Dental Advice

Fork86

nnanno wrote: »

The pain went off completely, but at the next appointment I was just sent off for an OPG x-ray, when I feel that treatment really should have been administered then, considering I was there on an emergancy basis.

A radiograph (x-ray) was taken to probably assess the tooth in question, from both an extraction point of view and in terms of root canal treatment. It is standard practice to do this.

Did you have a few problem teeth or just one? I would have taken a Peri-apical x-ray myself, but only if I was certain about the tooth involved or if there was only one tooth that needed treatment. Then again, if it has been a few years since your last checkup/x-rays, then an OPG would have probably been a good idea.

Anyway, I hope the treatment goes well.

nnanno

What bothered me about being sent off for an OPG (I already had 'normal' x-rays taken at my first appointment) was that I should have been sent off for one at the first appointment, where I was sent away with antibiotics because the anaesthetic had failed. It makes more sense to me that I'd have had the OPG image ready for that second appointment, where the infection had cleared up. Being sent away for an x-ray cost an extra few days and allowed the infection to creep back in. But in any case it looks like the swelling is going down now so hopefully it will be fine for tomorrow.

It's been about a year and a half since I visited a dentist. I don't have the best teeth, I've got a lot of fillings and I put this down to neglect from when I was younger. The dentist is very hard to understand, he hasn't made clear to me what is happening at each stage. What I have found out is through researching myself and by asking the 2nd emergency dentist I visited (who I will hopefully be returning to for my other treatment). Initially all I was told was I needed "several fillings and possibly some extractions". When looking at the OPG image, he kept saying "that will have to come out" to various teeth (I don't see what else it could be), leaving me petrified. Then when I asked what teeth he thought might have to come out, he just kept saying he doesn't know until the procedure is taking place. I hate being left in the dark and I think it's quite unprofessional the way he's conducted himself.

nnanno

Another question to add. Can any dentists here give me an idea of what the options are for badly decayed teeth? Most of my back teeth have fillings, some of which are very deep and the dentist keeps alluding to possibly taking them out. Is there no option for them to be crowned or capped? I get the feeling that when I'm being told my options, I'm only being told what the options are with the NHS, not in general. Reading around online, seeing teeth way worse than mine by miles, that have been able to be restored without extraction (although I know this would be costly, but it's just the principle of the matter).

Toothsmith

I think you need to find a decent dentist nnanno.

nnanno

Toothsmith wrote: »

I think you need to find a decent dentist nnanno.

So do you agree that what I've been told doesn't sound right?

Bronnie

Not an expert's point of view, but just to add my own personal experience.

My previous dentist went completely private 2 years ago. I didn't immediately re-register elsewhere, until the inevitable happened and I needed urgent treatment. I managed to get treatment as an NHS patient at a dentist that I now see regularly.

My oral health is of a good standard, although I too have heavily-filled back teeth, a legacy of a childhood 'drill and fill' dentist in the sixties, although the rest of my teeth are intact, strong, straight and healthy.

I am still an NHS patient in theory, but some of my treatment, in the form of some improvements I have decided to make is being done privately. I have had 2 crowns done, one was NHS, one I paid privately for, so I could have white ones for both teeth. I am having a single tooth implant next, privately, I had a small filling replaced on the NHS yesterday.

Re the the future of the heavily-restored back teeth, I am 50 and I had this very conversation with my dentist yesterday in terms of what treatments I might be expecting to possibly need over the next ten years. In my case, he seemed to indicate that some of the heavily-filled teeth might eventually need a crown and seemed committed to try and maintain the teeth for as long as possible. Presumably because although I came to him for NHS treatment initially, he sees I am prepared to spend on my teeth!

I was actually contemplated a post on here as I am confused about whether I and my daughter should have private dental plans and am not sure whether this mix of NHS and private is really the best option. I am really out of touch with the changes, but that's another point!

In conclusion if you are prepared and able to invest a little in your teeth, I would be trying to find a dentist you can trust as soon as possible and move forward with a treatment plan for the longterm you understand and are happy with. It has eventually dawned on me that otherwise all I'd be getting was a patch-up job basically!!

nnanno

That's what I'm confused about - that my heavily filled back teeth seem to be given a 're-filled or extracted' solution with no inbetween.

I can't really afford to go private, but if I need to I will save for it, i.e if I need a bridge after all of this. The second dentist I saw was so much more competant. If it weren't for the fact that my antibiotics end at the weekend, I would be making arrangements to try and see that dentist as opposed to the other one.

Bronnie

Well if they can be refilled, that's ok.

You're only going to get the minimum treatment so I'd be grabbing that and be holding onto the tooth at any event!

If finances improve, at least you've still got the tooth there to work on in the future!

Toothsmith

nnanno wrote: »

So do you agree that what I've been told doesn't sound right?

I don't think you've been given a fully informed choice if the options haven't been discussed.

Teeth get big fillings in them for a reason. People have to change their habits in order for complex treatments to work effectively.

It could well be that simple treatments like extractions are the right thing for you - I wouldn't know. But - you should at least be given the options, and know what's involved if you wanted them saving.

nnanno

Like I said, I accept blame for the fillings and put it down to former bad habits. If the dentist thinks these habits haven't changed and that treatments like crowns aren't suitable for me, then it should at least be presented in a way which sees them as an option and not something completely out of the question.