Fast Dentistry Is Also Painless--in the Hospital

For those who dread the sound of a dentist’s drill or don’t have time for long dental procedures that can take months, a quick trip to the hospital may be the answer.

Dental patients are finding that by checking into a hospital for a day they can have all their dental work done at once while under general anesthesia.

Beverly Hills dentist Nathan Sperling, one of many dentists around the country practicing hospital dentistry, said requests for such service are on the rise.

The procedure, dubbed “speedy dentistry” by some, allows a patient to have all forms of dental work performed within hours, and without the swelling and soreness that may accompany conventional techniques. This includes caps, extractions, root canals, even periodontal work.

Significant Savings in Time

“It could take six months to a year to have that much work completed,” Sperling said. “This way the patient checks in in the morning and goes home the same day.”

Sperling, who does his dental work at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, added, “There are no injections, so there’s no swelling or soreness afterward.”

Patients needing caps or dentures are given temporary dental pieces while in the hospital. The permanent pieces are fitted during a visit to the dentist’s office a few days later, Sperling said.

As one of the pioneers of hospital dentistry, Sperling began experimenting with the procedure nearly three decades ago on people already hospitalized or otherwise unable to go to a dentist’s office.

For Healthy Ones Too

“I started doing this 27 years ago,” he said. “The difference is that now healthy patients want it to save time.”

Having treated 160 such patients last year, Sperling said the work seems to be a welcome solution for many of his jet-setting patients, as well as others with time constraints.

“Time was the main reason I had it done,” said sales manager John Stein. “I travel a lot, so getting a year’s worth of work done in one day appealed to me.”

The San Mateo resident, who said that he had had the works--caps, extractions, root canal and gum work--reported that he is quite pleased with the finished product.

Sperling said he is usually accompanied by a team of dentists, each specializing in different dental procedures, who take turns working on the patient.

“One doctor may do the fillings, while another will do a root canal,” he explained. “I also have my own anesthesiologist present at all times.”

He said the use of general anesthesia is appreciated by some patients who prefer not to be awake during dental procedures.

“Many times there are patients who are afraid of seeing a needle,” he explained, “or who become alarmed and panic, even though they’re not in pain.”

It is the use of general anesthesia, however, that has some dentists expressing concern about hospital dental techniques, while others questioned the quality of work done so quickly.

‘Just for Convenience’

“I would not want to subject my body to general (anesthesia) just for convenience,” said Dr. Charles Neidorff, a Syosset, N.Y., dentist.

Sperling said such concerns are unfounded.

“First of all, patients are administered a very light anesthesia, from which they awaken within minutes after the work is done,” he said. “The quality of the work is not sacrificed. In fact, you’re getting more than one doctor doing the work, each a specialist at what he does.”

Another concern, however, could be the cost. In addition to follow-up office visits, a patient may have hospital fees to pay as well.

Although the total expense of hospital dentistry varies according to the hospital, amount of work done and the dentist’s fees, it could cost anywhere from $500 to $15,000.