Dental Question. Urgent advise needed.HELP

wannaberich41

Hi
My husband (who is a dental phobic like me) visited a NHS dentist yesterday. The only way he could get an appoinment was to have a check up first (only just registered there). He went for his check up but had a really bad tooth ache. The dentist asked him to go back today and they would remove the tooth and do a filling on another tooth at the same time. He also wanted him to book in for a hygenist appointment as well. This dentist wanted to be paid up front for the treatment £80.60 for all of the above.(not sure if this is normal practice now?) Anyway, he went and had the filling today and the tooth removed. My husband thought the dentist was going to brake his jaw as he was pushing and pulling on the tooth that much, then the pliar things slipped and jabbed in his cheek. But he didnt manage to get all of the tooth as it snapped. He said to my husband if he gets any more trouble to go back and he will refer him to hospital to have the rest of it cut out. Surely he shouldnt have left half the tooth (root and small bit poking out of gum)? Is this poor dentistry? Do we complain? He paid for tooth removal and he hasnt got all of it, so surely we owed some money back? Will it get infected? My husband said that the young dental nurse who standing beside had to walk round the back as to not to see it he felt. The dentist seems disorganised as the young nurse had to leave the room on 2 or 3 occasions to get more equipment. Also when you have a filling must your tooth be drilled first or can a little bit of a scrape the put the filling in ok?After he came out i then had to pay another £6 for some strong pain killers. So in 2 days ive spent £86.60.
He has not even visited the hygenist yet, that's in December.


I am really after advise her for my husband, as i am worried. Or a no to call with my concerns.
Thank you in advance

adelight

I would try to see a different dentist. You may have to pay again or not get the money back, but it's worth it to get the tooth sorted out.
Get your OH to have regular check ups!!

whatatwit

£45.60 is the NHS charge for band 2 treatments...fillings extractions etc.

So, it sounds as though your husband has paid this and then an additional amount for the hygienist.
There have been many debates as to if the hygienist should be classed as a private treatment or included in the NHS part.

Seeing the hygienist may help your husband with his phobia though.

Whilst the extraction does not sound pleasant, he will probably find that tiny bits of tooth will slowly work their way out to the surface as the gum heals.

If he does have any problems, then get him to go back as soon as possible, rather than waiting until he is in agony or has an infection.

Toothsmith

Very hard to say just from the description.

If there's one thing harder to treat than a dental phobic, it's a dental phobic in pain!

If you have a tense patient with a bad tooth that's so broke down that every time you get some purchase on it, anoher bit breaks off then it's not good for the stress levels of either dentist or patient.

The nurse wouldn't be 'trying to avoid looking at it' - Believe me, she'll have seen worse!

Sometimes, it's better just to leave things as they are, and let the tooth grow out a bit, and try again on another day. It is possible it might give trouble, but more often they don't. It would certainly be easier to try again on a different day, or refer to the oral surgeons at hospital.

It's often a repeating pattern with phobics, that they don't go until things get really bad. The fact things are so bad makes sorting things out really difficult, and there can sometimes be bad experiences. These bad experiences just confirm the phobics fears, and so they don't go again until another really bad thing happens.

It's important for you husband to keep up the momentum now, and go back for his hygienist appointment.

I'm sure things will only get better, and once sorted it will be much easier to keep on top of.

welshdent

Leaving a bit of broken tooth in isnt bad dentistry, often its the sensible thing to do. Also you wouldnt be entitled to any money back. The NHS band 2 charge is not a charge for the item of treatment its for a COURSE of treatment. Even though all the tooth was not removed the placement of a filling alone indicates a band 2 charge. Re the nurse going in and out. I know from my own experiences that you do the same steps everytime. sometimes things do not go as planned i.e. teeth break and you need to be more creative in removing them. The creativity often/usually necessitates additional equipment that you would not normally have got out and therefore you need to get them... rather your nurse does. Sometimes if the patient is finding it difficult its better to traumatise them less by fishing around for pieces than just accepting they are there. In 5 years I have had only one patient who had a piece of root left after an extraction that needed to get it removed. I take a LOT of teeth out and I am sure ALL the dentists here have had broken roots here and there.

Overall I would just echo toothsmiths sentiments. Treating dental phobics is very difficult due to tollerance. Last week I managed to removed a 4 unit bridge (for the dentists ... double abutment UL56, abutment UL3 and pontic UL4). Re core one tooth, extract another and fit another albeit temporary bridge on one patient. They were fantastic and it was a breeze because they just lay there with their mouth open. My very next patient was no utterly nervous it took me 40 minutes to do a small filling on a front tooth.

I can guarantee you that the second patient would report back to friends and family how traumatic they found it all whereas the first patient rang the next day to say how delighted they were by everything

Katie-Kat-Kins

I would really strongly suggest that you and your OH look for your nearest Fear Of Dentists (FOD) group. They could really help you with your phobia so that you don't leave it so late for treatment next time and also help you find a dentist that is sympathetic and aware of the issues of serious phobics.

