kimbell1
Member
Reged: 08/20/03
Posts: 104
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I had a poor job done at Castle Dental in Arlington Texas about 3 years ago. The abcess may have occurred becaus I clinch my teeth day and night and I am taking clonopin to relax my jaw. My Doctor recently increased the quanitiy and the jaw clinching has been reduced but not totally eliminated.
During this Christmas I had a tooth infection. The cap would cause soreness whenever the cap touched the gum underneath the cap. I went to another dentist who I had good luck with another Best if kept off the board about a month ago.
One problem with Castle Dental was they insisted I needed a root canal which doubled the price of the work and none of my other 4 crowns needed root canals so I figured it was just a money making thing for Casle and this tooth has always been a little sore to chew on.
The dentist that I recently saw about the infection said that I needed to see a specialist ( I have the name of the type of speiclist written down) and that the root canal may have been messed up or need more work. The dentist also gave me some acromicin (an antibiotic I did not spell correctly). I could ask my regular doctor for some more antibiotics but he might not want to get involved. The dentist won't give me another perscription for the antibiotic. I think that another round (10 days) would clear this up at least until I could afford the dental specialist next year. It might even cure the problem. The cost of the dental specialist is estimated around $2500-$3000 which I don't have.
In July, I have insurance oepn enrollment during which I could get on our dental plan . I want to at least try this avenue first. There is a dental college in the Dallas, Texas but its a long process and its not cheap.
I can go to Juarez ( about an 8 hour drive form my house) and buy the antibiotics over the counter in any pharmacy ( I know since I have been there several times and customs probably will not give me a problem since no controlled drugs are involved).
I also want to spent some time checking out Juarez doctor and their prices.
Presently, I am not in pain.
I know that some think Mexican products are no good but they seem to be on par with American drugs and a lot are imported into Mexico. That is my story.
Any comments?
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limper
Member
Reged: 12/07/02
Posts: 149
Loc: USA
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I have the exact same problem too! If I were you and within 8 hours of the border..I WOULD go down there for 3K at risk!..and get the antibotics AND see about & set up getting the whole thing DONE in Mexico..search Google & see what you find about Mexican dentists(You'll be pleasantly surprised)..I think it is very,very common for Americans living close to the border to get these high priced things done down there..I WOULD do it!! Without question! It is a well established thing for Americans to do this..with LOTS of Mexican Dentists locating themselves near the border just because of us..I think an awful lot of them have been schooled & trained in the U.S. My advice...GO FOR IT!!...and Good Luck!!
Limper
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kimbell1
Member
Reged: 08/20/03
Posts: 104
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I know that controlled drugs like valium (available almost everywhere) can be a problem with US customs. But what about antibiotics that are over the counter in Mexico but are not in the United States. Do Custom personnell give a person any problems as long as you declare the non controlled drugs?
I appreciate anyone with real information on this responding to this thread or by private post. Thanks.
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limper
Member
Reged: 12/07/02
Posts: 149
Loc: USA
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I doubt they(THOSE meds)would even deserve or get a first glance muchless a second..a bottle with a label..and take a little paperwork with you from the ongoing dental mess(from home)you are in..I think it would be a rare Border Officer who would do more than wish you well with the toothache! Consider if you will..what they(Border Folks)are really concerned with..and another thought..there are actually BUSLOADS of senior citizens going there EVERYDAY to load up on just EXACTLY that kind of thing..real live,real life,everday medicine...not anything very exciting or intriguing about antibiotics! Kinda' like Aspirin in my book. Don't you have ANY ole' regular MD of ANY KIND you can just flatout ASK for a little script for your tooth?(a doc of a friend or relative?..quick phone call?)..I find it hard to believe that most any of 'em wouldn't give you one for a little relief. H*ll!, if it were me..I would stop my Dermatologist in the hallway..I'd have one in a heartbeat(script)...think about it..you are asking for nothing more than extremely common medical practice & compassion. I will search around here and find the name of THE ONE that REALLY works..it's $-high-$..BUT 20 of them will kill anything going on in your mouth or head. Hangon..I'll get you the name..I'll have to dig around a little..but I'll find it for you. I would think most any Mom & Pop pharmacist would tell you exactly who to touch base with for something like this..who knows?..he/she might just make the call..for you!
Good luck & I'll be back with the name for you..I know how you feel..DERN!! This is just plain stupid and wrong for you to have to suffer for something this simple to deal with,stay AWAY from that dental place,you already know what they're about!
Limper
PS..I will guarantee you that Mexican dentists WILL fix you up before their afternoon siesta! NO SWEAT!!..and CHEAP!!
