Dental crown on NHS?

[Pushmeinthepool]

About a year or so ago, I chipped one of my top front teeth on a sweet. I went to the dentist who told me that I need a crown on the tooth but that it's not available on the NHS, and that I will have to pay £450+ to have it done privately.

So I'm now left with a tooth that not only looks hideous, it's also very sensitive to hot and cold. It's affecting my confidence and of course I can't smile with my mouth open in photos.

I really can't afford the £450 at the present time, it will take me a fair while to save it up as we're pretty skint. But surely as it's uncomfortable and affecting my confidence it should be available on the NHS; my neighbours son has chipped his front teeth loads of times and has had them sorted on the NHS.

Any thoughts? Should I see another dentist at the practice?

THat's odd - I thought you could get white crowns on the NHS for front teeth? I would get a second opinion if I were you. IT will still be the £195 rate though I think.

you can get one on NHS if it's one of your two very front teeth only, AFAIK.

otherwise they would do one but it wouldn't be white.

I have a veneery thing at the moment, and when I saw the dentist in August he told me he thought my long term option would be crowns on both front teeth. He quoted me about £400 per tooth (I presumed that was NHS as that's how I usually go- perhaps he foolishly clocked me for someone with money and was quoting me private?)

In the meantime can't they put you (I think it's called) a composite veneer on? That's what I've got on both my front ones and it costs me about £40 a time and looks perfectly normally toothlike?

Bucharest, are the composite veneers on the NHS? I suggested putting a veneer on to the dentist but he laughed and said that would be over £800 per tooth.

Am definitely going to get another opinion at the surgery, I'll make an appointment for next week.

They're not veneers as such, he called them "composite veneers" I think, basically, they are white filling stuff, that he uses to build up the missing bit of tooth IYSWIM?

They just mix them up in the dentist's surgery, like they do a normal filling.

Ah yes I know what you mean, I'll ask about having that done. Can you have composite veneers on other teeth apart from the two very front ones, as one of the next teeth along is chipped too and I could do with that being built up a bit too.

I phoned the surgery first thing this morning, and spoke to the practice manager, who answere the phone. I explained the situation to her and she has made me an appointment with another dentist, who I've seen before in an emergency and is lovely (and rather good looking, lol), on Thursday.

So fingers crossed I might get the horrible teeth sorted!

I'm pleased to say I went to see the other dentist today and he has sorted one of the teeth brilliantly. He ran out of time as the appointment was only a 10 minute slot and I'm going to have the other tooth done in a couple of weeks. Both on the NHS for the fantastic sum of £45 for the both of them!

Thanks for all the replies, especially Bucharest. If I hadn't have posted on here I'd have probably still been stuck with the chipped toothypeg! :-)