Fillings, Root Canal Infection, and Liability

I've been reading prior posts within this newsgroup about tooth
sensitivity and pain after a filling.

I had a few fillings done... some metal some composite about two
months ago. I have been having general sensitivity for the last two
months and a few weeks back I had excruciating pain in the area. I
have adapted to chew on only one side of the mouth so the pain is gone
and I'm also not a wimp so that kills 90% of the pain if there is any.

From what I've read there shouldn't be any pain or sensitivity even
after a few days... and if there is the dentist made a mistake. I
would like some insight into this and how long I should have pain or
sensitivity after filings.

I did go back in a week after the original fillings and described the
sensitivity and the dentist made sure the bite is correct and ground
down the tooth a bit; he said everything looked fine. He said give it
a month or two to see how it feels.

Well, this is why I post this. I wasn't planing on paying this
dentist until this got resolved. I live in a town of 6,000 and there
are not many dentists in the area and most are booked up by 1/2 year
or simply don't take new patients. Unfortunately every single time
I've went to this dentist over the last two years there is a problem.
I had a root canal a few months back because the original filling
didn't work (which led to considerable pain). A few of the crowns he
put on cracked... infections came in (and there still is one again)...
and after reading through the posts on this newsgroup I learned that
he doesn't use a dental dam or any other kind of protection from
water.

Anyways... I've paid him a few thousand over the last two years and
enough is enough - I'm pissed with the backing of my wife. I want
these issues taken care of (the sensitivity and the infection. I just
received an invoice in the mail today that had a rubber stamping on it
stating "if payment is not received in 5 days this will be turned over
to small claims court" or something to that effect. I've already left
a voice mail for them stating why I didn't pay yet and that the
dentist told me to wait a month or two to see how it plays out.
They've charged me interest for the last two months and I've never
stated I wouldn't be paying. I simply told them on the message the
reasons and that I would be happy to pay if they'd schedule me an
appointment and resolve the issues. I told them that I was in fact
thinking of taking them to small claims court if these matters didn't
resolve.

My questions are:

1) Do I need to consider changing dentists even if that means driving
1 hour (I already answered YES to this but want opinions).

2) Do they have any case against me to bring me to small claims court.
I've never heard of a company bringing an overdue invoice to small
claims court. Collection agency is one thing. What are my options
here?

3) Would I have a case against them to bring them to small claims
court. Under what circumstances. What makes me made is that every
time they screw up I have to pay for them to refix it. I own a
business myself and am very careful about placing blame so I need
professional opinion from other dentists that could tell me, based on
what you know and questions you could still ask, if what I am
experiencing is normal or if I have a slightly incompetent dentist.
Even if it is not his fault, should I be liable for continually
correcting issues (e.g. I get root canal, it gets infected, they have
to operate a little to get out the infection, then two weeks later I
need to go in again and get charged every time.

As a side note, I brush my teeth multiple times a day, use Listerine
daily, but do not floss (shame).

This is tough because I never had a cavity until a few years ago! My
last dentist (in another state) was so much better (in my limited
experience which doesn't say much).

Thanks for reading the very long post.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Should the good filling be taken out...
    ... This posting is intended for informational or conversational purposes only. ... >I just read your post about taking out the filling, ... > Do you (and the other dentists) think the the rarity ... Pain from one in 100 ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Fillings, Root Canal Infection, and Liability
    ... I have been having general sensitivity for the last two ... months and a few weeks back I had excruciating pain in the area. ... I had a root canal a few months back because the original filling ... Do I need to consider changing dentists even if that means driving ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Should the good filling be taken out...
    ... I just read your post about taking out the filling, ... Do you (and the other dentists) think the the rarity ... Pain from one in 100 ... say I only get the pain a few times from the bites (and sometimes not ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Fillings, Root Canal Infection, and Liability
    ... I have been having general sensitivity for the last two ... months and a few weeks back I had excruciating pain in the area. ... I had a root canal a few months back because the original filling ... Do I need to consider changing dentists even if that means driving ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Whats your advice on this problem?
    ... > there, so I went back to the dentist, and he replaced the filling, but there ... The dentist said that the filling was near the gum line, ... > I've read of dentists who say they no longer use amalgam fillings, ... > comparable in sensitivity to the temporary filling material? ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)