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dixiechick
Enthusiast
Reged: 11/29/02
Posts: 255
Loc: Deep South
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Kimbell,
It wasnt necessarily the fault of the dentist that first put the Best if kept off the board on. You said two things that caught my attention, first that you are a clencher, second that the tooth has always been sensitive.
You could have had a problem brewing with nerve damage in the tooth for years and it is just now rearing its ugly head.
A tooth becomes abcessed for many reasons, one of the most common is constant abuse it takes by clenching and grinding. Another is if the tooth has a crack in it and each time you bite down it torques the tooth and causes pain. If that were the case, most of the time a Best if kept off the board will aleviate the problem if you get to it before there is nerve damage. Lastly, decay can get in around the Best if kept off the board and work its way to the nerve. Any of those can cause the tooth to abcess.
Now that you have had your dental lesson  I will tell you that any infection in your mouth or head is extremely dangerous. If it gets into your blood stream it will travel to your heart or brain and then there is nothing that can be medically done.
People dont realize how bad infected teeth can be.
You could get someone to give you antibiotics, but the infection will return and each time that it does, it will be harder and harder to get rid of or to treat the tooth. I totally understand not having the money and wanting to wait, but a year is really way too long to wait if you want to save the tooth. It is obviously pretty bad now if the dentist referred you to and Endodontist( root canal specialist)
If i were you, i would call the Dr. that you were referred to and tell them that you need an Rx for antibiotics.
I would also call around to other dentists, some are more likely to tackel a tooth like that than others and are more receptive to setting up payment plans.
It is just my opinion, but i have been in the dental field for over 20 years and i wouldnt trust a mexican dentist to do something as delicate and extensive as a root canal. It is extremely important to have a very sterile field when doing Endo.
Good luck to you and i hope that you get it fixed soon.
Dixie
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limper
Member
Reged: 12/07/02
Posts: 149
Loc: USA
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Well,ya' know there ARE times when just PULLING it IS the best,easiest and cheapest way to expedite something like this..$100.00 or so and be done with it..it'll be in the past real quick..with 12-15...7.5/100 "to go"..something to think about for sure..especailly if you are planning on dragging this out for a prolonged length of time..just DO IT and FORGET IT!! ..IMHO..
Limper (still looking for the name of the super antibiotic)
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CHEESE
Veteran
Reged: 01/02/02
Posts: 569
Loc: U.S.A.
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HAVE YOU LOOKED INTO THE PHONE BOOK FOR A DENTAL SCHOOL IN YOUR AREA? (ALOT OF AREA'S NEAR BORDERS ARIZONA , CALIFORNIA,ETC... HAVE COLLEGES OF MEDICINE AND DENTAL COLLEGES - WHICH OFFER REALLY CHEAP DENTAL WORK -BUT THE CATCH IS IT'S DONE BY A STUDENT WITH A DENTAL INSTRUCTOR (AND SOMETIMES A GROUP OF DENTAL STUDENTS AND A INSTRUCTOR AND A ORAL SURGEON-DEPENDING ON PROCEDURE?) OR YOU COULD GO TO MEXICO AND GET DENTAL WORK DONE FOR HALF THE COST OF U.S. DENTIST -ALOT OF THE DENTIST IN MEXICO BORDER TOWNS ARE TRAINED IN THE U.S. JUST MAKE SHURE THE PLACE YOU RECEIVE TREAMENT IN MEXICO HAS LICENSED DENTIST (THEY HAVE A LIC. SYSTEM JUST LIKE THE U.S.) STAY AWAY FROM SMALL BACK OF BUILDING SHOPS -THAT THE DENTIST DOES NOT SPEAK ENGLISH. (IT'S NOT A JOKE! THEY ARE MANY IN TJ- ) GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR DENTAL WORK , JOHN/CHEESE
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Sweetz
Diamond Mind
Reged: 05/11/02
Posts: 591
Loc: Texas!
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To me, pulling is less painful than a root canal. My doc knows Ihave painful root canals and gives me 7.5 hydro. I needed so much less for the biggest molar in the world I had pulled years ago, from...you got it...Castle Dental. With insurance, pulling is about 25 bucks to 9 bucks. good luck.
You may need a specialist, I did once. The root from the abcessed tooth was up in my sinuses, so I had to have a specialist do it. It was very expensive, even with insurance. You don't wanna play around with infections though. I had one in a tooth and it caused a bump the size of a pea on my gum, right where the infection was.
If you decide to get it pulled, you can have a partial, called a "flipper" that is relatively cheap, at least cheaper than crowns. it's like a retainer that has a tooth on the end of it, it looks perfectly natural, but takes a while to get used to talking with it. I could eat, sleep, talk everything (well, almost everything) with it. Look into it, you don't want a major infection, as it will run down your body (had that happen too). hang in there, keep us posted.
