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Monday, January 23, 2017

Toof Goof!


Toof Goof!

Is it OK to use this blog to vent?  Not you; me…I need to vent!

Sometime after Thanksgiving I went to an oral surgeon to have a troublesome molar removed.  The surgeon came in, said hello, asked me which tooth and yanked it in about two minutes.  I was handed a sheet of instructions for dealing with the pain and the bleeding.  The surgeon then left the room.

After about a week, the area was still tender.  I felt around with my finger and it seems there was still a shard of tooth left in the gum which was irritating.  I had an extraction years ago, and experienced the same thing.  A bit of tooth left over from the extraction was like a splinter in the gum.  It eventually worked its way out.  I figured the same thing would happen.

After a week or so the irritation still existed, the splinter was not working its way out, so I called the surgeon and made an appointment.  I went sometime right after Christmas; the irritation had lasted at least three weeks.

When I showed up the surgeon asked what was the problem.

“I have an irritation from the extraction, I think there is still some tooth left in the gum.”

He looked at the area with one of those tiny bendy mirrors on a stick thing and told me.

“Hmm, have you been poking around, it seems to be a ‘puffalated predigital infarction’ (or some such term).  What you are feeling is just bone, not tooth.  Leave it along and it will heal over quickly.”

Bam, the surgeon was gone.

Now I had an irritation where there used to be a tooth, and I was also feeling guilty for causing it by poking around.  I felt bad about wasting the surgeons 48 seconds of time.

Now for the last almost month I have been careful to not touch the ‘puffalated predigital infarction’ and allow it to heal over. I have been forced to chew on the non ‘puffalated predigital infarction’ side of my mouth and sometimes it has just plain hurt!

Tonight, much as I knew better, I was feeling the small perturbing bone along the ‘puffalated predigital infarction’ with my tongue and the small perturbing bone seemed to move.  Against my better judgement, because it was poking that caused the ‘puffalated predigital infarction’ in the first place, I scratched at the bone with my finger nail.

The perturbing bone popped out!  It was a tiny splintered shard of the extracted tooth.  Exactly as I told the surgeon I thought it was before he told me it was a ‘puffalated predigital infarction’.

MOTHER FLICKER!!

I felt instant relief.

I’ve been in pain for almost a month after this bonehead told me I had a ‘puffalated predigital infarction’ when all the time it was exactly what I told him I thought it was.  This is the second time out of the only two extractions I have ever had that all the tooth was not removed.  It must be a fairly common occurrence. 

Oh look, it is common!


I get that with all the blood and stuff from the original extraction a shard of tooth could be overlooked, but why wouldn’t the patient be advised that this could happen?  Then, when a patient says it feels like a shard of tooth is still remaining, what competent surgeon would not take a thorough look and see that it is in fact a piece of tooth still remaining?

A month of discomfort because this bubblehead wouldn’t take more than 48 seconds to look at my complaint.  He should have said “Oh yeah, missed a piece” and plucked out with tweezers.  I guess he skipped class the day dental  college explained extracted tooth remnants.

Jerk!

End rant.

20 comments:

  1. Bet you will switch oral surgeons if you need another extraction down the line.

    betty

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  2. You could probably sue him for pain and discomfort, maybe even negligence. Take along the shard and show him.
    I've had many teeth extracted and each time the dentist has examined the tooth, pronounced it intact or broken in which case he's gone back in and removed the broken off bits.
    What I'm having trouble with is the remaining teeth, most have had root canals and crowns, yet those dead teeth are the ones that hurt, for years, and nothing can be done about that.

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  3. Ow Joe, glad it worked itself out in the end, you're lucky you didn't end up with an abscess or infection. I'd definitely make a complaint and ask for someone competent to take a look to make sure it's healing properly!

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  4. Being without the pain must be a relief but I think you should take the matter up with the surgeon... mention the word 'sue' while you're at it.

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  5. Your mistake was to say what it was. Doctors HATE that. Now that you have revealed you have looked it up online you will never get an appointment with an oral surgeon. You are a marked man.

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  6. That is super irritating. My husband is going through something similar with a hernia surgery he had last year. At the follow up, he told the Dr that he didn't think it was fixed. She said it was just swelling from the surgery. Here we are a year later and guess what? He needs another surgery because it wasn't repaired.

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  7. They say social media is a wonderful way to spread the word. You gave us the "what" but not the "who". I'd name names and post it as "A review of Dr. ____". Maybe those would show up as keywords, saving someone else such sorry doctoring. Glad you're better now.

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  8. I'd be ranting, too. I've had teeth pulled and I've never encountered what you've experienced more than once. I think I'd be looking for a different oral surgeon.

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  9. There are too many of these doctors. They are not really interested in their patients.

    Excellent rant.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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  10. I would be ranting along with you if that happened. I had a tooth extracted years ago and same thing - a piece got left behind. But when I went back to the dentist (back then they weren't oral surgeons) he found the offending piece and pulled it out for me - no charge. That's how it should be done.

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  11. I would be ranting too! It's not like they are underpaid or anything...

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  12. The surgeon who extracted my molar for an implant chatted on an ear piece with another person about an upcoming golf match. At least nothing went wrong.

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  13. Lawsuit! Probably not worth your time. But you are retired and would make for good blog material. Just saying...

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  14. One-size fit's all medicine. Ain't it exciting?

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  15. I've run into a few medical practitioners who knew everything and I knew nothing. Frustrating isn't it?

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  16. That's just unacceptable. I hate that doctors and dentists cannot admit something nor take the time to double check when a patient complains more than onece. Stupid jerk.

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  17. Having to have dental work is bad enough. Having to get it from someone who is incompetent is adding insult to injury.

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  18. I'd be mad, too. Can you email this oral surgeon, along with a picture of the tooth shard?

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  19. Funny you should mention ‘puffalated predigital infarction’. I had the exact same thing over Christmas break. Well, except for the going-to-the-dentist part. It was some former dental work, where the dentist put a temporary cap thingy over a back molar, because insurance wouldn't cover a crown. That cap thingy fell off, and an inside thingy fell out, so I had kind of a crater with a tooth rim.

    It was like that a long time, didn't bother me, until I had TERRIBLE pain on it over Christmas. Then I told my son that I thought I had a tooth shard irritating the gum. I ended up wiggling that shard until I could pull it out, and my problem was gone! Except for that crater still there. One of these days, I'm going to brave up and go to the dentist. I don't see any reason to right now. Since it's not hurting, you know!

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