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Fillings keep chipping - Do I need a second opinion

B

bahblah

Junior member
Joined
Aug 15, 2018
Messages
16
My most current dentist did some fillings for me less than two years back. I haven't been to a dentist for a while so there were lots of fillings. Since then, I've had a filling chip 4 times. The first time, the dentist redid the whole filling free of charge, the second time he smoothed a part of my tooth, and I'm not sure if I should go back to the same dentist for this 3rd and 4th chip in my filling. The second time, he seemed upset with me and kept recommending I get a mouth guard for grinding my teeth. I was skeptical of the mouth guard because I have trouble sleeping as it is but the dentist convinced me that it would be comfortable. He said it would go on my top teeth but when the guard was made it did not fit so they made one for my bottom teeth. I could not sleep in it, it made me so anxious. It feel like there's this large thing in my mouth, and there's no place to put my tongue. The dentist suggested I get it readjusted, I did this two times and it's still not comfortable. The second time the assistant who made the adjustments told me it's supposed to be a bit uncomfortable. Anyway, I ran out of insurance money to get the 3rd and 4th chip fixed. But now I'm too scared to go back but also scared that the chip will then cause more damage to my teeth since I now have a sharp dip in two of my teeth.

Do you think I need a second opinion with a new dentist, I'm so anxious about starting over with someone new but I'm anxious to go to this dentist as well because I'm scared he will tell me I need more dental work. How do I even know if the dentist I pick is any good?
 
Hi,
Let me start by saying that I am not a dentist however, I have had some similar experiences so I wanted to chime in. It is possible that the fillings are breaking down faster from grinding your teeth. If the fillings are white composite fillings, I think they are less durable than the silver fillings and more prone to chipping. I had a tooth where the white filling kept breaking/chipping and after being redone several times, it ended up needing a root canal with a crown because the tooth started to die from the repeated trauma (I don‘t say this to scare you but it‘s just something to be mindful of). Is it possible that you need a stronger more durable filling (i.e. a silver filling?) or that the filling is simply too large to sustain biting forces and maybe needs a crown? These are some options you could discuss if you choose to return to your current dentist. There is no harm in getting a second opinion ...you do not have to agree to any work if you see someone else...you could just get a fresh pair of eyes on your situation and get some more input.
 
Thanks for chiming in -- The doctor never even mentioned different filling options, so I can ask when I go for another appointment.

To clarify the 4 chips were 4 different fillings on 4 different teeth. What are the odds of that?
 
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The second time the assistant who made the adjustments told me it's supposed to be a bit uncomfortable. BS!
Some people and some situations composites just aren't strong enough.
 
An update: I called the office to complain about the mouth guard and they said they would redo one for me free of charge.

I have been too scared to get the chips checked out and now one of my teeth hurt and I can't seem to decide about switching dentist. The tooth that hurt was the one that had to get the filling redone. It only hurts some of the time. I don't think I would go through with it if the doctor recommends a root canal. I'm way too scared. But it's been getting bad because I can't eat sometimes because of the pain.

My teeth never hurt until I started getting fillings so I also feel skeptical of dentistry practises as whole.
 
Bahblah,

Glad they will redo the mouthguard free of charge ! Hope this will help ! Also hope that tooth with the filling is not too bad for you, its hard when it seems the problems start after the work :(..
 
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