Rude, condescending dentist! Yikes!

[gjcva1]

i have been dentalphobic since i was a child.  i loathe going to the dentist, which was quite obvious once i found my current dentist!  he has done extensive work, including root canals and bridges, and he's absolutely wonderful.  he knows i'm scared to death of everything dental, he respects that, and he does everything he can to ease my fears.

not so my former dentist, Dr. B.  i'd been to him twice for problems, and was scheduled for a routine exam after the problems were dealt with.  come the day of the routine exam, scheduled for 2 PM....at 10AM that morning, i got the final results of the biopsy of a lump removed from my breast.  i'd been waiting for two weeks, and it was benign.  i was so excited!  i danced into my boss's office, told him i was leaving earlier than planned and why (he was excited for me, having gone through the same thing with his wife), left the office and kidnapped my husband for lunch to celebrate!  we both had a glass of wine with lunch.  hey, if you can't have a glass of wine at lunch to celebrate a benign biopsy, when can you?

took the hubster back to work, went off to the dentist, TOLD him i was walking on air and why. was placed in the chair, raised up and tilted back, and then got a 30 minute lecture on drinking during the day, and that i was obviously an alcoholic since i had wine at lunch, and no, a good medical report wasn't an excuse, as i was obviously using it as an excuse to drink!!!  i demanded he let me out of the chair, which he did under protest, and i never saw him again.  and when his office called to schedule a follow up, i just laughed before saying no thanks. i wanted a dentist, not a consience.  and if i wanted to have a glass of wine at lunch to celebrate the fact that i wasn't going to die anytime soon, that was none of his dingdangity business!

[kathrynne]

i have been dentalphobic since i was a child.  i loathe going to the dentist, which was quite obvious once i found my current dentist!  he has done extensive work, including root canals and bridges, and he's absolutely wonderful.  he knows i'm scared to death of everything dental, he respects that, and he does everything he can to ease my fears.

not so my former dentist, Dr. B.  i'd been to him twice for problems, and was scheduled for a routine exam after the problems were dealt with.  come the day of the routine exam, scheduled for 2 PM....at 10AM that morning, i got the final results of the biopsy of a lump removed from my breast.  i'd been waiting for two weeks, and it was benign.  i was so excited!  i danced into my boss's office, told him i was leaving earlier than planned and why (he was excited for me, having gone through the same thing with his wife), left the office and kidnapped my husband for lunch to celebrate!  we both had a glass of wine with lunch.  hey, if you can't have a glass of wine at lunch to celebrate a benign biopsy, when can you?

took the hubster back to work, went off to the dentist, TOLD him i was walking on air and why. was placed in the chair, raised up and tilted back, and then got a 30 minute lecture on drinking during the day, and that i was obviously an alcoholic since i had wine at lunch, and no, a good medical report wasn't an excuse, as i was obviously using it as an excuse to drink!!!  i demanded he let me out of the chair, which he did under protest, and i never saw him again.  and when his office called to schedule a follow up, i just laughed before saying no thanks. i wanted a dentist, not a consience.  and if i wanted to have a glass of wine at lunch to celebrate the fact that i wasn't going to die anytime soon, that was none of his dingdangity business!

Holy ... toot! That guy has clearly never anxiously awaited the results of a test.

Glad to see you're in good hands now. That was almost scary enough to send me running for the Glenfiddich. 

[Minmom3]

Nope, but I HAVE had the dentist harangue his hygienist/assistant girl while leaning over my pregnant belly, for an offense that at most should have earned her (in front of me) a 'please don't do that again' rather than the Female Dog fest he dealt her.  I was highly offended, and after paying my bill on the way out, I asked to speak to his office manager.  I told her I'd never be back, why I'd never be back, and that I'd recommend that any people I knew never come to him again, that his behavior was extremely offensive.  She agreed with me, and said that she'd heard that before from patients....  Holy Cow!  That was a LONG time ago, and I've never bothered to see if he was still in business.

