Hi all
Long one, but my journey has been a long one!
I feel my dental issues are taking over my life and here I am at 2.30am unable to sleep due to impending appointment.
I have had a lot of health issues over the last few years and had some huge surgeries, resulting in me leaving my career too. I have more surgery ahead.
3 years ago I decided before I reach 40 to have my teeth straightened. They weren't horrendous, but I wanted to feel good about myself, as I'd had some life changing surgery, it felt like that was something I could control.
Anyway, I had invisalign for about 8 months. Then my teeth relapsed slightly, so had another round to perfect them for 8 weeks.
Then I had a spate of cavities. Not sure if related to my low iron but had 3 fillings. (I already had some older ones).
As a finishing touch I wanted some edge composite bonding on my teeth to slightly reshape the froneslateral incisors.
The practice that did my invisalign couldn't do it as their specialist was off sick so I went elsewhere - just for the bonding.
It went Drastically wrong! She did my bonding minutes as she was stretched between her private work and NHS, and I left with 2 fangs like vampire fangs, and £700 down.
I'd walked in with pretty much perfect teeth and walked out like count dracula.
My family were mortified. She offered to fix it, but I wouldn't let her near my mouth after the utter mess she made, so she refunded me if I signed to say I would not take legal action 🤔
So I went to yet another practice who tried to shave it off. They got most off, but it took me weeks to get in with them, at which point my front teeth moved back slightly as i could not fit my retainers over my "fangs" and as she covered my entire lateral incisors with bonding they were still slightly flared out so now my top teeth aren't straight anymore as they couldnt shave it all off without risking my own teeth beneath, and they said if they did that they'd need to charge me £1200 to redo it. I had to call it quits. So I wasted 2 years of my life on invisalign, after her error.
I've had to keep order new retainers at £300 in-between treatments as even a filling csn change the way your teeth sit. It costs a fortune.
Then weeks after this I had to have a wisdom tooth out.
3 months later I go back and have to have another wisdom tooth out. This one doesn't want to come out, it was painful to get out. I then bled for a week, but they didn't want me in the dental practice as I was coughing, so ended up at hospital with anti biotics. It took ages to heal. Weeks.
Anyway, a few weeks later I bit into a KFC. I never normally even eat KFC. It was a crispy fillet and I felt my tooth crack. Went back to dentist and he said I'd broken part of my huge back filling. He replaced it. The pain continued weeks on as I ate. Went back in. He said I must have a hairline crack in my molar next to the one with the huge filling. One of the very few teeth I had with no filling was now cracked! Honestly, could have cried. He then drilled tooth as x Ray showed nothing. He couldn't see anything. He filled it. Put a seal on it. Now that tooth has a flat surface and feels too high. I'm still in pain with it. He said if the pain doesn't go it's extraction or root canal. At this stage, and with how I have healed and the fact I don't numb well, I'm now terrified. It's been relentless. I don't want another extraction. I'm scared of a root canal and the pain as I don't numb properly. I don't know what to do. It doesn't hurt unless I bite down so I'm not in constant pain. But I am eating on one side.
I've also lost all faith in dentists at this stage. It always feels so rushed. I've been in the dentist chair every other month for one reason or another for over 2 years now. Its created mass anxiety. And what was meant ti be a boost to my self esteem, has catastrophically backfired and now I have worse looking teeth than before, and clinically I'm worse off and my mouth isn't healthy either.
AIBU?
Can anyone share experiences? It's a tooth that is quite integral as its a molar so in the middle of my bite at the back. I've had 6 extractions in my life so don't feel it's one I want to part with and I'd have a huge gap.
Can the NHS refer me and sedate me? If I still had my bette paid career, I'd just go private. But I left that job in march. So private is now out. :(