Damn! This is gonna cost me

[fat controller]

I'd be the first to admit that my teeth are in a dire state, mostly due to the fact that I am terrified of dentists, and secondly because I am invariably skint. A few years back, I actually found a dentist who was very good at dealing with my fears, and I had a few visits where I had a load of teeth out, and a couple of them rebuilt with white filling/enamel stuff - trouble was, I ran out of cash (it was costing about £200 a visit at the time) and had to give up.

Anyway, sitting tonight, I fancied something sweet, so had a munch on some tutti-frutti's that I found lurking in the cupboard - BANG! One of my top, front teeth snapped off, and it had to be the one that had been rebuilt the last time I was at the dentist.

Having moved house since, I now need to find a dentist willing to put up with me being **** scared, and then I need to try and find the money to sort this all out - I don't know what is worse!

And you can just bet that the dentist won't stop at the broken tooth (there are loads that need to come out in fairness), so I may just have to turn to prostitution...... :1zhelp:

[phil miller]

i feel your pain i really do, i like you dont like going, i have plenty of pain killers at work, in the kitchen cupboard everywhere, about 8 months ago i broke a tooth and its ok 99% of the time but when it plays up so painful i should have done something at the time but didnt, now i know it will hurt even more, hope you get it sorted and it doesnt cost the earth mate

[fat controller]

Thanks mate - the bugger has broken off virtually at gum level too, so its going to have to be a falser now no matter what.

Given that I have sod all teeth on the left side anyway, and most of the ones on the right are shot to bits, I am seriously considering having the bloody lot out now and having done with it.

[phil miller]

Thanks mate - the bugger has broken off virtually at gum level too, so its going to have to be a falser now no matter what.

Given that I have sod all teeth on the left side anyway, and most of the ones on the right are shot to bits, I am seriously considering having the bloody lot out now and having done with it.

i did think about this but dont think i could cope with it all at the same time, my mum had all her teeth removed just after i was born, because i took all her calcium, so she has had a false set for the last 30 odd yrs, she openly admits it was the best thing she done due to the amount it would cost to repair the ones damaged due to me being a calcium thief lol

[fat controller]

I have nobody to blame but myself really - typical Scottish diet as a kid, too much sweet stuff, and then from a very young age smoked like a chimney - was doing 60 a day plus when I quit eight years ago, nut sadly the damage had already been done.

One of the reasons that I am reluctant to have them all out is the fact that I am only just about to hit 35.

[phil miller]

I have nobody to blame but myself really - typical Scottish diet as a kid, too much sweet stuff, and then from a very young age smoked like a chimney - was doing 60 a day plus when I quit eight years ago, nut sadly the damage had already been done.

One of the reasons that I am reluctant to have them all out is the fact that I am only just about to hit 35.

i totally understand, ive just turned 33 and i have about 7 and a half teeth less than i should, ive been smoking since i was 15 (peer pressure lol) and love or did love sweet stuff (tooth ache is great for helping to stop eating sweets lol) my mum was a mere 25 when hers were removed, fingers crossed you find a good dentist, there few and far between down here:(

[elvismiggell]

I'm absolutely petrified of the dentist. I haven't been in about 5 years (I'm 26 now.)

With my new job I get a free check-up each year so I really ought to start going again, but the very thought of it makes my chest tighten up and my pulse start racing - hate it!

[fat controller]

If your teeth are in half reasonable nick, I'd encourage you to make good of your free annual check - my teeth are so bad now, most of them are stumps or broken; I've had lots of pain over the years, and now I have a really unsightly gob (matches the face!), that is going to cost a fortune to put right.

I wish I had been able to conquer my fear, but it was only a couple of years ago that I managed a few consequtive visits to the dentist - every time before that, I would invariable end up sparko, usually on the surgery floor.

Best of it is, I know its silly, but no matter how hard I try I cannot help it - I even have a fairly high pain threshold, and can generally manage my arthritis with over the counter medication only (partly because I am a stubborn old sod), so its not even the fear of the pain that is my problem.

