First time root canal.. similar to Tracy T.'s and JD H.'s experiences.. His assistant was kind and helpful. He was 30 minutes late. He didn't even get the root canal done because he felt it needed to be confirmed by my dentist that it's salvageable. I was referred to him by my dentist 2 weeks prior after getting work done from my dentist.
I agreed to a cleaning of that tooth. He did not explain how the process would go or what tools he would be using or the discomforts and pains I might feel. He used all of the same tools for the cleaning he would have used for the root canal, I suppose, which I was not expecting for a cleaning.
His assistant wasn't present for the first part, which was the injection of numbing medicine with needles, without any warning. Very sudden and intrusive.
When I was thought to be fully numb, he put a contraption in my mouth without real warning. It was a clamp that startled me and cut into my gums on the inside. I tried expressing this pain and where it was with a numb mouth full of foreign tools. He injected more numbing and said there was not enough tooth to clamp down comfortably/ correctly (can't recall the exact words, I was in a bit of shock, crying).
Used a drill and other cleaning tools, roughly. My main dentist I just saw 2 weeks prior also did a cleaning, but was not rough like this.
His assistant was trying to comfort me the best she could..
A few minutes into the rough cleaning with the clamp and everything, they started talking to each other about his niece and sports and her being physically fit and losing her "baby fat". He even looked away a few times while he had a dull in my mouth, which was scary.
When she used a suction tool I started feeling pain and let her know, she pulled away and he passive aggressively said to her something about how he didn't want her to do that?
They finished, filled my tooth with temporary filler, and reminded me that I needed to go back to my main dentist for another examination to determine if this tooth is salvageable or just needed to be extracted..
I was then charged $95 out of pocket, which they said may or may not be covered by my insurance. If it is, they'll reimburse me. I was told before coming to the appointment that the cost with co-pay coverage from my insurance would be $65. But of course, that was for a root canal, which I didn't actually get. I took a day off from work, for this?.... I don't ever want to go back to him. I hope he makes a habit of explaining each step he does in his processes. It would probably help in some way. And he really should NOT get distracted like a truck driver eating a taco on the highway. He may be a master at his craft, but that's no excuse for complacency. read more