Small chip on front tooth- Not covered by NHS?

[maesto45]

Hi

Ive got a small chip on the bottom of my front tooth, currently im entitled to free NHS dentist treatment due to an illness, when I asked my dentist if he could fix the small chip, (maybe 3-4mm wide triangle) he said it was cosmetic and not covered by NHS.

Is this right? unfortunately I cant afford private at the moment.

 

[BioMan]

Recently my daughter visited her NHS dentist with the same problem and it was fixed there and then. However, the strange thing was the dentist apparently asked whether she paid or not. She did comment to me at the time that she felt that had she not been paying, then the tooth would not have been fixed.
Hope someone will throw some light on this for you.

 

[carole]

It will probably be fine, but if it cuts your tongue or mouth then it would need doing. Or of course if it causes pain. The problem with these little chips is that they often pop off and to get the filing to stick they sometimes need to drill into an otherwise healthy tooth and it can still pop off.

I wouldn't be worried if it isn't causing you pain or cutting your mouth.

Or try seeing another dentist or dental school and see what they say about it.

 

[rob wain]

If the treatment isnt 'needed' then strictly speaking its not available on the NHS
Whether you pay or not doesn't matter - its slightly better from the dentists perspective if you don't pay.