What should have been a routine extraction turned into a terrifying experience for Paul Anderson when the dentist at the East Bank Regional Hospital at Diamond refused to give him more anaesthetic for the pain he was feeling as she yanked away at his jaw tooth.
The constant rocking to get out a piece of the tooth which was left in the badly damaged gum proved to be too much for the Timehri resident who later spent $3,000 at a Bagotstown dentist to complete the procedure.
Contacted on Wednesday, the hospital management expressed shock and urged that Anderson submit a complaint letter so that an investigation could be launched immediately.
Late Monday morning, an upset Anderson visited Stabroek News’ Robb Street office. His shirt had splashes of blood and his right jaw was swollen. Because of the state of his clothing and the intense pain he was in, the man could not report for work.
When this newspaper contacted him on Wednesday, he was crying out for a severe headache and said he had fever. He said that he would try his utmost to submit a report to the hospital today.
Anderson recounted that some time back a relative made an appointment at the institution’s Dental Clinic for him to get a filling for a bad tooth he had.
However when the dentist inspected the tooth around 9 am on Monday, she advised him to do an extraction since this procedure “would be easier”.
Anderson said he trusted her advice and told her to proceed. He said the dentist then administered two injections to numb the area so that the extraction could be done and he was sent outside to wait so that they could “work in”.
Fifteen minutes later he returned to the dentist’s chair and the procedure commenced. Anderson recalled that every yank was painful, but “being a man” he tried to bear it.
However, the pain eventually became unbearable and he indicated this to the dentist, even asking if he could get another injection.
The man said the dentist responded rudely to him and did not at any point sympathize with him. An assistant who was sitting nearby even told the dentist that she should administer another injection.
“Like you come hey to give me a hard time?” he recalled the woman asking him. He said she even told him that another injection would be an overdose and he would just have to bear the pain.
According the man, the dentist assured him that the procedure was a short one.
“But de pain still continued. Every touch was a pain. Down to her putting the cotton wool was painful,” a still shaken Anderson recalled.
He said eventually only a half of the tooth came out and to his shock, the dentist told him she would have to cut his gum to remove the other piece.
Anderson said this was done but much to his discomfort the dentist kept “rocking away at this thing and the pain was just too unbearable.”
He said at that point he felt that he could no longer take it and made the decision to leave the hospital and seek help elsewhere. “I was so traumatized but I had to get the piece out,” he added.
Anderson ended up at a private dentist who after examining his mouth said the nerve was exposed as a result of the “ripping” and administered two injections. Anderson told this newspaper that the piece of tooth came out in less than two minutes and he felt no pain.
He said that he is now convinced that the Diamond hospital dentist “just didn’t know what she was doin”. He said that he later went back to hospital to lodge a complaint with the director but was told by the receptionist that the director was busy and he should submit a written statement on the incident.
Anderson also claimed that several months ago his grandmother was a victim of negligence at the institution but he decided to go there on Monday since the service was free.
He recounted that his grandmother had suffered a fall and was taken to Diamond hospital where she was given some medication and sent away.
She began experiencing severe pain and was later taken to a private hospital where an x ray revealed that she had sustained three broken ribs. Anderson told this newspaper too that his grandmother who is a diabetic spent several days in the private hospital.
