Confused! Went to dentist for filling,after it was told I'd also just had a checkup?!

ohwell · 05-04-2012 11:19PM #1

Today I went to my dentist for a filling, I'm a medical card patient. I know the rules when it comes to fillings and checkups, 2 and 1 respectively per year. Had two fillings done, initially he was just going to do one but I pointed out another that needed to be done and that was also filled. After 25 mins or so got up off the chair to be told, you've also just had a checkup, this years free checkup, now the only problem with that is that I didn't just have a checkup, not only that I didn't ask for a checkup, I was returning to have a filling done (fillings as it transpired) A filling which it had been determined at a previous checkup in late 2011 that needed to be done and another filling which I, not the dentist, pointed out needed to be done today.

I had had root canal work done last year and when asked how that was, I mentioned I'd been getting a little sensitivity there recently, no response from the dentist, no suggestion of doing xrays on it, nada. What I am trying to figure out is how can a dentist say he's done a checkup when it's patently obvious he hasn't (had he he would have seen the second tooth which needed a filling and I wouldn't have needed to pint it out, had he he would have taken xrays of a previously root canalled teeth or at a minimum taken a close look at them - neither of which he did) and in such a situation what is my comeback? Leaves me in the unenviable situation of potentially now having to go arguing with my dentist which of course will affect the patient/doctor relationship. Btw, it's not as though the only business I "bring to" the dentist is medical card stuff, have spent hundreds upon hundreds with him to date, that said he does have reasonable prices. I have to say he generally is a really good dentist.

I also pointed out root canal work and a filling that had been done by a different dentist recently and that part of it didn't seem to be filled properly or had been done properly but some of the filling had fallen out. Had it done last January. He looked at it said it looked like good work, didn't mention the slight gap which I can feel with my nail (as in I can actually feel the old tooth and the new filling and a slight gap) He said it probably just needed to be smoothed out but he didn't do it, I'm assuming he forgot. Personally I think it needs to be filled, not very much, just a small filling. It wasn't like it is now after I walked out of the previous dentist who did it in January, it's where the filling meets the gum and the remaining original tooth. Anyway, any suggestions on how to broach these issues? Thanks.

Dianthus · 06-04-2012 12:26AM

Confused....how come you saw a different dentist for the root canal& filling? If possible,probably best have them review the sensitivity issue, &the gap, as it's their work? If not possible,just return to your regular dentist, say you'd have more peace of mind if he could take an X-ray of the root-treated tooth just to be sure (although obviously it'd be better if he had the original xray of the tooth so as to compare&contrast, hence why treating dentist recommended)&it'd be great if he could polish/fill the spot you can feel with your nail, as it's really annoying you. No need for a showdown:cool:

btkm8unsl0w5r4 · 06-04-2012 12:15PM

Every dentist when they see a new patient does a checkup. If you had other treatment in that time thats a bonus however the dentists need to check your teeth before getting stuck in. You may have issues with the thoroughness of the checkup but thats another matter. As Dianthus said the dentist that did the previous work is best placed to comment on it. If a patient comes in wanting only medical card treatments they will get only medical card treatments. There is no medical card fee to the dentist for X-rays or desenstising treatments, its a joke but thats the way it is, when you come from private dentistry the change can be jarring.

ohwell · 06-04-2012 05:01PM

Dianthus wrote: »

Confused....how come you saw a different dentist for the root canal& filling? If possible,probably best have them review the sensitivity issue, &the gap, as it's their work? If not possible,just return to your regular dentist, say you'd have more peace of mind if he could take an X-ray of the root-treated tooth just to be sure (although obviously it'd be better if he had the original xray of the tooth so as to compare&contrast, hence why treating dentist recommended)&it'd be great if he could polish/fill the spot you can feel with your nail, as it's really annoying you. No need for a showdown:cool:

I was visiting friends abroad last January for about a week so while I was there I had that molar root canalled, it was cheaper than it would have cost at home. My own dentist told me late last year when he looked at that molar that he wasn't looking forward to dealing with that tooth. And it could be very difficult to sort out. As it happened the dentist abroad had to put in a pin and also cauterised the gum, as in I could actually smell burning flesh and saw smoke coming out of my mouth. Was a big enough job I think. It's impractical to head abroad just to have a checkup and a small filling done.

