Dentist Drilling Through My New Crown

Updated on June 22, 2010
C.S. asks from Waterbury, CT
5 answers

First the background. I've always HATED the dentist. I hadnt been to the dentist in about 8 years. (Despite having awesome dental insurance) Last Aug I broke a filling. I called my insurance company to find a dentist. I went to the dentist they recommended. I was about 3 months pregnant at the time.The dentist has a terrific chair side manner. She made me feel very comfortable. I generally liked her a lot. The filling I broke was no big deal, and she said I could wait until after the baby was born to have it fixed. But while she was poking around in my mouth she found a cavity and it needed filling.

Every so often I would get some pain around that area, so I agreed to let her fill it. After the novocaine wore off, I was in crazy amounts of pain. I called the office. She said that because the cavity was so deep and there was so much bacteria in there, I probably had an infection and she prescribed an antibiotic. While being on the antibiotic the pain was gone. As soon as the antibiotic wore off, the pain came back.
I went back to the dentist, and agreed to ONE x-ray. She said I would need a root canal. Reluctantly, I agreed. She did it on the spot. Then came another round of antibiotics. 10 days later, the pain came back. She said that sometimes a root canal doesnt work and they need to repeat it. So, at 5 months pregnant, I had a 2nd root canal...And another round of antibiotics.

The tooth still hurt, but not nearly as much. She said that a crown would fix the sensitivity I was feeling. I have really good dental insurance, but I still needed about $400 for the crown. It took a little while to save up the money. I went back for the crown fitting. I explained that I was still in pain sometimes. The tooth was still sensitive to touch and hot/cold. She said the crown should fix it.

Guess what....The crown didnt fix it. The tooth still hurts. At this point, I had delivered my son. I went in for my cleaning and the hygienist had the office root canal specialist look at my x-ray. He says there is still root there and it needs to be "perfected." He'll need to drill through my crown. I'm not happy about this. The office misquoted my portion of the crown, I still owe $120. The hygienist says the drilling through the crown will weaken it. And it may not last as long. I'm fed up. And still in pain.

Not to mention that my insurance company has been billed for all this work done. And will be billed for my 3rd root canal I'm having next week.

I'm going to call the office to complain about this entire ordeal. The problem is the dentist that did the work is also the owner of the dental practice. I dont really know who to complain to. Should I start with billing?? Is there an office manager in a dental practice?? Would my insurance company be of any help?

Thanks for your time!

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M.F.

answers from Sioux Falls on

OH MY GOSH!
I would be so upset! I don't think there is anything you can do about the bill, but I would definately tell her how upset you are, and ask her to explain this to you. Tell her you want to understand, why this problem has taken this many times to resolve. The office should have a business manager you can talk to. Just remember that you get alot further with honey than vinegar, and if you start the conversation angry, they will be less likely to negotiate with you. I would call in and ask for the office manager nicely, and then calmly explain what happened. Tell her that you want to be happy about the care you recieved, but you can't understand how you needed a filling, three root canals and a crown, and the problem is still not resolved. Tell her you are very frustrated and broke! See is they will negotiate a deal with you. They want you to be happy. An unhappy patient, causes alot of bad publicity!

2 moms found this helpful
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K.M.

answers from Kansas City on

I'd start with the insurance company and see what they recommend. Go ahead and complain to the dentist directly and I would write out a list of all of the procedures you have had done. List them by date and include the explanation of benefits and your out of pocket expenses. This may take some time, but I think the visual will be worth it. Give a copy to your dentist and have a talk.

Finally, if you don't get any satisfaction, I would go to the Better Business Bureau and the American Dental Association.

1 mom found this helpful
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N.K.

answers from Madison on

I am sorry you had to go through this. Root canals usually take a few visits to the dentist, so I am surprised when you said "she did it on the spot".

I am not sure if they can take the crown off first, do the work and put it back? I thought crowns were replaceable. If the crown needs to be there during the procedure for some reason (maybe to hold the tooth together) and they have to drill though it, they should replace the crown with a new one for you without charge! This is the least they can do.

I would also recommend talking with either your dentist or their customer relations or similar person (call them and ask who you can talk to), with a detailed list of previous work done, let them know you are unhappy and see what they will offer to make you happy. (I would expect them to offer you to do the 3rd root canal and replacement crown free of charge, for example). If you are not satisfied with the outcome, go ahead and file complaints with your insurance. The insurance company should be able to tell you where else you can file complaints.

B.C.

answers from Dallas on

If it's work that the insurance has already paid for, then you shouldn't be billed. I've had to go back 3 or 4 times for the same stinkin' tooth and they know it's their fault. If they had to make adjustments, then they didn't charge for it. You should definately talk to billing! And call your insurance and let them know. They might be trying to scam the insurance as well.

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L.N.

answers from New York on

that's exactly what happened to me, work on a tooth including root, then put in a new crown even though i specifically said it still hurt (i was told it's still tender), 2 rounds of antibiotics, then had to drill through the new crown to work on root canal some more.
what i did is said i was unhappy with the hole now in new crown and that i wanted a new crown placed in, for which i wasn't going to pay. dentist agreed to it. it took, if i remember correctly, about 3 months to have that one tooth done.

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