Tooth extraction, and making peace with the gap

[XenoBitch]

After a months of putting it off, I had to have a tooth extracted earlier today. I am left with a gap (in my mouth and bank balance. I am entitled to free NHS treatment but no one offering it, but that is another thread!).
I had an upper lateral incisor removed, so very noticeable. I have covered all mirrors in my house, so I have no idea how bad it looks yet.

With the cost of living crisis, and also NHS dentistry non-existent, gaps are going to be common place now. At least I did not pull it out myself (which I nearly did).

I am not going to be able to afford dentures, or a bridge, and definitely not an implant. And even if I could, I would have to wait ages for my gums to heal anyway. Maybe I should make my own from Fimo (that is a joke).

Has anyone here had a prominent tooth removed and just lived with the gap? I am early 40s, if that makes any difference.

How much is a denture going to cost? Is it something you could save up for?

Get a denture. Even private for 1 tooth it's not that expensive and a price worth paying

I have two missing teeth, both molars, and I live with them. I have to be honest, and say that although I'm not particularly vain, and I don't spend a lot of time or money on my appearance, a missing incisor would have to be fixed for me. It's £300 under the NHS, but that's the top band for everything including dentures. Just one tooth might be similar, or even cheaper, privately. I would definitely make enquiries.

If you are entitled to free NHS treatment, that may not be affordable, so I'm not sure what the options are. Are there any hospitals offering NHS dentistry in your area?

I was fitted with a temporary denture at the time of extraction- the actual denture part was less than a hundred quid (although the whole appointment was significantly more expensive, of course). I would continue to explore options for an affordable replacement because I was told it isn't just cosmetic but helps protect the remaining teeth and gums. Hopefully for a single tooth you are able to find something you can afford. You have all my sympathy because it is really distressing to have such a visible gap. I think it took six months or so before I could look in the mirror without feeling quite upset. I was mid thirties, now late thirties - I am amazed how many people I know who I have since discovered are also sporting gaps or dental appliances of some sort. I hope you're able to find something soon. And look in the mirror - the sooner you see it the sooner you can integrate it into your face and the sooner it will stop being the first thing you see - your face is still your face it hasn't changed as much as you think it has.

I had a front tooth removed, at the bottom. They tried yo save it with root canal treatment but it still had to come out.

They gave me a temporary tooth on a plate to wear for 3 months while it healed, and then on if I wanted but I had a bridge fitted. The plate fell under some floorboards and I couldn't find it so had to get a bridge.

Why didn't they give you a temporary plate? I was given mine when they took it out.

For your own self esteem please do everything you can to save for a partial denture which would be the cheapest option. It is so hard to feel normal with such an obvious gap and you will always feel self conscious and aware of it and you could have 40 or more years living with it. I think it would be extremely difficult to get used to.
I had to have an upper lateral incisor removed a couple of years ago. I had a couple of weeks while a temporary denture was made, fortunately it was during COVID so I wore a mask while outside the house but I hated the gap even more than I hated the denture.
I had already made the decision to have an implant, that process took about 10 months altogether and cost about 2700 but it was the best decision ever, it looks and feels entirely natural and I couldn't be happier with it.

My partner lost all his teeth in a dance accident in his 20s, long before we met and I genuinely didn't notice until one day we were joking about biting and he came out with "I can't bite, only gum people".

The first 6 months was really hard for him (he destroyed photos of him pre-accident, avoided as many mirrors as he could.), then one morning he woke up and just decided to get on with his life.
He did have dentures, but couldn't get used to the feel of them, or the taste of the fixodent at all.
His gums are now hard, and have the same feeling as a baby just before teething starts, and can eat most of the things he missed during the first 6 or so months

I'm missing a few teeth myself (mostly molars rather than canines or incisors, though feel like I might lose a lower incisor), it doesn't bother me, but I know part of that is because of my partner and his acceptance of no teeth at all.

It's how you feel in yourself both right now, and in the future when the gum has healed/hardened.

Yes, I have one that sounds like yours, where it was a baby tooth that just never fell out! Have had the gap about twenty years now (am 43). Aldi other gaps were having children sucked my calcium dry and so lost a tooth with three of my children. Not so noticeable but are getting a loan for new teeth as they’re all too close together. But the top gap I don’t think I’ll ever get filled because weirdly it suits me! (Dentist said it would be extremely difficult to size something for that and it didn’t bother me so I’ve definitely made my peace with it!

A missing tooth that leaves a visible gap is aging! Do what you can to get it filled in as soon as you’ve saved enough.

Ask the surgery about payment plans.
I would have had a gap but my NHS dentist made a temporary tooth on a plate and then when the gum settled, he stuck a new tooth to the healthy one alongside it with special filling stuff. Looks great and well colour matched. You’d never know.

At the time we discussed all options and finance and it was then that he told me to speak to the Practice Manager about finance plans. Needless to say, I’m lucky to have a decent NHS and Private practice in the same building and lovely dentists and staff.

Thanks for the comments.

First, a relative gifted me the money for getting my tooth out (£150!).
Whatever fake tooth/plate you can have straight after extraction was not an option. My tooth had to come out due to infection and the fact it was all twisted and doing strange things. I don't want a mold and copy of the same tooth.
I am on UC and should be getting free dental care. No dentists where I am that can do that.

I really wanted tips on just making peace with a gap rather than solutions on how to get it filled (because it is NOT an option... I can't afford it).

