Need help re Dental Problems

SueTheBlue

Hi...hope someone here can help me.

I went to the dentist last week for a check up and after doing some X rays he said two of my upper right back teeth are decaying inbetween them, and will have to be removed. He said that it may be possible for a specialist to save the teeth, but at a cost of about £1200 for the two. He didn't really explain what the specialist would do, whether or not it would be a bridge or a crown...to be honest I'm not too happy with the fact I could be losing the teeth, and was wondering if its possible to see a private dentist, just to get a second opinion on this. Is it possible to go to a private dentist as a one off, and then return to my NHS dentist for removal of the teeth if the private dentist agrees with him?

Any help gladly appreciated

Sue

welshdent

You can see who you like sue. Some dentists may not like being played off against one and other but you dont really need to tell them specifically.

It does sound like you were not able to have the fullest of explanations. Reading between the lines I suspect the nerve has become exposed and they are offering to send you to a specialist endodontist. They do root fillings. Thats said I dont know for sure as I cant see you. Incidentally that specialist would be private anyway and experts in "does that tooth need to come out or not" anyway. The second opinion can come from them quite easily. I should imagine you would have been referred for an opinion and if you didnt want the treatment you would have gone back for the extraction anyway

welshdent

if you see the person you are referred to you woudl also have the advantage that the referring dentist can give a much clearer picture of what is the problem they have seen

SueTheBlue

Thanks for the advice...think I will most probably go back to the dentist and ask him to refer me, like you said the specialist will determine whether or not the teeth need to be removed or can be saved. I guess I don't want to lose the teeth (who does?) as 2 years ago I had a right hand lower molar tooth removed, so already have a gap If I did have the teeth removed would it be OK to just leave them, or would a partial denture/bridge be an option?

welshdent

I cant really advise on that sorry as I can not see what arrangement of teeth you have and would end up with. To have a bridge you would need a tooth either side of the gap though (for a molar area). No one would force you to have the spaces filled though if you didnt want to. Its unlikely you would get such a bridge provided as an NHS treatment though

brook2jack

Before you even think of spending so much on saving these teeth you need to think what changes are you willing to make to hold onto them. With one extraction and two other badly decayed teeth in the space of two years there are obviously problems with your diet and possibly cleaning regime. If this doesn't change even if these teeth are rootfilled and crowned they can still get more decay around them and you may find that you lose them anyway in a few years.

The way not to loose any teeth is not through the dentists efforts but fundamental changes in diet and cleaning and your own efforts. If you can't see yourself making those changes then perhaps you would be better off not considering saving these teeth and certainly not having work such as bridges which requires meticulous cleaning and good diet to keep healthy.

SueTheBlue

Update:

Whilst eating breakfast this morning part of one of the teeth that I "may" need to have removed fell off...so it looks like its back to the dentist and on with the removal of the teeth after all...sigh....:o