Hi,
I am posting for a friend that has a good start on a dentist phobia.
She's just moved to Los Angeles and needs to find a dentist. It seems
that several of her fillings are popping out, cracking, splitting, and
generally falling apart. From a pic she sent me, it looks like she has
an established gum disease and dry sockets. I'm no doc, but I do know
teeth are supposed to be a shade of white and not have sharp edges.

When I asked why she hadn't seen a dentist, she stated she was still
mad at the previous guy who put in those worthless fillings and
pointed to an ugly black spot on the back of her front tooth, a
filling from when "the drill slipped." Then that guy sent her to have
her wisdom teeth yanked, instead of fixing the decay that was causing
the pain. End result? Root canal. But, according to the dentist, she
deserved the pain because 'she hadn't been brushing.'

I've heard of a microbe (sp?) or laser treatment for gum disease. Do
these things worth and should she seek out someone that knows how to
use them?
How about the fillings, is there a way to get those replaced without
another 'the drill slipped'? Is there a way to test the other fillings
the previous guy did and make sure the intact ones are really intact?

As Dentists on this group, do any of you mind if a patient comes in,
sits in your office, and gets to know you first, before being put 'in
the chair'? Do y'all take the time to develop a treatment plan and
estimate before working? Do you mind if the patient has a say in how
the work proceeds? Can filling replacement be done in a single visit,
before anxiety has a time to build? Do any of the 'laser' Dentists
offer hypnosis as an option, instead of drugs and gas? Can y'all
handle a patient that does not want to be lectured or belittled on
their avoidance of dentists? For gum problems and tooth decay
problems, should she go to a specialist (peri-?-ist) first, or a
general dentist?

Now is not the time to be humble, if you are in L.A. and can help out,
please respond or email me. We recognize Dentists are professionals,
charge professional rates, and despite the best efforts of the
professional organizations some idiots still exist that bring down the
professional as a whole (like the shining example of my friend's
previous dentist).

Thanks!
Mara

This is a dentist who used to practice in Florida. Although I never worked
with him personally (I have met him on a couple of occasions), I worked in a
practice that he had left a couple of years prior, and the patients still
raved about him. He now is in LA...

http://www.smilela.com/

On 13 Feb 2004 19:00:17 -0800, (Mara Jade) wrote:

>Hi,
>I am posting for a friend that has a good start on a dentist phobia.
>She's just moved to Los Angeles and needs to find a dentist. It seems
>that several of her fillings are popping out, cracking, splitting, and
>generally falling apart. From a pic she sent me, it looks like she has
>an established gum disease and dry sockets. I'm no doc, but I do know
>teeth are supposed to be a shade of white and not have sharp edges.
>
>When I asked why she hadn't seen a dentist, she stated she was still
>mad at the previous guy who put in those worthless fillings and
>pointed to an ugly black spot on the back of her front tooth, a
>filling from when "the drill slipped."

Sounds like one of those worthless mercury jobbies ....... Does anyone
here know if the silver ones are any better?

>Then that guy sent her to have
>her wisdom teeth yanked, instead of fixing the decay that was causing
>the pain. End result? Root canal. But, according to the dentist, she
>deserved the pain because 'she hadn't been brushing.'
>
>I've heard of a microbe (sp?) or laser treatment for gum disease. Do
>these things worth and should she seek out someone that knows how to
>use them?
>How about the fillings, is there a way to get those replaced without
>another 'the drill slipped'? Is there a way to test the other fillings
>the previous guy did and make sure the intact ones are really intact?
>
>As Dentists on this group, do any of you mind if a patient comes in,
>sits in your office, and gets to know you first, before being put 'in
>the chair'? Do y'all take the time to develop a treatment plan and
>estimate before working? Do you mind if the patient has a say in how
>the work proceeds? Can filling replacement be done in a single visit,
>before anxiety has a time to build? Do any of the 'laser' Dentists
>offer hypnosis as an option, instead of drugs and gas? Can y'all
>handle a patient that does not want to be lectured or belittled on
>their avoidance of dentists? For gum problems and tooth decay
>problems, should she go to a specialist (peri-?-ist) first, or a
>general dentist?
>
>Now is not the time to be humble, if you are in L.A. and can help out,
>please respond or email me. We recognize Dentists are professionals,
>charge professional rates, and despite the best efforts of the
>professional organizations some idiots still exist that bring down the
>professional as a whole (like the shining example of my friend's
>previous dentist).
>
>Thanks!
>Mara

--
Joel M. Eichen, .
Philadelphia PA

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