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Is this broken tooth safe to leave as is?

Old and gittish

Old and gittish

Junior member
Joined
Dec 4, 2017
Messages
15
The side of my tooth broke away a few days ago, revealing the filling and unprotected centre. My dentist gave me three options. 1. Its OK to leave as it is. (Which seemed to be her favoured option) 2. Add a filling to the existing filling. 3. Remove the old filling and fit a new one. I was amazed when she said it was OK to leave as it was, even though it was not causing any pain. I should mention that I'm an NHS patient.
Is she correct in saying its OK to leave as is?

Broken-Tooth-web.jpg
 
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I would not, as the remaining can fall out with no support. Seek a second opinion.
 
I'm not a dentist but that was also my immediate thought, in fact I even mentioned it to her. Shocking really. Another typical newbie dentist let loose on the poor unsuspecting NHS pleb class patients. I have many long and painful stories I could tell here about doggy dentists.
 
As much as I hate dental treatment, I think I would ask for a new filling otherwise I'd be scared to eat anything on that side of my mouth in case the rest of that filling came out.
 
I will ask for another filling as its obviously weak and needs supporting by replacing the bit that broke away. I'm just not sure if I should look for yet another NHS dentist as I feel she does not have the confidence or skill required.
The problem is which of the two remaining options do I choose.
 
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I think I'd go for number 3.
 
Yes number 3 is my preferred option. I'm in the process of finding a new NHS dentist. The trouble is, I know I'm going to end up with another newly 'qualified' dentist with not much experience and usually not much in the way of intuition.
 
The plot thickens...
Just been to a new NHS dentist who said it needed a gold crown fitted free on the NHS or a white filling which can only be done as a private patient and would cost £120. As the crown will be near the front and very visible, I said I would give it some thought and get back. However, this new dentist did put some white fill material to stop bacteria getting in (see photo). I wonder why my regular dentist didn't think of doing that. I then contacted my regular dentist and was told I can have the white filling free on the NHS. Saints preserve us. :hmm:

crop-web.jpg
 
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Maybe stick with the new dentist. He had more common sense.
 
Sorry, just re read. So how come they can't make up their minds What's free and what isn't? Choose which one you would rather have as long as they would both be free.
 
I'v decided to stick with my original dentist and go with a free white filling. I think their both as bad and better the devil you know. I'll just add it to the ever growing pile of crap I have to endure. Its all part of the condition. I make no apology for sounding like Marvin from HGTTG.
 
westviewclinic said:
I think you should refill you tooth again because other remaining part will get extract after some and it can cause deep pain that you doesn't want to feel. You can also leave as it is, if you are Ok with that. The Choice is yours!

err... The choice is mine! That sounds familiar, typical dentist comment passing the responsibility buck.
 
Dentists have to gain informed consent to do any procedure on us. Any treatment plan has to be explained to us with all the relevant information so that we can decide what we want to do. It is our body and mouth and they cannot decide for us. I wouldn't want them to personally.

Good luck with any treatment you decide on. A lot of dentists now both priv and nhs only use white fillings now. There are still some that use the old silver one's it is down to the dentist what they offer.

For us as patients it is a horrible mine field at times. :clover:
 
Dentists have to gain informed consent to do any procedure on us. Any treatment plan has to be explained to us with all the relevant information so that we can decide what we want to do. It is our body and mouth and they cannot decide for us.

Its almost like you are defending the dental profession and the fact that two dentists, both NHS and female and I stress I have nothing against female dentists, have independently given two different options and both appear questionable. My regular dentist was favouring her first option, to the point it felt like she was recommending leaving as it was. Only when she could see I thought it odd did she then mention the other two options. And don't forget she still let me walk away saying it will be OK if I kept it clean and did not offer a protective filling to keep out the bacteria that would develop, as clearly it was a food trap. Others here and on another forum have said it needs sorting asap as the remaining filling will most likely come out and take the attached piece of tooth with it.

The second dentist gave two options and said it needed a partial crown (something my regular dentist never mentioned), as a full crown would cause the remaining tooth to crumble, but then said I would have to go private if I wanted a white filling. However a white filling has been offered free on the NHS at my regular dentist. Clearly she knew she had to do something to replace the piece of missing tooth and thankfully fitted a temporary filling to protect it while I made up my mind.

For us as patients it is a horrible mine field at times. :clover:
 
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It's hard to be happy with dentists when they recommend different treatments and you don't have much faith in either of them. Carole certainly wasn't defending them at your expense, just reiterating that while it's really hard to navigate the complexities of treatment--especially when you're getting conflicting info--the one saving grace is that you do have the power to choose or deny certain treatments.
 
Hi thank you for the reply. I have since seen another NHS dentist (3 in total) and I have an appointment to have a white crown fitted for free. My new dentist never mentioned any option other than it needs a white crown.
 
Great news. Good luck.
 
I would just like to say that although sometimes it feels like we are at war with the dentists, this is not so. There are good and bad in the profession. There are more good guys than bad especially within the NHS, I have had really bad treatment as well as some really good treatment. I find that you need to look around as you have done until you find a dentist you can work with and trust to do the work you need in your best interest. Which you seem to have found now. They can only recommend a treatment plan they consider we need then we do have to make the choice. They cannot just carry on without our permission.

A tooth that needs treatment cannot be left neglected by a dentist if we wish to have treatment to save it or cure it of pain.

https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9m...ges.aspx/RK=2/RS=WkksGfxeyS1j5fWYpGqLDzG3xqA- This is a link to what you can get on the nhs and the charges, it also explains what is included in the three different band charges. If you are on certain benefits there will not be a charge.


I have a white crown which is silver at the back as I think yours will be. I think this is a good choice you have made.

All the best for your up coming treatment.
 
Here is a photo of the current progress on fitting a new white crown.
The temporary filling has been removed along with the old filling and other half of my tooth.
A white protective material has been fitted covering whats left of the original tooth. A new crown is being made and I have an appointment to fit it next week. The only painful bit was the injection to the inside of the roof of my mouth. To remove the old filling and remaining tooth, the dentist changed drill bits many times and that didn't hurt at all.

Protective marerial.jpg

I forgot to mention my new dentist also discovered some of the filling has come away from whats left of a rear molar. You can just about see this in the photo. Now I think about it, I remember loosing bits form that molar before the broken tooth. I'm guessing my old dentist must have also missed this as she never said anything about it. Yet another reason to change dentist.
 
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Following my new dentists discovery of the missing filling in an upper rear molar, I think the tooth is called UL6 shown at the top in the photo below.

No Fill UL6 Molar.jpg

My new dentist asked me to request my dental records which have also been sent to me. They show that in March 2017 she noted the UL6 tooth was defective and broken, yet no treatment was offered or carried out. In December I had an emergency appointment to look at the broken UL4 tooth with missing buccal cusp, which of course was the main subject of this post. I find it very strange why she did not also mention that the filling in UL6 was completely missing, she must have noticed as after all its only one tooth away. I think I should stress that I may be old and gittish, but I am punctual, polite and very clean, so there is absolutely no reason for any decent dentist to not do a proper job.
 
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