AIBU ... 18 months on at the dentists

[MissKittyBeaudelais]

So, I posted here a couple of years ago. I had a change of dentist as my old one left the practice. I’ve seen her now every 6 months and I’ve had a problem with an old crown I’ve had for 33 years. I’ve always looked after my teeth. Hygienist each 3 months; dentist every 6. The crown is painful. I’ve been told to just continue flossing/brushing/using Corsodyl and that even through the gum line has receded, the crown itself though old, is solid and they won’t replace it because of recession and gum line no longer “fitting”.

I’m really hacked off with this situation. My gum and tooth have been swollen, bleeding and extremely sensitive now for the past week. In fact, despite my hard work, it spends much of its time in this state.

Dentist told me in the summer that Denplan won’t cover the cost for aesthetic reasons and clinically, ill just have to carry on.

Anyone with any ideas what I can do? I could spend £800 to have it done “for cosmetic reasons”. I don’t have £800.

Its not that it's not deemed a dental issue, it's that the dentist doesn't feel the crown is the cause of the issue and that replacing the crown will solve it.

How do you mean infection? If the tooth is infected on the xray have they not mentioned root filling the tooth? Or are we talkng about perio infection?

I’ve had the root removed. It got infected and has been drilled/filled extensively. X rays show a small amount of infection but she just said see you in six months, these things often resolve themselves and don’t need any antibiotics.

I’ve a tiny hole at the back of the crown where I can feel where the root was sorted. It has a tiny filling in it.

Today, it’s all red and swollen again and feels like a dragging/throbbing pain, if that makes any sense?

hi I'm a retired dentist
so I can't see you or the xray but to be it sounds like you have an infection in the gum or possibly also at the tip of root ( called apex) or maybe both and exposed dentine on the exposed root which is causing the sensitivity, if there is cold sensitivity the nerve is not dead though it might be damaged, a common symptom of the infection being at the apex is it is really sore if you tap it or bite down hard
you definitely have a problem(s) but replacing the crown would not fix either of these problems
a.) if the infection is just at the gum margin it will probably settle with time and a deep clean under the gum possibly with anaesthetic
b. ) if the infection has gone to apex you may need root treatment often this is done by drilling a small hole in back of crown doing root filling then sealing crown again
c.) you have wear into dentine on root and tooth is sensitive it is notoriously difficult to get anything to bond properly to exposed dentine without removing soubd tooth tissue

if the crown fractured or came off and could not be replaced whilst root canal being done it would be replaced under denplan or the NHS if an NHS patient; however if the crown is sound but the problem is elsewhere ( see suggestions above) the crown would not qualify for replacement as it is technically sound and replacing it will not cure the problems
so options are I think
1, get treatment for gum issue and hopefully it solves the problem

1. after doing 1 if still pain will need to consider whether tooth can be saved and will a root canal help if it does ( generally I would wait 6 months after a root canal before replacing crown) then think whether you would like a new crown cosmetically
2. if tooth is loose or lacking bone support it may not be possible to save it that is a whole different set of discussions

hope that helps but obviously i can only give guidelines as I can't see you r know all the info so at best it is educated guessing

Nhs max cost 260

actually NHS max cost is £269.30 for a band 3 treatment in England, Scotland has a different fee scale

@Teacupdrama.... I’ve already had the root canal treatment/little hole filled. Had it 18 months ago. Had infection since, which showed on X-ray.

For everyone who has mentioned the NHS Band 3 cost.....in order to pay that and have it done, my dentist has to agree to it needing to be done and she doesn’t. So, even though I’d very happily pay the Band 3 charge, I still can’t even do that.

@misskittybeaudelais

if it is recurrent or recurring infection a new crown still will make no difference, you will either need a new root treatment which may or may not work, re- root treatment are not successful in every case (much less so than the 1st time) as sometimes the canal system is like a delta and not possible to get clean enough
unfortunately in some cases if root treatment doesn't work an extraction becomes inevitable

I am afraid Kitty that the crown is not your problem and replacing it whether on NHS or with Denplan or privately will not really help your problem with pain etc
personally I would be very reluctant to replace a crown cosmetically on a tooth that was not 100% healthy as if the tooth flared up again you would be more than a little annoyed at having to get a tooth out which had recently had new cosmetic treatment even though the two would be unrelated

my recommendation is that you forget about a new crown until the underlying problem is solved

Thank you @TeaCupDrama. That makes sense.

Anyone help me out with advice ?
My tooth is fractured front tooth and tomorrow I have it taken out and temp denture put in 😰 anyone had same ? Can people tell x

What about an implant? Or a bridge? My dad had a front denture and he hated it. My neice has a really good bridge which looks great after an accident where she lost 2 teeth.

Are you young, @Jenlovesrob?