You haven't lived until...

[NETWizz]

You haven't lived until you go to the dentist and they take out the SAW.

Let me tell you... it doesn't matter that you are numbed; it is cringe-worthy like nails on a chalkboard as this device vibrates perhaps 10,000 times per second and tears through enamel making 20 times the noise and of drilling. They put on safety glasses for you, and you hold a big old 10cm (4" vacuum hose near your mouth to get rid of the burning smell and dust that spews everywhere). You know you are having the full experience when the Dentist says, "it hurts me too brother," and the dental assistant prances out the room... when she comes back in holds your hand briefly and says, I can't be in here for that. In the next room over, I could still feel down my spine and a little in my toes!

LOL. Don't crack a tooth folks, but be glad it can be successfully repaired instead of removed.

 

[Markverhyden]

My very first ever business customer was a dentist. On the second or third trip I was doing some cable runs. Not even thinking I'm pressing the trigger on the cordless every now and then to make sure I have it spinning in the right direction. After a little while they asked me to stop doing that. It was making the patients nervous.

 

[Larry Sabo]

After a little while they asked me to stop doing that. It was making the patients nervous.

LMAO!

 

[Larry Sabo]

Don't crack a tooth folks, but be glad it can be successfully repaired instead of removed.

I did just that this spring. My regular dentist removed the top part that was dangling there but I had to go to a dental surgeon to remove the root. He didn't use a saw; after cutting away a flap of gum, he used what felt like a hammer drill to bore through the jaw to get at the root tip, to pry it out. Not a fun time. The cost of implants is outrageous so I went with a "Maryland Bridge" -- a metal piece with an attached replacement porcelain tooth, bonded to adjoining teeth at the back. It works quite well. Still came to about $2,000 all together.

 

[HCHTech]

Still came to about $2,000 all together

i had a similar bill from an oral surgeon this year, I needed a root canal on a tooth that already had a crown, so my regular dentist (who would have charged about $600) wouldn't do it. I see your country treats teeth as luxury bones, too - somehow exempt from insurability.

 

[Larry Sabo]

I see your country treats teeth as luxury bones, too - somehow exempt from insurability.

With no employer pension or benefits, we don't have dental insurance. Being the capital city of Canada, Ottawa is filled with civil servants (current and retired) who have that tax-payer-funded luxury, so dentists charge what insurance plans will bear. Not so helpful to the rest of us.

 

[mikeroq]

I think I had a similar trip a few years ago. I had to get a tooth extracted and they had to cut it in half to get it out. I'm not sure if they used "the saw" but it was my most involved experience. Lots of vibration for sure.

 

[Larry Sabo]

The only thing worst than what I described, was having a frenectomy. It surgically removes a fibrous tissue that separates the two halves of the jaw at the front, preventing them from knitting during childhood development. Consequently, there was a gap between my teeth that couldn't be corrected with orthodontics. The dental surgeon straddles your lap while he cuts out the fibrous tissue and uses a dental router to remove tissue on either side to expose raw pallette, then draws the two halves of the jaw together with sutures. The joint is covered with flesh he peels off the roof of the mouth and stitches between the teeth and over the joint. This rots away during the next few weeks while your breath smells like rotting flesh.

 

[Markverhyden]

The whole medical procedure pricing and billing thing is, at least in the US, is beyond stupid. A couple of years ago I had a tumor, not malignant, in my cheek. One of those things that happen with the salivary gland.

Of course there was plenty of tests, yada, yada, yada. Went in for the removal. It ended up being an outpatient so to speak, I went home 5 hours after I came out. Got a statement saying that the original cost, some 27k, was reduced some 85%.

 

[frase]

I did just that this spring. My regular dentist removed the top part that was dangling there but I had to go to a dental surgeon to remove the root. He didn't use a saw; after cutting away a flap of gum, he used what felt like a hammer drill to bore through the jaw to get at the root tip, to pry it out. Not a fun time. The cost of implants is outrageous so I went with a "Maryland Bridge" -- a metal piece with an attached replacement porcelain tooth, bonded to adjoining teeth at the back. It works quite well. Still came to about $2,000 all together.

Same had a tooth removed due to an accident. Have a partial plate atm, waiting to win the lottery to get an implant.

 

[TechLady]

I have to get my first crown soon (yeah I'm a queen). I am dreading it...my childhood dentist was a sadist and I have major dental PTSD.

 

[NETWizz]

I have to get my first crown soon (yeah I'm a queen). I am dreading it...my childhood dentist was a sadist and I have major dental PTSD.

It will be fine. Your adult dentist won't likely be a sadist in the time of Internet reviews plus most are genuinely caring. You will also be profoundly numb by ether septocaine and/or lidocaine, so you probably won't feel much of anything at all. It will be completely fine; I suspect.

 

[Moltuae]

my childhood dentist was a sadist and I have major dental PTSD.

Same here. I had an awful experience as a child. Dentist was rough, did a poor job and his hands always stunk. I had lots of teeth removed (6 rear teeth together on one occasion) and general anaesthetic (aka 'gas') almost every time. I hate dentists now - won't go. Ironically one of my business customers is a dental practice.

 

[ChrisTech]

You haven't lived until you go to the dentist and they take out the SAW.

They put on safety glasses for you, and you hold a big old 10cm (4" vacuum hose near your mouth to get rid of the burning smell and dust that spews everywhere).

That burning smell is one I will never forget. To smell it and to know that its you - now that is creepy!

 

[NETWizz]

That burning smell is one I will never forget. To smell it and to know that its you - now that is creepy!

Yeah, I can smell it again just from memory now that you mention it.

 

[TechLady]

That's just one aspect of many I can't handle. I'd rather remove 1000 viruses from Vista for eternity.

 

[TouchToneTommy]

Conscious Sedation - you're awake, but you don't know what's happening, and you don't remember it when it's all over. Less risky than general anesthesia, and an oral surgeon (not your general DDS) should be able to offer this as an option. I won't go any other way.

 

[Kitten Kong]

Ditto. I had to have a tooth out last year, together with a filling. Considering I hadn't been to a dentist for over 15 years due to my severe hatred of them, I was rather pleased.

I had to be knocked out with sedation. And would seriously recommend this to any nervous patient.