A Late Night Phone Call
True story…A few weeks ago I received a frantic phone call from a daughter of an elderly gentleman. The woman was crying, saying that her father needs help, but no one is able to help them. Her father had an extraction done at a dental office by an “oral surgeon who comes there once a month”. Well, it was 6 hours since the surgery and her father just started bleeding uncontrollably. They tried calling the dentist’s office where they had the procedure done—no answer, even after leaving a message. They didn’t know what else to do…
Finally, they started calling the local Oral Surgery Offices to see if they can get someone to see the patient. When I spoke to the daughter over the phone, I told her to bring her father to come to my office right away. We were able to get the bleeding under control, and patient did great. They both were extremely grateful that the emergency situation was resolved.
What’s the moral of this story you might ask? When you choose an Oral Surgeon you ought to do your research—is he a “visiting Oral Surgeon” who only comes to your dentist’s office once a month? Is he going to be there if an emergency situation arises, like in this case? What about if it’s a late-onset complication, like a dry socket, or non-healing surgical site? Who is going to take care of that? A dentist—well, is he capable of handling the surgeon’s complications? If not, are you going to have to wait another month for the surgeon to come around? What if he never comes back to that office for whatever reason?
Again, do your research, be an informed consumer! Don’t jeopardize your health, or health of your loved ones! There are a lot of surgeons out there that come to your dentist’s office, “to do their thing”, and then leave. If you are going to go that route, please make sure there is a postoperative protocol in place in case an emergency happens.
Better yet, chose a private-practice Oral Surgeon to get your procedure done. That way you know where to come to and who to call if there is an emergency. I give my cell phone number to my patients all the time, so that they can always reach me if they have a question. That way I know that my patients will always be taken care of if something happens.
− Dr. Dmitry Tsvetov
Call Temecula Facial Oral Surgery today to schedule your appointment ☎ Temecula Facial Oral Surgery Phone Number 951-302-9100
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