NHS dentist and possible malpractice

[kilasuit]

I have neglected my teeth in last 6 odd years whilst having a very sugary diet.

This has led to a fair bit of decay including me loosing about half of 2 teeth and almost all of another.

I have been dealing with alot of pain (to point i didnt eat for almost 4 days as couldnt find anything that wasnt giving me pain)

I got prescribed 30/500 co-codamols and ibuprofen and told to take 2 of each at staggered intervals ie 2 co-codamol then 2 hours later 2 ibuprofen etc etc.

Well i ran out of the 50 co-codamol i was prescribed last week and now starting to get a fair bit of pain again. Not unmanageable but i reckon i'll wake up in agony due to co-codamol filtering out of my system.

My NHS dentist has said that i need 5 teeth removed. No offer of any root canal treatment on any of them just all 5 removed. They referred me to Hopital to have all 5 out under general anaesthetic but after ringing earlier on 2day i found out its for a consultation with wait time 8-10 weeks

due to pain i have been rather snappy and short tempered also finding it more difficult to sleep (except this week were it was more difficult to get up lol)

i'm going to ring the emergency dental line and ask if i can get the co-codamol re-prescribed but instead of the 50 last week 100 or something stronger. I also think i should get another opinion as one of the teeth that i've been told needs extracting could easily have a filling as its a small proportion to the tooth size.

Am i being slightly irrational or is this a cause for merit?

[jen_br]

Re: NHS dentist and possible malpractice

Its not malpractice... Firstly if you go to the emergency dentist they will be pulled, generally that is what they do.

I would see yoru GP for the px renewal.. they can do that even over the phone if you explain the problem. They won't give you too many at once however.

I mean how do you know it could easily have a filling? is this your judgement? Dentist are trained professionals and personally they may feel there is a bit of damage.

get a 2nd opinion I know NHS dentist are hard to find... you can also see a private one some offer a free looksie.

[Pixie]

Re: NHS dentist and possible malpractice

I think you're being slightly irrational. I was a qualified dental nurse so I do know what I'm talking about.

If the NHS dentist you saw was the emergency one then, as Jen says, they will recommend extraction rather than fillings. However, they don't just extract teeth for the fun of it. Did you have bite wing xrays taken? It's very likely, given what you said about neglecting your teeth along with the sugary diet, that they are too decayed for fillings. The decay will probably extend far further than you can see, so the tooth that you think could be filled will probably have a lot more decay than you think.

I assume that they're all molars (back teeth). If so, root canal treatment can be a nightmare to do due to restricted access. Any root canal treatment is painful (so I've been told...never had it done)

[philnicandamy]

Re: NHS dentist and possible malpractice

I suffered worse with root canal surgery a good few years ago...definatley would go against it if ever offered again thats for sure

Had two teeth removed just before christmas last year on the NHS at the local dental hospital..they told me it could take 8-10 wks to be seen but if the pain increased contact them again and they'd see what they could do

in the end took just under a week when they saw me

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: NHS dentist and possible malpractice

Yeah, my son was in a similar position, they told him 3 months but it was only about 4 weeks. If the pain's unbearable you need to go back and let them know, might be that you need a course of antibiotics or antifungals too, as only a tiny pimple of an infection can cause agony if it affects the nerve.
If you can afford it, corsodyl mouthwash used every day would help keep infection at bay...or good old salt and warm water in an emergency can draw out an abscess...

Elsa x

[The Tech Clerk]

Re: NHS dentist and possible malpractice

Emergency dentist as long as no infections usually pull them out did mine after course of treatment because of infection, so go there.

[vossy]

Re: NHS dentist and possible malpractice

Salt and warm water is the best thing for tooth pain, NHS dentists are crying out for patients in this area (W.Mids), most if not all have signs outside asking for patients, you are not too far away so do a search. Nowt worse than toothache (except a very bad sunburn and someone slaps it).

[MrsD]

Re: NHS dentist and possible malpractice

if you have pain you need to be seen, are you not near a dental hospital, they'll have an emergency department where they teach dentistry

but if you're in agony and the advice is pull, then get it pulled and clean up your act with the sugar and the dental care

[kilasuit]

Re: NHS dentist and possible malpractice

Its not malpractice... Firstly if you go to the emergency dentist they will be pulled, generally that is what they do.

I would see yoru GP for the px renewal.. they can do that even over the phone if you explain the problem. They won't give you too many at once however.

I mean how do you know it could easily have a filling? is this your judgement? Dentist are trained professionals and personally they may feel there is a bit of damage.

get a 2nd opinion I know NHS dentist are hard to find... you can also see a private one some offer a free looksie.

Thanks jen got re-prescribed earlier via Shropdoc helpline. so no longer in any great pain now its a mild dull pain that i can deal with.

Hopefully i can get a 2nd opinion during the week thou i must say i feel that seeing as had fillings before on other teeth that i think it could be done but its just reading on other forums that NHS dentists have been pulling (or recommending pulling) teeth over Root canal due to costs.

I'd prefer it not be pulled tbh.

I think you're being slightly irrational. I was a qualified dental nurse so I do know what I'm talking about.

