What a week .....

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EhlerDave

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Oh man has it been a crazy week. I am so happy it is Friday, I do not want to hear from any of you Negative Nancys this crap about it just being Wednesday.

As most of you know my Rita is my rock. Well she has this freaking Tri Geminal Neuralgia that is putting a serious hurting on her. We are still in the chase for a med that will work the best and the proper dosage. So just imagine a pain so bad in your face that you can not have the fan blowing or your hair touch you. Yeah that is what she is dealing with.

Last Friday night or way early Saturday morning the poor woman busted a tooth off. Oh yeah that is what she needed. She took the maximum amounts of pain meds she could, nothing was helping. We both though hey lets use the oral lidocaine gell I have on hand, after all that is what is it made for. Oh heck no, that stuff touched the inside of her mouth and she went off like an air raid siren. The TGN will not allow that stuff, all she could do was rinse it out as best as she could.

So like most things, she had two choices go to the ER and seek help or wait until Monday AM and call a dentist to get this fixed. She would not go to the ER because of the crazy cost. She got to see a dentist yesterday. Talk about a long 3 days. The Dentist said the tooth could be fixed, for just $1,800. All we needed to do was write him a check for half for him to get started. Ummm if we had money like that on hand I would have drug her to the ER. The man seemed like we were just an oddity that did not have a stash of cash with us. Rita told him how long it would take to get that much money and he told her that tooth would not be usable by then, we would need to get the money quicker I guess. Rita opted for having it taken out.

Now the dentist did pull the tooth, she was not going to leave in the kind of pain she was in at this point. But the TGN was scaring the crap out of her. I cant imagine what it would be like to get a shot in the mouth when everything you do hurts so bad you cry. The nice lady tooth tech did all the work except pull the tooth, the dentist fella stepped in picked up a odd set of pliers and pulled the tooth right out, took him about 45 seconds. He spent far, far more time talking to us about the cost of a root canal and capping that tooth. The cost for pulling the tooth, $315 that is just freaking crazy.

None of the places she called could or just would not tell her what a tooth extraction would cost. They all wanted $90-$99 to look at the tooth then decide if it needed to come out or not, then make another appointment to get the tooth worked on. I guess none of them have ever dealt with a problem like a tooth ache that you cant stop.

To add to Rita's worries I had to go see the Ortho Dr Monday, she was not able to go with me. Good news is I get to avoid surgery on the shoulder yet again. The not so good news it Doc told me the PT I must do is going to "hurt real, real bad". Since he has not lied to me yet I will take his word for how it is going to feel.

But the pain I will deal with now that I know my shoulder will not get damaged more by forcing it to move. Oh how much fun it can be when a fat man falls and hits nothing but shoulder on the solid floor. Like I said though nothing broke, so it could of been worse this time. I am also doing PT to try to keep my balance a bit better, not so sure that is helping.

Now that I have been up about 40 hours I need a nap, but the nurse lady will be here soon so I get to stay up. Normally by the time she is done and gone my sleepy feeling has passed so I just wait for the next opportunity. The not sleeping would not be so awful if I did not feel tired 100% of the time.
 

tRidiot

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Man, that really sucks. I am sorry to hear that, but hopefully things will improve.

As for the cost to pull the tooth, there's a reason the dental offices won't quote it over the phone. Unfortunately, a simple extraction of a relatively intact tooth is pretty rare for them. There's a reason they have to be extracted, right? So... the problem is, when people call up, they think it's all pretty much the same. But in practice, it varies quite a bit due to how decayed or damaged the tooth is, how deep the roots are (which varies from person to person and tooth to tooth in the same person), etc. I've seen teeth that looked pretty simply to extract, but then some of them are rotten to the core even when they look fairly decent. In addition, some are broken off and rotted down to the gumline or even below. This makes it ridiculously difficult to get a good enough grip to pull it. Think of pulling out a rotted fencepost that is set in concrete but is also broken off or rotted so deep you can't even get a purchase on it, and you can't just pull out a shovel and dig it up - it really has to be pulled out, concrete and all.

So, in essence, they quote someone a price based on the (uneducated in dental work) person's 'estimate' of how bad it is, then when they show up, it ends up being like removing a missle silo with a fork. Then the patient goes through the roof at the cost, throwing a fit that they were told something much less - frequently in the lobby in front of other patients.

I get the frustration, from both sides, yes. But, that's kind of where the situation comes from.

Good luck, though. Hope things get better for ya'll.
 

EhlerDave

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Man, that really sucks. I am sorry to hear that, but hopefully things will improve.

