dental bridge on nhs

sole27

I've just had to have my crowned front tooth removed on the nhs ,when i first inquired about the cost of replacing it with a bridge i was told it could be done under band 3 £233.70 which i was happy with.
I'm now being told that now the tooth is out i would need a denture fitting first for 6 months and only after then could i get a bridge meaning that i would have to pay the band 3 cost twice if i want a bridge.
does the sound correct, i thought i could just leave the tooth missing for 6 months and then go straight for a bridge but my dentist says not.

brook2jack

A bridge cannot be fitted straight away as the gum and bone shrinks and changes shape for mo this after an extraction meaning that the bridge would develop a large gap underneath.

Most people would not be happy with a front tooth missing for 6 months, but your dentist may also be worried about the teeth moving and not leaving enough space to make a bridge that doesn't look "odd".

sole27

makes sense i suppose i'm a bit skint at the moment so didn't really fancy spending nearly £500 to get a tooth replaced, i don't really like the sound of having a denture.
another way of doing i guess would to just pay for the extraction and wait 6 months and go straight for a bridge, that's if they would be willing to do it that way.

justme111

Risk of teeth moving due to a denture not being there for 6 months is largely academical rather than real. In any case your dentist can not make you have a denture if you do not want to. The issue may be that come 6 months they tell you they can not make you a bridge because a denture replacement would be an adequate replacement under NHS but they can say that whether you have a denture already or not.

foolofbeans

justme111 wrote: »

Risk of teeth moving due to a denture not being there for 6 months is largely academical rather than real. In any case your dentist can not make you have a denture if you do not want to. The issue may be that come 6 months they tell you they can not make you a bridge because a denture replacement would be an adequate replacement under NHS but they can say that whether you have a denture already or not.

I had a denture which was eventually replaced with a bridge. My teeth DID move and I could notice movement if I took my denture out overnight.
Surely the replacement bridge is a continuation of the denture work so would come under the initial charge?

brook2jack

No , the same with immediate dentures that need to be replaced with better fitting dentures after healing , because of the time frames involved this is two sets of treatment.

Just111 if it's an anterior tooth where there is crowding, protrusion closing of the gap or partial closing can be a real problem.

justme111

Fullofbeans , mouth is very sensitive and can feel difference of a fraction of a millimiter. This magnitude of distances is of no relevance in space for denture issue. Brook2jack , detailed discussion of it would feel awkward on a general public forum. In any case I think we will agree that it is highly unlikely that op's dentist is concerned about gap closure in these circumstances.

welshdent

Anecdotally I have a colleague and a friend who lost an upper 6 (rct too complex with their anatomy). They planned on an implant but 6 months later the space had closed so much That an implant was no longer possible. They have about a quarter unit residual space now.

welshdent

OP. you don't have to have a denture but if that's what you want then yes it would be 2 band 3 charges.

If you don't have the denture its band 2 then band 3.

That said I have done immediate fixed bridges and as long as you accept there may be an aesthetic problem under the replacement tooth in 6 months they can work well. Again should you want this replaced it would be an additional band 3

sole27

what if i just pay the band 2 price for the work i've had done so far and then wait for 6 months with out a tooth and then go back and get a bridge under the band 3 price.
i don't mind going for 6 months without a tooth and i realize it would be my risk that my teeth may move.

welshdent

That would be ok yeah.