Is this dentist neglagance or misconduct

Melissauk90 · 13 March 2018 at 6:13PM

Hi new here if anyone can help or give some advice?
Returned to my dentist after around 18months away from her due to pregnancy. Had previously been having work done( while I was pregnant but didn't know) paid about 200pounds for it.
Returned start of this year for check up and I needed filling so booked to go this past thursday. Went to her and straight in the door and on the chair and started injecting and drilling. She said ok back filling and front and I said front? And she said yes handed me a mirror and said that one pointing very inaccurately. Very rushed anyway I lay down and after around 30mins of her drilling and Tutting and seeming frustrated with her work or something wasn't working for her she had finished, her last comment to me was yeah you might need that tooth out if it gives you bother.
May I note. I have never had painful teeth or any complaints with my teeth no sensitivity, flood everyday and brush twice per day.
I left the clinic in absolute agony, I have had no sleep or food for 6 days. 3 trips to Emergency dentists and A&E and then finally had to have the tooth removed today with injections. Still quite sore but thank goodness the pain has reduced.
My question is surely after 18months of not seeing her should she have re-xrayed me? Especially due to pregnancy and morning sickness etc my teeth could have gotten a lot worse or changed somehow over that time but she was planning her treatment of the old xrays.l 18months ago pre pregnancy.
Also no explanation as to what she was doing, no option for me, by her saying "you know this tooth is quite bad, I can try to put a filling in but it might leave you in pain and we would be better taking the tooth out today" and then giving me an option to make an informed decision. She was striaght in with no reasons as to why o was even havong the work done and why she was drilling for so long and puttog me through all of that.
Also A&E also told me I have 3 filling on the upper left side. She had lead me to believe I only had 2?? I had no idea about this third filling (which btw I was charged for the front filling 77£ due to wanting it on white)
Also when I said I wanted the filling in white due to patients looking up into my mouth with my profession she replied "I'm sure patients aren't going to be looking in your mouth" I'm sure her option was not warranted and my decision to have a white filling should have not been commented on.
Sorry long winded.
Please can someone give some advice as to how I can resolve this. 277£ later, agonising days of pain and A&E trips and now a missing tooth. Also note I'm 25 could my teeth be that bad or is it ££ she is seeing when she sees me. My previous dentist said I never needed any work done and I apparently need a root canal and about 7 fillings according to her.
Thanks.

brook2jack · 13 March 2018 at 7:05PM

If you are having any treatment and particularly if you are having mixed NHS and private treatment then you should have signed and been given a fp17dc form , or equivalent, which details what treatment you need, what is private , what is NHS and what the costs are. This is your signed consent for treatment and you should have been given a copy of this.

If you are a private patient you should still have had a written treatment plan.

In general , with someone with a healthy mouth x rays are taken every two years. The interval may be shorter in someone with problems or poor Dental health. However if you can see decay on previous x rays and there's was work left over to be done from 18 months ago that will still need doing, it won't have got better.

Pregnancy does not affect teeth, calcium is not removed and if your diet is the same it should not cause decay.

On the NHS there is absolutely no incentive to find fillings that need doing and certainly if you need 7 fillings on the NHS the dentist will probably lose money on that course of treatment.

Privately there is more incentive to do treatment , but a tooth that needs root treatment is a pretty rotten tooth.

It is not always possible to tell how much decay is in a tooth until you start drilling and from what you describe there was a lot of decay in the tooth. A tooth with a lot of decay and a deep filling may settle down and cause no problems, it may cause pain then settle down , it may cause pain and not settle down, you cannot predict which it is going to do.

There are obviously problems with communication from your dentist

You should have had a written treatment plan
You should have had diet advice as you need so many fillings , brushing and flossing do not help with decay , it is the number of times a day you eat or drink something sugary that's the problem

Put your concerns in a letter to the practice manager particularly if you have not had a written treatment plan. They will give you details of how to escalate the complaint if you are not happy with their response.

JEN22 · 14 March 2018 at 5:28AM

Ignore the above. Pregnancy does affect your teeth and calcium levels in particular

Toothsmith · 14 March 2018 at 7:57AM

JEN22 wrote: »

Ignore the above. Pregnancy does affect your teeth and calcium levels in particular

Pregnancy in itself does not affect the teeth, and certainly doesn't affect calcium levels - especially in the teeth.

Hormonal changes can make gums more prone to swelling & bleeding (gingivitis) but this is easily countered with good toothbrushing and oral hygiene in general.

