AIBU re dentist to of hours charge?

[NoonarAgain]

I've just had to spend £500 having a crown made. It was huge. There was more hole than tooth and they put in a temporary filling. This fell out twice and each time left me unable to eat or drink due to extreme sensitivity. The first time the temporary filling fell out was on Saturday. It was very painful having it put back it. The second time it fell out it was even more painful, but during office hours.

AIBU to think that I shouldn't have to pay for the out of hours service? Why should I pay more for a bad experience caused directly by their work?

They now want me to go back in to the surgery for the 6th time relating to this tooth, and pay even more money.

They say I will be able to claim it back, but I feel they are adding insult to injury by charging in the first place. why should i face this extra inconvenience?

AIBU?

[NoonarAgain]

i should explain that the temporary was put in while the crown was being made and they expected it to last 2 weeks.

[fanjoforthemammaries7850]

I wouldn't assume that it fell off due to anything bad they did.

It just happens.

[OOAOML]

I've had temporary fillings a few times and it has always been a case of 'go easy on it' and I've been warned there was a good chance of it coming out. If you are able to claim the money back (do you mean NHS or a Denplan type thing?) then what is the problem, provided you have the cash available of course?

Depending where in your mouth the tooth is, there could be a lot of stress on the temporary. It may be that something you've eaten, or grinding your teeth in your sleep, has caused it to come out.

Disclaimer: I am not a dentist, my experience is based on having several crowns done.

[NoonarAgain]

the temporary was huge and not cemented in. the dentist clearly expected it to happen as he gave me the on call hours. maybe IABU but i still feel i shouldn't be inconvenienced further.

[littleash789]

Yabu. It's a temporary filling, so obviously not going to be as strong or durable as a permanent fix, so needed to be treated gently, and when it failed you had to disrupt someone's weekend to get it repaired.
Yes, that person was on call, but their time and expertise are not free, this is a professional who has expenses to pay such as student loans, the practice overheads, staffing costs, all of which cost money.
And as you say, you can claim it back.

[OOAOML]

I've had temporaries made of filling material shaped in the impression taken for the crown - I can't remember how they were fixed in but I doubt it was permanent cement as that would probably just mean more damage getting them out when you have the permanent crown put on.

[NoonarAgain]

littleash, can i just say that the hole was so massive the filling had almost no tooth to grip onto. the on call dentist had to try 3 times to get it to stay in just for the duration of my time in he dentist chair. i lived on porridge for a few days and did not chew on that side. i promise you nothing i actually did disrupted his weekend.

[NoonarAgain]

OOAOL i think that wa it but that it went suited to such an awkward gaping hol.

[NoonarAgain]

'hole'

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

Did you discuss extraction with the dentist?

Not every medical or dental procedure is 100% fail safe. That does not mean that the de rust or doctor is at fault provided they have discussed all the possible treatment options and the benefits and risks of each to allow you to make an informed decision about what to do.

[NoonarAgain]

that wasn't discussed. just normal filling versus crown due to its size.

[littleash789]

Sorry, I do sympathise- my mum's teeth sound very similar as hers are fragile and mostly held together by fillings and crowns, it's miserable! I am quite defensive about people complaining about out of hours fees for people on call though, as I do a lot of on call and people can be very unreasonable about out of hours fees- we don't charge them for no reason I promise!

[OOAOML]

Have you had root canal?

In my experience (sadly several experiences of crowns) it is very hit and miss how well temporary filling holds up. I once went on holiday to Italy for two weeks, ate lots of crusty bread etc and managed to maintain temp filling. Other ones have been very problematic.

With a hole that sounds that big I imagine the choices were between hoping to keep you going with temporary filling until the crown was ready, or doing an extraction (which I've been told can lead to the teeth around moving). Bottom line though is that you have had several appointments - and there is a cost for that.

[fanjoforthemammaries7850]

If they cemented it in it would be a heck of a job getting it out again for the Crown especially if not much tooth left.