They are out there and they use all kinds of techniques including self hypnosis to work with phobic patients. Going regularly and having good experiences is really important for dealing with the phobia.

I can't comment on the standard of treatment as I'm not a dentist, but I'm a very chilled dental patient having had lots of orthodontic treatment in the past but in the last ten years have had experiences with NHS dentists that have made me doubt their skills and their integrity. I have come to the conclusion that you only have one set of teeth and they are pretty important for your well being so it is worth spending a bit of money on them. Therefore I go private. It isn't THAT expensive (and if I need expensive treatment that is precisely what my credit card is for) and soooo worth paying for.

When I go private I can quickly get an appointment which isn't rushed, in nice surroundings with clean, smart professional staff, a dentist who speaks English, and inspires confidence. Money well spent in my book. It is only every six months and if you don't get free NHS check ups probably less than £20 more than an NHS check up. Being money saving isn't necessarily about getting the cheapest, your health is not the best place to start economising.


**** Not saying all NHS dentists are bad, I'm well aware there are good ones out there - but try getting a place on their books!!!!

welshdent

" Being money saving isn't necessarily about getting the cheapest, your health is not the best place to start economising"

Sums things up nicely!

november

I'm dental phobic too so he has my sympathy.

Coincidentally I also had a tooth out yesterday that broke during extraction.

I did have a dentist several years ago (private) on recommendation from a friend when I was in pain from an abscess. Unfortunately just as I had built up a trust in her the dentist surgery closed

So this time I had to search again and there aren't actually that many dentists in our immediate area. I went for a private dentist again and was lucky to find a local one whose receptionist was lovely and obviously had time to talk to me on the phone about my fears. This was in direct contrast to a couple of others who I phoned who mostly said 'we may have private available but are too busy to deal with a phobic patient'.

The dentist I saw was very good. He told me to raise my hand if I wanted him to stop and advised taking in some music and headphones. He told me when to close my eyes (I'm badly needle phobic - can't even stand to see them!) and kept all the 'tools of the trade' out of the range of my eyes when they were open. I had numbing gel so I didn't feel the needle and was very numb during the extraction! I did feel a pulling sensation which wasn't very nice. I don't think it was the dentists fault the tooth snapped - it was mostly holes. He did tell me after he had to dig out the bits which he did as I had an infection there. I didn't feel that bit at all although I guessed what was going on.

Being money saving isn't necessarily about getting the cheapest, your health is not the best place to start economising.

Agree totally as I think for the care I got at my dentist it was an absolute bargain. He said I did much better than expected and I liked the fact he obviously listened to the things that make an appointment easier for me and incorporated them into the appointment.

I would say if your husband doesn't trust the dentist he saw then if possible shop around for another one. Check out the surgery and try to get a 'feel' for the place. Have a check up, explain his fears and see if they seem sympathetic. Tell the dentist what helps him e.g. not talking about what is going on/talking about what is going on/whichever you prefer. There may not be anything wrong with the treatment but if he didn't comfortable (or as comfortable as possible for a phobic at the dentist!) that will only make his phobia worse should he ever need any treatment again.

I did find it traumatic and I had flash back nightmares the night after - I'm a dental phobic so that's to be expected. However I did manage to have the treatment and I will tell everyone that I was delighted with the dentist!

I need to see the hygienist as well and although I'll be nervous again as its a different person I trust the surgery itself now a bit. Small start but this time I'm aiming to keep the ball rolling. Actually for me that's priceless ... although I'm glad his fees were affordable :rotfl:

charlies-aunt

Ouch! I feel for you

I really dislike having dental work done too...so I force myself to go every six months - I can just about cope with minor filings, cleaning and scraping although I have eyes tight shut and grip the chair arms in a vice-like grip. Its not nice but it helps avoid the big nasties like extractions and brain rotting toothache.

I have vivid memories of my dentist taking 45 minutes trying to remove an impacted wisdom tooth and ended up with his knee on my chest to get the necessary leverage -there was a feeling of intense pressure & a lot of cracking and creaking but no actual pain.

My dentist is NHS and he's Eastern European and the tiny waiting room has 1980's decor - - - but appearances are deceptive as he is a brilliant dentist, the dental surgey equipment is state of the art & standard of care is faultless

scotsbob

Conscious sedation is the way to go. Get a shot of Hypnoval next time and your man won't know what's going on and won't be afraid to go back again.

brook2jack

The problem with IV sedation is on the NHS you have to be referred for it and there are waiting lists, months in most places. This is a bad enough problem when you keep regular appointments, but the problem is if you attend only when you have toothache then sedation is not an option. It's another reason to make an appointment before you have pain.

Privately not all dentists offer sedation but a rule of thumb is costs are £100 ish for sedation on top of private cost of treatment. In this case if you are medically fit and suitable then appointments can often be arranged in a few days.