Maybe 10 years ago, I cracked a tooth.
I was having a good night out. Drinking and chatting with my mouth full, munching my way through a bag of fruit and nuts that had split open in my pocket.
Some time previously, I’d picked up what looked, on first inspection, like a diamond-encrusted nut (“nuts and bolts” type nut, this one), and I promptly forgot it was at large in that pocket.
What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object is classically known as an impossible situation. But in this half baked approximation, what actually happened was a large chunk of one of my lower left molars sheared right off.
“Bye Terrence, I’m off to see the world!”
Little did it know that it (the fragment) was going straight in the bin.
Over the next roughly 8 years, the amalgam fillings used to rebuild the tooth fell out several times, and were replaced on the NHS without fuss.
Until, about 2 years ago, when it fell out again.
The tooth was drilled, and another new filling was attached.
About a week later, after that one had fallen out as well (record quick timing) I was told that the pulp/nerve was exposed, and that it would need root canal treatment – which wasn’t available on the NHS (The alternative was extraction). Luckily I could afford the one off £650 they said for a referral to a specialist for private treatment.
So, that dentist did the root canal treatment privately. All well and good, but then told me I also needed a crown. I was given a temporary filling.
I was told it would have to be booked through the practice that had referred me – which, by this time, I was not very happy about doing (I thought they’d probably drilled right through my tooth when redoing the latest filling, and also, getting hold of anyone at the practice was a total nightmare).
About a month later, I had a crown fitted privately by another new dentist, and was relieved it was all over.
Fast forward about 6 months, and… before we jump to “Dentist 6”, maybe it’s time for a quick list of characters.
Dramatis Personae:
Yours truly: Me.
Guest starring the Fragment: Currently holidaying in landfill. Relative of Terrence.
Terrence: Tooth root + remnant structure. Lower left 7. Lives in my mouth.
Dentist 1: NHS dentist who referred me for root canal after, ahem, discovering that the pulp had been exposed following a filling.
Dentist 2: Private dentist who did the root canal treatment.
Dentist 3: Private dentist who did the crown.
Dentist 4: NHS dentist who worked for the same group of dental practices as Dentist 1. Did not get involved in treatment of tooth lower left 7, so best to say nothing here.
Dentist 5: NHS dentist who said a filled wisdom tooth needed to be removed by an NHS specialist (but didn’t book the appointment when I agreed to it). Doesn’t appear here.
Dentist 6: Private dentist, approached re wisdom tooth extraction.
Dentist 7: NHS dentist who removed a wisdom tooth with minimal fuss. Doesn’t appear here.
Dentist 8: My current NHS dentist.
So, Dentist 6 agreed that the wisdom tooth would need to be removed – but also told me the crown was not properly positioned, and that it would need to be replaced. It took 3 months for me to receive a treatment estimate.
I returned to Dentist 3 (who did the crown). Verdict was that it wasn’t a problem, and that I should just floss regularly.
Fast forward to 3 months ago: I was told by Dentist 8 (my current dentist) that the crown was not properly positioned (agreeing with Dentist 6) and that they could remove it and replace it with an amalgam crown on the NHS…
TBC