[bannedbiker]

When my mrs discovered that I haddn't seen a dentist since before I left school (10 years ago now) she went a bit mental! Tried to get me to go to her dentist. I kinda agreed to it, untill I found out they were gonna charge me 80quid just to register with them. For me to fill out a form and then have a secretary type in into a PC they wanted £80! No chance!:zx11:
I year or two later I found out that an NHS dentist near work was taking on new patients, so to get some brownie points I registered and had a check up. No worries they said, your teeth aint exactly great but there's nothing really wrong with them and they cant see me needing any work for at least ten years! The mrs didn't like that so want me to get a second opinion.
We've agreed that I'll register with a private dentist when she finds one who is a sexy redhead lady with big boobs, long legs and a lovely bottom that likes to wear extremly tight nurses outfits and bends over a lot!:D
That was a couple years ago now, I'm still waiting...!:approve:

[keithwigley]

Is there a dental teaching hospital close to you? It may take longer that a local more expert dentist, and you may have a few students to deal with, but they offer very reduced rates and yours appears to be an interesting mouth too.

[Ben]

i'm 32. I go to the dentist 4 times a year, every time i see the hygenist and every other i see the dentist who counts my teeth, 7 6 5 3 2 1 1 2 3 5 6 7 on the top row and the same on the bottom. There is no 4 as they were removed when i was younger - i hated that and eversince then i have sworn that if i ever have teeth out again, they will have to knock me out 1st - i aint be concious. Every time i ask why she counts my teeth as if any were to be removed she would of done it.

So far so good, no teeth out. I also don't have any fillings, caps or crowns. When i was younger i chipped a front tooth on a kerb stone as i was lying on a sketeboard that went wayward and they glued a colour matched piece on to that to keep my good looks in order. Since then that same repair job has broken due to further incidents like my fixed brace being removed, a garage door coming down, an angry flask a school, chicken flavour crisps and some other things i don't recall.

[MalcQV]

Probably was not a fan when young but never had any fillings until I left school. Had four dentists in my time but the latest is fabulous.
She looks a little 'Dido' (the singer!) but most importantly my dentits oops dentist, is very gentle :p. She even gives me a nice tasting yellow pad :D to numb my gumsy wumsy before she injects me.

Seriously never feel a thing. Once you have had a lady dentist there is no going back.

She is a registered hypnotist too, oh and NHS as well as private and along with my Tesco Value dental insurance pretty cheap :approve:

[The Fingers]

Charging for dentistry has changed alot in recent years.

there are now only three tiers of payment.

Stage one £ 16 - check up, X rays, clean and polish

Stage two £ 40 - filling(s), extraction (s) and some other sh*t

Stage three £ 200 - Root treatment, crowns, extraction and false teeth.



Stage four (private implants to replace bad teeth - mega bucks (10K)

these are all approximate as i havent been for a few months.

Even if you need a complete re build with root treatments / crowns etc etc you would only be liable for the stage three tier. This also includes for any false teeth you need making. It also covers you for three - six months, so if you need to go back a few times or something goes wrong with work done only one bill.

I dont think it is the fear of pain thats the problem. Its the embarassment of opening a mouth full of mess to other people. Most dentists have seen worse and it is an every day occurance to them.

Once you are in the chair and the first little ***** is over. its all good.

rotten teeth cause abcesses which in turn can cause blood poisoning and even death.

Bite the bullet and get in that chair. If they are a mess get rid and get some false once.

I had some major issues in my early 20's (now 35 also) i am / was a night time grinder (oooooooo eeerrrrr) and have worken many times with tooth fragments in my mouth. I left one tooth until it was below the gum line, 90% time fine 10% time worse than child birth (sorry ladies but it is) i eventually plucked up the minerals to get it sorted as it was starting to smell pretty bad!!! i was embarrased to open my mouth even to the dentist. Had it dug out then had a guard made and in two months i had completley stopped grinding. i now have four or five teeth missing (not fronts) but the rest are in good nick and staying that way.

Funny though as now i only grind my teeth when i am stressed at work. You can tell if works is not going well without asking, just see if i am grinding my teeth in my sleep........STRANGE BUT TRUE.

Go on get them sorted, in 8 weeks you will look back and wish you had done it sooner.

[fat controller]

Well, Mrs C spoke with one of the receptionists from the dentists at the top of the road this morning (they bump into each other every morning as Mrs C takes the wee one to school, and the receptionist is heading to work) - they have a couple of dentists that are good with nervous patients, which is good, but its £50 just to have a look and then give an estimate, so it can't be NHS.

