Using cleanings to inflict damage.

[RMaddoc]

During the summer one of my front crowns came loose and needed replaced so I called a dentist that I have seen in the past and told I had my crown and just needed it placed back on so they made a appointment for me to visit,
Upon my arrival the dentist seen I had my crown in a plastic ziploc bag and immediately took it from me as she seated me in a room,the next thing I know is another dentist came in and looked at my mouth and said she would give me a temp crown until my next one arrives in a few weeks.
I asked what was wrong with my orginal and she acted oblivious that I had it,
The other dentist then brought it back to the room and told me the fee which would be to put it back on and also made comments that it's 5 years old.
A few weeks go by and their office calls me up to come have a cleaning..
I had no dental issues that needed attention and I was in absolutely no dental pain but I thought businesses are suffering so may as well help them generate business by going to a cleaning ,
During the cleaning they bring another colleague in that I never met before and she tells me I have gingivitis but the good news it's completely curable she says ,
So she scraps at my gums a bit with a metal hook but after a few moments she goes to the side of my mouth and starts picking at the bottom of one of my molars so hard that she has to struggle and grunt.,
After what feels like she broke something loose she said looks like you may have senstivity in that area when I eat or drink..
I replied I never had before,she said I will need to have a filling done and they scheduled me to come back later,
That night whenever I ate or drank it hurt "altho it never happened before the cleaning"
I went back to have the fillings done and the same associate that performed the cleaning also was assigned to me for the filling, it felt like she went deep into my tooth with the drill and she asked for other dentists assistance multiple times,
After the filling I went home and after the novocaine wore off I had alot of pain,I then called their office and told something is wrong and they asked me to come back that day,
The same dentist was assigned to me to drill down the filling some and I was told it may have irritated a nerve.
A few days went by and the pain became worse so I called another dentist who seen me and they mentioned it my need a root canal now,
I told I had no pain at all before the first dentist pried on my molar with a hook,
This dentist drilled out the filling and said they didn't put any insulation inside known as dycal,
He put some nerve soothing medicine inside with a temporary filling and asked I come back in a month to see if it's better,
All of this leads me to believe that the first dental office is milking people for money by intentionally causing damage to people's teeth in the guise of cleaning,
They called the procedure scaling but the dental associate struggled with all of her might as she was pulling something loose on my molar,
My older records should show if I had a filling in that tooth before the cleaning and I will ask when I go back for my permanent filling,
Any advice in this area ?

 

[Dr M]

Good day

It is difficult to give an exact opinion without a consultation BUT it does sound like you had a lot of calculus associated with the affected molar. When plaque becomes hard, it becomes mineralized and forms calculus. Calculus is almost impossible to brush off with a normal toothbrush and therefore you require scaling.
Often after removing the calculus with a scaler, the areas underneath become exposed again, as it should have been naturally, and then these areas become very sensitive. That is why you only felt the sensitivity after the cleaning. This should gradually normalize if there wasn't any severe gum recession as well. If the calculus was there for a long period of time, a cavity could also have formed underneath or associated with the calculus. Depending on how deep the cavity was, the resultant filling could have been close to the nerve or into the nerve and thus resulted in a root canal treatment to be performed.
That being said, improper scaling can lead to enamel destruction and cavity formation, so it is important for whoever does the scaling to see where there was calculus or just demineralization.

 

[RMaddoc]

And does this build up of calculus form on the bottom of a molar where fillings are normally placed?if I understand correctly calculus normally forms around the gumline yet she pried on area in which fillings are normally placed with all of her might, no one expects prying with the word cleaning and when a procedure is prone to using leverage of force I feel patients should be warned that they may risk breaking stuff off causing additional problems, the innocent word cleaning was only said to me at the time when the first dentist performed it as she never mentioned scaling as afterwards I researched the procedure and found it was the term scaling when using the metal hook and my 2nd dentist confirmed that is the term which is used.
Cleaning was the bait to get patients to agree as it sounds innocent ,if told in advance that they would be doing scaling that involved such force that they risk breaking things off then patients like me could and would most likely refuse.
Full warning should be advised aforehand .
I had no warnings whatsoever and it also doesn't explain why they wanted to redo my crown instead of placing my old one back on.
Instead they played as if they never seen my old crown after taking it from me which a crown on average is 800 plus dollars and insurance only pays half leaving approximately 400 dollars plus bill on my out of pocket expenses,
That being said is there not evidence that points to performing service for profit rather than patient wellness.

 

[Dr M]

Good day

I agree that communication was not great in your situation. Proper understanding of planned procedures as well as the reasoning behind them, should have been explained to you, since this is part of informed consent.