Cost of tooth extraction?

Toothsmith

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I've drawn a line

If you were in my chair Sofa, with a good range of X-rays in front of me then I might just be able to have a decent stab at what to do next.

That guess would be based on what seemed to work for other patients in similar circumstances. The longer I practice, the better my guesses get but I still have things that go 'T*ts up' every now and again .

As I've never worked on your mouth though, I really could not have any idea exactly what would work and what wouldn't.

This is the problem people encounter when they change dentists a lot (Either through choice or necessity).

Every new dentist is starting from scratch, even if he has access to his predecessors notes. He may do 'the same' treatment in a different way and so something that didn't work for the previous dentist might do for him, and vice versa.

My best advice must always be to find a dentist you're happy with. (Friends & neighbours recommendations are best) Do your best to check they will be at the practice for the long term. (How long have they been there, do they have a financial share of the practice, how close to retirement are they, do they charge enough to make the practice sustainable, etc) and then take their advice and stick with them!

Unfortunately this may not be the cheapest option in financial terms, but it will save you time, grief, teeth and ultimately money in the long term.

Hope this helps.

Sofa_Sogood

Hi Toothsmith,

I've avoided this post like I avoid the dentists check ups - sorry

Why are you lot so scary? lol ... Even in a forum

I think my best bet would be to bite the bullet (and hope I don't break another tooth ) and just go with the same dentist my husband uses.

But the thought of going with my tooth missing at the top (because I took the wire bridge out when I had 'flu and a sore throat) and now my bottom tooth (because I pulled my own tooth out when I broke it and the wire thing no longer fits) is just sooo embarrassing.

It's no good is it? I'll have to go and make some excuse up - like the dog ate them

I could tell you some bad experiences with dentists, but that might scare other people lol, but the best one I had upped sticks and left. She was great - newly qualified and even said that yet another broken tooth (that I still have but at the back) might as well be left until it bothered me. Might not be the best advice but it suited me.

I'll make an appointment with hubbys dentist. He might be expensive, but I know he's good.

Thanks again!

From Gappy

P.S. Do many people blame the dog?

Toothsmith

Good Luck - It's for the best really :T

Just remember, no matter how bad you think your mouth is, he'll have seen worse, and he'll probably have seen worse that day!

We don't look at 'bad' mouths in the way you think we do. It's not really to do with how bad it is, but the best way to put it right.

Dogs do get blamed for a lot of dental mishaps, as well as school homework mishaps, and funny smells in the lounge when Great Aunt Maude comes to visit :rotfl:

They really do seem to love having a chew at dentures for some reason

All the best!

Sofa_Sogood

Toothsmith wrote:

Good Luck - It's for the best really :T

Just remember, no matter how bad you think your mouth is, he'll have seen worse, and he'll probably have seen worse that day!

We don't look at 'bad' mouths in the way you think we do. It's not really to do with how bad it is, but the best way to put it right.

Dogs do get blamed for a lot of dental mishaps, as well as school homework mishaps, and funny smells in the lounge when Great Aunt Maude comes to visit :rotfl:

They really do seem to love having a chew at dentures for some reason

All the best!

I make it sound like I've got 'Summer teeth' - 'some are there and some aren't'

It's only two teeth after all but I'm such a scaredy cat and I'm ok when I actually get there ..... it's building up the courage. Doesn't help that I get in a tizz just being out

Thanks Toothsmith, it's not an option I have anymore I don't think. Since I pulled my own tooth out (mentioned in another thread I think) it doesn't seem to be healing up

But I will make the appointment no matter what it costs and I think the dog's getting the blame.

(P.S. And this is slightly off topic, but do you or any of your colleagues ever watch Emmerdale? I'm only asking because husband and I keep having the same argument about Nicola Blackstock/Nicola Webster. Are her teeth undergoing treatment? I say she is - other half says she just has awful teeth Sorry to go off topic, but it drives us both nuts when we watch it )

Off to find some courage from somewhere.

Thanks again

rharper83

Sofa: I think it looks like orthodontics (is that the right word??) or fixed braces that she's wearing, and because the TV is quite hard to see details on, you can't really tell...

I've been reading this thread tonight, and it's quite interesting. I'm in the middle of a dentistry mess and just getting re-registered with an NHS dentist. About 2 years ago I had really bad toothache in a tooth, and had to go see a dentist (I'm scared witless by them, and hadn't been for.... well a while shall we say! ), and it turned out I had an abcess, so I was given anti-biotics, and had other work doing (which needed doing). I also visited 4 different dentists in the course of a week, all trying to sort this, and the one at my uni was VERY patronising, and that just put me off them even further. Having finaly settled on a dentist, and had some work done, she told me she was leaving and going back to her home town! I was told to make another appointment, but as their computers were down, I'd have to call back the following day. I kinda 'forgot' and they never called me, and 16 months later (just over the 15 month limit!!!!) I had toothache again - 2 weeks ago, and they said I couldn't be registered again as they weren't taking on NHS patients but they did treat me in the emergency on good friday too!

