dental dilemma advice

Mr_Costcutter

Toothsmith wrote: »

Non taken - I recommend exactly the same thing!

It's just people too often look at the fee charged by the specialist and then ask if I'll 'have a go' at it!

!

The treatment I received cost £700 and I understand that many people are not in the position to proceed. The treatment isn't guaranteed to work and it is a lot of money to lose if it doesn't. I was in the fortunate position to be able to proceed and the treatment did work . The alternative was a denture or implant which horrified me lol.

Toothsmith

Mr_Costcutter wrote: »

The treatment I received cost £700 and I understand that many people are not in the position to proceed. The treatment isn't guaranteed to work and it is a lot of money to lose if it doesn't. I was in the fortunate position to be able to proceed and the treatment did work . The alternative was a denture or implant which horrified me lol.

Dental treatment always has a life-span though! And an implant is still the next stage!

Implant placing dentists sometimes (half)jokingly call endodontics 'Pre-implant treatment'!

Hopefully though, it should give you a fair few years to save up the implant cost!

FBaby

Thank you toothache for taking the time to explain things from the position of the dentist(s), it does help put things into perspective.

Unfortunately, I still don't feel I am closer to knowing which option I should go for though for the exact dilemma you posted. My heart tells me to leave it as it is and see how it goes because that's the easiest option, my brain is telling me to do no such thing as it is denial and a decision I could end up regretting!

Maybe I could ask? If it was you finding yourself in this position, what would you do?

silvercar

FBaby wrote: »

Thank you toothache for taking the time to explain things from the position of the dentist(s), it does help put things into perspective.

Unfortunately, I still don't feel I am closer to knowing which option I should go for though for the exact dilemma you posted. My heart tells me to leave it as it is and see how it goes because that's the easiest option, my brain is telling me to do no such thing as it is denial and a decision I could end up regretting!

Maybe I could ask? If it was you finding yourself in this position, what would you do?

You don't face a yes/ no dilemma, it is quite reasonable to say that you will wait before proceeding, particular with the conflicting advice the dentists have given you.

FBaby

silvercar wrote: »

You don't face a yes/ no dilemma, it is quite reasonable to say that you will wait before proceeding, particular with the conflicting advice the dentists have given you.

Ok, maybe I am making a big deal out of it when there is no urgency. It is because the other dentist made it up that it required quite an urgent intervention or otherwise I was risking losing the tooth all together. I recall her saying the tooth could stay as is for the rest of my life, or break in two tomorrow without treatment!

justme111

I advised you what to do - go and see dentists where you can ask questions without feeling rushed. I explained you how dentists are paid on the NHS. You having this advice and information chose not to act on it and limit your options to either do nothing or do whatever treatment one of the dentists advised without understanding it or trusting the dentist. No wonder neither option sounds particularly appealing.

justme111

When we said it may be difficult to diagnose and told you why we addressed your disbelief in how it could happen. We did not mean to state in your particular case it is impossible to diagnose as we do not know all the details of yr case. The more knowledgeable, thorough , experienced , conscientious the dentist is the more chances he/she will arrive at right diagnosis.

FBaby

The more knowledgeable, thorough , experienced , conscientious the dentist is the more chances he/she will arrive at right diagnosis.

That's all very well, but I don't know what makes a dentist 'conscientious and knowledgeable'. Did you know how knowledgeable and conscientious your GP was when you'd only seen him once or twice? I am not expecting any dentist (or any medical expert) to have all the answers, but when two give you totally opposite views on treatment, it raises alarm bells, as would if one GP told me that I needed urgent surgery on on a part of my body and the other told me that it was fine and could just leave it to see how it developed.

I did take in your advice on asking the questions and tried to make an appointment with my dentist to do so, but when I was asked what it was about, I was told that I couldn't get an appointment until the end of January. So now left with trying to make an appointment with a private dentist, but we are back to the above, how do I pick one above another, and how many visits will I need to pay for until I can gather that the dentist I randomly picked is 'knowledgeable and conscientious'.

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justme111

It can be difficult. Choosing anything in the areaone has no knowledge about can be difficult, be it a garage , school or heart surgeons.
You making steps to enable you to make that choice - booked appointment with another dentist and seeing the dentist you seen already once more. After you do it will become clearer.
Although I think you already had two big clues - feeling rushed and not being able to see the dentist till more than a month later. As I asked you before - if you feel rushed during consultation appointment do you think they will be thorough and conscientious in doing the treatment ? To me it would delete them from possible choices. Figuring out things are easier if one instead of ranting how come it its s so stressful takes the clues.