The Dentist

A few days before the CT progress check, as I'm getting ready for bed I start having pain in my lower jaw. It goes from mild to severe in a matter of hours. Thankfully I'm a walking pharmacy and have pain meds!

The next morning I search for a dentist. Fun fact. It's nearly impossible to find a dental office open on a Friday. I find one, Berkley Lake Dental (has fantastic reviews on Yelp), his office is in-network, but I have to wait until Saturday. The pain is strange, and I'm having a hard time deciding between dentist or doctor, I reach out to my hygienist friend. She finds it odd as well, but wants me to keep the appointment. Seriously. It never ends. I'm in a constant state of what crazy health thing will happen next?!

Note:  I have not been to a dentist in YEARS. I hate dentists. As a kid, I had a lot of crazy stuff done. Never had cavities, but I was always walking away in pain. Always! As an adult, if dental anxiety is a thing I have it! At the very least, I'm expecting two cavities. 

The hygienist does her thing. Counting plaque and taking X-rays. The dentist comes in to review the X-rays. Four cavities, a root canal and "deep" cleaning. Now it's been a while, but every time I've been to a dentist when diagnosing they point out the problem on X-ray. This dentist did not. Fearing the cost, the treatment plan isn't bad. He even offered additional discounts. 

We schedule the root canal for the week after Thanksgiving. And as we leave he prescribes an antibiotic. Now, I'm incredibly thorough when it comes to filling out medical history and all things medication. I'm already taking an antibiotic for the infection, an additional antibiotic isn't necessary. 

My hygienist friend already warned me about the "deep" cleaning. If you haven't been to a dentist in a while, it's basically code for schedule a deep cleaning and typically unnecessary. She also explained "good" dentists don't do root canals themselves, but refer you to an endodontist. An endodontist specializes in root canals, they have the specialized equipment so it's faster and pain free. The are the dental pro red flags. 

My personal red flags. Not showing me the X-ray at diagnosis. And most important, he wasn't very thorough with my medical history & medication. My point in going was to find out if this was medical or dental pain. My medical history didn't seem like a consideration. Quite honestly, the pain was around the lymph node area and my greatest fear was the cancer had spread. 

After the appointment I call my friend, and go over the details. Something just doesn't seem right. He's nice enough, but the discount starts to feel less about being nice and more his way of making up for sticking it to the cancer patient. Trust your gut! My friend wanted me to visit her dentist for a second opinion. 

By Sunday, the pain that was once severe starts to lessen. By Monday, I only take pain meds to manage the drain tube pain and even that seems minimal compared to Saturday's pain level. 

My friend was able to get me squeezed in for an appointment Monday after the CT. My insurance would not cover additional X-rays, but the dentist eats the cost. (wow) He does a little plaque check. He pulls up the X-ray on the screen in front of the chair. Hello! Four cavities, no deep cleaning, no root canal. Not so much as a cavity in the tooth nutbag dentist at Berkley Lake Dental in Duluth GA diagnosed the root canal. The pain was most likely a hematoma. 

My dear friend just saved me $1500 & some serious PAIN!

As far as nutbag dentist at Berkley Lake Dental in Duluth GA, he can eat my cancer. Yeah. He knew I had cancer. He knew I had been through chemo. And surgery. And so much pain this year. And just because he wanted to earn an extra buck, he was prepared to put me through even more pain. 

More importantly, he very well could have caused delayed diagnosis of something much more severe. This guy is dangerous!

How on Earth do you begin to feel good about yourself? You, Dr. Duc Huynh, are a jack ass! Did offering discounts make you feel better about yourself? You know, I never say eff cancer because I'm quite thankful for the experience and things I've learned, but Dr. Duc Huynh DDS at Berkley Lake Dental in Duluth GA...eff YOU!!!

So yep, I haven't felt this miffed in a long time. Don't mess with the cancer patient! When you exploit their pain to fill your pocket, it is you, Dr. Duc Huynh DDS at Berkley Lake Dental in Duluth GA that will get what you deserve. Don't want to mess with the cancer patient that has some SEO skills. 

Treatment plan from Dr. Duc Huynh DDS at Berkley Lake Dental in Duluth GA:

Treatment plan from the honest dentist: