Any dentists around tonight?

[MsArietty]

I have snapped a corner piece off a tooth and I’m trying to decide whether to go to the dental surgery or not.

I did it about ten days ago and it isn’t painful at all but it has gone discoloured brown/black where the chip is. It’s only a small piece that came off.

I’ve got an appointment but my dp doesn’t think I should go to the dentist, as he’s worried I will get covid there and then give it to him. He’s pretty anxious which I have a lot of sympathy with as I also suffer with anxiety.

He says it would be more sensible to wait until nhs is less overstretched and why take the risk of getting it when rates are incredibly high in our area.

But I’m worried I will end up with decay spreading through the whole tooth.

Is there anything that shows what the likely risk of catching covid at the dentist is?

And if I wait four weeks to go to the dentist when cases are a bit lower will it be really risky for my tooth?

The dentist will be wearing PPE and will clean before and after each patient. You will be more risky to them with your mask off than they will be to you

Thanks @dementedpixie I think this too and I’m sure you are right

Dp has come round and is saying he understands I have to go, but my dm is still trying to persuade me not to

I've had a temporary filing done in similar circumstances. They couldn't do the proper filling (because of the drilling and stuff I guess) but could put temporary on

I'm a dentist, most practices are open and more than happy to see emergencies as in your case. At my practice we have adequate ppe, limiting number of patients in the building, checking temperature of patients and screening over the phone before booking them in. All clinicians are being tested twice a week and most have already had the vaccine.
Any treatment involving aerosol spray from the mouth requires the room to be left in isolation for around 30mins to allow for air to be circulated and minimise spread. Everything I've mentioned are guidelines set by the NHS so if its an NHS practice you're seeing it will be the same.

As for your tooth if it's just discolouration it could be staining? Was there or is there a filling on the part that fractured?

Thanks @Yufnkc that’s really reassuring to know - it is an nhs practice that also does private.

No there’s never been a filling there. I wondered about staining but I’ve never seen that before on a chipped area when I’ve chipped other teeth. The edges of those chips have stayed whitish