[gjcva1]

Holy ... toot! That guy has clearly never anxiously awaited the results of a test.

Glad to see you're in good hands now. That was almost scary enough to send me running for the Glenfiddich. 

wow, can i make an appointment with Dr B for you, and we'll BOTH go breath scotch on him?  and i don't even LIKE scotch, but i'll make an exception!!!!  

when my DH came home that night, and i was in tears (after we had both been so happy at lunch), and told him why, he was FURIOUS!  he actually called Dr. B's office and chewed somebody out....he never does that, respects me to handle my own stuff.  but he knew just how mad i was (i only cry when i'm REALLY mad).

[MerryRaven]

I once had a dentist who had his wife as his assistant.   They used to bicker while they were working on me.  It would sometimes be fine and sometimes they would start discussing family things or who was suppose to have done some chore at home or whatever and get snippy at each other.

It was a very small town and there wasn't much choice of dentists and he was at least technically good.
It is just like they were working and would forget that you were there.

My DH had the worst dental experience with a different dentist.  He had his wisdom teeth out and the dentist left a packing in.  DH got a horrible infection that went into his jawbone.  It was really very serious and we had to get another dentist and DH's doctor to clear up the problem.

So we refused to pay the bill.  The dentist was going to send us to collection but we got the medical and other dental bills together and got a lawyer to write him a letter and he wrote off the charges.

Odd thing happened later.  DH's dentist was shot five times by his wife and was killed.  She got off because the jury ruled the death accidental.  It was with a revolver.  I don't know how you shoot a revolver five time accidentally but the jury believed her. 

Nothing to do with anything really except it is an odd story.

[Tabris]

Sounds to me like the jury was filled with ex-patients of the dentist, no?

[kathrynne]

Holy ... toot! That guy has clearly never anxiously awaited the results of a test.

Glad to see you're in good hands now. That was almost scary enough to send me running for the Glenfiddich. 

wow, can i make an appointment with Dr B for you, and we'll BOTH go breath scotch on him?  and i don't even LIKE scotch, but i'll make an exception!!!!  

when my DH came home that night, and i was in tears (after we had both been so happy at lunch), and told him why, he was FURIOUS!  he actually called Dr. B's office and chewed somebody out....he never does that, respects me to handle my own stuff.  but he knew just how mad i was (i only cry when i'm REALLY mad).

Sure! What's the guy's earliest appointment? We could go in together after a breakfast of booze and make him keel right over when we demand nitrous and pain pills! LOL

Glad DH was so supportive. Wow.

[VorFemme]

Or possibly the judge had gone to that dentist..........or the jury AND the judge had all sat in that dental chair a time or two.

[kathrynne]

I once had a dentist who had his wife as his assistant.   They used to bicker while they were working on me.  It would sometimes be fine and sometimes they would start discussing family things or who was suppose to have done some chore at home or whatever and get snippy at each other.

It was a very small town and there wasn't much choice of dentists and he was at least technically good.
It is just like they were working and would forget that you were there.

My DH had the worst dental experience with a different dentist.  He had his wisdom teeth out and the dentist left a packing in.  DH got a horrible infection that went into his jawbone.  It was really very serious and we had to get another dentist and DH's doctor to clear up the problem.

So we refused to pay the bill.  The dentist was going to send us to collection but we got the medical and other dental bills together and got a lawyer to write him a letter and he wrote off the charges.

Odd thing happened later.  DH's dentist was shot five times by his wife and was killed.  She got off because the jury ruled the death accidental.  It was with a revolver.  I don't know how you shoot a revolver five time accidentally but the jury believed her. 

Nothing to do with anything really except it is an odd story.

Five times? That is TOO funny! I mean, short of some funky nervous disorder that causes serious finger twitches  (in which case I want her the heck away from my gums with sharp implements!) I can't imagine how they could've believed that.

Tabris has to be right. They must all have been former patients.

