Dentist doesn't know what's wrong

[jack1996]

I went to a dentist 2 weeks ago to do a regular check up because i felt a little pain and i noticed the upper left of my gums were swollen and around that area there was a hard lump on the gums where i had a tooth extraction a year ago. After the check up the female dentist told me that there was nothing wrong with my teeth and the lump was just the bone that was left after the extraction and the gums were swollen because of food touching the empty space of gums where i had the extraction and she said it will be fine. But she told me to come back the next day to make a crown for another tooth which was damaged.

I came in the next day, and this time i had a male doctor. I asked him to check my teeth and gums again and there was something wrong, i had to do 3 fillings on the right side which is not where my gums were swollen (and it's just weird that i still have cavity even though i brush and floss my teeth very carefully and use mouthwash, i don't drink alcohol, soda and i don't smoke). When i asked him about the swollen gums and the lump around that area, he told me the same thing the female dentist did, that it was a bone that was left after the extraction. He said come back 2 weeks later to finish the crown and he'd get the bone out.

The appointment is today so i went there. After finishing the crown. He took a look at the swollen gums area on the left side, and he took x-ray, but he said that he doesn't know why they're swollen and cause pain. I asked him what about the hard slump and he just said it was something different. He gave me Amoxicillin for a week and told me to come back if i still feel pain and the swollen gums don't go away.

Should i find another dentist? Isn't the dentist supposed to know what's wrong with my mouth and how to fix it? How come a dentist says there's nothing wrong during the regular check-up but when i ask another dentist to do the check-up in the same office, he says otherwise. I have health anxiety and now i'm just nervous that i may have oral cancer.

 

[lovelyrose]

I would recommend that you see another dentist for the second medical opinion

 

[mandymoore]

Dentistry is not the profession people think it is. Dentistry in general deals with filling cavities and not with prevention of tooth problems. If you ask any dentist why a problem is happening, they usually can't answer it. You get vague answers like more research needs to be done or maybe it's your genetical make up. Dentistry doesn't give solutions on how to prevent problems. A second opinion may sound good but it's highly likely the new dentist may know as little as your first one. Personally, I doubt you have oral cancer but if you're concerned I would see a doctor. You may want to try oil pulling to see if that helps with your gums. You can just google it. You can also read Weston A. Price's info on healthy teeth. Personally, I think the dentist office you went to may have made a mistake. Why else would you have a lump? If you go to a new dentist, when they ask you what your concern is, do not tell them anything. Just let them figure it out and tell you. A dentist's training focuses on treating a problem like a cavity, not on knowing or understanding the causes of dental problems. If that were the case, dentists would know the answers. If the truth to preventing cavities and teeth problems really was in brushing your teeth and flossing, dentists would be out of work. Obviously, even if it helps a little it's not the solution to the problem, as many people who have tooth problems and brush and floss daily will tell you.

 

[honestdoc]

Images of both introral and x-rays would be very helpful. It is hard for you when you see different dentists of varying experiences and skill sets and hear different things. Hopefully you will find a dentist you feel comfortable with.

Dentistry is not the profession people think it is. Dentistry in general deals with filling cavities and not with prevention of tooth problems. If you ask any dentist why a problem is happening, they usually can't answer it. You get vague answers like more research needs to be done or maybe it's your genetical make up. Dentistry doesn't give solutions on how to prevent problems. A second opinion may sound good but it's highly likely the new dentist may know as little as your first one. Personally, I doubt you have oral cancer but if you're concerned I would see a doctor. You may want to try oil pulling to see if that helps with your gums. You can just google it. You can also read Weston A. Price's info on healthy teeth. Personally, I think the dentist office you went to may have made a mistake. Why else would you have a lump? If you go to a new dentist, when they ask you what your concern is, do not tell them anything. Just let them figure it out and tell you. A dentist's training focuses on treating a problem like a cavity, not on knowing or understanding the causes of dental problems. If that were the case, dentists would know the answers. If the truth to preventing cavities and teeth problems really was in brushing your teeth and flossing, dentists would be out of work. Obviously, even if it helps a little it's not the solution to the problem, as many people who have tooth problems and brush and floss daily will tell you.

To mandymoore, it is not fair to generalize dentists when you or your friends may have less than stellar experience with one. Similarly if I were to negatively generalize your line of work. In the US, Canada, and my forum dentist friend in Australia, we have to complete rigorous academic and clinic training that has more requirements than our medical school counterpart. We are in the same classes as the medical students in addition to our core classes. The medical instructors all know dental students have it harder than medical. After medical school, the residents will face their most intense medical training while we are prepared to practice dentistry. About 95% of medical doctors do not know most dental conditions.

When patients say they brush and floss, almost all with cavities don't do it properly or enough. They may brush when they feel like it (once a month) and floss once before their yearly visit if at all. They blame us because they "brush and floss" and still get dental problems.

Yes, patients do not tell us the whole story. The other day, I had a patient with a bad tooth pain. Looking at the very subtle patterns on the x-ray, I asked if she traumatized the tooth recently. After verifying, she immediately knows I know what I'm looking for. Another case where there is a strange mouth lesion. Patient denied every inquiry as to how and why. I asked her if she uses cinnamon products and she smiled and confirmed.

We don't know all the answers similar to medical doctors don't know all the answers. If there are no cavities (along with no traumas, no crooked/missing teeth, no oral disease/dysfunction, etc.), there will be no dentists. A pompous medical doctor once told me that. Sure we dentists could all go on permanent vacation and not treat people like him.

 

[Rosa]

Jack, if you haven't yet found a firmer diagnosis, perhaps you could see an oral surgeon? I know it sounds too strong but it doesn't mean you need surgery and you might get a more accurate diagnosis? Going to another dentist might bring same results. Some professionals just go by the book instead of using their ingenuity.

If you live in NYC please go to the NYU College of Dentistry, or if in another city go to the equivalent there.

I too have a problem but with a prosthodontist and hesitate to see another one for the same reason I gave you. However, I don't have the alternatives I suggested to you and I'll have to find another one soon.

I sincerely wish you good luck!