Dental Chronicles

[Mrsmorton]

I have noticed a number all of the dental related questions on MN get repeated once a month or so; this may be entirely unwelcome but what I intend to do is to make a series of detailed posts answering the most common questions so that I can signpost posters to an answer. Often they disappear in chat and then resurface.

I am a dentist (that's no secret on here) but I have no way of proving my qualifications and neither do I feel the need to. I hope that this will be of some assistance to someone at some point!!

No they didn't tell me anything it was just mentioned at the end of an appointment that she needed to look at it next time. My teeth are not in great shape so I'm having a few appointments to get them sorted.
I just meant more what are normally the options if there is decay, can the crown sometimes be saved? Or if the tooth has to come out what would my options be? My appointments not for two weeks so I am just left panicking a bit!

A crown on a lower incisor is very difficult as the teeth are so small. It also doesn't cure wobblyness or pain so you'd have to get that looked at beforehand whatever you do. It may be symptomatic for a few reasons, the root canal treatment may have failed. It does happen even where teeth have been treated expertly by experts. It may be that there are two canals and only one of them was treated. It's hard to treat these teeth so that does happen. It also may have fractured. All of these things can be treated but you must be aware that you may lose the tooth as some of these things can't be fixed. What it's replaced with depends on a whole host of factors that your dentist will be able to advise on when you find one.

chocolate once post crowns start to fail, the news is rarely good. When are you going back to your dentist? Have you and they looked at why you're getting decay? Do you have any other gaps? What are your teeth and gums like generally?

Any advice as to what to do with my very sensitive UL7? It was very out of line after the wisdom tooth behind it came thro & the dentist said the gum had receded. I had the wisdom tooth out & ive had 2 years of Invisalign but now that it's (nearly) straight it's still as sensitive as it was.
Is it something that root canal could help?

It depends what's causing the sensitivity. It's a bit of overkill if it's caused by the receding gum. Do you use sensitive toothpaste? You could put some in your Invisalign or retainer overnight to get it to really soak in. Try different varieties as well. Has your dentist suggested anything? What's it sensitive to? Does it cause pain at other times?

Thanks for replying so quickly. I've been using a sensitive toothpaste for the last 3 or so years. The dentist put something on the area of the tooth that's exposed because of the gum but he was reluctant to do more while I'm having Invisalign.
It's sensitive to cold but also to sweet things like biscuits weirdly and sometimes even sore when the toothbrush touches it. So I have to use tepid water when I brush them. I don't have pain otherwise.

Moving teeth can make them sensitive. It's a tricky problem, when does Invisalign finish? Has the tooth got any fillings in?

Hi quick question.
I am allergic to local anaesthetic having had proven anaphylaxis on testing at local hospital . I am now under Guys dental unit if I need surgery . Any thoughts on how to progress with fillings or repairs ? Any alternative pain relief available ? Am okay now but have a mouthful of fillings from childhood drill and fill practice .
Thank you for any thoughts

Hi mrsmorton I hope you don't mind me asking a question?

I chipped a front tooth years back and as time was ticking by the chip was becoming more noticeable so I decided I needed to improve the look of it. I decided to get some 'composite tooth coloured bonding' (at least I think that's what it's called!) as I wanted to try and preserve as much natural tooth as poss. Anyway the treatment was done and I was delighted with the appearance but after a day or so the tooth started aching (never ached before) so I went back and got the tooth adjusted as the filling felt a little high. Another couple days and it starts aching again so I go back again and have more adjustments made and also noticed some of the bonding is coming away at the front but can't really notice it much so dentist decided to smooth and polish it down a touch. Tooth still looks ok (better than it was!) but again about 4/5 days after the last adjustment it has stated to become quite sore again. I'm taking ibuprofen as sometimes it feels relentless and the pressure is building. Is this a common prob after having work done on a tooth that previously didn't hurt? The dentist tapped it and also put cold stuff on it and it felt cold but no different to other teeth. I'm sooo scared the nerve is dying or something sinister and I will need expensive treatment as its a front tooth . Dentist filled some off so the bonding would stick but she didn't say how much/if it would cause a problem. Should I give it longer to settle? X

jaffa if that was an easy question, you wouldn't be under Guy's hospital, I'm just a dentist, not a hospital specialist. Best thing to do is not need any new fillings, otherwise I'm sure Guy's have a plan. I have no idea what that might be.
Hope it goes well.

Ava you don't give much in the way of a timeline? When did you have the repair? The tooth can die as a result of whatever caused it to chip, that's really quite common so it may be unrelated to the repair.
Are you treated under the NHS? If so, a root canal treatment is about £60. You don't need a crown on front teeth that have had RCT on the same way as back ones so it's not automatically really expensive (under the NHS)- privately, a front tooth will be a few hundred pounds. Are you going back to your dentist for a review? You shouldn't be needing to take painkillers regularly.

