dental advice

honey06

unfortunately i broke a tooth at the weekend, and have just come back from the dentist in a bot of shock
the filling was an old one which must have been loose, hence the tooth not being supported and cracking, so now i need a root filling and crown.... as the estimate is £984!! :eek::eek::eek:

half is for the crown, and the rest for the "private" specialist doing the root filling.


so my question for the dentists on here is this.. this is an upper right tooth (the fourth one from the front) and i had a tooth behing it removed 3 years ago. At the time i had a quote from my dentist for an implant but couldnt afford it.
is it an option to have this tooth removed and an implant placed which could support 2 crowns??? would this be a more cost effective option or at least solve 2 issues at once???

welshdent

If you are being treated privately then the quoted price does seem about right. You could expect £500 ish for a specialist to do the job. Crowns would start from a lower end of around £300 ish and go upwards depending on your dentists pricing.

Re implants. It is difficult to advise fully as we are not able to see you and your mouth let alone radiographs and scans. In principle it is possible to have 2 crowns supported on one implant. You would need to speak to the implantologist however.

As for it being a better long term option. I guess it would depend on many factors. One - what is the state of your existing tooth. Is it likely to be strong enough to convincingly support a crown. Are there any cracks in the tooth? How amenable to root canal therapy IS the tooth. Does the anatomy complicate or prevent it? Is there enough tooth left above the gum line to be able to restore the crown.

two - is it a feasible treatment plan for the implants? Is there enough bone?

Implants do generally have good success rates but then so does a well done root filling and crown. I would say though that we can not replicate a material as good as enamel and dentine. The likelyhood is that one day that root filling and crown WILL fail. Its these longevity issues you will need to consider when making your decision. I would ask for an assessment of your situation for an implant solution. From there discuss the 2 options with your dentist

honey06

thanks for the advice welshdent, I do appreciate it must be difficult for the dentists on here to try ad provide support/advice via an online forum

Unfortunately I'm one of those who has had bad experiences at the dentist in the past and am now scared
my current dentist prised out the loose bit of filling and said there wasnt enough tooth left above the gumline to support a filling ( hnece the crown) roughly speaking there is a peg of the outside and a larger one on the inside.
i have no idea about some of your questions :(

i have had a free consultation with an implantologist, and I must say he inspired confidence he did a whole mouth/head low radiation digital xrays (never had those before)
he was quite forthright, which I liked, and said the crown was the right option for the tooth I have broken (not enough left to fill) and he absolutely would NOT consider removing it unnecessarily as per my idea above
a simple implant for my missing tooth is quite simple, straightforward and a fraction of the quote provided by my own dental practice
He gave me good advice on care of my teeth (sonicare toothbrush, floss/dental brushes and retardex once a day min) and that i must be committed to proper dental care and less choccy/sweetie scoffing (am a shameful chocoholic!!:eek::eek:) by sticking to a one day binge if i need to satisfy my cravings then being good the rest of the week.


sooo, I do feel empowered rather than ashamed and guilty/cross at myself the way i normally do after visiting a dentist....
I'm definitely getting the implant done :cool::cool:

my question now is that I dont feel the same confidence in my current dentist, so I think it may be a good idea to start looking elsewhere?. I believe the crown will need doing (havent a clue about the type of material used and which should be preferable??) but I'm not convinced the root canal is necessary at this point.

I'm in the north west (Hale) and would welcome any recommendations of dentists.

back to the broken tooth--- what is the best way for me to ascertain the answeres to your questions welshdent? are there any further questions/ info I should be asking about the crown - what is the best material for something like this?

brook2jack

From the sound of It I would be amazed if the tooth didn't need rootfilling , dead teeth don't always cause pain.

As to materials etc this is best discussed with your dentist who will best advise along with long term prognosis for the tooth etc.

You will need this tooth sorting before the implant though.

honey06

just a quick update.
i have seen 2 more dentists, each has suggested they could fill this tooth, and recommended a conservative approach.

I like one of the practices and have decided to go ahead with them, and seen the hygenist this morning for a scale and polish, then am getting this tooth filled at the end of the week plus another one, which both pointed out needed looking at fairly soon as there is decay underneath the filling. I feel less scared thanks to the support and advice of the dentists on here, especilly welshdent :D
fingers crossed i feel the same on the day!!!

honey06

another update.

the broken tooth was filled yesterday by my new dentist and I survived ok lol :j:j:T

it took quite a while for him to build the filling up, and he worked slowly at first to help with my fears- i was shaking like a leaf most of the time, silly me
He sis say he was quite close to the nerve and that it might be sensitve for a day or two, but its fine this morning and it looks fab!!
I'm back next week for my other filling.

thanks again guys, especially welshdent, your support and advice has really helped me!!

I'm so pleased i faced my fears, but mostly that i have a good private dentist :T:T:T
after my initial post on this thread, I spent quite a while reading through dental posts on here by welshdent, toothsmith, brookjack et al
and am very impressed by your knowledge, passion for your work and willingness to spend time advising us :T
so many of us grew up thinking that NHS dental treatment is what we should all aspire to and how unfair it isnt available to all without realising the restrictions and issues it brings with limited time and resources. Whats more important is the best possible care for problems and helping to keep teeth intact in the first place.
we only get the one set of teeth, and I'm just sorry my poor gnashers have taken a bashing the last few years, but not any more!

Pink*Kitchen*Lady

That's great news honey06! I went to the dentist this past thurs and was really feaking out, even thought I knew it would be ok (it was ) I think it pays to always get a 2nd, 3rd sometimes more opinion on stuff like this. They call them 'practices' for a reason. Dentist did say you have to be a bit more careful with fillings then you would with your own teeth. Stay away from the toffees and dont brush for an hour after you eat