Back to the drawing board.

[BenR]

If your teeth are in half reasonable nick, I'd encourage you to make good of your free annual check - my teeth are so bad now, most of them are stumps or broken; I've had lots of pain over the years, and now I have a really unsightly gob (matches the face!), that is going to cost a fortune to put right.

I wish I had been able to conquer my fear, but it was only a couple of years ago that I managed a few consequtive visits to the dentist - every time before that, I would invariable end up sparko, usually on the surgery floor.

Best of it is, I know its silly, but no matter how hard I try I cannot help it - I even have a fairly high pain threshold, and can generally manage my arthritis with over the counter medication only (partly because I am a stubborn old sod), so its not even the fear of the pain that is my problem.

Sorry mate, but you're ONLY 35, you've got arthritis through being overweight and you don't want to get your teeth sorted? At 35 you are not even middle aged! I'm 54, got every one of my teeth, weigh 11 1/2 stone and have a 32" waist. I regularly cycle between 30 and 100 miles in a day and I expect to live to carry on doing so for a good 30 years or more. Any fit human should be able to do that. I suggest that you need to have a good rethink about your lifestyle.

Read this: http://www.cyclechat.net/topic/6737-weight-watchers-thread/

[MalcQV]

Well done to you BenR I am sure the OP will feel much better for that.

[fat controller]

BenR, I hope you have high ceilings in your house, so you don't hit your head when you jump to conclusions.

For the record, I do not have osteo-arthritis because I am overweight - I am however slightly overweight (about a stone, roughly) SINCE the onset of the condition, as it does limit some of the physical exercise that I can do.

Secondly, I DO want to get my teeth sorted - indeed, I have been doing as much overtime as I can humanly manage over the past weeks to get the money to do just that - my plans have been delayed slightly due to a problem with the roof on the house (I had a choice of sorting teeth or roof, and the roof won). My fear of the dentist is not going to go away, however I am willing to at least have a go at getting round it.

[Jason.S]

Well if its any help, i was in the same position as you Mr FC.

I had not been for MANY MANY years through fear after childhood visits.

I have diabetes and this inherently causes tooth loss, no matter what.

I am just touching 40 and have a 90% upper plate and due to have front lowers removed and bridged in the new year. When i had the teeth out and the plate fitted it felt like i had a mouthful of plastic, which in effect it is. It does get better, and much better as time goes on. Im a year in now :D

The pain i was suffering was simply horrendous. It doesnt matter how many pain killers you pop, its still hurts like **** when you have a rotting tooth.

The only advice i can give you is to get a grip and get them out and sorted.

If your teeth are that bad, dont waste your money on repairs etc etc as eventually they will need doing again and will cost you more.

If you dont want to go NHS, then get registered privately and apply for a tescos credit card which has 0% on purchases for 12 months.

I did this and spread the cost out over a year.

And again, if they are that bad, dont waste your time and money. Just get them out.

Good luck mate, it really is worth it.

:)

[fat controller]

Thanks Jason S - I am in the process of sorting the money out (now that we are wind and water tight, and the boiler is fixed!), and have been investigating other local dentists - I've had a recommendation for one nearby, so will be giving them a call.

[fat controller]

Thought I would update this thread a bit - second visit to the dentist today, four top teeth removed, and by god did he have to fight to get the buggers out. Dentist reckons that there is an issue with my bone density, which means that they have no flex to let him get the teeth out. He was going to do one at the front as well, but decided against it having done the side ones - reckoned he had put me through enough.

Sitting here now as the anaesthetic slowly wears off - reckon I could be in for a bit of a rough night.

[Crasher]

I had a back tooth out a few months back after I cracked it chomping on sweets! The bugger would not come out, I thought he was going to pull me jaw off and even after multiple injections the pain was incredible, I literally sat banging my head on a wall whilst drinking a bottle of whiskey that night, unreal pain. After I had my last wisdom tooth out under aesthetic (privately) the pain took about a week to even start subsiding, I hate teeth. If I could get my hands on the git that invented teeth I would…

[fat controller]

One of the ones he has just done was a wisdom tooth, so I am expecting trouble later.

