Dentist didn't recognise teeth...

[Greekcatslovesouvlaki]

Background info: When I was younger I had years of orthodontic work due to having missing adult lateral incisors (teeth next to front teeth). Ortho used braces to pull other teeth around to close the gap, then filled and build up canines to resemble incisors.

Yesterday I went to a new dentist for fillings, while looking at my teeth the dentist said "lateral incisors are quite large, larger than the canines"

The canines he is referring to actually being pre-molars, a totally different shape of tooth with two points rather than one...

He did the fillings and they seem fine, but would this really put you off using this dentist or AIBU?

I wouldn't be crazy about a dentist not knowing what the teeth were. Bit like a doctor confusing your arm with your leg !
But whether it would make me change - not sure, if the filling they did was OK, maybe you'll be fine. I might wonder how competent they are if anything more complicated than a filling comes up (I had an awful dentist who stayed with for years out of some kind fo misplaced loyalty - he was a nce man, but a rubbish dentist - and ended up paying aofrtune to him for work which didn;t solve my problems and eventually ended up at the dental hospital where they gasped at the errors he'd made). If things go badly wrong - that when you need to have confidence in your dentist.

Yes that's quite worrying they didn't query with you if you had any work done previously to account for the different in appearance. A premolar in no uncertain terms should never be confused with a canine. As someone from a dental profession I am flummoxed this could be confused by a qualified dentist...

I wonder as well when you registered did you not give details of previous dentist for background of previous treatment etc? Or were asked for any history?

If he didn't know about the orthodontic work you had done I can see why he might have said that. Did you correct him and explain? If he genuinely couldn't tell the difference between different types of teeth then that would be worrying. However if it was a case of suddenly being confronted with something you weren't expecting I can see why you might say something stupid.

That’s exactly how I felt @Wishiwaswonderwoman87, flummoxed.

I saw him for a 15 min consultation a fortnight ago and discussed ortho work then, so def in record. Also one of the fillings was to redo the building up of the canine.

Can understand him forgetting as sure he sees lots of patients so a bit of “hmm what’s going on here then”, fine, but to confused a pre-molar with a canine

Wad there even a pause tgat would suggest they were confused?

I think given the fact you had treatment done there was plenty time while stuff set and work was being done for an additional shifty at anything that gave them any pause.. even if they did panic a bit and say something silky

God even I wouldn't confuse those 2 types of teeth. That would put me off yes.

He also said I had a very large tongue cheeky bastard

Silly... whoops

I am also missing lateral incisors but had no extra work done to my canines . Dentist always recognises they are canines and asks me about it . I've seen the same dentist for the last 19 years and it's in my records but I always get questioned about it.

I have no 6 year molars but I do have all my wisdom teeth. I judge a dentist on whether he Recognises this or thinks my wisdom teeth are missing.