What to do?

[Nicci]

I went to my NHS dentist over 3wks ago. I got a filling replaced that had fallen out. He showed me the work, talked me through, he is patient (although I still feel a burden if I panic /feel faint and have to stop - Mainly I know I'm eating into their limited time), he's kind and comes across as caring. I'm happy with him as a person, but I disagree with his findings re my front teeth.

He thinks they need cleaning. I feel the majority of my issues are decay..
It started off as white spots, those progressed to a small hole (light brown, not black), and now I have bigger hollows with a darker brown colour.
When I touch these spots the implement/finger goes down into a slight hollow, I'd have thought if this was staining it would be sat on the surface??

Either way, I get food trapped in these hollows and I feel they are getting worse every year.

I also have tiny fractures and chips..

I have no useable back teeth as I have top teeth with no bottoms one side, and two teeth the other, but so far back in my mouth it's fruitless..That side is now unusable anyway as the filling he did remains painful to chew on.

Basically I use front teeth, so they're rapidly getting worse.

He says we can discuss placing back teeth at my checkup. Due to Covid I've no idea when that will be.

I can only chew soft foods now. The healthy things I liked, granola, nuts, seeds.. Are a thing of the past. Its depressing. I'm tired, no energy and can't be bothered to exercise properly any more.

I'm terrified of allowing this to go on. I noticed the white spots 8 years ago, yet no one believes me that it's turned inro decay. Granted, I see my teeth daily and look with a 10x mag mirror (bad eyes).. But surely it's not hard to know dirt from enamel erosion.
This will be the third dentist thats saying it's a cleaning issue.. Meanwhile these hollows just get darker, bigger and are now sensitive to foods and painful to floss.

I have a tooth at the back that flares up, that no one can pinpoint. Had a filling there, which didn't resolve it. So that's been going on for years. I'm thankful it's not agony, but it let's me know its an unhappy tooth on at least a fortnightly basis.

I suspect its not the new filling/nerve that hurts in the other side , I fear its is fractured (it felt like he got something /like a clamp?? stuck on it at the end as it felt like he struggled getting it off my tooth..

I have front teeth with issues that is considered cosmetic by the NHS - how that can be I don't know.. Seems like I have to let things progress until its full on decay?

Another back tooth is very painful to floss, it feels like I'm just flossing pulp along my gumline!?! It just .

I just don't know what to do anymore. I feel a mess.

 

[Nicci]

I should add that I went to a Private dentist recently in the hopes I could at least get the front teeth acknowledged.

Again, nothing re decay/erosion, still saying it will be resolved with a cleaning.
He did however agree (and showed me proof) they're chipped and fractured in all their glory on a large TV screen.

He recommended bonding 4 teeth, not sure why 4, when I see issues (erosion) on 6.
No idea if this is the answer though if it is decay, should they just be bonded/covered over? I agree it will strengthen them/address the fractures, chips and transparent edges though.
No idea how much this will cost, I have to make another appointment to find out presumably.

He recommended dentures to give me back teeth. Chrome ones? I didn't know what they were until a nurse showed me a Google image..
That's a massive 4.5k, or 5.1k for the best ones - something to do with natural looking gums.

I have a quote for lab work or something, the paper gave zero detail on that. Just a quote for £120.. I guess it's for the bonding work ups perhaps.

I paid almost £100 for that 30 min consultation. Online they spoke of warm blankets, essential oils - ways to relax you. I felt none of that tbh.
Not did I feel enough was done re covid.. No windows open, no temp checks or questions, no cleaning of the waiting area with ppl coming in and out and the dentist being in a normal shirt with his mask constantly slipping (and readjusting it then touching me).. I felt a bit unsafe tbh.

I'd rather not go back. But I don't have the money or nerves to keep going place to place.
I certainly don't have 4k.. Which is miles away from the "From £650" on the website.. (the key word being "from" I guess, but I expected 1.5 k tops)

 

[letsconnect]

Hi Nicci, if both dentists agree that it's not decay then it's probably not decay. Decay refers to a specific disease process involving bacteria. There can be other reasons why teeth have hollows. In that case, bonding/covering it over as suggested might be an option. You're saying that you feel that 6 teeth need bonding, not 4. Maybe you could post a photo here (if you feel comfortable with that) so that a dentist can comment?

It doesn't sound as if you were too impressed with the private dentist you saw - can't blame you! I wouldn't go back there, either. Again, maybe somebody on here knows of a dentist they can recommend in your area!

 

[Nicci]

I've added a photo of what I think is decay, they say is just in need of a clean.



As embarrassing as it is I'd really appreciate an opinion.
You can see the white around the brown hollows (thats what I started with - white patches that then turned into having a small hole on each patch. It's on 5 of my front teeth). These are the worst ones. I'll try and add the other side too.

Sorry they're horrible choppers. . And sorry for the green star(!) I was just a way of knowing which photo to add!

Just for the record
My NHS dentist did say there's a very small hole forming on the back of my front tooth, which happens to be one of these (my second tooth).
He said to leave it as its only small, should a hole ever be left?? Sounds scary to leave it.. I was overwhelmed at the time so didn't ask :/

 

[Nicci]

The left side (worried this side will get just as bad as the right tbh)

 

[Gordon]

The photos are a bit out of focus but that doesn't look like decay to me. Yes, sometimes a small cavity can be left and watched for a bit.

Once you take a drill to a tooth there's no going back, so it's better to watch and wait before you do something irreversible.

 

[Gordon]

I'd be looking at your diet, do you drink a lot of sweetened drinks? Or "diet" drinks?

 

[MumOfBoys1985]

The left side (worried this side will get just as bad as the right tbh)

You sound a bit like me a year ago. Fixated on cavities and refusing to believe when the dentist said it's staining. As Gordon says (and he's the expert by the way) once you start getting drilling done, there's no going back and to do a filling they have to drill some good tooth too, the more you lose the more likely you are to have future problems so try to trust your dentist when they want to watch and wait a little while.

Maintain your dental hygiene as best as you can, reduce fizzy drinks and try not to get too worked up about it all. Anxiety is horrible so you have my sympathy on this.