Obesity and dental treatment

[Weshouldbedancing]

My tooth has just broken in half and I’ve been putting of the dentist for a long while due to embarrassment about my weight.
does anyone have any ideas if dental chairs re suitable for 280lb?
thanks

Yes they are. I’ve been that weight and never have an issue. I suspect they’re designed for a weight far higher than yours.

Most dental chairs have an upper weight limit of 21 stone ie 294 pounds but this can vary, so weigh yourself accurately and ask before your appointment .

Unfortunately bariatric dental chairs are rare and very expensive and need reinforced floors so if you are in the U.K. you might need referring to community service , with a long wait , for treatment.

Thank you both for replying.
I’ll probably just wait for a while as I’m too ashamed to call up to enquire

At one point I was 340lbs. I’ve never had an issue at the dentist. Get yourself an appointment. It’ll be absolutely fine

It really is a problem at that weight as dental chairs are only rated as safe up to 21 stone. The motor can suddenly and catastrophically fail with danger of injury.
The problem is trying to ask people diplomatically and it is , now , becoming more of a problem with dentists urged, for safety reasons , to ask.

What will you do , though , if you get pain and need emergency treatment? It is much better to plan dental treatment when you are not in pain and it's not an emergency.
If you do need a bariatric chair it is a problem that cannot be fixed quickly and do you want to be dealing with that if you are desperate and in pain? If you haven't been for a while have you even got a dentist and again if not finding a dentist that suits you is best done when you have time , not when you are in pain.

Best to phone up now , dentists are well used to all questions and even if they have to refer you it's best to get things underway now.

phone and ask. Its better to.do so in advance than to.turn up and be asked in the waiting room.

As others have said, the chairs have a maximum weight limit. You need to weigh yourself fully clothed and be honest about your weight.

I was 21st 7lbs at my biggest (& was that weight for a number of years so had numerous check ups during that time) and was never asked my weight. I would have been honest if they had asked me but I had no idea I was too big for the chair all this time!

Morning . Make your appointment and get sorted . Most chairs are ok up to 21 stone . Some 23 stone . My rather flimsy looking dental chair has never not been able to cope with even the biggest of men . The worst that has happened is the motor wouldn’t return one or two patient to upright. When it dawned on me why , I just made an excuse that didn’t bring attention to the situation . Patient got up under their own steam . No drama . Nothing catastrophic, no one injured.

OP I'm heavier than that and have no problems with the chair. I feel the same as you though and worry the chair might fail whilst in it.

Do you get a haircut every now and then? I worry about those chairs a lot more but they still work.

I'm sorry you feel like this and understand the shame and judgement you might feel. hugs

My dentist has never asked me about my weight. But it's also evenly distributed and most people underestimate how much I actually weigh.

But what if you needed to perform CPR on the patient in the chair? Do you think that would be safe? The chairs in our trust (I work in the hospital service) have to be bolted to the floor for precisely this reason.
What if the chair collapsed? Or the patient couldn't climb off themselves? (Surprised you also wouldnt be bothered about damage to the chair itself & it then being out of action & money for an engineer) Id say most dentists wouldn't treat you if you were over the chair weight limit which on the high street would usually be 21/23 stones.

You may need referring to the community dental service OP who tend to have higher weight limit chairs (up to 32 stone) the wait can be lengthy so the sooner you go the better, they really wont bat an eyelid, its fairly common

Why don't you ask someone to ring for you to check. Assuming it's fine you can then just ring separately to make an appointment.

@StellaNova1 . Full MH at start of every appointment would flag up potential risks of the need of CPR / selection of correct LA etc . No I don’t worry about the chair , I worry about the patients . I’ve treated people of all shapes and sizes for nearly 30 years , never had to perform CPR, medical emergences of that gravity are rare .
Our chairs are bolted to the floor too obviously, all dental chairs are .
I have a can do attitude. I know the weight limit of my chair is 21 stone . Others in our practice are 23 . Never had a chair collapse , never heard of a chair collapsing in all my time .

Things happen and there are no guarantees in life on anything .The op needs have to be weighed up against the risks of not treating.

Finding a referral in my particular dental desert would leave the patient in pain. If I was really concerned and I was the dentist in this scenario , I would treat the patient upright to get them out of pain . Then refer routine dental treatment.

Sorry late to this post, I work in a dental practice and our chair is up to 21 stone. Some chairs are up to 23 stone and if weigh higher than that then can sometimes refer to a dental hospital. If you are worried then call before your appointment to ask. We see a lot of people in the 20 stone range and sometimes we adjust the chair before the patient comes in.