do get your point however and am changing my mind about the situation.

Thanks again.