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"If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice."
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caramello51
Member
Reged: 09/28/02
Posts: 198
Loc: Alaska
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watch out with self-medicating with antibiotics. there is a thing called antibiotic induced colitis, and it IS fatal if not stopped in time. antibiotic abuse is much more of a world problem than painkillers, or other "recreational" drugs.
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Flavia
Journeyman
Reged: 01/29/03
Posts: 56
Loc: Baja Oklahoma
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Hi, neighbor! I'll say it if no one else will.
1. Dentists charge too much.
2. Doctors charge too much.
Medical help is different from almost everything else in the world. It is a matter of life, death or pain. Since when are towels, tail pipes, or tulips a matter of life, death or pain?
We are entitled to have reasonably priced medical and dental care. Tulips are optional. Get it?
1. Shame on dentists.
2. Shame on doctors.
Medicine is a calling, not a get-rich-quick scheme.
Flavia 
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In this day and age, you need a crutch to get through life. If you don't, you are dead, in a
coma or seriously mentally impaired.
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night_shade
Threadhead
Reged: 08/26/03
Posts: 764
Loc: The State of Hockey
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Amen, FLAVIA!
Dental care has somehow become less important than medical care. Most companies only offer dental care with very high premiums or very little coverage. My dental benefit is a whopping $500 per calendar year. ONE root canal and cr0wn cost me $1600...that's $1100 out of pocket.
Pulling molars causes its own set of problems. And it always seems as if dental problems crop up in sets--never just a cavity or ONE tooth problem, mine come in threes or fours, sometimes more and I practice strict dental hygiene.
Endodontists (root canal dentists) and orthodontists (braces dentists) cost exhorbitant amounts of money. Most dentists charge extra for "emergency" appointments (and these are usually only available during office hours) and if you don't pay cash up front, most won't even see you.
I don't know how dental care became "optional" in our society. Most children aren't even seen by a dentist until they reach their early teens. This is outrageous!
At least medical emergency rooms exist to treat EVERYONE who has a medical emergency, whether they can pay or not. Why do NONE of the major ERs have dentists on staff?
It's just insane. But then again, so is the damned government we are ruled by.
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"To expostulate why day is day, night is night and time is time, were nothing but to waste night, day, and time..." HAMLET, Shakespeare
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kimbell1
Member
Reged: 08/20/03
Posts: 104
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It was an endo-something I was refered to. One poster said that self medicating using anitbiotics was a big problem. I think that just a few more anbtibiotics would to the trick. Another 10 days of antibiotics will not kill me and might save thousands of dollars that I don't have. Its ironic that if I did get a severe infection, my HEALTH insurance would kick in. This is sad. The dental insurance we get is pitiful and over $20.00 a month and you have to wait on a 'tiered' system like for the first year only cavities and simple things are covered, the next year, I think crowns, and the third year is when you get the full coverage. This is a useless option for me.
I have been taking vitimine A that is supposed to be good for tooth infections. The tooth is beter but I think that I still need one more round of the antibiotics.
I see my regular doctor in 3 weeks. I mentioned the abcess when I saw heim last week. I think grinding my teeth caused this problem or else Castle dental did a truley awful job.
If my doctor does not want to get involved, I guess I will be going to Juarez in a few weeks. I need a vacation anyway.
Thanks again to all who commented. Maybe if the antibiotics don't work, I will be accepted into the Baylor dental college in Dallas as a patient which charges about 40 percent of regular dentists. Students work on you but are supervised by certified dentists. I know a lot of people who go there and they seem to like the care.
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kimbell1
Member
Reged: 08/20/03
Posts: 104
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Quote from Dixie Chick:
It wasnt necessarily the fault of the dentist that first put the Best if kept off the board on. You said two things that caught my attention, first that you are a clencher, second that the tooth has always been sensitive.
You could have had a problem brewing with nerve damage in the tooth for years and it is just now rearing its ugly head.
First I was not a 'clincher' when I had this tooth worked on. Second, I tried to talk the dentist who was fresh out of dental school that I did not want a root canal. She confirmed with a more experienced dentist in the next stall who also said I needed a root canal (big surprise). I beleived then and still do that I did NOT need a root canal and that surgury should ONLY be performed in more serious situations and not just to make more money for a company that I beieve has since filed for bankruptcy protection ( I have a relative that lost his job at the corporate office doing pension plans who got laid off due to Castle Dental's finacial problems).
