Dental drama - what can I do?!

[hereismydog]

Bit long and boring, sorry!

I lost a filling recently and had a temporary one done by an emergency dentist as it was quite painful (excellent service) and was advised to see my own dentist ASAP for a new permanent filling, she didn’t think I would need a root canal as it wasn’t deep.

I booked in with my dental surgery as advised and was seen yesterday by a ‘dental therapist’, which seems to be the dental equivalent of a physician associate. She took an X-ray and announced that she couldn’t do the filling because she thought it was too deep and that I needed to book in with a qualified dentist for a second opinion as I might need a root canal. She couldn’t book me in for this so asked me to speak to the receptionist, who couldn’t offer me anything prebookable until the end of May and told me to call at 8am today to ask for an emergency appointment. I called at 8am and was told I couldn’t have an appointment because I wasn’t in pain. I politely asked why I had been booked in with someone who could not undertake the treatment required and that I was concerned there was no continuity of care as I was being asked to sort it out myself, the receptionist was quite rude and snippy and told me that they had offered me an appointment and it ‘wasn’t her problem’ if I didn’t want to accept it. I explained that I was concerned the temporary filling wouldn’t last 8 weeks and that it would become an emergency that may cause me to lose my tooth entirely. She told me again that I couldn’t have an appointment because I wasn’t currently in pain. I asked if she was telling me I needed to suffer before they would resolve the mistake they made and she hung up on me 😯

This is quite stressful for me as I have quite bad dental phobia (they know this because it’s all over my records and I sometimes get a bit tearful just giving my name when I book in at the desk!) and I’m petrified of having to be in pain before they will help me. WIBU to lie and tell them I am in pain? I hate lying but I don’t know what else to do as I’m so worried I’ll end up losing my tooth altogether if I have to wait 8 weeks.

I am sorry OP, sounds tough but NEVER EVER tell an NHS Dentist you aren't in pain.
Maybe it has now started hurting quite a lot?

I think it might have to suddenly start hurting 😫 I suppose the receptionist can’t just tell me she knows I’m lying, can she?! I just feel a bit icky about lying to them, even know it would only be a preemptive lie because it is going to start hurting for real soon, and the thought of losing the tooth terrifies me.

Pain isn’t even considered an emergency at our dental practice, I can’t imagine what is if they don’t consider being awake all night in agony to be worthy of emergency treatment!
Sorry op, that sounds awful, I hope you can get sorted.

Are you entitled to free NHS dentist treatment OP?
If not, could you consider going private instead for this? It costs so much for NHS treatment at the moment, I found it isn't so much more to go private, also it's a lot easier to get an appointment! They may also help more with your treatment anxiety.

I would take the pre bookable one, then if the filling falls out, ring up and tell them

I am at the moment as I’ve just had a baby. I had awful pregnancy gingivitis and brushing my teeth made me sick for most of my first trimester so my teeth aren’t in great shape at the moment, which is probably why my filling came out!

I might look at going private if they can’t/won’t sort it out, although when I went private before I saw a horrible dentist who treated me so nastily and spoke about me to DP in front of me like I was a child, saying I was being ridiculous and that DP would have to take me home if I didn’t calm down I hate being so afraid of anything being done to my teeth as it’s so embarrassing, I really do try to keep a lid on it but sometimes I just can’t. The emergency dentist I saw last week was so lovely to me despite the fact I was sobbing while she had needles in my mouth!

As long as you stay away from toffees the temp filling should last a good while. If it falls out then call them and take it from there. You’re not likely to loose your tooth.

You might have been seen as argumentative and removed as a patient.

I always take what I am offered. My own appointment has been pushed back 5 weeks due to my dentist being away but I’ve sucked it up and thankfully I’m having no problems but I would just ring at 8am if I developed pain.

Temp filling should be fine for a good while, mines nearly 3 years and only now needing to be replaced.

They record all their calls so if that is the case and the dental practice manager wants to listen to the recording, there would be no evidence of me being argumentative because I wasn’t 🤷🏼‍♀️

As far as I knew, I had booked an appointment to see a dentist as there was no mention of them using these cut-price ‘dental therapists’ when the original appointment was booked. I wanted to know why I had been booked in to see someone who was not qualified to treat me, and what they were going to do to ensure I could access the treatment I had asked for without having to wait to be in pain.

Take the 8 week appointment. If the filling falls out or it starts to hurt in the meantime then you can phone for an emergency appointment instead.

I had a temporary crown last nearly a year!

OK, @hereismydog you have been misinformed. A dental hygienist, although often qualified to take radiographs, is not qualified to fill teeth, their role is to show you how to clean teeth and to remove calculus and to clean teeth and polish teeth. Dental Auxilleries are allowed to fill primary dentition but are not permitted to give an ID block but may give very local anaesthetics, their work is under the supervision of a qualified dentist, they do not touch secondary dentition.

