Getting a filling

mippy

I am flim-flamming over something and need A Third Opinion.

I need a crown putting in and two fillings – if I can relax enough to let them operate on me. I have two choices:

- Get the lot done on the NHS, max cost £200. I can do this this month,as I set this aside prior to getting seen...but the problem is that they’ll all be metal fillings. Cosmetically not so pretty, and I am led to believe that the white ones are better – I have a white one in my root canal and am happy with it.
- Get them done privately, white fillings/crown. This comes at a cost of £95 per filling, plus £600 for the crown (I can pay this in two instalments but even then it’s a huge amount of money to leave my account in a month).

I need to get them done, so I need to have a think. What would you do? The best option financially is to get the NHS stuff done, but I wonder whether, being as it’s my health, it’s worth going for the more expensive option. The dentist said that the white crown is more durable, and I know NHS dentistry can be the cheaper option as the costs need to be kept low. Any advice?

PS I am not eligible for their finance.

Jennifer_Jane

mippy - for me it would be the private option. The white crown etc vs amalgam. You have your teeth for an awful long time and I think they should be treated with as much respect as you can afford.

Hope that helps.

welshdent

Choice has to be yours. regards white fillings being better ... define better. They both have pros and cons. Too many to weigh up here and now. I couldnt comment on if a white crown would be more durable mainly because there are lots of different white crowns out there. Some are all porcelain, some porcelain bonded to metal, some all pressed ceramic, some milled ceramic. You can almost guarantee that an NHS crown would be the absolute cheapest though. Lab charges for a standard NHS metal crown would start around £30 to about £50. A white private crown would be a LOT more than that.

Mayflower10cat

Eleven years ago I had my 4 amalgum fillings replaced with white composite by an NHS dentist as a private patient. He did warn me that they aren't as durable as amalgum and some patients find they need replacing in as little as 5 years, but I was obviously very lucky as I still have two of the originals intact. Four years ago I broke off a large chunk of molar surrounding one of the fillings and needed to have it crowned as there wasn't enough tooth left to fill! I don't know how much dental charges have increased in four years but my porcelain crown cost £300. Again, this was at an NHS dentist who treated me as a private patient. I also had to have one other composite filling replaced, and this cost me £40. I mention this as the quote you've been given of £600 for a crown made me gasp. Maybe I've just been very lucky in finding 'affordable' private dentists.

I'm very glad I went for white fillings & a white crown - they look great when you laugh! And as a very silly fringe benefit - if you accidentally chomp on foil or clank your fork against your filled tooth it doesn't give you that horrible, almost electric, shock and nasty taste.

welshdent

Mayflower10cat wrote: »

I don't know how much dental charges have increased in four years but my porcelain crown cost £300. Again, this was at an NHS dentist who treated me as a private patient. I also had to have one other composite filling replaced, and this cost me £40. I mention this as the quote you've been given of £600 for a crown made me gasp. Maybe I've just been very lucky in finding 'affordable' private dentists.

It isnt really as simple as that to be honest. A porcelain bonded to metal crown can be that sort of price however some crowns are all ceramic and often have to be sent to places like sweeden to have some of the work down. As a result of this the charge to the dentist for the work can be quite high. I have seen some charges to the dentist of around £200 for a crown. The trade off is these crowns are highly aesthetic and extremely strong - however I would say £600 for one of those crown would be on the low end. We dont know the material offered and as such we can not speculate if they are good value or not.

Blissful1980

I had two white crowns fitted about 12years ago! Unfortunately they have both chipped and are quite irritating as well as being unsightly. Am I entitled to get my teeth re-crowned on the NHS? My dentist hasn't made any offers but I have also not expressed my concerns. They appear to be getting worse though. Many thanks.

Toothsmith

If the chipping of the crown is a problem to the health of your teeth, then they should be replaced on the NHS - but the dentist should have mentioned it and advised replacement.

If the chips are just a cosmetic issue, then there is no reason for them to be replaced on the NHS. Again, if it were a major cosmetic issue, then maybe the dentist should have asked you if it was a problem.

The fact that he's not mentioned it to you makes me think it's probably only a minor cosmetic issue - and if this is the case then you should probably think hard about whether it's worth attacking an otherwise good tooth/crown with a drill for only a small cosmetic gain.