Third, I don't remember saying that the tooth was 'always sensitive'. If I did, then its because I am not the most articulate writer. This tooth as no more or less sensitive than any other of my teeth.
Basically Castle Dental was greedy, did questionable surgury in the form of a root canal to make more money off me (and that is not the only thing that they mislead me about)-they charged me an extra $65.00 for an 'emergency visit' even though I had a cupon from the telephone book giving me a free visit to examine my teeth. When I stated that I had this cupon and presented it to the receptionist, that was when I was informed that I was 'an emergency patient'. This was NOT mentioned when I made my intial appointment.
Lastly, of the 4 other crowns in my mouth, none have given me any problems-maybe because they did not have root canals.
A root canal should NOT go hand and hand with having a cap put on a tooth. Yet it does at Castle Dental as well as many other dentist offices.
I am not flaming Dixie Chick. I just want the story told correctly and possibly save others from Castle Dentist's chain of offices.
One final note. For years, I was told I needed all my wisdom teeth removed. This went on for years when I went to the dentist. When I finally had the money to have it done and stated that I was ready for my wisdom teeth to be removed, suddenly my wisdom teeth were fine. Once in a while they get infected for about a week and then the infection goes away without the help of any anti biotics. Frankly I don't think doctors or dentists care about their patients unless you are at the level of a Donald Trump or Tom Cruise. The average person is treated like we are lucky to even get care and not kicked to the curb.
There is a change coming to the medical community because of so many uninsured patients. Had I been in France or the Netherlands or some other enlightend country or maybe a South or Cental American country, then medical and dental poblems would be handled cheaply and the patient made to feel dignified-even those patients with insurance.
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D2003
Member
Reged: 12/12/03
Posts: 189
Loc: Texas
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Personally, I think it is Castle being greedy. A few years back I had me a little hole in one pre-molar. It was starting to hurt just the tinest bit, and so off my then wife and I trotted to the only dental service on our insurance plan. The Castle dentist poked around in there for a good 5 minutes, (ouch, ouch), and then states the tooth has to be pulled and I need a full root canal as well. Quotes some totally outrageous price (in the $1000's of dollars range), and said we were getting the discount rate due to our insurance.
I didn't buy it for a nano-second. We walked out.
The next day, I contacted a private dentist just up the road and he had a slot available for that afternoon. (None of this emergency visit nonsense either.) He *gently* looked at the problem and quite calmly stated the tooth simply needed filling, and he could take care of that for about $100. Not one word about needing root canal work at all. He filled the tooth, and I've not had a single problem with it since.
He also pointed me at the Dental School at TWU to get my teeth cleaned for the first in years. Cost me a total of just $40, for 4 visits and 27 numbing injections. (Seems I had grown a few boulders between some of my teeth, and it took longer than usual to get those out again. Hence all the extra numbing shots.)
Both the dentist and the dental school were very patient with me and my fears of dental treatment. (Bad experiences in childhood, basically.)
As for Castle, as soon as our insurance came up for renewal, we dropped that option completely and I continued to see that wonderful dentist up the road while I lived in Denton, TX. If I could just find one as good where I live now.
D2003
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Flavia
Journeyman
Reged: 01/29/03
Posts: 56
Loc: Baja Oklahoma
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I don't want to burst your balloon, but getting into the Baylor Dental School is almost impossible. I tried 3 times, and they said there was too much work in my mouth for any one student. Basically, they are looking for certain procedures to help a student fulfill his course work. Maybe you will get lucky and have one of those procedures. I didn't, and they rejected me three times.
Flavia
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In this day and age, you need a crutch to get through life. If you don't, you are dead, in a
coma or seriously mentally impaired.
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sasi
Journeyman
Reged: 03/12/04
Posts: 69
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I feel your pain both in the mouth and in the pocket book. I just recently had a root canal and even with the insurance paying a portion of it I still had to pay $900 out of pocket for first the root canal and then the temp Best if kept off the board and then the permanent Best if kept off the board. The root canal guy gave me 12 hydros but my dentist will never prescribe squat.
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dhc_60
Member
Reged: 01/31/04
Posts: 171
Loc: mo.
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i understand your pain too. i just lost a filling last night. god, does it hurt! i cant afford extensive dental work either, no ins. but i cant afford to lose any more teeth. ive had 4 pulled already. they really got you by the balls. last time i went to the dentist to have a tooth pulled, he wouldnt even give me an antibiotic untill i returned 3 days later with my face as big as basketball. what a crock.
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everything is going according to plan... its just not my plan.
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sasi
Journeyman
Reged: 03/12/04
Posts: 69
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Why is the word c r o w n censored? That is funny.
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Are antibiotics a problems with US customs? 
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