I'm taking my dad to the dentist and I want to know how long it will take. This is his first trip to the dentist in 8 years so he's going to have a cleaning, and xrays and they are going to do a filling to. Anyone know how long this will take and whether or not I will have time to go shopping while he's there?
i need to go shopping for a birthday present since today is my only day off. the mall is located across the street from the dentist's office.

I would say 30 - 45 minutes for the cleaning since he hasn't been there in about 8 years. Then about 10 minutes for the topical gel to numb the gumline and another 5 minutes for the full numbness then about 10 minutes for the filling itself. I would estimate about 1 & 1/2 hours to 2 hours total. I wouldn't see any harm in going across the street to get a gift. Just make it back quickly incase the dentist runs into any problems.

My Dental insurance company require me to pay certain amount for each procedure. I have to go for a tooth filling sometime this week and my charge list shows various charges depending on number of surfaces. For example for Resin-Based Composite – One Surface, Anterior i have to pay 17$, for Two Surfaces, Anterior i have to pay 23$ and so on…
So as a patient how do i determine myself that for how many surfaces dentist should charge me?

You can't. You are not a dentist!! So really, they can rip you off if you want to. The only thing you could do, is research every type of tooth and then say…hey, wait a minute… a bicuspid only has 2 surfaces…how come you are billing me for 4!!! (for example)

That sort of thing.

Dentists can seriously rip you off. They are licensed crooks.

A better thing to do is to ask your dentist to prepare you a written report, showing each tooth that needs to be filled…how many surfaces need to be filled…and so forth…BEFORE you get the work done.

I had a filling put in on the 2nd that was supposed to only last for one week. Its lasted, but its wearing away now. Underneath this filling is a layer of cotton and then the nerve is totally exposed (the fault student dentist fiasco, don't ask). The endodonist said that if I was in any kind of pain at all it was an emergency and to call immediately. Its been in pain for more than a week, and now I can no longer chew without incredible nerve pain from the afflicted tooth. It feels like the filling is being ripped out.

I am incredibly frustrated and annoyed, I've told my mother my symptoms on several occasions, but her reaction always is "the appointment is soon, just take some Advil and don't chew on that side of your mouth". If the doctor hadn't seemed so adamant about us calling then I wouldn't have a problem at all, but I'm worried about what will happen.

My mother won't call the dentist like he insisted that we should, so how do I convince her?
The endodontist is a family friend and doing it for free, actually.

If he is a family friend and doing it for free, then just call. He'd feel terrible if you didn't. And you know your own body. Your mother would feel terrible to if something worse happened.

Good luck. Take the bull by the horn and make the call. What is she going to do? She'll probably be proud of you.

I go to the dentist each month and each time I dread the experience. The reason why I hate going to the dentist is because of the toothpaste. I just feels all crunchy and when they put it on it feels really weird. I ask for mint flavor because that is the most tasteless paste in my opinion. Is there some other toothpaste I can ask them to use? Is there a way I can make it more enjoyable?

In the office I work in. We have cherry paste that taste really good, also we have pinacolda and grape as well as bubblegum which is very yummy! And we do have the traditional mint. To make your visit more comfortable try taking a pair of headphones with you so you can listen to music. Our office provides headphones and we have T.V. in every room.

A dentist performed unnecessary work on me and misrepresented additional work that needed to be done. When I got a second, and third, opinion, these other dentists negated what the unethical dentist had put me through. The ADA won't accept any consumer complaints. Any suggestions to ensure others are protected against this unfortunate "dentist"?

*****Call the local news station and ask them to do an expose! You may also want to contact the Better Business Bureau!
Your insurance company will be REALLY interested as well!

I currently have no insurance. I will receive health insurance after the first of the year, but it does not include dental. I am trying to figure out how to go to the dentist without dental insurance.

Call and ask the nearest dental office if payments in instalments are accepted, than go and pay by cash, or cheque; if necessary pay the whole amount by a credit card. Also, the dental schools allow their students to practise under supervision and the patients get the low cost treatments. Good luck.

I am a little nervous about having a tooth pulled on Thrusday. It will be the first time and hopfully the last, what type of meds will the dentist prescribe for pain? How long will the pain last because I am scduduled for 9am and I need to return to work the same day?

He should prescribe an antibiotic and a narcotic.

I have a really bad gum infection on a wisdom tooth. My teeth are fine and healthy as I see a dentist every six months so I think it’s just from a bit of food stuck in there rather than an underlying problem.

Other than antibiotics, what will the dentist do? Do they lance the gum or anything first?
Edit: he won't pull them out as he says they're fine, just a little crowded.
Hi, thanks for the reply. I'm 28.

try listerine every day !! really can help

I am very scarred of the dentist. I think my filling has chipped and I would like to know if i need a total filling replacement , what does the dentist do. Do they have to redrill, or is there a way they can remove the filling without having to drill? Also, the chip is very very small and cannot be seen, but i can feel it with my tounge, could he just fill in the chip, or will there be a total replacement of the filling?

Sometimes they can just file down the sharp part, but sometimes they would have to replace the filling. Unfortunately, they would redrill it out and put in a new one.

I need to get my 4 quadrants scaled now what is the average price a dentist charges for this type of work?

I got mine done last year in Mississippi. It was also close to $900.00, $225 per quadrant.