Hello Tl;DR at the bottom, somewhat of a long story. As described in the title I was just discharged from the hospital after going in for jaw pain and ending up with a lot more problems than I ever imagined. I only have medicaid so there are few dentists in the area that accept that insurance and I went to this less-than-stellar clinic on Monday. The lobby was disgusting and staff very unprofessional (think an entire office of people that play music on their phone speakers trying to compete over whose is louder) but I figured it's just a cleaning, beggars can't be choosers, they can't really mess that up can they?
It was the worst cleaning of my life. I have early perio so it is partially my fault for discomfort, but the hygienist was absolutely brutal just ripping my gums, tongue, and cheek with her tool. I didn't have a cleaning for years at a time as a kid and that first one was rough, but not even comparable to this one that was within the standard 6 months of the last. I left with severe bleeding and pain, told to come back in a month. After 2 days of pain so bad I couldn't eat I called again on Wednesday and asked to get looked at. "Gum pain is normal the doctor don't do follow-ups until at least 2 weeks." I don't think this is an insurance thing or scheduling as they do walk-ins, but I let it go, should've flossed more as a kid.
Friday I called again saying I can't sleep at night from the pain, please I need to be seen, and got the same answer which frustrated me so badly I was just calling any dental clinics open and asking if I could pay with a credit card just for an exam to see what's going on. All 3 places told me the same thing essentially go back to where you had your cleaning done, they have your records, and it'd be a lot of money to just come in for us to look and not know what's going on. I called the dentist back again saying I NEED to come in ASAP, put me on as a walk-in if you have to, but something is very wrong and it's not typical pain. They said OK SIR then come in next Wednesday during walk-in hours if that's how you feel.
Next day (Saturday morning) I woke up feeling like someone kicked my jaw in on top of feeling generally awful. I couldn't speak or even smile without pain so bad that I vomited. I went to the ER closest to me that had a dental unit and waited for a doctor. BP was insanely high (168/98 I believe) and heart rate as well, my jaw hurt so badly the triage nurse didn't take my temp and said the doctor will when he sees your jaw. After about an hour I had started getting dizzy and went to get a nurse. Last thing I remember was my heartbeat feeling very slow and everything went black. I woke up on the hospital floor surrounded by nurses and a doctor that took me to the real ER and not the waiting rooms I was in. I was told I had a seizure but I only really recall blacking out. CT scan showed a terrible infection in the area I was complaining about, no major brain bleeding, but concussion symptoms from when I smacked my head on the ground. ER doc was very cool and said it's pretty unusual to see an infection that deep from just brushing or eating, best guess is someone cut way too deep with their tools during the cleaning, and if it was there already then they should've noticed it.
I stayed overnight for observation for the head injury and was put on antibiotics, toradol for the pain, and klonopin for the seizure plus severe anxiety about it all. I have to see an oral surgeon 6am on Monday or I could lose (even more?) bone in my jaw. I can't work for 72 hours just from the ER incident, I don't know if the surgery will prevent me from working even longer because I work at a restaurant it was difficult enough with the pain I had before. If I'm missing part of my mouth I don't think the manager will want me working until it's healed, but I intend to unless told otherwise.
One of my friends is a doctor and another a lawyer, neither are involved in dentistry or malpractice, but are encouraging me to consult with an attorney. I really am just worried about losing bone that I don't know if replacement will be covered and I'm extremely angry that the dentist wouldn't listen to my concerns to the point where I'm ill, missing possibly 2 weeks of work, and facing surgery. I've heard it is very hard to prove medical/dental malpractice and none of my discharge paperwork says what the ER doc told me about it being extremely unlikely this was something I did. I signed a waiver/consent to treatment form at the dentist and I'm not sure if I have a case if I'm an infrequent cigar smoker. Does the waiver, smoker status, or a lack of something more concrete mean I should just take my lumps and just find a new dentist?
TL;DR had rough cleaning done, dentist wouldn't see me again, ended up in ER with an infection, fever, and several other conditions but am skeptical to bother with consultations if I clearly don't have a case
Written By: jawbonezRUs
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