Lots of work needed

[night_natter]

Hi all,

First time poster but long time reader. Just wanted to say how wonderful this forum is! I’ve just come back from the dentist with the news that I have a fair bit of decay that needs fixing, four wisdom teeth out and at least 1 crown.
My back story goes like this… I developed a fear of dentists as a child after facing the horrid government dentists in the 80s (in Australia) who would love to drop comments like “you’re not brushing your teeth properly” and “why do you have so many cavities?”. We even had one at our school, who one day screamed at me for not brushing properly and sent me off to brush again at the school bathrooms. This along with those unmistakeable smells and clinic settings, along with parents who didn’t really have a strong dentist routine culture, have really painted my relationship with dentists in general. Of course, I blame myself for being an idiot and not going for 10 years. I am a highly successful career person, but the dentist has always been a big stumbling block for me.
Anyway, Christmas Day, one of my pre-molars decides to break in half. So I bite the bullet and make an appointment. Luckily my old dentist (who used to be pretty hit and miss) is now located in a brand new custom built building with some very understanding and gentle dentists. Extraction occurs on the 30th of December - surgical intervention was needed with a bit of bone removal. Dentist was great and today I went in to get the stitches out, a general clean and a check up.
I was so nervous that the dentist noticed. She went through tooth by tooth, mentioning decay a lot of times but not on all teeth. After a few X-rays, she went through all the gory photos with me. It was VERY confronting and I am feeling so embarrassed and ashamed of how I let things get this bad.
The dentist re-assured me that at the next appointment she will go through the plan of attack with me after doing the first filling. All I’m worried about is saving my teeth now and not losing any more. I don’t want to end up with dentures.
It also turns out that I’m a clencher, mainly at night, so I will need a mouthguard made up. Eeeeep! So much work to be done. Please tell me it gets better!!

Sorry about the long post. I am mostly worried about the proposed crown. It’s on a tooth that has a filling in it from when I was a kid. It’s a big filling (silver) and the dentist said the little bit of tooth left on the edges may crack and break, so best to put a crown on to save the tooth. What have people’s experiences been with crowns like this? Hopefully it is a successful process.

 

[night_natter]

So I had my follow up appointment today. Beginning of decay treatment. I was still nervous and embarrassed about my checkup results from last visit, but I swallowed my fears and faced it head on.
I walk into the office and the dentist assistant tells me that I can wear my own sunglasses today (it is a bright sunny summer day here). Off to a good start. I knew I was going in for a filling, and then the dentist asks “we can do two or three fillings today, how many would you like to do?” In my own mind I am slightly shocked by the offer of decision making, but also I had mentally prepped for just one filling . I have never had this decision making afforded to me by a dentist and to be honest it made me feel a lot less freaked out by everything today. So I went with two just to ensure it’s not too much of an impact on my mouth as I have some important meetings at work tomorrow.
The numbing process was pain free, although the dentist had to put in some extra shots as the outside gum and cheek had not numbed with the first round. After reading this forum, I remembered in the moment to let her know it wasn’t numb yet. She thanked me and said that it is fine as she could go up to 11 but had only used 2 to start with. After an extra shot, it was all numbed and the work began.
The procedure went well and the fillings are there in all their composite glory (bottom right 2nd premolar and 2nd molar) After the procedure, the dentist ran me through my options for the cosmetic work I need done, once we get through the fillings. She had consulted with one of the other dentists on my X-rays. My original silver fillings from when I was a child are all in need of attention with crowns as the tooth is cracking or in danger of cracking. She explained that with silver fillings, dentists would need to drill more tooth out than they need to now. Unfortunately, I have them on all four of my 1st molars. So bottom two will need crowns and the top two also. Because I’m missing (through extraction) my top two second premolars, she has given me the option of bridges with the crowned tooth adjacent, or implants. I need to take some time to think about it and do some research. The bridges will be half the price of crowns and implants separately. Would love to hear from anyone who has experience with crowns bridges (if that’s what you call them!). Do they look weird? Are they as strong as normal teeth?

So, overall I’m feeling a lot better about things. There is still a lot of work to be done, but step by step I am hoping I will be okay. Dentists have come such a long way in the last 10 years, is all I can say. I’ve already booked in my next fillings and also the first bottom crown. I’m amazed that the office has its own 3D scanning technology and does the whole procedure in a single day.

 

[letsconnect]

Hi @night_natter, well done for making it through, that must have taken you a lot of courage. Congratulations!! It sounds as if you're very happy with the work she's done on the fillings .

Considering the amount of work being suggested, and the various options you were presented with, it might be a good idea to get a second opinion. If you were to get building work done on your house, you probably wouldn't just speak to one builder (unless you knew them really well or they were a friend), but you'd get several opinions and quotes before making a final decision on who to go with and what work to get done. Over the years, I've found the same to be true with health professionals (including dentists) - unless you're absolutely certain you've found the right person. Sometimes, this can make the decision-making process a bit more complex, but one tends to learn a lot in the process (and hopefully make the best decision!).

We've collected some tips for choosing a dentist here:

How to find a dentist for nervous patients

Discover how to find a dentist who is good with nervous, scared or phobic patients - and who to avoid!

www.dentalfearcentral.org

and here:

How to find a high-quality dentist

How do you know if a dentist really cares about the quality of their work? Here is what to look for and expect from a high-quality dentist.

www.dentalfearcentral.org

A good question to ask a dentist when trying to make a treatment decision is "what would you do if it was your tooth/your mouth?" (and it tends to get even more interesting if you ask more than one dentist - as they say, you ask 10 different dentists and you'll get 11 different opinions )...

 

[night_natter]

Thanks so much for the reply @letsconnect, and the lovely support and advice. I really appreciate it.

I clicked that second link and all those attributes of a good dentist are exactly what my dentist is! I cannot be more relieved to be honest. She is aware of my anxiety as the patient form I filled out on my first visit asked that very question, so it was a lot easier than having to start the conversation myself.

During the first filling, she had to pause to take some pictures of the work as she found some decay on the adjacent tooth (which is getting a crown in two months time). She took some time after the fillings were done to show me the photos on the computer and thoroughly explain how my old silver fillings are problematic, and also gave me a price rundown of the options available to me for the upper crowns/implants.

I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot and it is great to feel in control of things. But I will ask her about which option she would take next time. I had already come to terms with two implants, despite the cost. The clinic also has a free quote service for implants with the head dentist, so it’s at least worth a go to see what she also thinks.