Rotted/broken wisdom teeth

[irishheathen]

I had 2 very very bad dentist experiences. My first trip to the dentist was when i was 19 and 8 months pregnant for a abscessed wisdom tooth. he yelled at me, berated me for crying, used no drugs and it was the most painful thing in my life. The second time was 10 years later and she screwed up 3 inlays which are now cracked and offset.
Now the 3 remaining wisdom teeth have huge holes/crack and are basically rotting away. I've been trying my best to keep them clean, using temporary filling to keep the holes sealed... but one has reached the root i suspect because when i packed it with temp filling last night it was on the floor in pain.

I am terrified of going to the dentist, i'm also terrified of being put out. I've been in pain for almost 13 years now and I don't know what to do. Is it possible to find a dentist that won't hurt me again? How can i insure a pain free procedure? will my teeth just shatter cause they are so messed up now? Won't taht hurt worse that he'll have to go digging of the pieces?
Please help me, I'm so scared.

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

It sounds like you've done quite a bit.  I don't know your medical history so it makes it hard to recommend pain medications since I don't want to cause any other serious health problems with medications but if you're a perfectly healthy individual, you can actually take Motrin and Tylenol at the same time and works well as a pain medication.  Are you using a mouth rinse as well?  The temporary may help also but it sounds like its extremely sensitive to any touch so it may be better to leave it alone.  They do sell topical anesthetic such as Orajel or Anbesol.  It may help or it may hurt it more.  I'm not sure how it'll respond.  

If you can, you can go to an oral surgeon and they'll be able to both put you out and get your wisdom teeth out pretty quickly.  Its what they specialize in as well as other things.  So if you want to go directly and find an oral surgeon, that may be a good approach too.  

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

Sorry that you've had bad experiences with your dental care.  If you can't find a referral for a good dentist from your friends or family, you may just have to "shop around" and find a dentist whom you feel the most comfortable with.  I would still recommend being "put to sleep" though to help alleviate your anxiety.  There's various degrees of that ranging from just laughing gas to IV sedation in a dental office setting.  Anything beyond that is probably going to be at a hospital.  I believe that it'll help relieve the anxiety of your treatment and also help "block" out any memories of the experience.  You may want to contact your local dental society to see which dentists are certified to provide you sedation services.  Until then, I would recommend over the counter pain medications that are safe for your particular health situation and to keep the area as clean as possible.

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

Don't be nervous.  Think of it this way, once you get them out, they can't hurt you anymore and you'll start to feel much better once you've recovered.  All the best.  

[irishheathen]

Thank you again for all your help.
I am going to keep doing what I'm doing and keep it as clean and healthy as I can until I can find a OS my insurance will cover.

You've been awesome. I appreciate it :)

Sarah R.

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

I'm sure there's got to be at least one oral surgeon out there who is a female but yes, oral surgery tends to be more predominately men.  

[irishheathen]

The topical gel makes my whole jaw flare up. It hurts so bad. The temporary filling helps keep food and stuff out of it and i swish with a restorative mouthwash every time i eat as well as use the pronamel sensodyne two or three times a day.

I'm looking for a oral surgeon now, trying to find a female if possible since it's always been male dentists that have caused the worst pain and fear in me, but there aren't a lot of ODS that are women in Las Vegas it seems :(

[irishheathen]

Is there anything else i can do to keep things okay until i find a dentist i trust? Currently taking advil and tylenol staggered, using pronamel and other enamel building products for the sensitivity, rinsing after every meal and using clove oil  to numb and keep it clean. I already can't eat anything but soft foods because of the pain and because i have 2 loose onlays, so diet isn't a concern I don't think.

thank you for all your help, I appreciate it. I'm hoping my husbands insurance will cover iv sedation.

Sarah R