Finding a dentist who'll remove a crown (teeth, gums, implants)

[cyberphonics]

I had a permanent crown put in a month ago that I knew before he even cemented it in wasn't right but he kept arguing with me about it and did it anyway and ever since, it's been appointment after appointment trying to get him to take it back off and redo it because it's not seated right and it's killing me (my root is definitely taking trauma, my jaw is screwed up) in addition to finding a new dentist.

Finding new dentists finally hasn't been an issue. The problem is finding one willing to take off the crown so we can redo it. They all seem unwilling and just want to keep trying to adjust the bite to see if that'll fix the issues instead in spite of all of the problems I'm having with it being in the way it is.

I said that I'm willing to pay for a replacement and since the dentist who did it seems to also have over cemented it and the filling underneath isn't anywhere near the pulp, taking it back off doesn't seem like it would be as damaging the tooth as it could be but I said I understand that the act of working on it again can cause further trauma and I'm okay with that possibility because it being poorly fitted and seated is causing trauma anyhow. At least this has a chance of fixing the issue.

Dentists still seem like they don't want to "go there". One said to have him take it back off but he won't and I don't want to deal with him anymore. I'm at the point where I want to rip it out of my face myself. How in the heck can I convince a dentist to just redo the darn thing? It seems like dentists are afraid to address the work another dentist did. I considered trying to go to a dental college but the only two I found when I looked were Columbia's and NYU's and the feedback was horrible enough to scare me out of it.

Any other suggestions of what I can try or any other good places in the NYC Metro area?

[Mack Knife]

Curious, how do you know your root is taking trauma and your jaw is screwed up? The reason I ask is because if you were to describe that to a Dentist, exactly what do you expect them to do about it?

If you've been to a number of Dentists and none of them want to treat you, despite your willingness to pay for it, something doesn't add up. You say that all of them are willing to try adjustments but you want none of that. So just what do you expect?

You are asking Dentists to perform service that doesn't match their professional judgement and they probably know more about the subject that you do. What will you do if they remove the crown and for whatever reason things don't turn out as you want? Of course, you'll complain and hold them responsible.

We've all heard about the person that takes their car in for service and then wants to tell the mechanic exactly how to fix their car right? They have special signs made up for people like that.

This isn't what you want to hear but maybe time someone simply said it.

The time to have instructed the Dentist to stop was before the crown as put in permanently. That means saying "stop". If after saying that, the Dentist continued, well then, that is why they make lawyers. Complaining and saying stop are two different things.

You might want to reconsider your position and depth of knowledge on the subject, think about how to explain in detail the symptoms instead of causes and then perhaps allow a Dentists to recommend the best treatment option and go with that. Or; you could do as you said you feel and then have a Dentist repair the work you inflicted upon yourself.

Either way, it is time to be honest about your knowledge because without skill and experience, you lose.

[cyberphonics]

I left out details about the different visits I had because I already made a post about this early on but I guess I'll fill in the blanks about the other ones. The back story I already mentioned was that my dentist couldn't get the crown on my tooth and that it felt like a shallow hat sitting on a rack that kept falling off and cemented it down anyway. I mentioned consulting with a perio, also talking to another dentist in the office as well as an oral surgeon in the same office and an ENT in other office (all who gave me information), so let's go over all the other visits I left out that are the ones I'm addressing right now.

The day the crown was put in, my jaw felt tilted up and over and it kept shifting/clicking and I started getting intense pain in the joint and lower jaw. I had a consult from a dentist who specializes in TMJ disorders and occlusion for a second opinion since I was in the area and I did not tell him what I thought was wrong or even what happened with the crown not fitting, just about the pain and how the crown felt in my mouth and the bite issues I had.

He examined and said the positioning of the crown was off and possibly the seating, it actually looked like it wasn't the right crown for that tooth, and in addition to the bite and all of that was causing joint pain from misalignment and muscle spasms and that needed to be corrected so I needed to go back and have my dentist address that. I asked him after that if the fact that the crown wouldn't fit on the tooth could be related and he said a good dentist would have seen that as a red flag and played it safe by taking a new impression and having it remade but now he just has to go back and fix it.

