Question for the dentists on here over liability

Snooze

Hello all,

A bit of background first ..

I've not seen a dentist for 17 years which was when I was in my mid-teens. Last time I went (NHS patient) I had my one and only filling done on a molar and a little silver 'top' put on the middle of it.

Aside from a little bit of bunching of my lower front teeth I've never had any problems with my teeth for probably 12 years since then. However, about 5 years ago one of the rear 'peaks' of the tooth with the filling in broke off without any warning, leaving me with a sharp edge on the metal filling which was now not attached to anything. :eek:

To be honest, it didn't cause me any problems whatsoever and as time went on the sharpness went away and life carried on as normal. Around 12 months down the line, the metal top of the filling came off unexpectedly, but still, it didn't cause me any bother as the tooth filling was still filled with the glue they use. Eventually though, that fell out as well, leaving the hole in my tooth exposed and not surprisingly this started to cause me some problems, especially when eating any chocolate or biscuits etc, and the pain would be excruciating. I learned to avoid that kind of stuff and stuck to savoury foods instead which caused me no problems. I always used to make a great effort of cleaning my teeth and jamming the toothbrush bristles down the hole to clear any food out.:p This has worked fairly well for me for the past 12 months or so but now I'm getting some real pains, especially on a night time, and I need to get something done about it. The pain doesn't seem to be from the tooth itself, more of a numb pain from the gum underneath it, so I'm worried that some trapped food in the hole has caused a gum infection .

Where this whole story is leading is do I have any case with my original dentist who fitted the filling? I was only a kid at the time but do fillings come with some king of x years guarantee? For reasons that I would rather not disclose in public I will have to have the work done privately and the cost to fix this does of course concern me. Can I use the argument with the dentist that he did the work originally and it's now broken so it's up to you to fix it either for free :rotfl: or at a reduced rate, or is the likely response to that going to see me quickly laughed out of the door?

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments/suggestions/recommendations etc.

System

Not a hope

Your problems stem from part of your tooth breaking away 12 year after the filling and then you failing to take a sensible course and visiting a dentist at that point.


BTW you are a day late for April Fool

maysmummy

!!!!!! wrote: »

Not a hope

Your problems stem from part of your tooth breaking away 12 year after the filling and then you failing to take a sensible course and visiting a dentist at that point.


BTW you are a day late for April Fool

I agree.
But as a point of information, the NHS would not normally charge for a repair or replacement within 3 months of the original work being done.

boliston

I can't believe someone would have a filling come out and not go have it replaced unless they were a masochist who enjoyed tooth ache.

McKneff

Are you for real !!!!!!

janthemum

This has to be a wind up surely?

Toothsmith

12 Years???? With NO MAINTENANCE SINCE????????????? Dentist should get an AWARD!!!!!!!!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Can you name me ONE other thing you could take back to the manufacturer after 12 years of abuse and claim THEY were somehow to blame??????

boliston

Toothsmith wrote: »

12 Years???? With NO MAINTENANCE SINCE????????????? Dentist should get an AWARD!!!!!!!!.....

I went from 1989 to 2009 without seeing the dentist, with the reason for my visit being that I split a bottom molar in half after biting on a whole grain in some bread. (The tooth had to come out).

Apart from that the only other work required was a small filling in a top rear molar.

I've never been keen on sweets or sweet drinks which I imagine the damage caused by these gives dentists quite a lot of work.

Snooze

:rotfl:

"are you for real?"

"this has to be a wind up surely?"

Hey, those are usually my lines! Sadly, the story is in fact true and you may have noticed I did insert a :rotfl: after asking if I may get the work done for free. I didn't really hold out much (any) hope to be honest, but it was worth a shot.

Serious question - how long is a filling generally 'guaranteed' for? I've read some horror stories where people have them fall out after a few months and have to pay again to get them replaced. :eek: Is that fairly common and I have been very lucky with mine lasting as long as it did? I wonder if my filling would still be good now if it hadn't been for part of the tooth breaking away.

boliston

Snooze wrote: »

...... Is that fairly common and I have been very lucky with mine lasting as long as it did? I wonder if my filling would still be good now if it hadn't been for part of the tooth breaking away.

I have about 4 teeth with fillings and 3 of those fillings are between 20 and 30 years old. They are all traditional "amalgam" fillings, but I'm not sure how long the white "composite" fillings last for - I suspect not so long!

McKneff

Snooze wrote: »

:rotfl:

"are you for real?"

"this has to be a wind up surely?"

Hey, those are usually my lines! Sadly, the story is in fact true and you may have noticed I did insert a :rotfl: after asking if I may get the work done for free. I didn't really hold out much (any) hope to be honest, but it was worth a shot.

Serious question - how long is a filling generally 'guaranteed' for? I've read some horror stories where people have them fall out after a few months and have to pay again to get them replaced. :eek: Is that fairly common and I have been very lucky with mine lasting as long as it did? I wonder if my filling would still be good now if it hadn't been for part of the tooth breaking away.

You have been very lucky, its easy to just let things go on and on without seeing a dentist as long as you dont have any pain it just doesnt spring to mind. Visiting a dentist for preventative treatment is important for your general health.

Im surprised Toothsmith didnt have you by the bls, sorry scruff of the neck - no offence intended.
He's a very respected Dentist of here (Coo ee Mr T :A):wave:)
Get yersel to the dentist, its so painless these days, are you afraid, no, then just do it, if that a yes, get on with it you big girls blouse................:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
I have to have 4 and a half out next month (no decay, long story) and a new denture so look after them now and they will look after you in your later years. ..................