Trip to the Dentist turn into a premedication nightmare

Usually once you get out of the dentist chair your problems end, but not for me. I have been putting off getting a tooth refilled since I have great deal of nausea due to the Hydrocephalus.

So yesterday I head to the dentist to take care of it, told them about my shunt (installed a year or so ago) and the plate in my neck from a fusion done two years ago. Well I opened a can of worms with my big mouth. The dentist would do a cleaning and put in a temp filling and that's it. They want my surgeons to tell them if I need the premedication before having the filling taken care of, plus two more cavities and pulling a wisdom tooth which has caused the cavities, yeah I know fun, fun, fun!!!

So I go home and need to track down the NS who did the fusion, he left the practice and not in my network anymore. (doctors do not like United Healthcare???) So after many, many calls I finally I find his new office in Staten Island. Only to be told that he does not have access to my records since he left that practice and can not help me. I called my family practitioner and they do not want to get involved either. Now desperate I call the hospital where I had the surgery to get my records and now being charged .75 cents per page and that won't really help me with my dental dilemma.

Then I called the dentist as a last resort and asked (begged) if I could just take the medication and we could just proceed. Of course they do not feel comfortable doing that. So today I continue my quest to try to resolve this matter, just what I needed more hassles of health. Got to love the health care system, you would think in this day and age this would not be such a problem.

Patient Instructions: Dental Prophylaxis

Guidelines for teeth cleanings, other dental work and pre-treating with antibiotic

Spinal surgery with implants

For spinal surgery with implants (fusion, disk replacement, stabilization), patients will need to be pretreated with an antibiotic if you have dental work done within 24 months of the surgery. We recommend avoiding routine dental prophylaxis and simple procedures for 3 months following a spinal fusion, but between 4 and 24 months we suggest antibiotic prophylaxis. After 24 months, you will not need antibiotic prophylaxis unless you have a compromised immune system, Type 1 diabetes mellitus, previous infection of a prosthetic joint or a spinal fusion, hemophilia, or malnourishment. The choice of antibiotic is a decision for you and your primary care doctor. Please contact their office for antibiotics or further advice. We are happy to discuss this with them should they need to contact us. If you have significant immune compromise, Type 1 diabetes mellitus, history of previous infected spinal fusions or joint replacements, hemophilia or malnourishment then we suggest antibiotic prophylaxis for ALL future dental procedures regardless of timing, but this again is something that needs to be resolved through your primary care physician and not your neurosurgeon. If there is any confusion please have them call us.