Will I be eligible for a dental bridge on the NHS?

5 Posts

Here's the deal with my teeth:
I have hypodontia (several congenitally missing teeth). I currently have 25 teeth (22 adult teeth, 3 baby teeth still present).
Microdontia - very small teeth
My adult teeth are healthy (confirmed by a full mouth X-ray 2 months ago).
I still have 3 baby teeth (1 is an upper right molar which has been ground down badly from when I used to grind my teeth as a child, and has a filling, and the other is a bottom incisor - it's very tiny - just 3mm long but is miraculously in good condition).
I'm 20 years old.
I recently had a bottom left molar taken out (my first ever extraction), and I was wondering if I would be eligible for a bridge? Has anyone got any experience with bridges on the NHS? What do you guys think is the most likely outcome for this?
I've got an appointment next week to discuss this with my dentist, but I'm worried that I'm going to be stuck with a denture. When I went in for the extraction my dentist told me that he believed there was an underdeveloped adult tooth underneath, so I'm not sure if that's going to present any problems.
Without going into a sob story, I'm in position to pay for a bridge privately and won't be for the foreseeable future.
I have hypodontia (several congenitally missing teeth). I currently have 25 teeth (22 adult teeth, 3 baby teeth still present).
Microdontia - very small teeth
My adult teeth are healthy (confirmed by a full mouth X-ray 2 months ago).
I still have 3 baby teeth (1 is an upper right molar which has been ground down badly from when I used to grind my teeth as a child, and has a filling, and the other is a bottom incisor - it's very tiny - just 3mm long but is miraculously in good condition).
I'm 20 years old.
I recently had a bottom left molar taken out (my first ever extraction), and I was wondering if I would be eligible for a bridge? Has anyone got any experience with bridges on the NHS? What do you guys think is the most likely outcome for this?
I've got an appointment next week to discuss this with my dentist, but I'm worried that I'm going to be stuck with a denture. When I went in for the extraction my dentist told me that he believed there was an underdeveloped adult tooth underneath, so I'm not sure if that's going to present any problems.
Without going into a sob story, I'm in position to pay for a bridge privately and won't be for the foreseeable future.
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I'll be keeping the other baby teeth for as long as I can.
As of current what my dentist is saying conflicts with what I was told at Kings College Hospital 8 years ago; they told me that there was nothing underneath that molar. So it's very strange that now I'm being told something different - I was very shocked! He said he was uncertain about it. But there was a possibility.
What will happen if it's proven that there is an underdeveloped tooth lurking down there? Can it be removed?
Say that I did have the money for private work - would I be able to have a dental implant given the circumstances? Would a bridge be possible then?
The problem with baby tooth replacement is the bone left behind is normally much smaller than normal so you would normally need bone augmentation ie bone added so there was enough for the implant.
How often do teeth like this actually come through? I get the feeling I'd have to be incredibly lucky for this to happen.
Is it known what triggers impacted teeth to erupt? Especially at such an old age... I wonder what's going on behind the scenes for the tooth to suddenly come through like that. Is it not possible to 'suction' the tooth out in some way?
I'm absolutely gutted that the chances of a replacement are so slim. I thought I'd at least have a denture as an option (which was actually my worst nightmare - but it looks like I'd be lucky if I even got that at this rate)! But I guess I'll have to see next week.
My dentist had already suggested a bridge before the extraction (but did express hesitance to filing down the other teeth), so he may be a bit more generous as far as NHS dentists go.