As a child I had nitrous oxide (laughing gas) at the dentist but hated the smell of the rubber mask - I am not sure if they still use them. Now I much prefer an oral sedative such as diazepam (valium) - it is essential to obtain it from a doctor as otherwise it is illegal to possess. Best not to get it from the dentist at the time of appointment as it can take 30-60 mins to take effect. Also, of course, a person should not drive when using it.
Have been in pain the past several weeks waiting for my appointment at Premier Dental. Went in today, she looked at my teeth and said that I need a root canal. Well, not something I look forward to, but I'm sitting there in pain so I said, OK let's do it. She laughed and said, Oh no, I'm not going to do that for you, you will need to go to some other dentist to get that done, and she gave me some recommendation. Apparently she considers this procedure "too difficult" for her to do. So after the wait, I paid 500 pesos to be told to go someplace else. So, still in pain and starting over from scratch to find a good dentist.
Try Dr. Jane Palma, Portal West Bldg, top floor. 09175330066. My family has used her for 6 years. A friend had a root canal there. She takes emergencies, closed Sat-Sun. Tell who answers the phone Pat and Kennedy gave you her name.
I don't know if you availed of Dr. Chua, but I have recent experience. Others have endorsed him, from "very nice" to "equipment up-to-date". I concur with that. However, you should check his estimate of charges, and do comparison shopping. I found his charges for examination, and his estimate for work, to be 2 to 3 times higher than others. For example, p1500 for an extraction (same for fillings), versus 800 charged for me by my dentist, who is regarded as the highest-priced in Dumaguete. For the initial examination and photos he charged p4000, which I believe is more than double than elsewhere. The patient is my helper; her mouth looks like Marawi City after the bombing, and she periodically misses work on account of toothache. I did not meet the doctor, only approved the examination in a phone conversation with him. The patient has been redirected to my doctor for all procedures. She did aver that Dr. Chua is very nice.
@jim787 You mentioned that Dr. Chua (he's the guy at Holy Child?) charges a lot compared to your dentist. If the girls teeth are a complete disaster there may be a lot more work than an ordinary filling at Php 800. I went to see him for a consultation. My dentist who will remain nameless so I don't get sued or shot pushed a dental implant up between my pallet and the sinus membrane. His idea was to pull the skin off the roof of my mouth, cut a hole through the pallet and go find the wayward implant. None of that seemed like a good idea to me so I went to see Dr. Chua. I ask him to remove the implant. He said No way. He told me to go to an implant specialist at a hospital in Cebu. When I told him my dentist wanted to perform the procedure in the chair in his office Dr. Chua turned an ashen colour. It seems that procedure needs to be performed in a sterile surgery. My point being sometimes dental work can be more complicated than appears. Today I finally got my dental implant procedure completed by Dr. Cordeta and am as pleased as punch. Her price was higher than the "implant specialist" in Cebu. I rejected the guy in Cebu's treatment plan because it was seriously flawed. I'll write an explanation tomorrow complete with pictures with what I had done and more importantly WHY the treatment cost a bit more.
I have had "regular" (general practice) dentists in the US say the same thing. They could do some root canals, but others they insisted had to be done by an endodontist.
I second that, Asawa had a root canal and they hollowed out too much and lost the tooth 12k pesos wasted...
Spot on. A very pleasant person, showing patience, caring and a very high degree of expertise - but pricey.
