By Evan Falchuk

In a previous post, Fritz referred to a case of a young patient, potentially facing sinus surgery. His post was timely because of what happened to me recently.

I have a history of chronic sinusitis and had some surgery a few years ago. Last week, I took a trip to Colorado. Before leaving, I was suffering from what felt like bad tooth pain. I saw my dentist, who said I had some decay in the suspected area and that I should come back on my return to have a filling put in.

While traveling, I suffered a very serious pain in my cheek and around the area of my tooth. On arriving in Colorado, the pain eased a little, but was still there. Over the next couple of days the pain got worse – I couldn’t sleep and the pain had spread to the side of my head and near my ear. I finally relented and called my dentist, who told me she thought I must have an infection and prescribed me an antibiotic. Within about a day of starting the antibiotic, the pain started to subside.When I got back a couple of days later, I went to my dentist. She quickly examined my teeth and concluded that I needed an emergency root canal. I was referred to a nearby endodontist, who agreed to see me. On arrival I filled out the forms and told him I was there for a root canal. He put the form aside and said, “That’s nice. Tell me what’s wrong with you.”

Over the next 45 minutes, he conducted a thorough exam of my mouth, teeth, head and neck. He had me reach over and touch my toes three times. He asked me a dozen or more questions about my symptoms, medical history, lifestyle and family. After walking me through his thought process and showing me exactly why he thought what he thought, he told me it was almost certain that there was nothing wrong with my teeth and that instead I was suffering from a sinus infection. He recommended I talk to my primary care doctor, who agreed that as long as I was getting better (I am), there was nothing to do but finish the course of antibiotics.

This case reflects so much of what we see every day in our work at Best Doctors and what is reported by the media on the doctor-patient relationship. My dentist decided – very quickly – that my problem was an infection in my tooth. The logical conclusion from that is to have a root canal. I dutifully followed her instructions and was headed on the path for an unnecessary procedure, until an especially diligent and thoughtful endodontist intervened and spent the time needed to come up with the right diagnosis.