Women suffering more extreme morning sickness can be at risk of acid erosion of their teeth. Washing the mouth out with water after each bout of sickness can help there, and not being tempted to brush the teeth immediately after the sickness too. (Brushing too soon can damage the layer softened by the acid. Leave it at least 1/2hour to allow your saliva to repair that)

The big one that leads many to think that pregnancy has ruined their teeth though can be the cravings and altered diet that can happen during pregnancy. If during pregnancy you can't get enough Polo mints (for example) - then your teeth can fall to bits during pregnancy. This is not 'the baby' doing this though! Good sensible diet control needs to be maintained!

As to the OP's question though - brooks answer above is a good one. (In every respect)

brook2jack · 14 March 2018 at 8:35AM

JEN22 wrote: »

Ignore the above. Pregnancy does affect your teeth and calcium levels in particular

Once teeth are formed , they are formed, calcium cannot be taken out of a tooth. It is an old wives tale that a baby takes calcium out of your teeth. Pregnancy may affect gum health , vomiting may cause acid erosion of enamel but the main cause of tooth damage in pregnancy is the same as in the non pregnant person , frequency of sugar intake.

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/pregnancy-and-teeth

Magnolia · 14 March 2018 at 12:19PM

OOoooerrrrr

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/03/13/gain-child-lose-tooth-old-wives-tale-true-study-suggests/

MonkeyDr · 14 March 2018 at 12:53PM

Toothsmith wrote: »

The big one that leads many to think that pregnancy has ruined their teeth though can be the cravings and altered diet that can happen during pregnancy. If during pregnancy you can't get enough Polo mints (for example) - then your teeth can fall to bits during pregnancy. This is not 'the baby' doing this though! Good sensible diet control needs to be maintained!

Thanks to the dentists who have replied. This is an interesting thread, and something I had wondered about.

I would like to add though that it probably isn't as straightforward as 'cravings'. I haven't had any particular cravings in pregnancies (and am slim build, normal BMI, usually healthy diet, lower end of pregnancy weight gain), but I have struggled to maintain usual 3 meals / day pattern because of morning sickness in first half of pregnancy - nausea typically improved by eating a small amount - and then bloating / early satiety in latter stages. I didn't eat more sweet things, but I spread my usual food intake across the day into more times eating but smaller amounts.

And then in the baby stage (esp if breastfeeding) you have to grab your calories when you can, and depending on baby temperament it can be quite common to eat standard sandwich for lunch but spread over 2 hours in 2 minute windows.

I am well aware that all of this is my fault, and I do have a choice. But wanted to make the point that it isn't necessarily about lack of 'sensible diet control'.

Toothsmith · 14 March 2018 at 1:10PM

Magnolia wrote: »

OOoooerrrrr

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/03/13/gain-child-lose-tooth-old-wives-tale-true-study-suggests/

That's a really interesting news article - although the University still emphasise that good oral hygiene and diet control are key. I will look for the scientific paper this is based on - as Newspapers don't always report these things in the way they were meant!

Toothsmith · 14 March 2018 at 1:14PM

MonkeyDr wrote: »

I am well aware that all of this is my fault, and I do have a choice. But wanted to make the point that it isn't necessarily about lack of 'sensible diet control'.

It is still lack of sensible diet control - although your point is more that sensible diet control isn't always straight forward, which I can accept!

If diet control isn't possible for a while - then there are things like high fluoride toothpastes, xylitol based mints & chewing gums, and finishing a snack with a small piece of cheese that can help minimise the damage caused.

MonkeyDr · 14 March 2018 at 1:21PM

Toothsmith wrote: »

It is still lack of sensible diet control - although your point is more that sensible diet control isn't always straight forward, which I can accept!

If diet control isn't possible for a while - then there are things like high fluoride toothpastes, xylitol based mints & chewing gums, and finishing a snack with a small piece of cheese that can help minimise the damage caused.

Fair enough that it isn't optimal diet control. I find your phrasing a bit judgemental though. It could well be sensible to sacrifice some dental hygiene in the short-term to provide adequate nutrition to a growing baby if symptoms mean that you can't eat in a normal pattern. Being pregnant / a new mum can be miserable enough without more blame...

elsien · 14 March 2018 at 1:29PM

I'm curious, why does being preganant mean you have to delay going back to the dentist to have a filling done, for 18 months? What if it's hurting - surely you wouldn't put up with it for that length of time?

Is this dentist neglagance or misconduct

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