If the NHS dentist you saw was the emergency one then, as Jen says, they will recommend extraction rather than fillings. However, they don't just extract teeth for the fun of it. Did you have bite wing xrays taken? It's very likely, given what you said about neglecting your teeth along with the sugary diet, that they are too decayed for fillings. The decay will probably extend far further than you can see, so the tooth that you think could be filled will probably have a lot more decay than you think.

I assume that they're all molars (back teeth). If so, root canal treatment can be a nightmare to do due to restricted access. Any root canal treatment is painful (so I've been told...never had it done)

Pixie i will agree i most likely am being irrational.
i had a first appointment to see condition of teeth where i had an x-ray done and was told could have fillings on 5 other teeth but the 1 i'm worrying about is a wisdom tooth (i think) which has what feels like a small hole in that i have been told needs extracting.

I suffered worse with root canal surgery a good few years ago...definatley would go against it if ever offered again thats for sure

Had two teeth removed just before christmas last year on the NHS at the local dental hospital..they told me it could take 8-10 wks to be seen but if the pain increased contact them again and they'd see what they could do

in the end took just under a week when they saw me

hopefully this consultation will be sooner than the 8-10 weeks i was told.
I also think i'm most likely being impatient which sounds about right tbh.

Yeah, my son was in a similar position, they told him 3 months but it was only about 4 weeks. If the pain's unbearable you need to go back and let them know, might be that you need a course of antibiotics or antifungals too, as only a tiny pimple of an infection can cause agony if it affects the nerve.
If you can afford it, corsodyl mouthwash used every day would help keep infection at bay...or good old salt and warm water in an emergency can draw out an abscess...

Elsa x

I went to my dentist on weds last week (emergency appointment) and they gave me a course of Amoxicillin instead of removing the tooth.

Since last week i got some mouthwash for after brushing and also been using salt water after meals as well as brushing now 3 times (or more) a day

Emergency dentist as long as no infections usually pull them out did mine after course of treatment because of infection, so go there.

Again i'd rather not loose a possibly perfectly healthy tooth (other than the amount of decay) when it could be saved

Salt and warm water is the best thing for tooth pain, NHS dentists are crying out for patients in this area (W.Mids), most if not all have signs outside asking for patients, you are not too far away so do a search. Nowt worse than toothache (except a very bad sunburn and someone slaps it).

We just signed up to one back at end of august could i go to another just for a second opinion?

if you have pain you need to be seen, are you not near a dental hospital, they'll have an emergency department where they teach dentistry

but if you're in agony and the advice is pull, then get it pulled and clean up your act with the sugar and the dental care

My diet has changed considerably this last week and half its like being on a detox

I think the closest dental hospital is Birmingham which is about 45min drive away.



Thanks everyone for the help with this and i'm hoping that i dont have to loose the teeth but if needs be i suppose i best start getting used to the idea of loosing a few teeth

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: NHS dentist and possible malpractice

You can go to any dentist you like hun, providing they're accepting new NHS patients. If it puts your mind at rest, get another opinion...

[The Tech Clerk]

Re: NHS dentist and possible malpractice

Amoxicillin was what I was given for absiss

[Pixie]

Re: NHS dentist and possible malpractice

Pixie i will agree i most likely am being irrational.
i had a first appointment to see condition of teeth where i had an x-ray done and was told could have fillings on 5 other teeth but the 1 i'm worrying about is a wisdom tooth (i think) which has what feels like a small hole in that i have been told needs extracting.

Wisdom teeth are often extracted anyway as they usually cause nothing but problems...I haven't got any of mine!

I went to my dentist on weds last week (emergency appointment) and they gave me a course of Amoxicillin instead of removing the tooth.

They will always try to get rid of any infection if possible before doing an extraction.

Since last week i got some mouthwash for after brushing and also been using salt water after meals as well as brushing now 3 times (or more) a day

[SXGuy]

Re: NHS dentist and possible malpractice

i had root canal treatment about 25 years ago, and i can tell you, i had problems for years until a i met a dentist who managed to sort it out.

But they kept getting infected nearly every year, and now, one has a cap and the other was removed and replaced with a bridge.

So if the dentist doesnt think root canal is needed, dont push it, trust me you would regret it!

[LooLoo]

Re: NHS dentist and possible malpractice

when i was 21 i had a tooth out - after root canal - really wished i hadn't bothered...... wish i had just had it taken out in the first place... i had a false one for about 6 weeks then i had a bridge - which was basically it stuck on to my other teeth......... As time went on my front teeth were wearing and you could begin to see the plastic that the tooth was stuck on with - so finally after a lot of saving - I had veneers put in - 4 teeth in all - and OMG what a difference.....

if i had the funds i would have them all done - but it is sooooooo expensive.

When i was younger my back teeth were taken out when i had a brace - and never missed them at all......

as above if possible i wouldn't go down the route of root canal unless you really need to.

Good luck and glad you changing your diet......

Does anyone ever have that dream that your teeth are crumbling and falling out - i do - i hate it! eeek!

[kilasuit]

Re: NHS dentist and possible malpractice

Does anyone ever have that dream that your teeth are crumbling and falling out - i do - i hate it! eeek!

never had that dream but had one crumble and me swallow it.

Think it was a brittle wisdom tooth on the other side of my mouth to the pain i have been getting