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Dentist, what would you do?

(33 Posts)
mrsmopp Tue 31-Jan-17 13:50:53

I have a white composite filling on one of my front teeth. I am keen to keep the tooth but the filling has fallen off more than once. Last time I caught it and my dentist stuck the piece back on. It took less than five minutes and he charged me £85. I was a bit surprised but he just said its standard charge for a filling. There was no drilling, no injection, it was just glued back.
Now it's dropped off again, after only 4 months.
I'm tempted to get some superglue and fix it myself rather than give him another £85.! (Joking). What would you do? Maybe it's time to change my dentist but how do I know what another would charge? Am I being unreasonable??

J52 Tue 31-Jan-17 14:13:24

This happened to me. Many years ago a corner of my front tooth chipped of. It was built up. Several years later it chipped again, some was removed to give a 'key to the new fill.

Then it happened again, this time my new dentist suggested a veneer on the tooth. She explained that every time the fill failed more good tooth had to go to make the filling stable.

I had the veneer, not cheap, but worth it. The tooth looks better than the original one. The other front tooth is getting thin at the edge, so it might end up veneered as well.
The only downside is you have to be careful not to bite on anything hard, so no bottle opening with your teethgrin !

J52 Tue 31-Jan-17 14:14:33

*off.

PS, a new dentist should provide you with a schedule of charges.

janeainsworth Tue 31-Jan-17 14:24:37

MrsMopp my advice would be to ring the surgery & say the filling has come out again after only 4 months and ask whether there would be a further charge for replacement.
I think most practices would not charge if something failed within a year, unless you had been specifically advised that re-filling would be unlikely to last long and a veneer or crown would have been better.

mrsmopp Tue 31-Jan-17 14:27:43

I reckon it was cracking open Brazil nut shells with my teeth wot did it ? !!
But seriously as it was such a quick repair he could have come down on the price a bit, I think. Five minutes work for him cost me a weeks pension...

janeainsworth Tue 31-Jan-17 14:31:58

shock I expect you had been specifically warned not to crack open Brazil nuts with your teeth, too!
Re the five minutes' work..... he probably scheduled a 20 or 30 minute appointment.

Riverwalk Tue 31-Jan-17 14:43:38

mrsmopp I assume you're kidding about the brazil nuts! shock

janeainsworth Tue 31-Jan-17 14:44:29

You'd be surprised riverwalk grin

Elrel Tue 31-Jan-17 14:54:36

DGD head butted a Formica table in school about 6 years ago and chipped about a third of a front tooth. The repair has fallen off twice since , a dentist friend tells me that this is common and doesn't imply any inefficiency by the dentist. As a child she's had it replaced free but she's 17 now so may have to pay next time.

mrsmopp Tue 31-Jan-17 15:23:12

River walk, the clue is the smiley face followed by 'but seriously' so, yes, I was joking.
We finished the Brazil nuts at Christmas!

I think I might phone the surgery, if you don't think I'm being cheeky.
I just wish I had had the foresight to train as a dentist when I was young, as they seem to be as well paid as barristers now. Pension goes nowhere these days......

Ana Tue 31-Jan-17 15:27:33

Can't you find an NHS dentist in your area?

£85 sounds about right for private, even with Denplan, unfortunately...

dogsmother Tue 31-Jan-17 15:35:07

Nothing to loose in calling, four months isn't really good enough ?

janeainsworth Tue 31-Jan-17 15:37:33

I'm sure they wouldn't think
that you were being cheeky mrsmopp especially as you paid last time.

jusnoneed Tue 31-Jan-17 15:45:31

I had a filling which failed after three months and my nhs dentist did it again for free. I was most surprised as I expected to be charged again, so definitely worth a phone call.

Badenkate Tue 31-Jan-17 15:58:23

I had a front filling when I was a teenager and it would come out every couple of years. Finally I saw a dentist who said that this was going to keep happening and that a crown would be best - that was almost 40 years ago and that crown is still going strong - no problems biting anything. Every time I have a check-up I always ask how it is and up to know I've been told it's very stable. I also had a repair on one of my bottom front teeth about 8 years ago when the top broke off for no reason - that's still going well. What I'm saying is that these things should certainly last longer than a few months!

Marydoll Tue 31-Jan-17 16:31:16

My DH's filling fell out less than six months after getting it done. Our NHS dentist replaced it for free. I would phone and enquire about it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Ana Tue 31-Jan-17 16:34:26

Private dentists don't do 'free' - unless it was literally the day before that they'd done the filling!

suzied Tue 31-Jan-17 17:47:54

I think if you complained they would redo
It for you.

kittylester Tue 31-Jan-17 17:54:28

I'd take Janeainsworth's advice.grin

From memory, dentists have to replace NHS work for a specific period after treatment. Jane will know that too.

BlueBelle Tue 31-Jan-17 18:01:16

Why not use a NHS dentist then a filling would be in band 2 which is £53 for fillingS root canal and extractions and if it came out quickly they would redo it for free

mrsmopp Tue 31-Jan-17 20:01:28

Can't get registered with NHS dentist, they all full up.
Just want someone to glue my filling back.
Can anyone on here do it? £25??
Either that or I phone my dentist

mrsmopp Tue 31-Jan-17 20:04:33

Do you have to be register owith NHS dentist - you can't just go to one can you?
This is in case I phone my own dentist and he says its same price, which he will, knowing him...

jusnoneed Tue 31-Jan-17 22:35:24

You have to register with NHS dentist, I know it's very difficult in some places. It used to be here, but over the last couple of years there seem to be more being provided. They are soon snapped up.

BlueBelle Tue 31-Jan-17 23:04:25

Wouldn't it be worth going to a nearby town you don't have to live in the area do you I know people here whose chosen NHS dentist is in a different town We must be lucky as a lot of our dental practises take on new NHS patients I changed last year and had no problems I suppose different areas have different levels
Mind you i expect it ll be VERY difficult if BEXIT happens as we seem to have no English dentists There are about a dozen in my practice and none are British they are all blooming lovely

tiredoldwoman Wed 01-Feb-17 06:21:02

I had to get a single tooth put on a bridge after my old crown root crumbled . Less than year later it broke so I went back thinking they'd glue it back on . It was a different dentist and he demanded angrily who had made this bridge, it didn't fit my mouth , was badly done and was never going to be any better. He whipped it out of my mouth , binned it and told me just to use my original temporary 'flipper' . That damned bridge cost me a lot of money and dental visits but nothing was said about it .