White fillings on the NHS....?

emma.b123

Hi all,

I have done a search for threads here on the subject, but only found on from 6 years ago, so I am hoping there will be some more recent info that will help me out...?
I was informed last week that I need a filling on a back tooth (maybe a wisdom, I'm not sure) and was told to make an appoint. for a filling in a couple of weeks time. I have had a couple of fillings in the past on the NHS that were white composites, so I assumed this would also be the case. No explanation was given at the time about white or 'silver' ones being supplied. It was only talking to a friend the other day who is also having fillings done, that I thought I'd ought to check whether they were going to be white. I've called the surgery today, and they've told me only the front teeth would be white, and a back tooth filling would be silver on the NHS. I'm pretty annoyed, and I was hurried out following the check up anyway, and there was no explanation of this at the time by the dentist. It seems to me that NHS treatments changes vastly amongst surgeries ... my husband had a white filling no questions asked on the NHS only 6 months ago on a rear tooth. Can anyone advise what I can do here? Do I try and find another NHS dentist for this treatment? My teeth are pretty strong and healthy on the whole, I don;t want to ruin the look of my mouth by a large silver filling in the back
Thanks in advance for any help/advise!

Toothsmith

The dentist should provide the 'most appropriate' treatment.

In some cases this might well mean that a white filling is placed in a back tooth on the NHS, but the dentist is not obliged to. Just to do a white filling for 'cosmetic' reasons is not 'appropriate'.

The further back in the mouth you go, the harder it is to keep the field dry, and for a white filling, keeping everything dry is essential for success. Amalgam is a lot more forgiving.

So for a tooth that far back, if I were a dentist with an NHS contract, I would say that amalgam is the 'most appropriate' filling material. I only see patients privately though, and in that situation, people are paying me for extra time and to take appearance into account as 'standard'. In that situation, a white filling would be what I would provide.

emma.b123

Thanks Toothsmith. It's a shame that the directive that you also refer to: 'most appropriate' happens to be so subjective, that it varies from practice to practice. From what you know about NHS, is it possible to find another NHS dentist to specifically conduct this treatment, whilst still being signed up to my current practice? My husband got emergency treatment on a wisdom from another practice in the area that resulted in a white filling, I am not sure how easy it would be to get ad-hoc NHS treatment from this surgery instead...?

Toothsmith

I don't know.

And 'white' could be anything.

Wisdom teeth tend to be quite prone to decay, and you can often find that the decay in a wisdom tooth can be quite extensive.

If that's the case, the 'white' filling could well be a glass ionomer material, which has the advantage of giving up a bit of fluoride to the tooth (so helping to harden up any decay that might have been left), but the disadvantage of poor wear resistance (so it will wear out relatively quickly). If he went in on an emergency appointment and came out with a white filling in a wisdom tooth - my guess is that it might well have been a material like this, which is a lot easier to place than a proper composite.

I am only guessing though. But this could have been 'appropriate' for him.

I very much doubt you would find a dentist who would be prepared to do a white composite filling on a wisdom tooth on the NHS. You might find one who would think a glass ionomer to be appropriate though - if that's what you want.

weesmiler

I'm just back from the dentist, got a white filling in a back tooth, cost £40. Well worth it I'd say for the cosmetic factor!! X

Toothsmith

weesmiler wrote: »

I'm just back from the dentist, got a white filling in a back tooth, cost £40. Well worth it I'd say for the cosmetic factor!! X

That would be privately though. The NHS system is different in Scotland.

In England, the NHS charge would be £48.

I would still say though that for £40 it would have been a quite small simple one.