I feel sorry for the receptionist more than anything, when I was paying my body started to go into shock - the tremors started, the colour must have drained right out of me, and I went a bit wobbly - I think she thought I was about to flop right there in her reception.

Mrs C is on her way home with an additional supply of pain relief, and I still have some of the tablets from the hospital when I got hit by a bus (long story), so hopefully.......

[Ben]

when I got hit by a bus (long story).

Oh you have to tell us that story..............

[fat controller]

Oh you have to tell us that story..............

It was a Sunday morning, and I was controlling a rail replacement service, and I needed to get a bus off the stand and off to do a run - the driver had parked a bit too close to the vehicles in front, not realising that he was out before them; there was two buses in front of it, which were parked tight to the front of a sort of bay (they were going to have to reverse a bit to get out too), and a bit of a gap behind and then a coach.

The coach driver very kindly moved his coach back a bit more, and I stood out to the offside of the bus waving the driver back; he released the handbrake without his foot on the footbrake, so the bus shot back at a fair old lick (this was made worse by the fact that it was only a matter of days old and the idle speed was a touch on the high side at the time) - anyway, it shot back, picked me up on its way and carried on all the way back to the coach. My back was pressing against the wiper arms of the coach, which thankfully made them puncture the windscreen and quite literally gave me some breathing space.

There was a woman walking down the other side of the road with her dog, who was now in hysterics at the sight of me pinned between a double decker and a coach - the bus driver however couldn't see me, and had no idea what had happened, so drove off onto the route.

Needless to say, I wound up in A&E for a bit, but got discharged later in the day with a shed load of painkillers and no broken bones.

Top tip - when seeing a vehicle back, stand right out to one side and not in line with the mirror

[Ben]

Blimey, that's quite serious really. Glad you're ok, you were very lucky or unlucky, depending on your point of view.

In all honesty, the story wasn't as amusing as you made it sound due to the severity of the incident.

[fat controller]

I count myself lucky - I've also seen the results when people aren't so lucky, and its not pretty. The chances of all those circumstances coming together again, especially the high idle speed issue, is next to nil - just one of those things.

The only slightly funny bit was the interview with the H&S bod at work a few days later - one of the first questions he asked was if I was wearing my hi-vis jacket - I replied that of course I was, but that it didn't make it hurt any less. He then asked if there was 'anything I could have done to avoid the accident' - apparently 'stayed in bed' wasn't the answer he was looking for.

[Eshrules]

not one to make light of a serious story, but I once got run over by a car - in reverse.

[Ben]

not one to make light of a serious story, but I once got run over by a car - in reverse.
Was it your own car?

[Eshrules]

Was it your own car?

no, it was the estate tool in his mini convertible (tata I think) - didn't check before he slammed it in reverse - cue me running like Linford, in reverse.

[gazza57]

If your teeth are in half reasonable nick, I'd encourage you to make good of your free annual check - my teeth are so bad now, most of them are stumps or broken; I've had lots of pain over the years, and now I have a really unsightly gob (matches the face!), that is going to cost a fortune to put right.

I wish I had been able to conquer my fear, but it was only a couple of years ago that I managed a few consequtive visits to the dentist - every time before that, I would invariable end up sparko, usually on the surgery floor.

Best of it is, I know its silly, but no matter how hard I try I cannot help it - I even have a fairly high pain threshold, and can generally manage my arthritis with over the counter medication only (partly because I am a stubborn old sod), so its not even the fear of the pain that is my problem.

I'll tell you something FC,

When I was a kid in the 60's we had an NHS dentist who basically skimped on the anaesthetic when filling your teeth, so he could get say five fillings done and claim for anaesthetic for 6 from the NHS, nice little earner, I was sure that was going on because he always hurt me and as a young kid I like you feared the dentist with a vengeance.

I didn't go for years and my teeth did suffer as a result, when I finally went back in the early 80's my new NHS dentist decided after a year to ditch the NHS as they weren't paying the going rate so I could not get a replacement at all.
When I finally did get to a dentist, albeit a private one as I couldn't get in as an NHS patient, then barred to all between 18-65 except pregnant women.
The amount of work I needed doing was horrendous, not only £1500 worth which I paid for over a year but three quarters of the work the other two had done was of such poor quality that it all needed rework as well.