This thread has helped me to realise the amount of work the dentists have to do, and that there are differences between private and NHS work (unfortunately). As I'm a student, is there any way of getting private treatment cheaper if I'm not able to get NHS registered?

Thanks! Richard.

Teerah

I think private charges are fixed richard, dont think there are any discounts for any groups

Sofa_Sogood

rharper83 I'm relatively new myself but hi and welcome.

At least it's not just me and the other half that watch Emmerdale then? Thanks for that

I had an abcess which is how I lost one of those darned teeth that needed a false one, but not until I'd had treatment for about 6 months with one dentist.

He discharged me saying that it was fine, when it clearly wasn't - so the same week, (could have been the same day - I forget), I was ferried to another dentist, looked at and x-rayed etc. It was at the time when people had a 'choice', but nearly as soon as she looked at it she offered me hours spent in her dentist's chair, or hospital - which we both agreed was the best option. It failed, the abcess reappeared (which only showed up thanks to an X-ray and a suspicion by me) but I was the first patient my dentist knew of where it failed, and one of a few that the hospital knew of too.

So I had the option of going back into hospital for the same op, or an extraction. After so long I opted for the extraction.

BUT - I miss my tooth and maybe I might have chosen differently if I'd known how uncomfortable a false tooth can be.

As I'm not a dentist, just a patient, albeit a lapsed one like yourself I'll leave it to the experts from now on. But good luck (and get it seen to .... pronto!)



P.S. Your doctor can help with part of the fear via a small sedative, but don't be in pain or discomfort, get it looked at as soon as possible.

I should take my own advice shouldn't I?

As I said though - good luck. Not all dentists are scary - honest! And Toothsmith's great in my opinion

Sofa_Sogood

rharper83 wrote:

I also visited 4 different dentists in the course of a week, all trying to sort this, and the one at my uni was VERY patronising, and that just put me off them even further.

Just another afterthought.

You should never have the feeling of being 'patronised' by anyone offering a service. Or anyone at all. Even dentists. Find a good one, stick with them, and just hope that they don't disappear

Now I'm going to practise what I'm preaching. I'm going to get mine sorted as soon as possible.

Get yours looked at too. The dentists that post on here will help in some way I'm sure.

Take care.

hunky-dory_2

:mad: New guidelines brought out April 2008 say that for anyone with heart conditions DO NOT not now need penicillin cover for tooth extractions or any invasive dental treatment. I consulted two independent dentists who both told me the same info . I had an extraction yesterday without penicillin cover despite extensive inflammation and was very uneasy about it and trawled the internet to now find out that 70% of Cardiologists NOW DISAGREE with the findings and want to continue with the penicillin treatment. I contacted my own GP who IMMEDIATELY prescribed antibiotics for me. I had endocarditis resulting in a defect in a heart valve. THIS I can categorically relate to a blundered delivery many years ago. I should at least have been consulted to how I felt about it all.
Anyone on the forum with the same condition please consult your GP before embarking on any dental treatment.

Toothsmith

hunky-dory wrote: »

:mad: New guidelines brought out April 2008 say that for anyone with heart conditions DO NOT not now need penicillin cover for tooth extractions or any invasive dental treatment. I consulted two independent dentists who both told me the same info . I had an extraction yesterday without penicillin cover despite extensive inflammation and was very uneasy about it and trawled the internet to now find out that 70% of Cardiologists NOW DISAGREE with the findings and want to continue with the penicillin treatment. I contacted my own GP who IMMEDIATELY prescribed antibiotics for me. I had endocarditis resulting in a defect in a heart valve. THIS I can categorically relate to a blundered delivery many years ago. I should at least have been consulted to how I felt about it all.
Anyone on the forum with the same condition please consult your GP before embarking on any dental treatment.

But also check that your GP would also be willing to carry out the dental treatment, as the dentist probably won't.

There is a much bigger risk of anaphalactic shock from taking a huge dose of antibiotic than there is of endocarditis after dental treatment.

The NICE guidelines were evidence based, and are sensible - unlike the cardiologists position which is basically just based on tradition.

If you think about it, then practically every time you brush your teeth and see a bit of blood, oral bacterial will have entered your blood system, but antibiotic cover prior to toothbrushing was never recommended - and no-one ever got endocarditis as a result.

In the past, cases of endocaritis were never investigated properly, and if a patient gave a history of 'attending the dentist' anything up to a year before the episode, it would just automatically be blamed on that. Which is a bit silly if you stop and think about it.

The doctor who prescribed you the antibiotics was being very silly.. If there WAS a risk, then the antibiotics now would do no good at all now anyway, and if it was the 3g dose he gave you and didn't supervise you for an hour afterwards, he was putting you at much more risk than a few bugs in your system.