inlays in upper canines/pre-molars

[olanda]

this is a historic question, as in it's something that happened to me a while ago and i'd just like to know if it's standard practice...

i went to an nhs dentist and needed one (or two i guess) small fillings where the upper left canine and pre-molar meet. he said that the nhs only did white inlays for those teeth so he couldn't place composite direct fillings. i said i didn't want inalys since i'd previously had trouble with his inlays in a molar tooth (and that's another whole story!!). so, he did a direct filling and told me not to tell anyone since he was 'doing me a favour'!

i'd just like to know: do the nhs only offer inlays for small fillings in these teeth in england? and, if not, what could have been his motive in wanting me to have them since i'd have thought inlays would be more expensive for him than a direct filling would be??

thanks for any info, it's just something that's playing on my mind...

 

[Poppy1234]

What's an inlay??
I have a small area of decay in this exact same place! Between upper left canine and pre-molar. (Dentist says I can fix it myself, no need for filling)
As it's only in enamel I'm confident of arresting all decay and remineralising it so it never gets to the dentine.
But I'm worried if I ever do need a filling it will show horribly between the teeth.
I'd want a white filling between the teeth here. Would the NHS do this?

 

[skaters]

well it is common practice to fill cavities inbetween teeth with composite ( white fillings ) on the NHS. This is the simplest and most cost effective way of sorting the decay out.
However with the way the NHS contract works you get points for treatments you carry out on a patient, an inlay will give a dentist 12 points instead of 3 for a filling ( this is a simplified explanation! ). so i can assume that you are an exempt patient ( dont pay for your charges ) and the dentist wanted to make some extra points from your treatment. I hope that helps clear it up??

 

[Poppy1234]

What is an inlay??
I had a filling between pre molar and next molar on the NHS and that was silver and shows.
Don't want a silver one between canine and pre-molar, as this will REALLY show.

 

[olanda]

poppy - an inlay is a restoration that gets made in the lab and then cemented into the hole in your tooth. it's generally more expensive than a filling and usually wouldn't be used in smaller fillings, so it probably wouldn't be good for your tiny amount of decay but might possibly be used to replace the silver filling you have, i don't know.

skaters - that is really good info, thanks. i'd not long had a baby at the time so i was exempt from all nhs charges... what a scammer my previous dentist really was!!! i'm just so glad i made a fuss about it and had the normal fillings instead (since his inlays were terrible), but i hate to think how many other people he did that to...

 

[Poppy1234]

poppy - an inlay is a restoration that gets made in the lab and then cemented into the hole in your tooth. it's generally more expensive than a filling and usually wouldn't be used in smaller fillings, so it probably wouldn't be good for your tiny amount of decay but might possibly be used to replace the silver filling you have, i don't know.

skaters - that is really good info, thanks. i'd not long had a baby at the time so i was exempt from all nhs charges... what a scammer my previous dentist really was!!! i'm just so glad i made a fuss about it and had the normal fillings instead (since his inlays were terrible), but i hate to think how many other people he did that to...

Ah, thanks. I'd not heard of them. Only have small fillings.

It's awful when you can't trust your dentist.