Dental implant (££££) vs. single tooth denture

Cloudane

Mines about to fall out (and still haven't heard a peep on the implantologist).  I just accidentally bit with it and "something" happened... now the entire tooth is wobbly and I can feel the whole thing including the root shifting around. If I make certain mouth movements it presses against its walls and rather hurts... not unbearable but very unpleasant. 

Had to happen at night!   

Went through the screens on NHS 111 and as I'm not in excruciating pain and it's not swollen (same criteria as dentist's voicemail for out of hours emergencies) it says contact dentist today or tomorrow. 

It's going to be an interesting night.  And I wonder what this means for my implant prospects if the tooth falls out before I can get that referral. 

Thought: if it does fall out at least it saves me an extraction fee. Makes me wonder if I should even bother contacting them. "Yeah we can give nature a quick tug... there we go £200 please"

I guess the main worry at the moment is something like it falls out while I sleep and I choke on it

Toothsmith

Cloudane said:

Mines about to fall out (and still haven't heard a peep on the implantologist).  I just accidentally bit with it and "something" happened... now the entire tooth is wobbly and I can feel the whole thing including the root shifting around. If I make certain mouth movements it presses against its walls and rather hurts... not unbearable but very unpleasant. 

Had to happen at night!   

Went through the screens on NHS 111 and as I'm not in excruciating pain and it's not swollen (same criteria as dentist's voicemail for out of hours emergencies) it says contact dentist today or tomorrow. 

It's going to be an interesting night.  And I wonder what this means for my implant prospects if the tooth falls out before I can get that referral. 

Thought: if it does fall out at least it saves me an extraction fee. Makes me wonder if I should even bother contacting them. "Yeah we can give nature a quick tug... there we go £200 please"

I guess the main worry at the moment is something like it falls out while I sleep and I choke on it

In your earlier posts you hadn't appeared to have decided whether you were having an implant or not - and that was only 2 weeks ago. Have you contacted your dentist and told them you would like to be referred? 

It's unlikely to fall out in the night, and even if it does, when your asleep you still have protective choke & gag reflexes that will mean you'll end up spitting it out (unless you go to bed smashed out of your head on drugs/alcohol, which is why rock stars choke on their own vomit sometimes!) 

Get in touch with your dentist tomorrow and see when they can see you. If it falls out in its entirety, then it will save you an extraction fee! More likely though is that the tooth may have broken, so if the top bit comes out leaving some root still in, getting that extracted could be dearer - so waiting for it to fall out isn't that good an idea. 

Cloudane

Thanks, yes I did get in touch with them 2 weeks ago to agree to go the implant route. I was told I'd be referred and heard nothing since. Called Monday to chase up, no answer, emailed, no answer

shall persevere and give them a call tomorrow, is is massively loose/wobbly but hanging in there for now.  The dentist said at the time that if going the implant route she wouldn't do the extraction as it'd be done by them instead but surely at this point it needs to come out. 

Toothsmith

gozaimasu said:

brook2jack2 said:

A dentist only has to keep an adults records for no more than 10 years so it is unlikely that the practice will still have them , they have most probably been destroyed.

Well I contacted them and they still appear to have my records over 10 years later, minus the x-rays which were allegedly lost during a "viral attack" on their computer systems. Do I now have grounds to report them to the ICO for storing my data for longer than is necessary? I will of course be making a request for them to delete all of the data they hold as soon as I obtain a copy. If someone could point me to the thing which says "10 years" so that I have an official source to quote when I make the complaint. Thanks.

I think you've just misunderstood what Brook was meaning. There isn't a 'maximum' that a dental practice can keep records. Just a minimum. This was initially there to stop dental practices getting clogged up with old record cards going back decades on people who in all probability may be dead now! 

With computers nowadays, records no longer take up loft space and so don't endanger the structure of a building by their weight! 

You do seem to be dead set on making some sort of complaint against a dental practice. I would very much advise against going in with an attitude like that. If it's been 10+ years since you've seen a dentist and there is at least one tooth in your head that is going to be in a really dicey state (the one that lost its crown) You are going to need their help, and goodwill. 

If your initial contacts with them are aggressive, you will quickly find they may feel they cannot meet your needs and recommend you try elsewhere. 

Undervalued

gozaimasu said:

brook2jack2 said:

A dentist only has to keep an adults records for no more than 10 years so it is unlikely that the practice will still have them , they have most probably been destroyed.

