wisdom teeth

[philthy05]

hopeing someone can help me with this i have a wisdom tooth, upper left hand side i need removed. when i had the other one removed like 5 yrs ago they said neither was impacted. only had to pull that one out because it started decaying from the back i was worried about the price but my dentist stuck a needle in got the pliers and yanked it out. 10mins and $80 must have been the cheapest wisdom extraction ever, i was stoked... and then it began... the pain, the bleeding, he gave me a cotton ball? that night i went and bought another 100 of those, kept bleeding. i lost 10kilos and was sick for 3 months because i couldnt eat and got a bad cold i couldnt shake.

so then it finally healed and i was happy, and then the other one started decaying, long story short ive left it alone cause the last thing ive wanted was to go through that ordeal again, now ive finally got to get it done cause im afraid to leave it any longer. half the thing has decayed now im worried they will have to cut it out. worried about the bill since i dont have health insurance . i have looked at getting it but have been told that i would have to wait 2months for gen dental, 1 yr for surgery, and 1yr for pre-existing conditions. sweet. its looking like it will need a pro job as well, so will probably involve a surgeon or something.


anyway what i wanted to ask was can anyone here recommend a really good oral surgeon? do you have to get referred to one by a dentist? i cant go through the same drama as last time. im also wondering if you have to have the money up front??

sorry to be a pain, its so hard to get information about this stuff was hopeing someone could help.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Call Tony Hobby's (the former Port player, junior/reserves coach and board member) Island Dental practice and ask for advice.

 

[powermacs]

Had mine taken out last year, they were cracked and the root was rubbing on the nerve. With out doubt the most painful thing I have ever been through. I had to go under to have them out, with my private health it still cost me $500. I think the bill would have been $2000 without my insurance. So my advice to you would be go to your dentist, get an X-ray and take it from there. If you have to go under using public health system look like your in agony, they might bump you up the list. Also go to your gp and get yourself some kick ass pain killers.

 

[Toots Hibbert]

Sorry to hear about your troubles philthy. The last thing you need is medical advice from here.

Fords advice is sound. Get it looked at and find out what you're up against.

I assume the dentist will want an X-ray so he/she can assess what's needed and give you an estimate of the cost. Hopefully it will not be too expensive. You can then work out how you will pay. If necessary maybe some arrangement with the dentist for regular payments or use your credit card and pay it off as quick as you can. As powermacs said you might be able to access the public health system. Ask about this at your gp or dentist.

I think a stitch in time is worth nine. Don't skimp on follow up appointments as you already have experienced 3 bad months previously. It sounds like you got an infection and almost certainly a course of antibiotics prescribed by your dentist or doctor would have ended your troubles fairly quickly.

Good luck.

 

[aneale]

you will need a referral generally as they will need to send you for an OPG so they can see what they are talking about. Once you have the xrays you go to a surgeon. All dentists should have someone they normally refer to, however, Prof Alastair Goss has an excellent reputation and I have heard good things about Miles Doddridge and Brenton Hearn as well.

But you should have a number of conversations with different people with regard to what needs doing, and what the cost will be and what they will recommend if they look at the other one. My experiences of Dentists is that they can be a bit like mechanics, they'll always find something wrong somewhere.

 

[philthy05]

thanks guys, i think i will have to bite the bullet and head to the dentist soon. the cost really concerns me. ive been wanting to join a health fund but they wont cover this until after a year, i might try some bargaining to get them to budge and cover it in return for joining. dont like my luck though.

at least mine arnt cracked... ouch. at least i know now they can still get them out.if they can get cracked ones out im sure they will manage mine. was worried that my case wouldnt be that common.

 

[powermacs]

Yeah mate, they can get them out, had 6 stitches in my mouth. Fluids only for a week, not fun. However I think I may return to my fluid only diet tonight now crickets about to be called off.

 

[Power Raid]

philthy try the backdoor......

go to your GP complaining of intermitant heart problems and general poor well being. Explain to him you thought it was due to your tooth infection which you have been treating by taking a mates dog's antibiotics prescribed by a vet.

Your tooth will be taken care of immediately and for no cost.

You may want to tell your doctor to take a seat before telling him the story!! and make sure he doesn't have a weak heart either!!



Oh, I am serious about the heart issue.....Get blood poisoning and you can die. Infact Australia's biggest killer is poor dental hygiene leading to heart attack. GET IT FIXED ASAP.....please.

 

[Power Raid]

call a guy from capital, which is in perth, on monday