[NoonarAgain]

yes fanjo, indeed. the dentist (not my regular one) did cement in the third temporary on Monday and i had it scraped out without anaesthetic during a one hour appt this morning. probably why i'm feeling a bit sensitive about being asked to go back in on the same day and pay even more.

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

My DH is a dentist and does a fair amount of of call. It's a right faff (and spenny) to get a nurse out and then get there. He's thinking of giving it up as not worth the aggro.

noon - would you have opted for an extraction (ie at that time - no with the benefit of hindsight?) Presumably the dentist warned of risks of this treatment and that's why you had the OOH dentist number?

I would speak to the dentist when you go back for your next appointment and explain that you're not happy and why. Then at least you can get a dialogue going as to what has happened and why.

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

Just for the avoidance of doubt - I know fuck all all about dentistry so don't know if an extraction is even an option. Just that it seems reasonable to ask if it was an option at the time

[NoonarAgain]

gobbo, this dentist lived 5 mins away and he didn't use a nurse. i was in the chair 10 mins, so the inconvenience on this occasion was minimal. i do appreciate that it could be a major hassle though, and that he had to stay close to home that day.

i was not advised at the time that the temp would be so precarious. this was mentioned only on day 3 when i was concerned how much the filling had changed shape.

i had no sense (in advance) that i was being given a precarious filling to last 2 weeks.

i was told it would cost £500 so i resent paying extra for a less successful route to the same outcome. does that make sense?

i wouldn't want an extraction as it'd be too visible. i think the two week delay between appts was too ambitious in the circs.

[ChunkyPickle]

I do think, that dentists can be a bit cheeky.

I was charged twice for a filling that the dentist persuaded me to have done (it was replacing a mercury one), but which kept falling out. I went to another dentist the second time it fell out, and she did a quick job (it was an emergency appointment - I don't even think she drilled) and the filling hasn't fallen out since, so my feeling is that it was entirely the shoddy work of the first dentist causing the problems - yet you still have to pay. If it was a car mechanic you would kick up a fuss and at least get a discount.

[newnamefor15]

Extraction is always an option. You could pull out perfectly healthy teeth if you had a mind to.

I can see your point PO, but temp. fillings are not very durable at the best of times and with so little actual tooth left to support it, I'm not surprised it failed. You shouldn't expect that to leave you in pain though, so I'd be asking about that. And the treatment being painful.

I had a back tooth crown on NHS after a big filling failed, also with very little real tooth left, no pain during treatment but it did take about 3 treatments to get all the crap out during root canals. So the number of treatments might be ok.

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

Extraction is always an option. You could pull out perfectly healthy teeth if you had a mind to.

Not to be pedantic but that's not really an option that you could give to a patient, I don't think.

I think if you wouldn't have gone for an extraction then you are where you are in terns of you needing a temp filling in a bit of a bastard tooth that was pribably hard to fill and there is an element of luck with that.

You could look at an implant if you wanted it out - but my understanding is that they are expensive

You should still speak to dentist re: not bei g happy. And out of hours is a ball ache. If quite like to...er... Do things with my DH at the weekend and I'm sure he would quite like a drink on a Friday night

[NoonarAgain]

thanks newname, it was only pailful while they were poking around in the hole without anaesthetic.

chunky, i know what you mean. i kind of feel that i've paid for a job and signed for that amount. i don't expect the price to go up. it wasn't an estimate!

[fanjoforthemammaries7850]

It's not his fault it fell out out of hours.

Just like it wasn't the plumbers fault our water tank burst out of hours. We had to pay the emergency call out fee rather than standard one. Just that's how life works

[NoonarAgain]

but fanjo, if the plumber had just repaired it during office hours, and it failed again out of hours, would you expect to pay again?

[fanjoforthemammaries7850]

Yes if it wasn't his fault. Which i don't thimk the temp falling out was.