New Dentist... 10 fillings!!!???

Tea-and-Cake_3

We (me, husband and kids) have moved our dentist to one closer to home. They took a £25 deposit per adult to be returned once any first course of recommended treatments has been completed BUT.... the recommended course of treatments is 10 fillings between my husband and me (6 for me, 4 for him) .... this is going to be really expensive as we don't want the silver amalgam ones and we had not expected this at all. Neither of us is having any problems with our teeth, can this be right? At our last check ups at previous dentist 6 months ago there was no hint of this so we are really surprised. Is this a dentist who is excellent at spotting potential problems or someone who wants our money?? How can we find out if this is necessary? If we move to another dentist we have lost our £50 in deposits!

We don't know what to do, what do you think?

Gillyx

White fillings tend to be expensive, so if it were me I'd rather lose the £50 for sure and find out, than spend a large sum of money on fillings which aren't needed.

Why did you leave your original dentist? Is there any way you could go back to him?

6 fillings seems an awful amount for one person in a 6 month period from last being checked, but I'm not a dentist, so who knows it may be possible?

Fluff15

I would definitely get a second opinion. I have a friend who was told she needed several fillings, and they scared her and she didn't go to the dentist for two years. She eventually went to another, and was told her teeth were fine!

missprice

Can't tell you what to do but a similar thing happened to me.
I changed dentist as moved house and suddenly needed 6 fillings.
Had only ever had one filling previously and after moving dentist again have only had one other filling and some of the old ones re done.
Seems suspect to me especially as since then only needing one.
I do wonder if he simply wanted my money.

LannieDuck

Do you need to change dentist to get a second opinion? Could you not find a private dentist, explain the situation and ask to see them as a one-off? As long as it costs less than £50 you'd be ok...

pukkamum

Same with my dh told he needed 7 fillings too scared to go back, years later new dentist, needed 2, scandalous!

gravitytolls

Go with your instinct.

My dentit changed, the new one said I needed a filling ~ jut one ~ but I didn't believe her, so I cancelled the appointment and changed dentist.

Changed dentist three years ago, haven't needed a single filing

sillygoose

Same here many years ago, I had sudden severe toothache (chipped a tooth on something too hard) so registered with local dentist.. told over a weeks wait on NHS or go private and be seen right now.. I was in agony so went private. After that had loads done, all privately at a price. In subsequent years all those over drilled and filled teeth crumbled and are now gone.

My current dentist tells me my (remaining!) teeth are actually very tough and resilient, I have not had a filling for many, many years and he even dropped my checkups to 9 monthly as there just was nothing to do each time.

I now know I got robbed before.

PlutoinCapricorn

I would ask this in the Health section, as there is a dentist called Toothsmith who answers questions there.

Ames

Hmm, you've got me thinking now. I got a phonecall on Monday saying I had to have a dentists appointment tomorrow. I asked for seven days notice (because of my mental health) and they said if I didn't take the appointment this week then I was in danger of being kicked off the list.

What I don't get about it is that I only joined the practice in January, and finished my lot of treatment (three fillings) in March. So it seems excessive to be talking about kicking me off the list so soon (I thought it was something like if you didn't go in 18 months). One of the fillings still hasn't worn down, it's so new!

Problem is, I really don't think I'll be able to make it. I've been having a bad couple of weeks with lots of appointments, and my anxiety levels have been through the roof since they called. I've got a therapy session on Saturday and obviously that's a higher priority.

The receptionist was very interested in whether or not I'm still on IS (it was when I said 'yes' that she became more insistant that the appointment had to be asap) and said I have to bring proof with me - I don't think I have any more recent proof than the last lot they saw! So I wonder how much treatment I'll 'need' if I do make it to the appointment...

busiscoming2

My dental practice was merged with another practice. My previous dentist left before my 6 monthly check up was due. When I saw the new dentist they took xrays to have a base to work from, which I understood. I had to have a filling in a tooth that apparently had a deep cavity in it but hadn't given me any problems and looked fine, even when she kept pointing to some dark blob I couldn't really see on the xray.

Since then I bumped into my old dentist who it transpires left because she didn't like the way the practice worked. I do wonder if they just find things to make money.