You need to ask for an appointment with a dentist for a filling... and yes, you are in pain as you have a temporary filling.

Dental nurse here 👋
Your temporary filling should absolutely last a couple of months until you are able to attend the ‘bookable’ appointment.
Some people have them as standard fillings, depending on which surface of the tooth is in question.
Your own dentist won’t be in a hurry to replace a temporary filling done elsewhere if there is nothing wrong with it/you aren’t in pain/you don’t have facial swelling. Hopefully none of these things will develop but at that point you could certainly call the surgery for an emergency appointment and they should provide one.
good luck op!

Also just to add - the dental therapist is qualified to replace lost fillings under direct access (without dentist prescription). It’s best practice for them to encourage you to see the dentist if they feel as if the job is out of their scope of practice. They cannot diagnose you to be in need of a root canal or extraction etc. only the dentist can do that.

The temporary filling isn't likely to fall out in 8 weeks. You were offered an appointment for the end of May. That is pretty standard for NHS that isn't an emergency. You are no longer an emergency as you had the emergency treatment with the first dentist.
Possibly it was that that the dental associate was the correct person to do the treatment untill the xray was looked at.
If you don't want to wait until the end of May you are probably best booking a private appointment with another dentist.

Honestly that's NHS dentistry now. Same story, pregnancy with horrific morning sickness and reflux. Couldn't do dentist while pregnant as if so much as touched my mouth I'd be gagging and retching.

Lost a filling, 5 other teeth need fillings. Had an emergency dentist fill the tooth that lost the filling and it was 4 months before I got an appointment to fix it. 3 of the teeth still haven't been done as can only do one side at a time and only for so long. My next appointment will be 11 months from my filling falling out.

My “temporary” filling lasted over two years (Covid) with no issues and I wasn’t even that careful. Take the May appointment and if you have issues before then call up, in pain, and get an emergency appointment.

It wasn’t a hygienist, it was a dental therapist. The appointment I had yesterday was booked for a replacement filling so they knew why I was attending and I was under the impression that I would be seeing an actual dentist! If the person I saw was not qualified to perform the treatment I was booked in for, I should never have been booked in to see them and the onus should not be on me to call at 8am every day to beg them to correct their error.

"temporary" fillings can last for ages.
I had a filling fall out, leaving a steel post sticking out from the remains of the tooth; I got a temporary filling the next day.
Long story, but ended up needing the tooth removed in hospital rather than the dental surgery, which took around ten months for the appointment. the temp filling was fine.

Why not try too make an appointment with the emergency dentist that you liked if you're considering going private?

The dental therapist can do certain fillings so with the information they had you were allocated the correct person. Once the xray was taken it became apparent that it was something that would need to be done by the dentist. You were offered an appointment for the end of May. This is all just standard.

I’ve no idea where she works, I saw her in a minor injuries unit at 10pm! The emergency appointment was made by the dental version of 111.

My worry is that it does need a root canal and by the time this 8 week wait is up, it’ll be too late to save the tooth and I’ll lose it.

It shouldn’t be ‘standard’, that’s the problem. I’m a nurse and if I see a patient who I think needs to see a doctor, I arrange all the follow-up for them if I can’t get a doctor to come in and see them there and then. It shouldn’t just be a case of just shrugging your shoulders and leaving the patient to sort it out.

I also don’t agree with them not making it clear on booking that you are not seeing a dentist and that treatment options may be limited.

did you get an exit letter or anything from the hospital detailing who treated you, or do you remember her name? Or call the hospital to ask?

Improbable that she only does emergency night cover, likely to work elsewhere & work additional shifts - must be possible to track her down.
Or ask for a hospital referral - my extraction under GA was not because I am especially nervous, but I have a huge gag reflex, and trying to do it at the dental surgery was unsuccessful.

Just book the pre-bookable, It’s not an emergency. If it becomes one then phone them.

You’re wrong. If they have a degree in Hygiene Therapy then they can extract deciduous teeth and fill both permanent and deciduous teeth either under the prescription of a dentist or under direct access arrangements. They cannot do permanent extractions or root canal. I guess the therapist was concerned that the OP’s filling may actually need a root canal, in which case the right thing is for them to dress the tooth and refer to a dentist.
The therapist seems to have acted entirely correctly and there was no issue with offering a direct access appointment for a lost filling.
The issue seems to be that the receptionist is rude and unhelpful and that they are booking 2 months ahead- although booking 2 months ahead is fairly standard for an NHS practice.
Ask to speak to the practice manager, but your complaint is the attitude of the receptionist and not the clinical care being offered.
HTH