[supernova]

I'm absolutely shaking to think how lucky I am this time through.

I had *horrible* dentists in my 20s (one who misaligned my jaw and put me through days of unbelievable agony) and at age 35 I had just finally got a GOOD one...  just before I moved.  I also went through a decade or so of no-dental-insurance, which meant I only got things done when I was in too much pain to cope.  (I hate dentists who lecture me for being POOR.  Grr.)

I just recently had to have some work done (again, so much pain I couldn't cope) and I finally, finally have a good dentist.  She was so good, during my root canal, she held my hand and cried *with* me when I started crying.  All I have to do is raise my hand and I get a short break, right in the chair, from whatever she's doing to me.  I adore her.

The thing I love about this practice:  the dentists never deal with the money.  It's a large practice and they keep everything separate:  reception staff and financial counselors in one area, hygienists/assistants, Xray techs, and dentists in the other.  The dentist never discusses your finances with you, and only discusses your treatment when *your* xrays are pinned up on the wall where you can see them.  (I have a beautifully square jaw!)  She tells you what needs to be done and in what priority, then shoos you to the financial counselor, who plugs in your insurance information, shows you exactly what it's going to cost you, gives you a hardcopy printout of everything, and schedules your appointments based on what *you* decide you want to do.

I'm so lucky.  To think, I chose them because I liked the name!  Goodness gracious me, I am so lucky!

     - saphie

[Samantha]

Wow.

When I was living in San Diego, I switched dentists because I was tired of driving 30 minutes for a cleaning. I switched to a dentist that was close to home (only a 5 minute drive). I went for the initial exam and x-rays. They had all sorts of fancy equipment for that. I set up an appointment for a week later for a cleaning (on my birthday). The cost of the cleaning was covered 100% by my insurance.

I arrive bright and early for my appointment (first of the day). They want $455.00 for my cleaning, before they will touch me. I asked why, and they said it was for a procedure that they have to do before the cleaning. They give me some technical mumbo jumbo and I tell them that I want my x-rays and they aren't touching my teeth. I paid $25.00 for the x-rays and left. I was due to fly back to visit my family in Indiana a week later. I called my Mom and told her what happened and she called the dentist that I saw when growing up. They didn't OFFICIALLY have any openings when I was going to be in town, but if I came in on a particular day at X time, they would work me in. They gave me a cleaning, I had 2 cavities that needed to be filled which they did that day rather than making me come back later.

Oh, and the technical mumbo jumbo? I told the dentist in Indiana what it was that the San Diego dentist wanted $455.00 to do, and it was to clean the plaque from around my gum line. Something that is actually part of a routine cleaning.

[Alida]

It takes 7 - 8 shots of novacaine to numb my husband's mouth.  He says there's a newer drug they use and it "only" takes 4 shots of that to work on him.

Some people do not react the way the rest of the population does

[Tabris]

My father is totally immune to novacaine. I take four shots to get it to work at all, and it wears off in fifteen minutes. My dentist is great about stopping work whenever I suddenly  jump out of the chair. "Oh, wore off already, huh?"

He now has that newer one which takes longer to activate but stays in your system longer. (It's carbocaine, I think.) So the last time I had work done, he shot me four times with the novacaine, waited until that worked, pumped in the carbocaine, and then when the first one wore off, the second one had kicked in.

He's now my dentist because Mr. Incompetent Yanker was never in the office whenever I came in and complained about the bad fillings he'd done, and then one day, a tooth exploded. He was very concerned when I showed up the next day, tooth bits in a baggie, and then said he'd understand if I wanted to go to another dentist becase of our "loss of rapport."  The receptionist snorted when I repeated that to her. Hooboy. Two root canals and one gum surgery later, I think Dr. Incompetent Yanker's work is now out of my mouth for good.

[HogwartsAlum]

I don't know how you shoot a revolver five time accidentally but the jury believed her. 

Um...you don't!