Cirrhosis and dentistry

Posted by erinkyle @erinkyle, Jul 25 12:56pm

Hello,
I have cirrhosis of the liver, I was diagnosed 3 years ago. My teeth are in terrible condition-I need extractions and a bridge. I went to one dentist a year ago, understandably they wanted to have a medical clearance from my healthcare provider. They had a form they wanted signed also. Kaiser would only provide a copy of my medical records. This dentist fully denied to even look at what Kaiser provided, this was back and forth for 6 months.

I found another dentist and they referred me to an oral surgeon. I went to that appointment, went through the consultation and the oral surgeon said he understood how difficult Kaiser could be sometimes and to just provide that medical record and he will review it. I turned that into this office and they booked an appointment a week later to start extracting the teeth needed.

20 minutes before the appointment I got a phone call from that office saying “we are calling to cancel your appointment today, the oral surgeon, after looking at your record, has decided that in order to make you feel better about this, you should go to an oral surgeon office for this Dr. just makes rounds to different offices and does not have the equipment here for you”.

Now I have a consultation to an oral surgeon at an oral surgeon office…and I fear that it’s going to be the same results-none.

Has anybody else gone through anything like this? Any advice? Maybe I am missing something in order to receive oral care. It’s been a really frustrating journey and I feel defeated quite honestly.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Chronic Pain Support Group.

Unfortunately this can be the result of not taking care of yourself by getting regular checkups both orally and physically. Taking your underlying condition into consideration does your body have the ability to heal from the impending surgery? The surgeons will require prior clearance from your hepatic doctor before working on you. And yes they may request your medical records for your safety and their’s. Please take into consideration what you’re giving the periodontist and dental surgeon to start with? I was almost there but was able to save most of my teeth and I didn’t have any underlying conditions. It’s a long road to the finish if they’re doing your entire mouth. A good support system would be very beneficial. They have certain protocols they must follow so be patient with the system.

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