where to begin...
A couple of months ago I broke a tooth and didn't have dental insurance but recently through Daniel's work we were blessed to get good coverage and I scheduled an appt. and went in to a local dentist here. The dentist introduces himself and looks in my mouth (now let me make this clear. my teeth suck. I have had more work than almost anyone in the world. jk but I have had LOADS of work done. I get it. Its not sexy to have teeth like these but whatever) and he says this is wrong, this this this and this and this was wrong and was like making all sorts of un- called for comments that totally sucked to hear and I was super humiliated. I put my head down as tears trickled down my face. I was ashamed and he looks at me and starts laughing! wow. super sweet guy. I seriously have never in my life been treated like that and I am so sensitive and I just sat there and took his crap. So as my eyes are closed and I am collecting myself, I let him keep poking around in there and speaking of poking around... he pokes me with the needle to numb me. um..... what?! yeah apparently I was getting a root canal. Just like that. A freaking root canal. Good thing I had warning huh? Whatever, get it over with. Well he must have been in a super big hurry because he started to drill and I wasn't numb!!! Ahhh. just shoot me. I asked THREE times for the gas and the 3rd time he laughs and says "Oh yeah you wanted gas huh?" So anyway about 5 mins later he was done. lovely. He got to only do half and I was going to have to come back after a couple weeks of antibiotics.
I get home and tell Daniel the story of what happened and he told me to see a new dentist. Here's why I can't: the insurance only covers certain things and I had already gotten all my x rays and things that were allowed. I refused to go to ANOTHER dentist to be embarrassed again and then have to get all my xrays done again and get their opinion and pay out of pocket. no thanks.
So yesterday I go back to finish the root canal. He didn't say anything ignorant to me luckily but my heck he is such a mean man. He was so rude to his employees and belittles them right in front of me. Not once did he say please or thank you to them and talks to them like they are incompetent. I felt bad for them... looking back I can see how I have yet to see another patient in his office and not once did the phone ring while I was there. I am surprised he is still in business. Do others really go and put up with this man?? anyway so my work is coming along fine and then my jaw starts to hurt. Like bad, bad, bad and I don't know what to do I just pray it is over soon and I can shut my jaw. (remember how I said I have had tons of work done? I have had my mouth open longer then that in a dentist office before and never had it hurt like that so I was amazed how sore I was so soon) this man is not gentle at all and is pushing so hard as he works, which normally would be ok but it sent shooting pains through my jaw on the left side and all I wanted to do was close my jaw. It was getting worse and when he was done he told me to close. I tried. My jaw wouldn't shut!! It was the worst pain ever!! I said "I can't!" He then proceeds to try to force my jaw closed. ahhhhh! I was screaming, I could not believe how bad that hurt and here is this guy determined he would get my jaw to shut by one hand on my head and one hand on my chin. I literally thought he was going to break my jaw. I was screaming and trying to pry his hands off my chin. I was crying and trying to breathe and get him off of me. The two ladies were trying to massage my jaw joints and he kept shoving and it finally snapped shut. He all matter of factly says "there we go." I was sitting there shaking and crying and my mouth hurt so unbelievably bad. He explained my jaw dislocated and showed me with his hands what happened to my jaw joint and explained that it does not happen very often but occasionally it does and I need ibuprophen and heat when I got home. Then he sent me on my way. um.... ok. Thanks? So I get home and it feels pretty ok..... as long as I didn't smile, talk, laugh, yawn or chew. I called the dentist office later and just needed to know how long to expect to feel this way. She said a few days and told me to take tylenol too. Then as the night went on my jaw was throbbing, sending pain into my ears and my head hurt worse and worse and down my neck on the left side. I felt waves of something that felt like I had the flu. I was hurting so bad I almost went to the hospital. I had Daniel give me a blessing and chose to go to bed. I slept alright and woke up feeling better than last night. but now it is almost 3 pm and I am just aching. My ear hurts, my head and neck and it kills to chew. Or laugh, or yawn or... you get it. A few mins ago the dentist receptionist calls to check on me. I tell her I am not ok and tell her about last night. She sounds confused and says "well that's weird. Well if it isn't better by Monday call us ok?"
What in the world?? That place is a joke!! I googled jaw dislocation last night and everything I read said in bold letters DO NOT FORCE JAW CLOSED when it becomes dislocated. uh he most certainly DID force my jaw closed!! it said to have a professional carefully close it after muscle relaxer was given and a numbing medicine in the jaw joints. I had none of that. Just these huge, un caring, un gentle hands shove my jaw back. How about that??
Where do I go from here? Do I complain about him? If so to who? his staff? do I let it go? Do I go get checked at a hospital? Did he do anything wrong? Am I just a super duper baby? ugh. I am in pain and more confused than ever and at a complete loss. I don't have a clue.
aaaaaand
That is my vent for the day