My own dentist does have original xrays of my mouth, had a few xrays taken with him last year and the year before including a panoramic. But the problem isn't only getting a filling done on the now root canalled molar, it's also figuring out why he's "charged" me for a checkup when all that was done was outstanding work that I'd mentioned to him last year, simple fact remains that there was no checkup but I'm being told there was. Oh well, will phone next Tuesday when their back and see what's what.

ohwell · 06-04-2012 05:22PM

Bailee Dry Slogan wrote: »

Every dentist when they see a new patient does a checkup. If you had other treatment in that time thats a bonus however the dentists need to check your teeth before getting stuck in. You may have issues with the thoroughness of the checkup but thats another matter. As Dianthus said the dentist that did the previous work is best placed to comment on it. If a patient comes in wanting only medical card treatments they will get only medical card treatments. There is no medical card fee to the dentist for X-rays or desenstising treatments, its a joke but thats the way it is, when you come from private dentistry the change can be jarring.

If I was new patient you'd be absolutely correct but I'm not a new patient, the work he did yesterday - two premolars fillings - is work outstanding since last year. Maybe I'm wrong but I thought if xrays are required as part of a routine checkup aren't they included in the "free" checkup.

06-04-2012 05:23PM

ohwell wrote: »

why he's "charged" me for a checkup when all that was done was outstanding work that I'd mentioned to him last year, simple fact remains that there was no checkup but I'm being told there was. Oh well, will phone next Tuesday when their back and see what's what.

He didn't charge you for Jack...

If someone sits in my chair, they get a check up whether they need/want or ask for it, it is my professional obligation to check stuff before I start irreversible treatment. That includes a medical history check, an assessment of extra oral and intra oral tissues, a pain/infection history, xrays or a review of recent xrays and then a plan to fill or remove teeth can be made. I know you are saying that you walked in there and told him what treatment to do but the reality is that we check these things out for ourselves first, an experienced dentist can do this quite quickly.

Also if you saw the peanuts paid for the exam and fillings by the medical card you might start to realise why this was all done in the one visit. Its a mickey mouse system and only encourages quick dentistry ( like seen in the NHS)

ohwell · 06-04-2012 06:01PM

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

He didn't charge you for Jack...

If someone sits in my chair, they get a check up whether they need/want or ask for it, it is my professional obligation to check stuff before I start irreversible treatment. That includes a medical history check, an assessment of extra oral and intra oral tissues, a pain/infection history, xrays or a review of recent xrays and then a plan to fill or remove teeth can be made. I know you are saying that you walked in there and told him what treatment to do but the reality is that we check these things out for ourselves first, an experienced dentist can do this quite quickly.

Also if you saw the peanuts paid for the exam and fillings by the medical card you might start to realise why this was all done in the one visit. Its a mickey mouse system and only encourages quick dentistry ( like seen in the NHS)

I've no idea how much the HSE pays dentists for a checkup. I used the word charged in inverted commas, I wasn't actually charged as it is free however my entitlement to a fee checkup was used up according tot he dentist. All I'm saying is that I didn't have a checkup, if I had had a checkup it wouldn't have fallen on me to point out one glaringly obvious filling that needed to be done and the dentist would have seen the gap at the root canalled molar that I've mentioned previously and would have investigated the fact that I sometimes felt sensitivity at molars he'd previously root canalled. I was going back to have outstanding work done.

It's not a major issue, I do however find it very annoying being told at the end of a visit that your free checkup has just been completed when it wasn't. I was going back to have outstanding fillings completed, that and that alone. Fillings that it had previously been established I needed. If the dentist was going to do a checkup then at a minimum the patient should be told this prior to it happening so they could make a decision as to whether they wanted their free checkup used up or not.

complicit · 06-04-2012 06:28PM

I'm not a dentist OP , don't even play one on de telly , but my guess is that the dentist had to examine your mouth all over again because you left it so long to return for the fillings . He would have examined your foreign dentistry work also .
I am not sure why the taxpayer is footing the bill when you are off having foreign holidays in January .
Did you tell the dental people about your winter break? Maybe they can report you to the relevant authority as it is obvious that you can afford to pay your own way .

btkm8unsl0w5r4 · 06-04-2012 07:51PM

If it was a year since your last checkup then you needed another one., that not something you get to decide. You should not be surprised that your Irish dentist is disinterested in your problems with a tooth you decided to have treated abroad, and the fact your having sensitivity in a dead tooth should raise some concerns about the quality of the root canal. go back to the dentist who did the root canal and have it checked.

ohwell · 06-04-2012 07:52PM

complicit wrote: »

I'm not a dentist OP , don't even play one on de telly , but my guess is that the dentist had to examine your mouth all over again because you left it so long to return for the fillings . He would have examined your foreign dentistry work also .
I am not sure why the taxpayer is footing the bill when you are off having foreign holidays in January .
Did you tell the dental people about your winter break? Maybe they can report you to the relevant authority as it is obvious that you can afford to pay your own way .

