The Art and Business of Dentistry.

This is an exciting and true dental story. The names have been removed to protect the guilty.

It started on a Wednesday. It was time for my bi-annual teeth cleaning. An appointment was scheduled and confirmed at my regular dentist's office. I arrived, and during the cleaning, the dental hygienist observed a small bump she believed to be an abscess. We spoke, and I said, 'Nice find", and when the dentist came in to do his part, we would discuss treatment. I was informed the dentist was on vacation. I guess I was paying the total price for a partial visit. She took an x-ray and emailed it to wherever the dentist was vacationing. He texted back, stating that looks like a root canal was in order. I asked that when he returns, let's take care of the problem and do a root canal. I was told that he does not do root canals and that I needed to see a specialist. The office called someone across town, and I was told it would be $120 upfront for a consultation.

Well, it had to be done as I was experiencing discomfort that would only worsen. The last time I had a situation like this, it took over 50 local anesthesia shots because the abscess did not react to the local anesthesia.

I drove to the specialist's office and paid the $120. Less than a minute and a half, he touched the tooth briefly and told me he could not help me. He does not do that due to the tooth's condition because if a problem develops during the root canal, the tooth must be extracted. He would have to send me to another specialist while I had a partial tooth in my mouth and was full of local anesthesia. Well, that was unacceptable. He gave me the addresses of two dentists he knew in the same city, and I should stop by and attempt to get an appointment. He kept the $120.

I drove to both places because, in an attempt to explain over the phone, I could not get the urgency of the problem across to them. Both dentists were on vacation. So, I drove back to my original dentist's office to schedule an appointment to remove the tooth.

Upon arrival, I was told that while he does not do root canals, he also does not pull teeth. It was like a police officer not arresting for shoplifting and directing the victim to another officer because he handles thefts.

The office found a dentist one hour away who would pull the tooth. Of course, it was another $120 for a consultation unless I wanted an implant, which would be a $175 consultation fee. Then, they would try to fit me in for the extraction the following day. They required that I be put under sedation, which would need someone to drive me to the appointment. This also was unacceptable.

I contacted my sister-in-law to see what dentist her family uses. I called them. They would schedule an appointment, they were out of network, and for only $1,300 upfront. Maybe I could do better.

The next day, a friend at work suggested his dentist. Two towns away. I called them, and within 30 minutes, I was in the office and in the chair. A very high-tech office and they would be able to do everything needed. In fact, I got a complimentary full jaw scan that usually costs about $500.

The tooth will be gone on Thursday using a local block injection and implant preparation. They accept my insurance as well.

What happened to the type of family dentist who would or could handle whatever walked in and needed help? When did pulling a tooth become advanced dentistry? It could always be worse: the dentist could have watched a YouTube video during the procedure.

?