I had a fractured tooth and the dentist put a crown on it without telling me it may need a root canal treatment. I probably would have just had it pulled if I knew that ahead of time. The crown never felt right and I told the dentist that it was painful whenever I had to chew on that side, but he blew me off and said it is normal to have some irritation after a crown. I waited and then the next month, I ended up needing a dental crown on the next tooth. I asked them to fix the first tooth before crowning the second one, but they weren’t interested in that. All he did was numb the first tooth a little and crown the second tooth then tell me to come back in a couple of weeks. Now I find out the first tooth has a periapical abscess. At this point, I think they should refund me on the crown and I just pay for the extraction at this point. Is there a way to get this money back?

Margie

Dear Margie,

In the long run, this is not going to be the best dentist for you. Though, I am sure you have already figured that out. He is sloppy in his work and doesn’t have good follow through. In fact, he seemed more interested in collecting a fee from a second procedure than fixing the first one.

While it is true that there can be some sensitivity after having a crown placed. That sensitivity has more to do with temperature changes. Pain when you are chewing is completely different. That is a sign something is wrong. When a crown is done well, you don’t even notice it is there.

What Treatment Should You Get For This

I don’t think you should get this tooth extracted. Because of the periapical abscess, it will be extremely difficult to get the surrounding area numb and this will end up being a traumatic experience.

If you, instead, had a root canal treatment done, you would be in a better position. Not only will you save your tooth but a dentist could drill down in there and you wouldn’t feel a thing. The tissue inside the tooth is dead.

I don’t trust your current dentist, so I recommend you see an endodontist (root canal specialist) to have this done.

Can You Get a Refund?

That’s a bit tricky. It wasn’t great care, but it doesn’t necessarily qualify as malpractice. Your best bet is asking for a refund. If he refuses, which he probably will, you can tell him you are going to leave a bad review explaining that he doesn’t care about his patients and does poor quality work. That may convince him that it is in his best interest to make this right with you.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Hillary Peck.