My questions to this NG: what should I tell my dentist about the pain (and
my fear)?  Should I ask for or demand pain medicine, or does this seem like
some wimpy junky out for pills?  Should I expect to have dental pain with
associated fear after months of treatment (i.e. is this normal)? Has my
dentist pretended that dental pain would not be a problem because of
potential {*filter*}ion that could be produced from months of medication,
therefore helping him not to have the responsibility therin and me not to
have the associated {*filter*}ion problems? (I really didn't give a shit when I
was flossing out a peace of left-over Thanksgiving turkey fom behind this
temp, with my arms trembling and head throbing from the pain...ouch...just
to rinse with warm water that shocked the sensitive nerve with a temperature
change(I guess-not a DDS!) that sent me to the floor for about 45 minutes)
Was zu tun?

Any suggestions are welcome!

Jason

Ray

When you are having a lot of rebuilding done there are often some teeth
"on the edge" that "might" get by with just a filling or a crown.  But
they might not, and end up with a root canal.  The only way to limit any
possible toothaches from these teeth is to do root canals in all
questionable teeth.  

Work through this one setback, and see if you don't get back on the
right track.

SWF DDS

Managing your fear/anxiety is equally important.  You are not being a whimp!!
Discuss your fear/anxiety with your DDS. It can be managed during the procedure
with nitrous oxide sedation, after the procedure with pain medication, and
before the procedure with some type of sedative or anti-anxiety medication.

WARNING!!

UNSOLICITED ADVICE AHEAD!!

Unsolicted advice: You need to "get to a place" physically (via pain
management) and emotionally (anxiety management) that will allow you to go the
DDS regularly for treatment. Otherwise, this marathon of dental treatment and
$$ will repeat itsself in the future.

You can't get there alone, your DDS needs to work with you, but you have to
tell your DDS whats going on. If your DDS won't work with you, find one who
will.

Good Luck!

Dorothy
I am not a DDS

I just got back from my dental visit and everything went well.  I explained
all the problems I had been having; yes, it was just cooking.net">food "leakage" (with
mild infection that had cleared up by today) and cold sensitivity that was
causing my problems.  I don't need a root c{*filter*}on this tooth.  We decided
to postpone the last crown prep for two weeks, just to give me a break and
to get used to the feel of this crown.  Both he and his assistant agreed
that I by all means should not EVER hesitate to report ANY problems to a DDS
or any MD by that means.  He was very polite and insisted that if I ever
need pain management to not hesitate to request it.  He will send me out the
door with a small prescription next time, just in case.  As for my worries
of any sort of {*filter*}ion to pain medicines, he promised me that this is his
livelihood, and that he, as a professional, cannot let any such situation
arrise - that would jeopardize his practice.  "Dental medications are mild
and relatively safe in small quantities, not  like hospital medications for
serious trauma and pain management that pose a potential for abuse,
especially if malprescribed".

We'll see how it goes in the next few weeks.

Thank All For Your Advice!!!

Jason

P.S. My anxiety (at his point in life) has not been towards the dental visit
itself, but towards the fear that things will go wrong.  Definately I need
to see a counselor for this matter!