It was sensitive before the Invisalign started but you're right - the moving into the bad position was the cause of the sensitivity so I hoped moving it back into line would sort it but sadly not. I think the Invisalign treatment is nearly finished but the teeth on the left are still not completely in line.

Hmm, tricky. Great result btw! I guess it makes sense to wait for treatment to finish to remove that as a variable?

Hi MrsM, any thoughts on my ulcers on previous page?

I've scrolled quickly but haven't read the whole thread, so my apologies if it's been asked before.

My front teeth are chipped at the bottom following 20yrs of bulimia. Is there anything that can be done to make them look normal again? They are normal length, just very chipped and I imagine weak.

caulk that's something that really can't be answered without a consultation. So many variables.

mist I'll have a look later. Promise.

Ok, got 5 min.

Ulcers are a bit of a nightmare as they can be caused by so many things. Are you run down at all? How's your diet? Any anaemia?

I used to think I got bad ulcers until I saw a patient on a clinic I was shadowing where they describe major ulcers as ones which can't be covered with a 50p. They were horrific and so so sore. So... probably not, a dentist wouldn't be too interested unless they are really persistent (longer than 10 days) or massive.

As for the pain, difflam mouthwash or spray is good. Hot salt mouthrinse can clear the infection that will be making it sore. If they get horrendous, in the past I've given patients some topical anaesthetic for the short term. It's a prescription only medicine though so you'd need to see your dentist. Hope that's helped... probably not

That's brilliant actually, I didn't think I was particularly run down but I have got a bit of a sore throat so maybe I'm fighting something! Also it makes me feel like I'm doing the right thing and they're definitely not so bad compared to what you've described! Should I brush around the ulcers or on them? Thanks so much again.

Thank you for the reply mrsmorton what a great thing your doing for mumsnetters!

Sorry, I chipped it 15 ish years ago and it's been fine symptom wise since, xrayed a few times and never hurt before. Nice and white and alive and kicking as far I knew from before this flipping filling! The bonding was initially done about 5 weeks ago and been adjusted a few times, last adjustment was 2 weeks ago now. It just feels really sore, not throbbing but like very tender! I am with a private dentist and read on their website what root canal, crowns etc cost X

It is an old crown, about 12 years old and I don't think it was a particularly good fit tbh so maybe that's why the decays got in? I didn't look after my teeth when I I was younger and have been paying the price ever since.
I have a normal crown either side of the post crown too so I'm not sure if that will affect what they do? Thanks for replying.

Hi Mrsmorton.

I msged u last night regarding my lr molar and tmj.....

(I'd get comfy 😃)......
I woke up with sore cheek and right side of jaw was achy with an earache. Went to work and had a chewy cereal bar..... had a bolt of pain on one chew then it went away. I rung my dentist and he told me to pop down. He thinks I've cracked the molar. He had a look in my mouth and said it would be from the clenching and grinding..... His plan is to make the mouth guard for night wear on bottom jaw, then see me in 6 weeks. I need to carry on with amytripline and to use sensitive toothpaste. He's told me to avoid any chewy foods. He said if it settles then just monitor it but if it plays up then he will start treatment. Is there anything else I could do? I wish I wasn't a clencher grinder.........

Nothing over and above what I said yesterday, it might help you find a trigger for it.

ava that's really frustrating! Have you had it restored before? White fillings can sometimes cause sensitivity due to shrinking but usually thats for deep fillings in molars. If you've not had it done before, why now?

chocolate it's very hard to say without seeing you, sometimes there are things that can be done if you're willing to accept a bit of risk. If you're a TV presented and must never ever have a gap for even an hour, then that will inform the decision making process as well. Sorry, not much help!

It's is very annoying it's quite sore too. It was a small ish chip that wore down over time and was becoming unsightly. The enamel on my teeth is quite thin too (naturally thin, family thing I think!) so I wanted the chip to be filled really. It says online upto 6 weeks can be normal for a composite bonding to settle; would you say that's normal? I feel like I can wait longer if I have a chance of the pain settling but I just don't know. Feel like this saga is never going to end X

Hello Mrsmorton - I read your info on the first page about wisdom teeth with great nervousness. My 17 year old son has just had an opg to assess position - three are partially erupted and all are impacted? - no room to fully erupt and trapped within the bone?) we live in Australia and here they do treat prophylactically (don't know if that's a good thing) and have recommended removal of all four. We are seeing a maxillo facial / oral surgeon for assessment for surgery later this year. He's had Invisalign with no teeth removal so they said no room to erupt. Should we be worried or relieved ? The paediatric dentist said removal is easier now than as fully mature adult - not sure what to think... thank you for your help.

Prophylactic treatment just seems like over treatment to me. But anyway, removal may be difficult but it is the daily business of the max fax surgeon. Not much else to say really, I think if they're going to do it anyway then sooner rather than later is best.

Great thread, Mrsmorton - thank you!
Found it by accident, read right through it, and felt so much more confident about visiting the dentist this morning!