• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

    Register now to access all the features of the forum.

Did the dentist rip me off/create an issue?

S

Scaredgirl271

Junior member
Joined
Dec 18, 2017
Messages
1
I'm female, 27 and terrified of the dentist. I put off seeing a dentist for years. I had my teeth professionally whitened and they're naturally straight so I'd get compliments on my smile all the time. I had no issues so seeing a dentist was not a priority.

As time went on a previously root canalled back tooth began to crumble. I knew I'd need it seeing to but ignored it for years. I finally decided to see a dentist and waited six months to join an NHS dental practice.
I went for my first check up, extremely nervous. The dentist discussed and said the root canalled tooth needed to have repeat work or be extracted. He also said I had a small filling that needed doing. I told him that I was nervous so he discussed sedation options. By the end of the consultation I'd signed up as a private patient; the filling and extraction would be more expensive and I'd also be paying a monthly fee but be assured me private work was better.

I decided against sedation as it wasn't full on sedation with an airway and GA so there didn't seem to be much point. The extraction and the filling were fine....I felt no pain. I was amazed by the speed of it. However the dentist said at the end that the cavity was deep and it may need rct.

For three weeks everything was okay, and then I began to get agonising pain in the filled tooth. I went to an NHS dental access centre. They said I'd need a root canal as the filling was hitting the nerve and sedated the tooth until I can book in for the root canal (as an NHS patient. Which will take months).

It seems unfair as I had absolutely no issues prior to having the filling. I had no idea I needed the filling. I paid hundreds for the private filling and now at the private practice I'd be expected to pay £1600 for a root canal and crown. Which annoys me because there was no issue before I had the filling in the first place.

Is there a chance the dentist may have drilled too close to the nerve and he is liable? It seems strange that I had zero pain prior to the filling. I bit the bullet and decided to face my fear, was terrified, parted with hundreds of pounds and as a reward I've got to have a root canal and potentially may lose the tooth. It doesn't seem fair?
 
It is actually likely for the nerve to die if the cavity was deep. Your dentist needed to go deep enough to make sure that all the cavity has been cleaned out when drilling before proceeding to fill it. The closer the cavity is to the nerve, the higher the chance the nerve will get irritated, injured or die.

Also, I have read before that in deep cavities, bacteria from the decay could travel deeper/further than the site of the cavity, which would mean the nerve has been infected and will still die even with the cavity cleaned out.
 
It is actually likely for the nerve to die if the cavity was deep. Your dentist needed to go deep enough to make sure that all the cavity has been cleaned out when drilling before proceeding to fill it. The closer the cavity is to the nerve, the higher the chance the nerve will get irritated, injured or die.

Also, I have read before that in deep cavities, bacteria from the decay could travel deeper/further than the site of the cavity, which would mean the nerve has been infected and will still die even with the cavity cleaned out.


basically right
 
Back
Top