Dental Scams, and Retrieving Records and X-Rays

Today I had an emergency trip to the dentist, sort of. I have had such extreme pain with a tooth that even with pain killers (over the counter but recommended for tooth pain) I could not sleep or even think well enough to do math calculations. I called as soon as this dentist's office was open (they opened the earliest) and they said they could not fit me in until the afternoon... so I made the appointment.

The appointment went okay, but the doctor did NOT seem to do a very thorough exam... and I don't think he understood the kind of pain I was in, because he didn't ask. He didn't take a very close look at the tooth, he just took a picture of it and told me it needed to be removed (I knew this from the pain alone - the root is wide open, it's excruciating). They also named a lot of other procedures that I should do, of course, after I get the tooth removed. They (again with taking thei sweet time) set me up with an appointment in two days. I tried to stay alert and avoided them charging me in advance for all the other work (apart from the tooth extraction and anesthesia) but I was in a hurry to get out of there because the pain killers were wearing off and I had not brought them with me to the dentist (assuming it would have been taken care of!).

Now I have gone online and read about this office... and it seems they are quite well known for being scam artists using "used car salesman" tactics (quote from several different people on review sites) to pressure people into agreeing to high-cost treatments.

Unfortunately I already signed the agreement and paid in advance (another practice that I didn't realize was suspicious) for the tooth extraction, and on my appointment card it says they will charge a (large) fee if I do not cancel with 48 hours prior notice (which is impossible since I made the appointment for less than 48 hours from when I was in there).

My question is this: I believe that, because my pain and tooth problem was not properly assessed, I may eventually suffer permanent damage to the nerves in my jaw. Since leaving the dental office, the pain got worse for a bit and then got so bad that the entire area is beginning to feel plain numb. I've read that this numbness is possibly permanent. I did sign a waiver about the risk of dental procedures, but I have not had any! Is there anything I can do if it is true that this doctor ignored my pain in favor of waiting a few days so that they could pay an anesthesiologist instead of just doing it the "old" way and just pulling the tooth? I asked if it could be done this way and he told me they would not do it that day either way, and that he recommended the intravenous anesthesia.

My second question is: What legal rights do I have to my records? They did a full exam with lots of x-rays (another cost-bumping people say, they took about 3x as many x-rays as normal dentists). How can I get these records? (100$ in x-rays, I want to be able to take every one of those to a real dentist!)

--Still in Pain - Is this your question? Add additional information