Well I contacted them and they still appear to have my records over 10 years later, minus the x-rays which were allegedly lost during a "viral attack" on their computer systems. Do I now have grounds to report them to the ICO for storing my data for longer than is necessary? I will of course be making a request for them to delete all of the data they hold as soon as I obtain a copy. If someone could point me to the thing which says "10 years" so that I have an official source to quote when I make the complaint. Thanks.

Were the X-Rays, taken 10 years ago, digital or film? They could have been either at that time and if taken on film possibly then scanned into their computer system.

However, either way this highlights a problem with getting access to any records (not just dental) the holder find "inconvenient" to disclose! Realistically the ICO, despite having the powers, is not going to raid the dentist's practice at dawn to see if they are telling the truth or not.

If they were taken on film then you could try going back to them and pointing that out. Whilst the scanned images may (!!) have been lost in a "viral attack" they will struggle to claim that about the original film!

I don't immediately see where attempting to force them to delete and data they still hold gets you. After all you would have been glad they still had the data had it given you some information to back up any complaint.

Cloudane

Got an appointment this afternoon to decide what to do. I think the dilemma will most likely be that IF it can hang in there until the referral goes through then that gives me the best chance of an implant without complications.  But if I get it whipped out now, then by the time I can be seen for an implant it'll need bone grafting and the associated hassle and cost

Tricky one as even sipping a drink is awkward at the moment, it puts a sort of tugging sensation on the loose tooth (uncomfortable, mildly painful)

Cloudane

Yeah so most likely it's fractured at a place she'd already spotted as a defect when looking at the margin at the back of the crown 

My big expensive lesson is not speaking up when I got the crown fitted as I honestly think the large margin that was left, maybe left too much of the remaining tooth exposed and while my tongue was constantly exploring it (couldn't stop it) the wear and saliva etc over the years must have worn a tiny crack in it and it's gone from there.  I'm no dentist though and not pointing fingers that's just my pet theory. 

In for an impression tomorrow, extraction+temp denture asap, then starting the implant process. 

Also, she seemed a lot more friendly etc, I think she's just one of those who doesn't beat around the bush when it's bad news. Fair enough like 

Toothsmith

Undervalued said:

gozaimasu said

brook2jack2 said:

A dentist only has to keep an adults records for no more than 10 years so it is unlikely that the practice will still have them , they have most probably been destroyed.

Well I contacted them and they still appear to have my records over 10 years later, minus the x-rays which were allegedly lost during a "viral attack" on their computer systems. Do I now have grounds to report them to the ICO for storing my data for longer than is necessary? I will of course be making a request for them to delete all of the data they hold as soon as I obtain a copy. If someone could point me to the thing which says "10 years" so that I have an official source to quote when I make the complaint. Thanks.

Were the X-Rays, taken 10 years ago, digital or film? They could have been either at that time and if taken on film possibly then scanned into their computer system.

However, either way this highlights a problem with getting access to any records (not just dental) the holder find "inconvenient" to disclose! Realistically the ICO, despite having the powers, is not going to raid the dentist's practice at dawn to see if they are telling the truth or not.

If they were taken on film then you could try going back to them and pointing that out. Whilst the scanned images may (!!) have been lost in a "viral attack" they will struggle to claim that about the original film!

I don't immediately see where attempting to force them to delete and data they still hold gets you. After all you would have been glad they still had the data had it given you some information to back up any complaint.

Ironically enough UV - there is a dentist at the moment making life very difficult for the GDC with the ICO after a freedom of information request made to them was rebutted because 'it is not practical to find the relevant information within stored paper records' or words to that effect!!! 

Given that they would not allow that as an excuse from any dentist they were investigating - he is not letting that one lie! 

Cloudane

Impression taken yesterday, extraction next Friday.  In the meantime, ouch.  Abscess visibly grown today and the pain is getting harder to bear. Ibuprofen is helping it's just a shame you can only have 1200mg per day so there are periods when I hold off and put up with it so I can have a couple before bed etc 

Cloudane

Next to the small gum pimple I now have gained quite a large lump/abscess over the weekend. Not a swelling of the face yet but quite a swelling above the tooth and I'm worried how close it is to the neighbouring one. Wondering if I should get them to move the extraction forward as Friday is quite a long wait considering how rapidly it's worsening. 

Doing some salt water rinses for now in the hopes it keeps it under control somewhat. 

I read a comment elsewhere that someone had to wait for the infection to clear because the injection for numbing couldn't be done due to the risk of poking the infection into the bloodstream. 

Edit: salt water rinses did draw a little bit of it out. Still, another aspect to add to the anxiety!