Questions about Dental crowns

Aless

I hope the dentists on here do not mind me asking a question...about 18 months ago I had a filling on a back tooth. I have never had any pain in my teeth before hand. This filling was a bit of a nightmare because he could not numb the nerve properly, I had many injections and I still could feel a bit but I could not take any more injections (that is the only thing I have any issue with at the dentist - injections in my mouth) so just carried on. Afterwards the tooth was sensitive only if I ate something hard that got stuck in the tooth such as biting on a raspberry seed. I mentioned this to the dentist at the next check up even though the sensitivity had started to reduce and he said well it as a deep filling. The only other thing to do is kill the root but as I have no sensitivity to heat or cold or if it is tapped he did not recommend it. I asked about redoing the filling but he would not consider that option. The sensitivity almost went away but it has recently come back worse than ever and I can hardly eat on that side. Having read this thread if I had the root killed would it best to have a crown as well? Does it sound like having the root killed is my only option? I am a wimp about pain and the thought of root canal work on that tooth (given that the dentist can't numb the nerve fully) scares me a lot but I would rather get the best thing done for the long term with the least pain. Any advice most gratefully received.

PS I think the dentist is good at his job and I do not mean to question his competency but I have nobody to ask for a second opinion. It would be really difficult to see another dentist at the practice and I would prefer not to alienate my dentist by pushing this option if it futile.

Thank you so much.

twinspeeks

Hi can anyone give me some advice here please?

I moved to a new dentist as my previous dentist retired.

It took a long time to get allocated a new one and I needed work done on the £45.60 band. Anyway within a couple of weeks of completing this treatment, one of the new fillings came out and an abscess developed at the root of this tooth, revealed by an xray taken when the filling was replaced.

I have just had the offending tooth extracted and been charged £45.60 again, although this is within the 2 month window of the previous treatment and payment.

My question is whether I should have been charged twice and, if so, why?

Thanks in advance.

brook2jack

The two month window is from the start of treatment not when you paid or when the filling was done but from your first appointment.

It also only comes into effect if it was treatment that was recommended (ie if dentist said you needed a crown and you just wanted tooth "patched up" with a filling you would need to pay again.)

The two month period also does not include emergency treatment which is a seperate charge as well.

littlemisschocolate

Hi all,

I've ready several threads where people are interested in getting crowns, veeners etc and have read the responses with great interest. I'd thought I'd share my experiences of having gold crowns and porcelain caps.

A bit of background as to why I've had this level of work done. When I was growing up I had a fear/phobia of cleaning my teeth and despite being bought kermit the frog, barbie toothbrushes I still wouldn't clean them! As a teenager this phobia thankfully passed and a diet of fizzy pop and sweets were the mainstay. This caused the front teeth to start to decay and various fillings were required.

At the age of 22 my dentist was retiring and as a final swan song he wanted to crown/cap my teeth, I was dead excied as I'd finally be proud to smile! After being seen by a member of the NHS Dentist board (someone may correct me) he authorised for my dentist to carry out the work.

Fast forward 8 years later and my gums have receeded, when flossing it's chipped the porcelain veeners and have had a temp fix, which is now startiing to discolour. I talked about getting them replaced with my new dentist and I've been advised that new crowns won't work, as too much of my original teeth were taken away. So I'd have to consider false teeth, as you can imagine for someone soo young to have something like that was a massive shock to the system.

The problem doesn't just end with the veneers. Before one of the gold crowns was fitted, I had titanium rods fitted into the roots - I'd had root canal surgery that had been unsucessful. One of the rods wasn't trimmed perfectly and made an indent in the crown. However where I've got the gold crowns it's discoloured the gums and they are now black - this wasn't explained to me at the time. I only found this out three months down the line, when we talked about replacing one of the front teeth that had broken.

What I want to say is that before anyone does consider having a vast amount of cosmetic work done on their teeth, talk it through with your dentist about the pros and cons and also the upkeep that's required. Yes it will amke your smile perfect andg ive you that celeb smile, but is constant tooth ache worth it?

Sorry to have waffled.

LMC x

BlondeHeadOn

Thank you so much for this post littlemisschocolate, I think it's really good to have some of the cons as well as pros of cosmetic dentistry.

