Dental bills mounting, problem not resolved but can't afford to go back

Deenie123

Just wondering if anyone here can shed some light on this:

My mum went to the dentist for a routine clean, knowing there was a little bit of sensitivity in a filled tooth (top jaw). Dentist recommended replacing the filling due to its age.

After the new filling was done, the whole area was very sore, so she went back and dentist reckoned the filling was a bit over-sized and needed to be filed down a bit more and that should resolve everything.

Long story short, it didn't. Mum was in extreme pain and went back for an emergency appointment where x-rays were taken. He suspected at that stage it needed root canal treatment and the x-rays confirmed it. Root canal was done in 2 parts - temporary dressing with antibiotic filament type things under it, then they were removed in the second appointment (about 2 weeks later) and a permanent filling put in. The work was finished about 8 weeks ago.

While the pain went, there was persistent soreness that was slow to go and some irritation. The area still gets irritated after chewing and there's still a soreness when the area is touched. The area is also swollen where the cheek meets the bone.

At this stage though, the money is getting to be an issue. It was €120 for the initial appointment and over €700 for the root canal. No medical card and VHI doesn't cover dental.

What are the options at this stage? Would a follow up appointment normally be included in the cost of the root canal?

I'm not asking for medical or dental advice, more on the money side of it. At the moment she's sitting tight hoping it'll go away...

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Sound like the root canal either is not healing properly or is slow to settle. I would go back to the dentist. It is uncommon for dentists to charge for routine complications.

capnsparkles

Unfortunately your Mothers expense will not end with the root canal. As a rule , it is recommended that most root treated teeth are crowned. This can vary from case to case . There can be discomfort with root treatments after they are completed , this will depend on a number of factors , they should settle. Your Mother should return to the treating Dentist if she has concerns. If it was one of my patients there would be no charge for that visit.