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Emergency NHS appointments - cavity

M

Mum1986

Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2021
Messages
32
Location
Stockport
Hey,

I have not posted for a while as after building up the courage to get registered with a dentist (Dental Phobia not been in 7 years) they cannot see me till September ? so just been plodding on, trying to not let this wait effect me more.

I am going to need so much work doing, I reckon I am gonna need fillings in every tooth, but my biggest things are I have lost teeth on my upper right side (both pre molars, 1 molar) and the 1 molar that is left is broken (I have literally be living in denial with my teeth and I am so ashamed! ) but to make this even worse I have a hole in my right lateral incisor ...I cannot see it as it is back of tooth but can feel it and on front of my tooth is like a black and white line so feel it might be a cavity!

I am sure it has got worse and I whilst when I first noticed it I had no pain, I now can kind of feel that tooth...not sure how to explain it but it kind of feels cold.. I am worried that leaving it till September it's gonna be beyond repair!

So my question is, if I can get an NHS Emergency appointment (i have exemption certificate, so cannot afford private at all) will they be able to fill it (if suitable)? I just don't know what they can and can't do at emergency appointments but these teeth are casing my mental health to get worse...I feel do depressed although I know its my fault for not going sooner!
 
Hi, emergency treatment on the NHS only covers pain relief and a temporary filling, not a 'definitive' (as opposed to temporary) filling. Stupid, eh? So yes, they might be able to fill it with a temporary material, but it will then need to be redone at a later stage, once you've had a treatment plan from your NHS dentist. But yes, you could certainly have it looked at and see if there's some sort of temporary solution that will stop things from getting worse.

Sorry for being the bearer of bad news ?
 
Hi Mum1986,

sorry to read about your situation. Hope you will be able to get in for an emergency treatment so that you get something that helps you to wait until September, as letsconnect mentioned. If it helps, decay needs some time to develop and it is very unlikely that the tooth will be beyond repair in September, if you take a good care of it. I know anything on front teeth is scary. We have an article about tooth decay here on the page. It may give you some input on how to prevent it from getting worse:


All the best wishes
 
Thank you both so much! I think I will see if they can do something temp as it is all I can think about!

I am eager to get my dental journey going which is amazing considering how scared I am but so frustrating that there is just no one available to help me!

Thanks for the article, I am gonna have a read now ?
 
Yeah, this whole Covid thing sucks. So many people who are ready to face a dentist, be it due to an emergency or just plucking up the courage end up in a situation where they want to go, but can't. It's very frustrating.
 
It is, but this forum has helped me so much! It's just nice knowing there is people I can get advice from rather than just being in my head about it! Xxx
 
Hi Mum1986,

Wow! Reading this made me double check that I wasn't reading my own recently posted thread. No, but seriously, I'm in a very similar boat to you: I'm waiting to get a broken lower first molar extracted under sedation in October, and am currently two months into an eight month wait to be registered as an NHS patient after years of dental neglect. I also have a right lateral incisor with a large cavity, except mine is on the front, along with a whole panoply of gumline cavities and quite a bad chip on my other lower first molar.

Thankfully I've never had any pain (barring the soon-to-be-extracted molar) but even though I've left these issues untreated for the best part of a decade, this eight month wait feels endless, and I'm so, so paranoid that everything is suddenly going to get worse. Like you I can't afford private dental care, and like you I'm just plodding along, trying to ignore the crippling anxiety I get every time I think about it.

If it makes you feel any better: the cavity on my lateral incisor has been like this, and about the same size since, I'd estimate, around 2013 or 2014. My previous dentist told me that the decay had become inactive or arrested due to a significant change in the environment of my mouth. Obviously it doesn't look any better, but my point is that if there's hope for mine, there's hope for yours too. September will be here before you know it!!! :)
 
Thank you, that honestly does make me feel a bit better as I have been so paranoid and scared!

The wait is the hardest, but at least we are both now on the right path to get sorted! Please do keep me updated with your journey xxxx
 
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