As for the cost to pull the tooth, there's a reason the dental offices won't quote it over the phone. Unfortunately, a simple extraction of a relatively intact tooth is pretty rare for them. There's a reason they have to be extracted, right? So... the problem is, when people call up, they think it's all pretty much the same. But in practice, it varies quite a bit due to how decayed or damaged the tooth is, how deep the roots are (which varies from person to person and tooth to tooth in the same person), etc. I've seen teeth that looked pretty simply to extract, but then some of them are rotten to the core even when they look fairly decent. In addition, some are broken off and rotted down to the gumline or even below. This makes it ridiculously difficult to get a good enough grip to pull it. Think of pulling out a rotted fencepost that is set in concrete but is also broken off or rotted so deep you can't even get a purchase on it, and you can't just pull out a shovel and dig it up - it really has to be pulled out, concrete and all.

So, in essence, they quote someone a price based on the (uneducated in dental work) person's 'estimate' of how bad it is, then when they show up, it ends up being like removing a missle silo with a fork. Then the patient goes through the roof at the cost, throwing a fit that they were told something much less - frequently in the lobby in front of other patients.

I get the frustration, from both sides, yes. But, that's kind of where the situation comes from.

Good luck, though. Hope things get better for ya'll.


We understand the way it works but I was thinking the cost was just high. Being she had this same dentist remove 9 teeth and make her dentures last year for about $3,400 so he had x-rays showing the condition of the teeth that she has left. I completely understand a if she were a "new patient".

We did see on the old x-rays ( I am not a radiologist at all) but I could see the grey spot where the tooth was decayed, this is why it popped off lie it did. He did have a note in her charts and we remember now that he told us the tooth would need worked on.

I get what you mean by the unknown, I had most of my teeth broken due to getting whacked under the chin by the top of a horses head, it caused me to clack my teeth together very hard, yep hurt a bit. When one of the teeth had to be pulled the Dr took his x-ray and said it looked fine would just pull it right out. The rest of the story goes right along with what you posted. The x-ray showed one of the 3 roots a bit shorter than the others. That was due to the root having a "dog leg" that was pointed right at the camera and you just could not see the silly thing. Dr had to cut the tooth apart and really work to get that root out of my jaw. That man sure earned his money, more than likely it cost more than he charged. I know you cant do that and stay in business, but my tooth Dr knew I had more to go. LOL
 

Jeff405

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Just had a tooth pulled also. It was a month wait and $1200 for root canal and crown, or a week wait and $65 to pull it. I went the cheap and quick route since the tooth was in the back and I had already been dealing with pain for a month. Lots of pain thankfully gone now.
 

John6185

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EhlerDave, your post reminded me of when I was a youngster that knew almost everything back in 1960 or so...
Well, my friend and I both had toothaches at the same time kinda odd but we decided to do something about it so we grabbed a pair of pliers and figured we could remove the tooth that way. Well, the feeling of a pair of pliers inside our mouth and on our teeth felt unnatural so I remember a dentist in downtown Oklahoma City on Main Street. We decided to go see him and walked up the flight of stairs in a dimly lit area and the dentist saw us and said he could help us so we went to his chair and told him we didn't have but $3.00 apiece between us, a total of $6.00. The dentist said that the Novacaine cost that much but he said he'd do it for $3.00 apiece and that's how our molars were extracted. And today they charge $315.00! Outrageous!
I don't mind paying a fair price now but I sure don't want to pay the monthly rent on a dentist or doctor's office. I know things cost but let's be fair about this, not everyone has $315.00 sitting around for dental emergencies.
 

EhlerDave

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EhlerDave, your post reminded me of when I was a youngster that knew almost everything back in 1960 or so...
Well, my friend and I both had toothaches at the same time kinda odd but we decided to do something about it so we grabbed a pair of pliers and figured we could remove the tooth that way. Well, the feeling of a pair of pliers inside our mouth and on our teeth felt unnatural so I remember a dentist in downtown Oklahoma City on Main Street. We decided to go see him and walked up the flight of stairs in a dimly lit area and the dentist saw us and said he could help us so we went to his chair and told him we didn't have but $3.00 apiece between us, a total of $6.00. The dentist said that the Novacaine cost that much but he said he'd do it for $3.00 apiece and that's how our molars were extracted. And today they charge $315.00! Outrageous!
I don't mind paying a fair price now but I sure don't want to pay the monthly rent on a dentist or doctor's office. I know things cost but let's be fair about this, not everyone has $315.00 sitting around for dental emergencies.

