I am very frustrated today. I was given an appointment with the Implantologist today which was the second visit to an expensive private practice in Cardiff involving a sixty mile round trip only to be told he couldn't do it as I was on 10mgms of steroids. I told them I was on steroids when I first went there and filled in the form which they clearly didn't bother to read it. He said I could die in the chair and needed to go into hospital and have a steroid drip. The Endodontist I saw first suggested he had another go at the root canal filling but only gave me a 20% chance of it surviving. At the time I didn't think it was worth it but now I do.
I was also told I couldn't have an implant for at least a year. I had to cancel my planned cataract operation today so am very fed up. Thank goodness I have you to share this with, my family must be getting fed up with me as well and I don't blame them.
My daughters dog had surgery to remove four lumps and fortunately they were harmless fat, I need to remember that the antidote to self pity is gratitude.
Incidentally I had problems with the website which was solved by the wonderful staff at HealthUnlocked, in the meantime I had to set up a separate account under the name GrannyRove, she has now been deleted.
Thank you everyone, I would be lost without you.
Written by
EdithWales
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I'm still here! I'm sorry to hear what happened to you with the dentist. I was told to always tell your dentist your were on steroids, as you did & l know it can be necessary to have additional Prednisolone if you are having an extraction or maybe root canal work.
Why did you have to cancel your cataract surgery? Not for the tooth l hope?
Glad you've got your HealthUnlocked A/C sorted out!
So glad to have you back. Yes I cancelled it as I decided I couldn't cope with the tooth and the eye. The surgeon didn't want to do it until the tooth was sorted anyway, It's not a problem as I can rearrange and have it done in a few weeks. It almost sounds like fun compared to the tooth!
Good Luck 🍀 I'm off on my holidays on Tuesday until 10th April, the start of the 40th Wedding Anniversary Celebrations, so I'll catch up with you when I get back & hope you're all sorted by then.
I had a root canal recently, but the dentist feared there was a fracture in the tooth, which following four lots of antibiotics, proved to be the case.
He said he had read an article saying root canal fillings on people with auto-immune conditions are 8 times more likely to fail, in my case I think the fracture was probably already there but they often do not show on xray etc.
So I had the tooth out this Tuesday, had stitches etc and upped steroids to 15mg (from 10) for a couple of days, gum is still sore etc. but otherwise ok.
My dentist is great, he knows I am on Risonodrate which causes some dentists to freak out - but he took the tooth out without referring me. He has said I can decide later on an implant, possibly he can attach a false tooth to the crown next door, or I can have the gap. To be honest it is a long way back and it cant be seen so I will leave it. (He said 6 months to shrink etc )
I have struggled with toothache for 4 months which went up into the sinus and got confusing systems as I have GCA so pleased to see the back of it.
Pleased your daughter is ok, yes a scare like that puts things like this into perspective.
Thank you I have GCA as well diagnosed in April 2014 I don't relish having a steroid drip and I am beginning to think it depends on who you see so will take more advice
It's all so frustrating but I am delighted to hear you have done so well it gives me hope
Thank you I have just told PMR pro I am going to do that and maybe a third. You really are alone with some of these professionals and I married to a GP
He can come with me and pump in the adrenaline if that's all it takes.
"He said I could die in the chair and needed to go into hospital and have a steroid drip"
What a load of mdooly! I had a wisdom tooth out while on over 10mg pred a couple of years ago. I was terrified - the dentist was exceedingly calm about it. I had enquired at the hospital and they looked at me as if I was mad! So did the dentist. In fairness - his practice is the other side of the road from the hospital. And this IS Italy...
And if you DID suffer an adrenal crisis they would only have to dial 999 and a paramedic would arrive with the injection in their bag.
" I could kill you" which hardly inspires confidence. I am seeking a second and maybe a third opinion, this was a practice when they were told and I wrote it on the form.
My cousin has a bit of a dispute with a Cardiff practice who identified she had periodontal disease and didn't tell her. Neither did the practice she moved to in Dorset - they assumed she knew. Neither did anything about it - and the first she knew was when teeth were loose and about to fall out! She is not amused! Her lawyers are doing a good job getting payment for very expensive private remedial work in London.
There is a limited amount that can be done now - which is why it is so expensive. She's older than I am and our parent's generation would have accepted false teeth as inevitable but we still have (almost) all our teeth! I'm just pleased I haven't sent good money into private dentistry to be lied to!
Hi. I am on 5mg pred per day and had an extraction (split tooth) and an implant and xenograft ten days ago. I didn't up the medication and my gum seems to be healing very well. This was all carried out by my usual dentist. I suppose it is still possible that the bone won't grow around the implant but so far so good. There were absolutely no problems in the operation itself.
I work for a dentist,he just gets on with the treatments ,whatever medication people are on.!!I've worked there 16 years and he's never referred anyone because they are on steroids or told them to increase them😳
Thank you so much. The more I hear from the Forum the more I realise the expensive privately practice in Cardiff is inefficient and ill informed. I am arranging a second and third opinion.
No charge. Maybe because I treated them to an impressive spot of roid rage, they are lucky I didn't charge them expenses for mine and my daughters time plus 120 miles and parking!
I had root canal. No upping on pred. And was on 12 mg. Also 2012 had knee replacement with one shot of cortisone before and one shot of 100 mg after. I was on 15 mg at that time. Some doctors and dentists are just scared. In the US they are afraid of a malpractice suit Lots of physicians no longer carry malpractice insurance and keep everything in their spouses name. I think that has a lot to do with your dentist. You need to find another one and take care of your problem.
Thank you. It's so reassuring to hear that others have had successful surgery. I am lining up a second and third opinion will let you know how I get on
What an interesting thread....I had an extraction a few weeks ago..was on about 10mg pred at the time. I say about as I have been up to 12 mg for a while now. I was also on Alendronic Acid although I had stopped it a few weeks previous to the treatment as the side effects were getting too much for me. I had gone to the dentist with toothache that was like nerve pain, an xray showed an abcess so I had antibiotics and he was going to do a root canal. However when I went back he said the tooth needed to come out. He didn't have time to refer me so just did it. I didn't increase my dose of pred because of it. He was, however, very concerned because I had been on AA, he's very...how shall I put this?....thorough? over anxious? ...but very good, so he gave me his own mobile number and said to watch for signs of poor healing and contact him if necessary.
Luckily, I don't seem to have any adverse reactions to the treatment. I do need a further large filling but he has decide to leave that until next time.
Hi Edith, Your circumstances are different from mine, but there are some similarities,
I am on 10mg and had an extraction of a cracked tootth with a NHS dentist this week. I researched the latest thinking from the BDA and other sources and found they thought it OK. I told my dentist my exact medication and she said it wasn't a problem.
As I heal fairly quickly, I am having impressions taken and a tooth added to my partial denture this next week.
I haven't had any side effects and suspect that your dentist, being private, either isn't up to speed or more likely, worried about being sued. I don't know enough about it, but to say you could die in the chair sounds a bit extreme. Maybe get advice from a NHS dentist. Good luck.
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Tooth extraction and Prednisolone 
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