There is a new dentist taking NHS opening near me in the new year so I will have to make sure I get on their waiting list.

I recently paid £600 for a denture for a missing lateral incisor like op.

So sorry op. I know how awful it is to have that gap. DS said ‘it doesn’t look bad mum’ but it really affected my confidence. DH said I’m vain to be bothered by it, but I suppose we are all a little vain. I hope you are able to not let it affect you, I certainty don’t judge others I see with missing teeth so I don’t know why it affected me so much tbh.

I don't think they have to mold the original tooth.

I'm no help with making peace with it, I lost my plate the Friday before starting a new job on the Monday. I was running round like god knows what trying to get a dentist to do something on the Saturday.

I had to start work with no tooth and a bit of a lisp.

Eventually found a dentist near work that saw me in the evening that first week and they made up the bridge without a mold of the original tooth and its been a perfect fit.

I did have to pay about 280 for it though I think because I went with metal at the back, ceramic or enamel or whatever they use in white would have been 800 odd.

Unless they accessed my old mold somehow from dental records? I doubt it though because this was all dealt with in a week.

I would do anything I could to have one put back in.

I know it's not what you want to hear but missing teeth are associated with addicts when people see them and sorry but you'd forever be judged. That's just the hard truth. A gap at the front just looks awful and has connotations

If you want something cheap and temporary for say an evening out or whatever use this stuff:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jomnvo-Temporary-Repair-Filling-Replacement/dp/B095333721/ref=sr_1_6?crid=23IK6TZEC195I&keywords=tooth%2Brepair%2Bbeads&qid=1699616736&sprefix=tooth%2Bbeads%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-6&th=1

You have to mess about for a while to get it right, but you can make a decent tooth that won't fall out. If it's too white, soaking it in cold tea will colour it slightly. I have a tooth missing that can't be replaced at the moment and it's fine to just fill the gap.

Dd had her incisor removed and four years later you can’t tell at all the gap closed.

You can get a particular denture straight away with out healing. You'll probably have to go private but mine cost about £100.

I had a front tooth removed 8 months ago and was devastated. Cried for about 2 weeks tbh. I hate it. But I got a denture straight away and managed to get am implant which I am waiting to have finished with a payment plan. If you can get finance you should be able to get a financed bridge or implant. I managed to get the finance on UC. It is possible that you can find a way to do this maybe, don't completely rule it out of it makes you miserable.

In the mean time what has helped me is following accounts of toothless or missing teeth women on tik tok which has helped normalise it for me. Tbh though I wouldn't be able to cope if I hadn't had an immediate denture at first. Noone other then my kids have seen me with out it but maybe you will be different if you are already managing to go out and about without a tooth in.

I had a upper central incisor loosen and fall out earlier this year. It was a tremendous shock, and I found it really traumatic to have a gap. I had to have some surgery to remove some retained root, but I paid £400 for a denture while the surgery heals and I decide what to do next (bridge or implant).
I think because it's so visible at the front, I'd have done anything to afford cosmetic solutions as I felt it affected me psychologically having a gap.

I have two missing molars which don't bother me as you can't see it unless you're peering into my mouth, and delightfully I don't get bits of meat wedged in my teeth anymore, but if I had a visible gap I'd be paying for something to go in. Depending on the size of the gap, over time if you left it your other teeth might shift a bit to close in the gap.

A cheaper option if/ when you might be able to afford it is to go direct to a dental technician, someone who actually makes the dentures, rather than via a dentist.
My aunt paid less than £200 for hers, I believe the NHS price would have been over £300.

I was going to suggest what @EverythingLouderThanEverythingElse said. My ex had dentures, and there are very unnoticable shops usually on backstreet corners that sort such things out-they did hers when the dog ate them one night!
Worth finding one in your area and asking. I agree that unfortunately missing teeth are associated with addiction or lack of self-care, which has negative connotations.
I've just had a very expensive root canal done and am dreading it not taking and having this issue myself, but I'd definitely not be able to make peace with a gap. Vanity maybe, but that's just the truth.

Denture teeth are “off the shelf” so aren’t made from an impression of your natural tooth. Sometimes the old teeth are used as a template for temporary bridges but if they are broken etc, there are ways to make the tooth look like it should.

In any case, I would highly recommend saving for a denture. As pp suggested, some technicians (with special registration and insurance) are able to deal directly with the public and can be cheaper than going via a dentist. A single tooth partial denture is almost always quick and easy to make if it’s made of acrylic (rather than metal). I reckon I could knock one up in an hour or two and I’ve not done it in 20 odd years! You might find a clinical dental technician content to give you a discount if you’re lucky.

Many dentists etc can’t do payment plans as it’s too much hassle to register as a credit provider.

I lost the bottom right front, couldn't have a plate because I had already lost the one next to it,you need a tooth each side. I was going to have an implant,but it was horrendously expensive, I am very dental phobic, and there is nerve damage because of this extraction,they cannot guarantee that it wouldn't get far worse,so I made peace with the gap!

If you Google 'clinical dental technician' you might be able to get a partial denture that way. They can take impressions and do all the denture work without a dentist's prescription. Obviously it will cost but it's what you need rather than attempting to come to terms with a permanent gap; which really will affect your mental health. Have a plan in place OP. There is no need to be passive.

Could the family member who gave you the money, also loan you money for the denture?
I know that I would if someone close to me was so upset that they were covering their mirrors…

Perhaps too late now, but it's worth getting dental insurance in the future.