You sure you don't play one on de telly? If what you are saying is true then why was that not explained to me prior to sitting in the chair, when I phoned to arrange an appointment I was told yes, there's outstanding work which needed to be done. That is what I was returning to have done. If what you are saying is true why is it that I had to point out one of the fillings which needed to be done, had he done a checkup how come he didn't see a glaringly obvious filling which needed to be done on a premolar? Why was it that he didn't suggest a filling at the root canalled molar which I had done abroad despite the fact that there is a gap where the original tooth and the filling meet? Why was it that no xrays were taken when I complained of some sensitivity sometimes at the molars he had root canalled last year? Too many "whys" to suggest a checkup took place at all.

As for trying to derail the thread, nice try. Dental work I pay for and holidays I go on come out of my savings not out of Social Welfare payments, I suggest you check the bank balance limits allowable for people to get SW, you don't have to be a pauper. And yes, you are entitled to travel abroad on holiday for upto 2 or 3 weeks per year, I've had 1 week away to date. Did I tell the "dental people"? You mean the dentist? Absolutely, why wouldn't I. Believe it or not being on SW doesn't mean you can't travel abroad, all it means is you are limited for the duration of any foreign travel. Maybe they can report me? Lol, sure, report me for being within the financial threshold for getting SW and report me for going abroad for 1 week when you are allowed to go abroad for 2 or 3 weeks :rolleyes:

06-04-2012 07:54PM

ohwell wrote: »

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

He didn't charge you for Jack...

If someone sits in my chair, they get a check up whether they need/want or ask for it, it is my professional obligation to check stuff before I start irreversible treatment. That includes a medical history check, an assessment of extra oral and intra oral tissues, a pain/infection history, xrays or a review of recent xrays and then a plan to fill or remove teeth can be made. I know you are saying that you walked in there and told him what treatment to do but the reality is that we check these things out for ourselves first, an experienced dentist can do this quite quickly.

Also if you saw the peanuts paid for the exam and fillings by the medical card you might start to realise why this was all done in the one visit. Its a mickey mouse system and only encourages quick dentistry ( like seen in the NHS)

I've no idea how much the HSE pays dentists for a checkup. I used the word charged in inverted commas, I wasn't actually charged as it is free however my entitlement to a fee checkup was used up according tot he dentist. All I'm saying is that I didn't have a checkup, if I had had a checkup it wouldn't have fallen on me to point out one glaringly obvious filling that needed to be done and the dentist would have seen the gap at the root canalled molar that I've mentioned previously and would have investigated the fact that I sometimes felt sensitivity at molars he'd previously root canalled. I was going back to have outstanding work done.

It's not a major issue, I do however find it very annoying being told at the end of a visit that your free checkup has just been completed when it wasn't. I was going back to have outstanding fillings completed, that and that alone. Fillings that it had previously been established I needed. If the dentist was going to do a checkup then at a minimum the patient should be told this prior to it happening so they could make a decision as to whether they wanted their free checkup used up or not.

Even if I book my car for a service, they do a check and diagnostics.
They charge a separate fee for that....

ohwell · 06-04-2012 08:13PM

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

Even if I book my car for a service, they do a check and diagnostics.
They charge a separate fee for that....

I've gotten numerous fillings done over the years from a variety of dentists, they do an initial checkup and then on each subsequent visit they will work on the issues they've identified from that initial checkup, they don't do a new checkup every time you come back for your next filling(s). I was returning to have work done that had been previously identified. I didn't need a new checkup, I didn't ask for a new checkup, I wasn't told I was having a new checkup (until it was supposedly done) and I don't believe I had a new checkup.

Is it a Merc or a Beamer?

ohwell · 06-04-2012 08:21PM

Bailee Dry Slogan wrote: »

If it was a year since your last checkup then you needed another one., that not something you get to decide. You should not be surprised that your Irish dentist is disinterested in your problems with a tooth you decided to have treated abroad, and the fact your having sensitivity in a dead tooth should raise some concerns about the quality of the root canal. go back to the dentist who did the root canal and have it checked.

It wasn't a year since I last had a checkup. There seems to be some confusion, the dentist who did the root canals that are now sometimes sensitive (not very often or very badly I have to add) is my dentist, it wasn't the dentist I saw while abroad. The problem with the work I had done abroad is that there's a gap at the gum line and you can feel the original tooth and the filling with your nail. As for the dentist being disinterested in correctly treating a patient, well, that just sounds a bit odd.

btkm8unsl0w5r4 · 06-04-2012 08:31PM

Jesus forget about the checkup the tax payer paid for that. If you have money go to a private dentist you will be happy with. A private dentist will have the time to deal with all your issues. Generally talking about having root canals abroad while on holidays, and then complaining about free medical card treatment doesn't get a positive response here, this thread it going nowhere. Closed.

Confused! Went to dentist for filling,after it was told I'd also just had a checkup?!

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