Old crowns and bridges

beedeedee

I've had a lot of work done to my teeth over the years and the result is that now I have no real teeth of my own left, but only 9 crowns, a "bridge" of 3 and partial dentures top and bottom to fill the gaps. The bridge is well over 20 years old and some crowns are 40 yrs old (I had the first 4 when I was 18). They've all been done on the NHS. Gradually, my gums are shrinking and some crowns have either fallen out (hence the dentures) or now have horrible black bits showing on the gum line. I have seen dentists privately in the past but at present am registered with an NHS dentist and I just go for check ups. I would really like to have the crowns and bridge taken off now (before they all fall out anyway - the bridge is already wobbly) but the NHS dentist will not hear of it. (He has recently arrived from Cyprus if that matters)? Would I have to be referred to a hospital to get the crown posts extracted and what would be my best way to proceed?
Thanks for any input.

Mark2spark

I think the crux is that you are asking for something to be done which is a personal preference, - the NHS won't do any work like that. Maintaining of oral hygene is all it does.
So to get them removed and go for - I assume - denture all over you'll have to go private.

beedeedee

OK I can see that - even though all the crowns and bridges were done through the NHS originally. What will happen if the bridge now falls out? Will the NHS extract the posts for me?
I'm quite happy to pay privately to add 3 teeth to the upper denture.

welshdent

I would only recommend extracting teeth that have "failed" i.e. NEED it. The wobbly bridge should probably be investigated more but as for the black bits ... well thats probably the metal of the crown showing up. The porcelain is bonded on to a metal substructure and over time as the gums receed a bit the metal shows. Most of us will do what is clinically necessary to secure dental health. IF the crowns are otherwise healthy there would be no indication to extract (private or otherwise) especially if would be for ultimately cosmetic reasons.

Worth remembering though ... the "NHS" doesnt do anything when it comes do dentistry. I dont mean that flippantly. What I mean is that the dentist agrees to see you according to NHS terms on an individual basis and the NHS buys that service from them. There is no "central" nhs as there is with medicine. As a result the dentist would examine and then advise on a dentist by dentist basis with no central involvement

beedeedee

So if the crowns are all getting loose & falling out - what could I reasonably expect an NHS dentist to do? Is that not considered "failing" ?.....I'm left with just metal posts in the gums in a couple of places.

Is there anything I, or any dentist can do to disguise the metal substructure especially on the front visible crowns? Thinking Tippex or similar....!

welshdent

depends on what is causing the looseness to be honest. If they are loose bodily i.e. the whole tooth is loose than it is wise to have the health of you gums assessed. Loose teeth can be a sign of gum disease. If its loose because the cement is breaking then you can probably have it stuck back on. If there is a post inside the tooth then this may have become loose or you may have a broken root. It isnt really a case of "what an NHS dentist" can do for you. Its a case of determining the diagnosis of your condition properly then advising accordingly. The only way I know of to hide the black bits is to change the crown. This would be deemed a cosmetic request if the crown was otherwise healthy by a dentist seeing you under the NHS regulations. Thats not to say they wont change them privately if you wanted this done ... that is assuming ... there is nothing else wrong with the crown.

I think the important thing for you is to get a proper diagnosis of what is wrong with your teeth