He said he could also adjust obvious issues with the bite as far as high points but it wouldn't help with the positioning and fit/seating problem, which was the primary concern because that's what was really throwing everything else off and causing undue pain and since I was going to see my old dentist again soon in a few days anyhow, just have him take care of the adjustment too.

I also explained to him that when I bit down, it felt like the crown was going down, then popping back up. He said it looks like it's sitting up a bit high to him and that and my sense of compression both point to my dentist over cementing it which he probably did to make sure it didn't come off in spite of it's ill fit but you can't necessarily see that internally on an xray so it's all about experience. He said again to just have my dentist fix what he did and hopefully, it'll be fine, but he suggested as a side note that I should take pictures if I can of the crown, especially from the side and near the gums, in case I need them for later.

I went back to my dentist (this was the second visit that I think I already talked about so this may overlap) and told him about all of the pain I was still experiencing and again about how the crown felt in my mouth and my concern about the fit and seating and he said as expected that everything was perfect and that maybe I had a gum problem or something but he did go ahead and adjust the high points and sent me on my way.

The pain just kept getting worse so I made that third appointment with him and it was a wasted appointment because again, he just said everything was fine with the crown and maybe I'll just be one of those people who always has pain but the crown was placed fine, it fits perfectly, he'll just make another adjustment anyhow.

So to recap without going double over details and risking mixing up the chronology, over the course of these three appointments, he made every excuse for what it could be other than the crown being a poor fit/placement and wouldn't even address the cement thing. He said it was probably bad gums until the perio confirmed my gums are fine. He said the suction/compression might be the feeling from it having a root canal until I reminded him that tooth didn't have a root canal. I listened to what he said but nothing he said added up with the information I was being given by the other dental pros and I think being in this much pain, anyone would want to keep looking for answers.

I went to a third dentist (this was the one who would be my permanent new one, I just went to the other one because he specialized in occlusion and TMJ but he's too out of the way to be my regular) and explained all of the pain I've been having, which was getting much worse. I told her that in addition to the jaw problems, the crown kept smashing up against the roof of my mouth every time I tried to eat or would even graze if I was talking sometimes until the tooth got incredibly sensitive to the touch (I also told my and the second dentist about this).

She said that's because the root is taking trauma from the impact of the poor bite and if that goes on too long, I could end up needing a root canal. I told her my dentist did at least adjust it so the impact wasn't happening like it was before and the sensitivity wasn't as bad anymore but the tooth was still achy and all of the jaw problems were still present so I wanted her opinion.

She looked in and said, "Hmm... the margins look..." and kind of paused and squinted like she was concerned, then said, "... you know, let me take an xray..." and after checking it, said that the cement is sealed all around so at least the crown's not loose "but the rest of it..." followed by another pause. Then she said she'd try adjusting the bite again to see how that goes. I asked about the "rest of it", about the possibility of a poor fit and the seating and what she was going to say about the margins because I was willing to get the crown replaced if it needed to be and understood what the risks would be (risks I learned from the pros, not just made up in my mind).

She said I should have the dentist who put it in address all of that and fix it. All she'd do is try adjusting the bite again and then have me follow up with her to let her know what happens. Before I left, she asked, "Out of curiosity, where did you get that put in?" I didn't give her the dentist's name, just the name of the practice and she said, "Hmm" kind of like, "Of course..." and I left.

I shot an email to the second out of the way dentist just to follow up since he was friendly and asked me to let him know how all of this goes and he's been doing this a long time. He said it's not uncommon for dentists to not want to get in the middle of another dentist's botched work by fixing it themselves so I may find that I'll ultimately keep getting told to go back to him to have him address/replace it. That made sense and that's even what was happening within my dental office, others giving me information and telling me what they suspect is happening but saying he needs to be the one to handle it.

