Request for Oral Surgeon Recommendations
Nov. 16th, 2009 09:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebToday I got an estimate for having my two lower wisdom teeth removed. The oral surgeon explained that since the two teeth are still under so much bone, he wants to drill them out which means he wants me anesthetized. So I'll need someone to drive me there and pick me up afterwards and I shouldn't eat or drink anything for six hours before the surgery. Then, and they do this for people under 25, they want to do bone replacement therapy--they put in something from a cow as a scaffold for my own bone to regrow over. After the surgery there would be mild discomfort for two to three days, but they would provide antibiotics and pain killers. (I should take those separately so that if I have a reaction, they'll know which one caused it.) I could brush my other teeth and carefully rinse my mouth. I should exercise my jaw several times an hour afterwards to keep it working properly.
That all sounds basically fine, but I think I want a second opinion. Why?
1) I expected that with my second tooth having come all the way through, the surgery would be easier or at least the same. I expected higher prices than my last estimate from four years ago due to inflation, but I didn't expect them to triple ($1993 vs. $697.50 after insurance). One assistant explained that they have new codes for anesthetizing and that the bone replacement therapy was optional.
Fortunately I found my earlier estimate and it doesn't show the bone replacement or the anesthetizing. Now they have to put me under and before they didn't? No one is explaining why.
2) I'm pretty annoyed with one of the other workers there who lied to me. He brought me for a second X-ray. I asked him why and he said he wanted a different angle. When he brought me to the machine, it seemed like it was the exact same angle. So why was he lying? If it was something to do with me, wouldn't he give me more instructions on keeping still this time or something? Nope, it turns out the processor was eating the X-rays. When they said they would like a third X-ray, I asked if I could wait until I came back for the surgery and the processor was no longer eating X-rays. I really don't want a million X-rays.
3) I'm pretty annoyed with the general flippant attitude. The surgeon actually asked me if I wanted my surgery done that day. After he had just told me that I should refrain from eating and drinking for six hours and have someone pick me up. I said no, I had had breakfast and driven myself there. Plus I'd like to find a week where it would be okay to miss work if necessary and I'd like to stock up on liquid foods. And this week might have been fine--why didn't they warn me that I might be able to have it done the same day? And why did the guy rush through his explanation and not give me a sheet explaining everything better so I wouldn't forget? He even admitted to having patients forget not to eat before surgery.
4) It bothers me that he thinks this surgery will lead to "mild discomfort" and that he thinks I would be insulted if he actually told me directly that older people like me can really use some help with regenerating our bone afterwards. What else is he trying to protect me from? I'd prefer people to just talk to me as if I were a reasonable, rational human being.
5) My insurance isn't paying much anyway, so I don't feel tied to this particular oral surgeon. (The price without insurance would be $2387.) And they could forward their X-ray to this guy if I decided to come back here.
Hey, not having to be awake during tooth extraction sounds good to me and having help re-growing my bone sounds wise. If he's a good surgeon and knows what he's doing, none of the rest matters (except making people re-take their X-rays repeatedly).
Nevertheless, do any of you recommend an oral surgeon in the Austin area?
That all sounds basically fine, but I think I want a second opinion. Why?
1) I expected that with my second tooth having come all the way through, the surgery would be easier or at least the same. I expected higher prices than my last estimate from four years ago due to inflation, but I didn't expect them to triple ($1993 vs. $697.50 after insurance). One assistant explained that they have new codes for anesthetizing and that the bone replacement therapy was optional.
Fortunately I found my earlier estimate and it doesn't show the bone replacement or the anesthetizing. Now they have to put me under and before they didn't? No one is explaining why.
2) I'm pretty annoyed with one of the other workers there who lied to me. He brought me for a second X-ray. I asked him why and he said he wanted a different angle. When he brought me to the machine, it seemed like it was the exact same angle. So why was he lying? If it was something to do with me, wouldn't he give me more instructions on keeping still this time or something? Nope, it turns out the processor was eating the X-rays. When they said they would like a third X-ray, I asked if I could wait until I came back for the surgery and the processor was no longer eating X-rays. I really don't want a million X-rays.
3) I'm pretty annoyed with the general flippant attitude. The surgeon actually asked me if I wanted my surgery done that day. After he had just told me that I should refrain from eating and drinking for six hours and have someone pick me up. I said no, I had had breakfast and driven myself there. Plus I'd like to find a week where it would be okay to miss work if necessary and I'd like to stock up on liquid foods. And this week might have been fine--why didn't they warn me that I might be able to have it done the same day? And why did the guy rush through his explanation and not give me a sheet explaining everything better so I wouldn't forget? He even admitted to having patients forget not to eat before surgery.
4) It bothers me that he thinks this surgery will lead to "mild discomfort" and that he thinks I would be insulted if he actually told me directly that older people like me can really use some help with regenerating our bone afterwards. What else is he trying to protect me from? I'd prefer people to just talk to me as if I were a reasonable, rational human being.
5) My insurance isn't paying much anyway, so I don't feel tied to this particular oral surgeon. (The price without insurance would be $2387.) And they could forward their X-ray to this guy if I decided to come back here.
Hey, not having to be awake during tooth extraction sounds good to me and having help re-growing my bone sounds wise. If he's a good surgeon and knows what he's doing, none of the rest matters (except making people re-take their X-rays repeatedly).
Nevertheless, do any of you recommend an oral surgeon in the Austin area?
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no subject
on 2009-11-17 01:30 am (UTC)