In January, my dentist put a crown on an upper right molar with a cracked silver filling. He said the filling had expanded and was putting pressure on my tooth. The tooth was too weak to do another filling. I agreed to the crown, but the entire procedure was uncomfortable, my dentist couldn’t numb my gums enough, and I could feel the drilling. My dentist didn’t mention that the tooth might need a root canal later.
When my dentist tested by bite, it was painful and didn’t feel right. He couldn’t get it right to my satisfaction, so he told me to give it a few days. It was painful to chew on the tooth and to brush it and floss around it. I called my dentist’s office and left a message for my dentist. A dental assistant returned my call and said that the dentist thinks the sensitivity is normal and would decrease in a few weeks.
I had an appointment for a second crown in early March, so I thought that would be a good time for my dentist to check the first crown. During the visit, my dentist looked at the crown and put a numbing solution on it. Although he didn’t volunteer to adjust the crown, I asked, and he did, but the crown was still painful. My dentists insisted that my bite needed to be adjusted, and the crown would feel fine. Due to the pandemic, I had to reschedule twice before I could see the dentist. Now that I’ve seen my dentist, he says that the tooth has a periapical abscess. I am sure that my dentist could have done something to prevent this. Now I need an extraction. I feel that I should receive a refund, but my dentist hasn’t offered it. Will you please tell me how to get a refund from my dentist successfully? Thank you. Callie from Pensacola, FL
Callie,
We are sorry to read about your disappointing experience with your dentist. Your concern I understandable. Your dentist should have told you that root canal treatment might be needed.
We’ll share some information with you that might help in the future. Although you’ve already spent time and money on your molar tooth, we recommend getting a second opinion. An advanced cosmetic dentist will explain your options for a crown and how he or she can make treatment affordable—especially since you’ve already incurred expenses with a faulty crown. And you might need to see an endodontist (root canal specialist) to preserve your tooth instead of extracting it.
Cracked Teeth and Root Canal Treatment
- A cracked tooth risks needing root canal treatment
- After you receive a crown, some sensitivity to temperature changes is normal; prolonged pain is not.
- A bite that’s off and pain when you chew are problematic. When a dentist places a crown correctly, it will blend with your bite, and you won’t notice that you have a crown.
It’s alarming that you returned to your dentist, complained about the crown, and didn’t receive prompt attention. Your dentist only wanted to give you a second crown. It seems that your dentist’s priority is collecting fees, not protecting your oral health.
Trying to Get a Refund
Although your dentist might not agree to give you a refund, there are some things you can do that might motivate him. But weigh the pros and cons first, which we describe below.
- Online reviews – Check your dentist’s online reviews. If they don’t have many bad reviews, if you threaten to add a negative one, it may get his attention. But if there are already several bad reviews and your dentist hasn’t responded to them online, adding your complaint probably isn’t a motivator for getting a refund.
- Complain to the dental board – Although you could complain to the dental board, your dentist’s action isn’t unusual. Your situation could be viewed as a routine dental procedure that wasn’t successful.
- File a lawsuit – If a dentist departs from the standard of care, they can be held legally liable. Based on your description, it doesn’t sound like your dentist did that. Although your dentist might have been careless, every dentist has placed crowns and had a tooth react afterward. It seems inappropriate for your dentist to place a crown on a second tooth without resolving the issue on the first one, but if the second tooth was damaged, delaying crown placement can create more problems.
Consider Getting a Root Canal
If your tooth now has a periapical abscess, the tissue inside the tooth is dead, so root canal treatment will be painless—even without local anesthetic. We recommend that you see another dentist or an endodontist (root canal specialist). An endodontist has advanced training and technology to increase the chances of successful root canal treatment. If there are any challenges in the canals of your teeth, an endodontist can handle it.
What About Extraction?
Extraction is more invasive and traumatic than a root canal. A missing tooth affects your oral health in several ways:
- Teeth keep each other aligned. When a tooth is missing, the surrounding and opposing teeth will drift into the space and create orthodontic issues.
- Your bite will be disrupted.
- You can eventually experience TMJ disorder.
Ryan Perry, DDS, of Baton Rouge sponsors this post.
