Question for the dentists on here over liability

Snooze

McKneff wrote: »

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. ..................

Yes I do very much regret not keeping up my 6 monthlys when I was younger but when you're that age and there's more important things to be doing like boozing and shagging then missing a check-up doesn't seem like a big deal.

It's not the pain I'm particularly worried about it, it's the cost. I'm obviously no dentist but from the big hole I have in my tooth and the pain seemingly coming from the gum underneath it, then it would seem to me that I could be looking at root canal work to clear the crap out/kill the infection, then fill it up and then sort the tooth out - that is if the tooth can even be saved. :eek:

:(:(

boliston

Snooze wrote: »

...
It's not the pain I'm particularly worried about it, it's the cost. I'm obviously no dentist but from the big hole I have in my tooth and the pain seemingly coming from the gum underneath it...

I'm wondering if the tooth got cracked when you said a bit broke off it. I cracked my tooth about 2 years before it started to get painful. The gum got pretty swollen in the last week before I actually had it removed. Luckily being a back tooth the gap is not really at all noticeable.

Sucker_for_sweeties

maysmummy wrote: »

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.

I've obviously been lucky...my veneer was guaranteed by my NHS Dentist for 5 years, and when they replaced it when it pinged off...that was guaranteed for 5 years too (8 and counting...).

I had a chrome cobalt denture about 18 years ago, and my dentist has just arranged a repair/maintenenace job on it for free.

Sucker_for_sweeties

Toothsmith wrote: »

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??????

I agree...the dentist who saw me after I'd gone into hiding after a bad mauling for 8 years was a miracle worker (and not just because he introdused me to intravenous valium). To this day I am really grateful. My first chrome cobalt denture...(after 8 years of top platey thing when front teeth kicked out during hockey match:eek: as teenager - and therefore having fillings in side teeth....followed by removal eventually, for 3 of them:()

Now I have had no real bother for all these years, and although I've sadky had to cahnge dentist, I still have a great service with regular checkups....that I actually keep.

I've recently had a filling repaired ....without even a jab.....I'm never ignoring my teeth again.

welshdent

Snooze wrote: »

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.

No you cant .... and this is a case of self negligence.
If you went to see someone 5 years ago the likelyhood is you wouldnt have had any problems now. All dental work fails at some point. .... unless you die before it does. (Thats something worth bearing in mind when considering full mouth cosmetic work by the way ... are you prepared to have it all replaced a few years down the line ... for another payment by you. )

I suspect the best you could hope for approaching a dentist with such a request is a raised eyebrow