My husband and I ended up having simultaneous toothaches. We don’t usually go to a dentist, which is probably why we ended up with toothaches to begin with. We saw separate emergency dentists because we both wanted to be seen right away. Somehow, even though we had the same symptoms, I ended up with a root canal treatment and dental crown and he just received a simple filling. What’s up with the disparity of treatment? Did I get an overtreatment?
Angela
Dear Angela,
There are a lot of reasons for a toothache. It’s very likely you both received the perfect treatment from your emergency dentists because you had different causes for your pain. A root canal treatment and crown are usually the result of a dental infection. Your husband may have just needed a filling. I do realize he had a toothache as well. But, everyone has a different pain threshold. Maybe your problem had been brewing for a while, but your tolerance for pain is much better than your husband’s. That gave your decay more time to spread, reaching the pulp and requiring a root canal treatment.
I’m a tad concerned that neither of the dentists you went to seemed to have explained your diagnosis or why you needed the treatments they provided. This should be standard procedure. While I’m glad you received timely treatment when you needed it, I don’t think either of these dentists are ones you’d want to settle with as your permanent dentists.
The Easiest Way to Avoid Needing an Emergency Dentist
You mentioned that neither of you regularly see a dentist. In my experience, there are usually two reasons that people avoid seeing a dentist regularly. The first is financial. Without insurance, it can be hard to afford dental care. If you’ve found yourself in that situation, I’d do an internet search for an affordable dentist. They’re usually more willing to work with patients on payment options. But, be careful, don’t confuse cheap with affordable.
When talking about affordability, the sooner a problem is caught the less expensive the treatment. For instance, regular checkups catch decay early enough where you can have a small filling. If you wait, then the decay can become too large for a filling requiring a dental crown. If you wait even longer, it becomes an infection requiring a root canal treatment. If you wait longer, you’ll either lose the tooth requiring an expensive tooth replacement or lose your life because the infection spreads to your heart or brain.
The second reason people avoid the dentist is fear. Often dental anxiety stems from a traumatic experience in the dental chair as a child. If either of you get a tiny bit unsteady and nervous about the idea of a dental exam or if you have trouble getting numb, then you probably have some degree of dental anxiety.
Fortunately, there’s an easy solution. Try going to a sedation dentist. This will give you a stress-free and pain-free appointment. Many who’ve feared the dentist for years find it completely changes their outlook and they’re able to go to the dentist without the fear they’ve battled for years.
This blog is brought to you by Dr. David Potts.