D
dunder
Junior member
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2017
- Messages
- 8
Short story:
My lower right molar is scheduled for extraction in a month's time. I'm not convinced this is the best / only option and I'm terrified of losing the tooth unnecessarily. I'm looking for support (please)!
Long story:
About six months ago, my lower right first molar top a whack from a cold Curly Wurly chocolate bar. Tooth “LR6” I believe.
I knew it wasn’t good news as that whole side of my jaw was painful, and the tooth super sensitive to cold over the weekend. I went to the dentist on Monday who checked it out and took an Xray but couldn’t find much amiss. By now, the pain had pretty much gone, except when I pushed the tooth from the inside. She prescribed some fluouride toothpaste for two weeks!
It gradually got even better until, a week or so later, one quarter of the crown’s cusp came off. It has obviously been cracked since the original incident. I returned to the dentist who – to my surprise – was pretty non-plussed and proceeded to fill in the missing cusp with glass ionomer cement. This lasted for a week until a little bit chipped off, but I returned and she fixed it again.
The tooth itself has been fine since but, after a few weeks, the outside lower gum area around that tooth started to feel a little swollen and tender. After a couple more weeks I returned to the dentist (someone different this time) who took an Xray, said there might be some infection, and prescribed antibiotics. These didn’t make any real difference, but things did not get any worse. That was in early September.
At the beginning of November, the swelling seemed to disappear, but I also noticed a gum boil below the tooth. I believe these are technically called “sinus tracts” or “fistulas”. I was sure that whatever was causing the swelling had broken free through the fistula. Still no pain at all though – and everything felt fine. The tooth had been a little loose but now felt tight again. I returned to the dentist again (someone different once again) who took another Xray, noted some “periapical radioluceny” around one root and suggested I bring my next check up forward to see how things moved forwards.
I returned for this check up two weeks ago, he Xrayed the tooth once more and noted no change. He did a cold sensitivity test and said the tooth was "non vital". He noted that one of the tooth's root looked different (I think it is slightly "calcified").
I was offered four options:
1. Do nothing
2. A referral me for endodontic treatment on the NHS (as I’m registered as an NHS patient)
3. A referral for private endodontic treatment
4. A referral for extraction.
Options 2 and 3 were caveated with the phrases "If you're determined to try and save the tooth" and "I can't be sure that a root canal will resolve the problem. He also said he was certain the NHS referral would be refused, as the tooth in question is a back molar. I have since found the local referral guidelines and his point does look reasonable.
In the heat of the moment and, because I was fed up with going to the dentist, I opted for the extraction. This is currently scheduled for 16 January.
After reflecting on this for a few days, it’s fair to say I’ve been having second thoughts. I'm terrified of losing the tooth. I realise that someone is clearly wrong and it needs some form of treatment, but I’d much rather at least try and save it than be faced with losing my first tooth (and a big molar at that).
Feeling very anxious, I called the dentist early last week and described the situation. I said that it wasn’t a money thing, and asked for the referral for private endodontic treatment. They called back and repeated the line that "he's not sure endodontics will save the tooth" abut said they would send my notes to the endodontist for a view before booking me in. That was a week ago. I called today and asked if there was any progress but they said they hadn't had a response yet.
This is all a bit frustrating now and I obviously wish I'd said I wanted to try and save the tooth at my last appointment. I’m in no pain whatsoever, never feel any bitter taste or anything like that and, if I didn't know the fistula thing was there with a little bit of fluid / pus squeezing out occasionally, I'd be none the wiser. If I don't get any joy with my dentist and a referral this week I'm minded to try and get a second opinion elsewhere at the beginning of Jan, before the extraction on 16th. I really want to at least try and save this bad boy from being pulled.
I'd welcome and thoughts, comments, ideas and encouragement. Thank you.
My lower right molar is scheduled for extraction in a month's time. I'm not convinced this is the best / only option and I'm terrified of losing the tooth unnecessarily. I'm looking for support (please)!
Long story:
About six months ago, my lower right first molar top a whack from a cold Curly Wurly chocolate bar. Tooth “LR6” I believe.
I knew it wasn’t good news as that whole side of my jaw was painful, and the tooth super sensitive to cold over the weekend. I went to the dentist on Monday who checked it out and took an Xray but couldn’t find much amiss. By now, the pain had pretty much gone, except when I pushed the tooth from the inside. She prescribed some fluouride toothpaste for two weeks!
It gradually got even better until, a week or so later, one quarter of the crown’s cusp came off. It has obviously been cracked since the original incident. I returned to the dentist who – to my surprise – was pretty non-plussed and proceeded to fill in the missing cusp with glass ionomer cement. This lasted for a week until a little bit chipped off, but I returned and she fixed it again.
The tooth itself has been fine since but, after a few weeks, the outside lower gum area around that tooth started to feel a little swollen and tender. After a couple more weeks I returned to the dentist (someone different this time) who took an Xray, said there might be some infection, and prescribed antibiotics. These didn’t make any real difference, but things did not get any worse. That was in early September.
At the beginning of November, the swelling seemed to disappear, but I also noticed a gum boil below the tooth. I believe these are technically called “sinus tracts” or “fistulas”. I was sure that whatever was causing the swelling had broken free through the fistula. Still no pain at all though – and everything felt fine. The tooth had been a little loose but now felt tight again. I returned to the dentist again (someone different once again) who took another Xray, noted some “periapical radioluceny” around one root and suggested I bring my next check up forward to see how things moved forwards.
I returned for this check up two weeks ago, he Xrayed the tooth once more and noted no change. He did a cold sensitivity test and said the tooth was "non vital". He noted that one of the tooth's root looked different (I think it is slightly "calcified").
I was offered four options:
1. Do nothing
2. A referral me for endodontic treatment on the NHS (as I’m registered as an NHS patient)
3. A referral for private endodontic treatment
4. A referral for extraction.
Options 2 and 3 were caveated with the phrases "If you're determined to try and save the tooth" and "I can't be sure that a root canal will resolve the problem. He also said he was certain the NHS referral would be refused, as the tooth in question is a back molar. I have since found the local referral guidelines and his point does look reasonable.
In the heat of the moment and, because I was fed up with going to the dentist, I opted for the extraction. This is currently scheduled for 16 January.
After reflecting on this for a few days, it’s fair to say I’ve been having second thoughts. I'm terrified of losing the tooth. I realise that someone is clearly wrong and it needs some form of treatment, but I’d much rather at least try and save it than be faced with losing my first tooth (and a big molar at that).
Feeling very anxious, I called the dentist early last week and described the situation. I said that it wasn’t a money thing, and asked for the referral for private endodontic treatment. They called back and repeated the line that "he's not sure endodontics will save the tooth" abut said they would send my notes to the endodontist for a view before booking me in. That was a week ago. I called today and asked if there was any progress but they said they hadn't had a response yet.
This is all a bit frustrating now and I obviously wish I'd said I wanted to try and save the tooth at my last appointment. I’m in no pain whatsoever, never feel any bitter taste or anything like that and, if I didn't know the fistula thing was there with a little bit of fluid / pus squeezing out occasionally, I'd be none the wiser. If I don't get any joy with my dentist and a referral this week I'm minded to try and get a second opinion elsewhere at the beginning of Jan, before the extraction on 16th. I really want to at least try and save this bad boy from being pulled.
I'd welcome and thoughts, comments, ideas and encouragement. Thank you.