Mauchline

Margaret Tallach

2nd Part-So i called asking if tooth should be pulled without antibiotics before/after extraction as NHS site advised.I had gum disease prior to seeing Mr Galloway. However, upon arriving at the surgery, I was treated unfairly & I feel, verbally abused!! I entered the room, Mr Galloway did not turn & look at me, instead his wife, (who was absolutely fine, pleasant etc), ushered me to sit in the chair. He, (Mr Galloway), then, said, "You called us regarding an infection in your mouth, questioning treatment". "And WHO said you had an infection?". I replied,"You did &explained what hospital had said previously, what my symptoms are, that I believed I had Periodontal Disease &the fact that he himself told me on my first appointment I did have infection. He appeared extremely annoyed that I either checked on the NHS site &/or that I was questioning him, which I wasn't, only concerned due to my pain, burning gums, bleeding gums, pain constantly, day in, day out & keeping me awake at night. I am constantly rinsing my mouth & brushing my gums with salt, to try & help the infection, which is way to far for that to work. I wasn't being a nuisance or a know it all, i just wanted my teeth fixed, no more pain, (which i am living with daily, taking Tramadol painkillers & others to relieve pain). Secondly, he approached the chair, said, "OK, let's get this tooth out, (which tooth, I had 3 that needed extracted, one could barely be seen it broke that much.). "Your fine & your fit & healthy?", then came towards me to extract the tooth, not giving me a chance to reply, & trying to place instrument in mouth. I actually had to pull my head back & mention that NO, I wasn't fit & healthy, which I already told him, but it was like he didn't care & just wanted to extract my tooth. And the fact he had previously told me I needed an X-ray first, to determine how bad infection was, which I didn't get! I explained before he approached the chair, that on the NHS website, it stated, if infection present & depending how bad it was, you may need antibiotics before &/or after extraction). He leaned in my mouth & asked me if I smoked in an abusive tone, (which I don't, I stopped 10yrs ago). Again I voiced concern at extracting my tooth, and then Mrs Galloway said to him, she thought I was just concerned if tooth was pulled, it was the weekend & if any issues arose I couldn't seek help, as husband worked away, I don't drive & live in the country). I turned to her, shaking at this ordeal, and said, "No it's fine, he can pull my tooth & we'll see what happens! Astonishingly, he said, " Would you rather have antibiotics first?". I said your the professional, but honestly, I'd rather just go home, as I was about to burst into tears at his manner towards me. He said, "oh ok". I got up, turned to his wife & thanked her for her time, & left. I got into my daughters car bursting into tears. I've had problems with previous dentists & that's why I wanted to ensure pulling "this" tooth wouldn't cause me harm, which i knew it would if no antibiotics were administered. I actually have a fungal infection everywhere on body, doctor doesn't know why & I believe it's the infection from my gums. Exploring the Dentists Association website I complained, unfortunately, I lost what was written & thus it wasn't submitted. My daughter is getting married next June, my teeth/gums/mouth are a mess & I am "TERRIFIED" to visit another "Professional Dentist". Eventually today, plucking up the courage I searched NHS dentists on web, seen Mr Galloway's practice advertised, with no reviews, and thought why should he get away with this? Mrs Galloway looked apologetically as i was leaving. I am now copying this review & emailing it to the dentist association. Thank you for reading this "War & Peace"!