I'm convinced the anaesthetic scam is the chief reason why so many children have a phobia about dentists, if the correct amount of anaesthetic is used it will be completely dead and you will feel no pain whatsoever.
I have been at this dentist for 10 years and he has never hurt me in the chair and my phobia about dentistry is gone.

Unfortunately although we pay our tax and NI as usual we just get a disproportionate number of dentists who are poor, crooked or both.
It is very unfair on the excellent dentists who also work in the NHS whom I do not criticise here.

My wife has suffered terribly under various dentists despite brushing twice a day and flossing and it's only since we have been at this dentist that things have slowly improved, tooth pain can apart from being incredibly debilitating, can completely undermine your general health, so it is not just a cosmetic thing.

If you can afford a monthly plan to spread the cost, it is worth it, apart from having good teeth, rotting teeth and gingivitis are often accompanied by breath that would rip the backside out of a rhino.

Gazza57:o

[fat controller]

You are undoubtedly right Gaz - if this new dentist of mine is anything to go by, dentistry has changed a hell of a lot in recent years. He even used these things that looked a bit like tampons, soaked them in something and stuck them against my gum before starting the injections - smelt like bubble gum, but whatever it was, it worked!

I am feeling a lot more 'human' today - still sore when the pain killers wear off, and there is still swelling on my face near where the tooth was that gave him the most trouble, but other than that I feel brighter than I have in a long time.

[gazza57]

You are undoubtedly right Gaz - if this new dentist of mine is anything to go by, dentistry has changed a hell of a lot in recent years. He even used these things that looked a bit like tampons, soaked them in something and stuck them against my gum before starting the injections - smelt like bubble gum, but whatever it was, it worked!

I am feeling a lot more 'human' today - still sore when the pain killers wear off, and there is still swelling on my face near where the tooth was that gave him the most trouble, but other than that I feel brighter than I have in a long time.

I'm not surprised you're feeling better FC,

People fail to realise just what a profound effect a mouth full of rotting and/or infected teeth can mean from a health perspective.
My wife has always looked after her teeth but had a series of forty tooth abscesses over a period of about 8 years.
She seemed to be unable to go a winter without two or three two week spells of acute tooth pain, the pain destroyed her sleep rendering her completely unable to work and physically exhausted.
After changing dentists to the one we have now who is brilliant, and £2500 worth of work she began to regain her health.
The reason she had been so ill was that infected teeth and roots were leeching toxins into her bloodstream 24 hours a day, rather like being slowly injected with a toxic substance.
The cause of this was that the previous dentist had carried out four root fillings , now I am no dental expert, but our new dentist told us that the root canal should be completely clean and sterile to prevent infection after the tooth is filled with a substance called gutta percha which is inert.
What he had failed to do when removing the nerve was to drill down sufficiently deeply to remove the entire column of infected material, and had failed to properly sterilise the canal so in effect he had plugged the hole sealing the infection into the root of the tooth where it destroyed the bone above the tooth.
He had done this on four teeth giving my wife 8 years of acute tooth pain.
Resulting eventually in a hospital admission where they pierced the roof of her mouth on both sides (a double epicitiotomy) and removed the 16 infected root tips, cleaned out the infected tissue to discover she had lost a substantial amount of jaw bone in the process and leaving her with 45 stitches in her palate.
If I could have sued him believe me I would but lots of dentists are unwilling to give evidence to a dental panel about a colleague.

So FC you are doing the right thing, stick at it, it looks like you have found a good dentist.

Lang may yer lum reek.....wi' other folks' peat!

Gazza57:D

[fat controller]

Good god, your poor wife went to hell and back with her teeth - makes my problems look positively simple.

I've had a few abscesses over the years, and they are hell on earth, so I can only imagine what your wife went through.

I've managed to get through today with no pain killers at all (since 10pm last night), and its been not too bad - getting a bit achey now for some reason, but still not screaming. The gums are healing really quickly, and from what I can see he hasn't done much damage to them at all getting the teeth out (one dentist I had years back simply ripped a tooth out sideways leaving me a huge gash in the side of the gum - nothing like that from this guy, despite the battle the poor bugger had); anyway, I'm on the road now, and looking forward to the day when all the bad 'uns are out, and the rest are filled or crowned