To make her first payment she skipped her meds. That is a very bad thing for a person who has congestive heart failure and diabetes, but hey in 6 weeks we will have the rest of it paid off. Rita is one of those folks with no insurance. The offer from the Feds to get help to insure her has a deductible that is more than she earns per year, a rock and a hard place for sure.
 

tRidiot

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I don't mind paying a fair price now but I sure don't want to pay the monthly rent on a dentist or doctor's office. I know things cost but let's be fair about this, not everyone has $315.00 sitting around for dental emergencies.

lol. Well... I guess you don't have to. But let's face it, people in business, especially in business for themselves, have overhead to keep the doors open so you have somewhere to go. lol. A dentist's office has an absolute bare minimum of 3 employees (dentist, receptionist/front desk, assistant/tech), usually 4 or more. All the costs associated with that, plus the equipment, meds, tech stuff, etc. It's incredible. I'm sure you can find a shadetree mechanic with little to no overhead to change out your brakes, but a dentist operating solo out of the back room of Jose's place over around the corner might not be your best choice. Jus' sayin'. lol
 

p238shooter

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Trigemenal Nuralga sufferer here for several years. Nick name is the "Suicide Disease." Feels like someone stabbing you with an ice pick in your upper lip every few minutes. First thing I did was go to my dentist. He told me what it was, so I went to my MD. Tried the drugs that made me feel weird. Thought about the surgery, but it can destroy other facial nerves, tried acupuncture, tried a standard chiropractor, nothing worked well.

Heard a lady speak on NPR about what causes it. Basically your bone holding your head on gets out of wack and pinches the facial nerves against a blood vessel or other nerves to short circuit. Feels like someone stabbing you with an ice pick every couple minutes on your upper lip for me. Some people have it triggered by brushing their hair and other nerve short circuits. Hard to sleep, eat, work, or any other function. She gave a phone number of a central group that has a list of Chiropractors that specialize in fixing Trigeminal Nuralga. Oklahoma has one -- Elliot Sonar Clinic in Tulsa, 71 and Mingo area.

I was leery, really do not like chiropractors, they just keep you coming back over and over, sometimes helping, sometimes not.

I am down to the point, I would eat a cup of deer poop each day if it would give me even partial relief, and I can take some pain.

Three 50 mile trips each direction to Elliot Sonar Chiropractic in Tulsa and I started going for a week or so with out a shooting pain, kept going back for several months. Now, I have been mostly pain free for several years. My bones are finally holding in place.

Occasionally, I start to get a twinge usually after shaking on my riding mower, but I have learned how to re-adjust my self and and fix it.

The excruciating pain is not something to put up with, even if you can, it makes your life miserable. Try doing a sales pitch with someone stabbing you in the face with an ice pick and ignoring it.
Ruined Burt Renolds career, he was a sufferer and had to retire.

I after she died I found my Grandmother had the same problem, then my Aunt (same side of the family) developed it, could not stand to wash her hair. She drove to Tulsa weekly from OKC to get fixed. Not just helped, but eventually totally cured.

Any one is welcome to PM me for additional information. If you know of anyone with this, do what you can to help them. It is a bad situation to have, and there is no need to be in that much pain, take nasty drugs, or the risks of surgery.
 

EhlerDave

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Trigemenal Nuralga sufferer here for several years. Nick name is the "Suicide Disease." Feels like someone stabbing you with an ice pick in your upper lip every few minutes. First thing I did was go to my dentist. He told me what it was, so I went to my MD. Tried the drugs that made me feel weird. Thought about the surgery, but it can destroy other facial nerves, tried acupuncture, tried a standard chiropractor, nothing worked well.

Heard a lady speak on NPR about what causes it. Basically your bone holding your head on gets out of wack and pinches the facial nerves against a blood vessel or other nerves to short circuit. Feels like someone stabbing you with an ice pick every couple minutes on your upper lip for me. Some people have it triggered by brushing their hair and other nerve short circuits. Hard to sleep, eat, work, or any other function. She gave a phone number of a central group that has a list of Chiropractors that specialize in fixing Trigeminal Nuralga. Oklahoma has one -- Elliot Sonar Clinic in Tulsa, 71 and Mingo area.

I was leery, really do not like chiropractors, they just keep you coming back over and over, sometimes helping, sometimes not.

I am down to the point, I would eat a cup of deer poop each day if it would give me even partial relief, and I can take some pain.

Three 50 mile trips each direction to Elliot Sonar Chiropractic in Tulsa and I started going for a week or so with out a shooting pain, kept going back for several months. Now, I have been mostly pain free for several years. My bones are finally holding in place.

Occasionally, I start to get a twinge usually after shaking on my riding mower, but I have learned how to re-adjust my self and and fix it.

The excruciating pain is not something to put up with, even if you can, it makes your life miserable. Try doing a sales pitch with someone stabbing you in the face with an ice pick and ignoring it.
Ruined Burt Renolds career, he was a sufferer and had to retire.

I after she died I found my Grandmother had the same problem, then my Aunt (same side of the family) developed it, could not stand to wash her hair. She drove to Tulsa weekly from OKC to get fixed. Not just helped, but eventually totally cured.

Any one is welcome to PM me for additional information. If you know of anyone with this, do what you can to help them. It is a bad situation to have, and there is no need to be in that much pain, take nasty drugs, or the risks of surgery.

Thanks so much for the info, she will be calling as soon as she gets around today. She has not been getting much sleep and anytime she is sleeping I let her.
 

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