I never understand why people have cosmetic work done on perfectly good teeth, as it must reduce the overall lifespan of the tooth. Mind you, I am a dentist-phobe, so mine would have to be really really bad before I'd go and have anything done I didn't really desperately need doing!

What happens to all those scarily white teeth in America when the wearers get older? Are there a lot more dentures in the states due to this fashion? I've never heard anything about the long-term effects of cosmetic dentistry in the USA....

I hope you get your teeth sorted out and toothache-free - that must be horrible.

Good luck and keep smiling...

Toothsmith

BlondeHeadOn wrote: »

Thank you so much for this post littlemisschocolate, I think it's really good to have some of the cons as well as pros of cosmetic dentistry.

I never understand why people have cosmetic work done on perfectly good teeth, as it must reduce the overall lifespan of the tooth. Mind you, I am a dentist-phobe, so mine would have to be really really bad before I'd go and have anything done I didn't really desperately need doing!

What happens to all those scarily white teeth in America when the wearers get older? Are there a lot more dentures in the states due to this fashion? I've never heard anything about the long-term effects of cosmetic dentistry in the USA....

I hope you get your teeth sorted out and toothache-free - that must be horrible.

Good luck and keep smiling...

Very true, and it's also a tale of the problems of doing advanced work without addressing the underlying issues that got the teeth into a state where they needed so much work in the first place.

Advanced work is never a 'fit and forget' item. It will INCREASE the amount of work and care your teeth will ultimately need, not 'sort it out once and for all'.

The very best thing you can do is have regular preventative dental care from a young age, take all the advice on board, have/invest in things like fissure sealants and fluoride treatments, don't smoke, and hopefully have as little to do with a drill as possible.

littlemisschocolate

Thank you Blondeheadon. The toothache comes and goes, it's at its worse when the weather is cold. I will pluck up the courage to go to the dentist soon but I'm dreading what the outcome may be. But if I have to have false teeth before I'm 30, so be it, and maybe I'll gain a new party trick too! And I promsie to keep smiling.

I hope that my post hasn't put people off of having crowns/caps done if it's essentially needed, but if it's to make that already perfect smile perfect DON'T DO IT!

Toothsmith, totally agree what I've had done isn't a fix and forget it and I fear that some people considering cosmetic dentistry don't realise that. I now know, it's going to cost me lots of £££'s in the future on regular dental checks and the replacement of the front caps. I think my biggest annoyance is the dentist didn't sit me down and explain the whole process to me, they knew my weakness was my smile and possible used it to their advantage.

brook2jack

I think you are being a little unfair here.

In order to get NHS treatment you had to have prior approval and an inspection by a dental reference officer. This is a completely independant dentist who agrees whether the treatment is necessary or not. They would never approve something for cosmetic treatment but only if it is clinically necessary.They did not "rubber stamp" treatment and the dentist would have had to justify the work.

Your teeth may have been so filled and root filled it was impossible to fill any more so they needed to be crowned.

If the crowns are failing already it's not the fault of the dentist , it's the care taken of them since . The alternative may have meant the teeth would have had to come out earlier.

larmy16

Hope I am on the right board.

I have been having trouble with a back tooth. The one right at the back I had to have removed about 2 years ago. I was worried at the time that I had the wrong tooth out! This one was really playing up, sensitive and in all that time, it has been off and on.

My dentist said she would crown it but she is away on health grounds at the moment.

Cut a long story short, it has been really playing up over the last three weeks. Sensitive to hot and cold.

Saw dentist. She said it needs a crown and should be done before Christmas.

I have three choices.

NHS - all metal
Porcelein and metal
All porcelein (sp?)

This tooth has a crack in the filling which is why I have been having all this pain.
Also as I have the other one missing it is taking more pressure and also they think I grind my teeth.

Any way, which one is the strongest. It sounds to me like the metal one would be best even if it is cheapest? What do I know. She told me I could have a good deal on the porcelin one (same price as a metal/porcelin one) but is this more likely to break when it will get a lot of use?

Any advice appreciated as I dont want to spend 300+ if the metal 200 one would be more suitable. I should have talked more to her but was in such a rush to get to work. Thanks .

coldstreamalways

If I was having a crown on a back tooth, I would opt for an all metal crown, preferably Gold. I am a dentist btw!