McLean Dentistry

10/31/4/21/Patient came to the office with a complaint that he could not bite on something hard on the teeth on the upper right side of his mouthThe teeth were Trans illuminated, where a bright light is applied to the teeth to see if there were any fractures in the teethAs the
pictures below show, there were significant fractures in both the upper right molars, tooth #and tooth #The back tooth, #2, was the worse with a very obvious crackWhen a tooth has a crack any biting on It can make the crack get bigger, like a crack in a windshield, it will keep getting bigger and biggerEventually it will affect the pulp tissue inside the toothThe pulp issue is made up of blood vessels, nerves and other healthy tissue to nourish the toothOnce affected the tooth becomes symptomatic to cold, temperature and bitingIf treated soon enough then the symptoms may reverse and the tooth becomes asymptomaticIf not, then the tooth may need a root canal to remove the Infection that develops inside the tooth, recommended placing a crown on tooth #to help hold the tooth together so that the crack would not get any biggerA crown is like putting a helmet on the tooth.4/24/Patient was scheduled to do the crown on tooth #The patient complained that day that the tooth was “really hurting"This was obviously not a good sign as it may indicate that the condition of the tooth was becoming irreversableThe X-ray appeared OKThe tooth was prepared for a crown and a temporary crown was placed(Patient paid for V, the core build up and crown fee$814.00)
5/12/Patient came to the office having pain on the lower right sideA filling broke and food was getting impacted between the teeth causing painThe patient stated that this tooth #had been fixed two times before by another dentist, Tooth #was restored with a tooth colored resin filling(Patient paid $for this procedure)
5/20/The porcelain crown for tooth #was delivered(see photo below) Pt stated the he had some slight problems with the temporary crown recently, but the tooth was much better then beforeHe was having more sensitivity on the left side at this time, [Pt paid the balance of the crown fee $814)6/16/Patient came In complaining of discomfort on the upper right side, sensitivity to eating anything with some cold, even eating a piece of cool lettuceTests showed that tooth #was OK, but tooth #was now sensitive to chewingPatient was schedule for the next day, (no charge for the emergency visit)
6/17/Patient came in to have tooth #restoredDecay was found in the tooth with a crackA tooth colored resin restoration was placed[Patient paid $for this procedure)6/19/Patient came to the officeTooth #was now sensitive to coldPatient was Informed that due to the severe, long standing crack in the tooth that the tooth can "die a slow death”The pain may come and go, but if it continues then the only option is to do a root canal to remove the pulp, the Infection inside the toothThis would eliminate the pain and would save the tooth(There was no charge for the emergency visit.)
In Conclusion: Unfortunately, some teeth had been neglected for a long time causing irreversible damageThe eventual need for a root canal on tooth #was not the result of the dental treatment, but due years of having a crack that was not treated soon enoughIf the crown had not been done, then this tooth would split and needed to be extracted, thus losing the toothI am sorry that this tooth needs a root canal, and it will be costly, but it was not due to the quality dentistry that was doneI believe that the request for a refund is unwarrented.Repectfully,Kurt C Rolf, DDS