My Dentist does root canals, but he is pretty cheap and doesn't use the latest technology...as a poor college student at the time, I went for it. Well, he made a mistake and did not find my fourth root. That was five years ago, and after much pain and annoyance, and the crown he put on being destroyed in the process, I finally went to an endodontist to found the fourth root and fixed everything up.

Now, my dentist is kinda offering a settlement, in that he is going to put on a new crown for whatever my insurance pays him. This is good, but the endodontist I was sent to was ungodly expensive.

So, the question is, should I ask for a refund of the original root canal? I understand it is not automatically sub-standard care to miss a 4th root...but it can be. My endodontist didn't seem surprised, and wasn't willing to say my dentist had done anything wrong, per-se, just that it happens. Anyone have any thoughts? What have other dentists done in the event of a missed root?

5/12/2017 1:55:53 AM

I had a root canal done at an endodontist with all the latest gear and wasn't successful. He said they have a 90% success rate. I don't think missing a root is some huge deal.

How was the crown messed up? My endo drilled a small hole in the middle of mine and sealed it back up after the procedure.

[Edited on May 12, 2017 at 8:38 AM. Reason : No I don't think you should ask for a refund. They're not 100%successful and you accepted the risk]

5/12/2017 8:37:01 AM

i've never had a crown or a root canal. how much do they suck?

5/12/2017 8:28:49 PM

With modern anesthesia and the flat screen on the ceiling you can watch or the podcast you can listen to for an hour, doesn't suck much at all. The worst part for me is always the sounds - which is why I turn the podcast volume way up. Just be glad you're alive now and not pretty much any other time in human history when dental problems killed like 92% of our ancestors.

5/12/2017 8:49:21 PM

I have been told that root canals can be risky for infections, but I highly doubt you could get a refund, but you can always ask.

5/13/2017 6:41:15 PM

Well the goal of the root canal is to remove the infection...it usually, works but not always. They usually make you sign a bunch of paperwork acknowledging that fact, so I think refunds are rare.

Neither procedure sucks Duke, but a crown is less invasive.

5/13/2017 10:03:21 PM

I've just always heard people talk about how much they suck. Good to hear they're not too bad, in case I ever need one

5/13/2017 11:21:20 PM

Quote :

" in case I ever need one"

Love your optimism there buddy, but time marches on.

5/14/2017 1:29:06 AM

The crown was worse than the root canal to me. My gums got really irritated while she put a string around the space where the crown was going to go.

Neither was super terrible though.

5/14/2017 9:01:36 AM

^^ shiiit, I hope not.

I was prob 26 before I ever had a cavity. Then I had a string of them, due to drinking coffee and Red Bull by the gallon in flight school, eating like shit (snickers bar lunches between flights), and puking due to airsickness on some of the more dynamic flights.

Haven't had a new one in years, but now a decade later, I've had to have a few of the original fillings replaced.

5/14/2017 11:41:26 PM

Quote :

"Some of the more dynamic flights"

5/15/2017 12:19:09 PM

?

5/16/2017 9:38:35 PM

Recently I had a filling redone like 2 years after it was originally done (white one, found a new dentist), and the dentist said they had to go deep and if it still hurts they will probably have to do a root canal. It still hurts, but I'm not in a hurry to spend a long time in the chair again after the horrorshows the old dentist put me through :/

5/17/2017 2:58:53 PM

I feel like dentists are like most car mechanics and they SUCK. I have trust issues...

Any recommendations around Raleigh/Cary that are good?

5/17/2017 9:07:16 PM

I went to Dr Gary beavers for the first ~25 years of my life.. I would still go to him, I just don't go to the dentist anymore

He's on high house in Cary, really nice guy

5/18/2017 12:01:50 AM

^^ Yeah check out Dr Dana McCall. He's a good dude, and a techie too.

http://danamccall.com/

5/18/2017 9:24:10 AM

^ I second. He's been my dentist for years now and I don't have any complaints.

5/18/2017 2:28:34 PM

Thank you

5/18/2017 7:19:34 PM