Obviously, I don't want to go back to him again because I gave him opportunities already and it's clear that he won't and even if by some slim chance he caved and agreed to redo the work, there's a good chance he'll mess it up again anyway. The far away dentist said I might find dentists more willing to take it off and treat once it gets to a point of emergency like an abscess (I went on antibiotics so hopefully I'm ok for now at least).

Or if it's been long enough where the original dentist is out of the picture and suggested that I just keep trying. He's also the one who suggested looking up a dental college and we laughed that maybe I'd get lucky and the stupid thing will fall back off on its own and then no one will have to debate taking it back off anymore, heh.

Anyway, at this point, I'm still in pain all over my jaw, ear, and that side of my face and the feeling that my jaw is tilted when closed hasn't gone away and biting down on the crown still feels like it's squishing down on the cement which is uncomfortable and causing a weird soreness and the constant inflamed root feeling seems to have calmed to just an intermittent throb but I'll be following up with the dentist who's supposed to be my new permanent one this week to take another stab at it.

I'm trying to arm myself with some tips and advice in case she says again that it'll be best to go back to him to take care of it. She DID at least let me know how much a crown is going to cost to have them redo everything so maybe that's a good sign. I guess I'll just see what happens.

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Just go see a specialist. Look up 'prosthodontist' in your are on Google.

[cyberphonics]

Thanks, Blazer! I was looking for one if I need another appointment and it looks like I'll have to travel a bit out of the way for one who is specifically a prosthodontist but it looks like that might be my best bet. Will see how it goes, thanks again!

[Redline]

I don't see what the big deal is in redoing a crown that wasn't done right. I've done it a number of times. Sounds like there may be more details to your story.

[ScottAG]

Just go back to the original dentist that caused you the problem and tell him that you are going to consult with an oral surgeon, and he sy get scared. Then advertise on many social business websites like yelp and try to get others victimized by this dentist so you can sue him and find an attorney that will not charge you but will take a percentage only. Then call and find a complaint to the state's dental board. You're oral surgeon will give you the answers to your problems. The only reason he is not fixing your problems is because he doesn't know how, but you must sue him, complain, and get others victimized by him to join you, and also see an oralsurgeon who will give you the correct answer. Be strong and do it! Dentist get away with so many things and it can later effect your heart if not fixed. Also. Constantly check those sites like yelp because the dentists use a reputation monitoring service that deletes derogatory reviews so you must re-post and sue for that also., so you'll get money compensation for your pain and suffering and you will protect others from being victimized from this quack dentist.

[unlucky13]

Hello Cyberphonics,
I am exactly in your situation. I felt as if I wrote your post. Can you please me what happened next? Are you fine now? I am really ver curious to know. Please share.

Thanks a ton.

[toofache32]

Originally Posted by ScottAG

Just go back to the original dentist that caused you the problem and tell him that you are going to consult with an oral surgeon, and he sy get scared. Then advertise on many social business websites like yelp and try to get others victimized by this dentist so you can sue him and find an attorney that will not charge you but will take a percentage only. Then call and find a complaint to the state's dental board. You're oral surgeon will give you the answers to your problems. The only reason he is not fixing your problems is because he doesn't know how, but you must sue him, complain, and get others victimized by him to join you, and also see an oralsurgeon who will give you the correct answer. Be strong and do it! Dentist get away with so many things and it can later effect your heart if not fixed. Also. Constantly check those sites like yelp because the dentists use a reputation monitoring service that deletes derogatory reviews so you must re-post and sue for that also., so you'll get money compensation for your pain and suffering and you will protect others from being victimized from this quack dentist.

I'm trying to figure out where an oral surgeon fits into this. They don't do crowns, they just pull teeth and place implants.

[randytony]

I want a tooth with a cap extracted.I am being told a regular dentist will not do this and it will cost $1000. By an oral surgeon. X rays show nothing, gums do not hurt only tooth when I bite down . Does not hurt the rest of the time