Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms The Dentist's Chair..............

Tough job going to the dentist , many don't go out of fear and possibly cost until they really have to ? Started with a new dentist a few months ago which was scary but he turns out to be very good and informs me what he's doing at every stage and to let him know if its uncomfortable ie pain kicking in which it hasn't yet !

My wife was with a footie dad who was eating a baguette: he was suddenly minus three front teeth but did not miss a beat. Three years later the gap is still there.

I thought this one through as well. I had a crown that was a poor fit that cost me more enough to make me squirm. I have to be bolted into a dentist's chair in order to have any work done. Something to do with previous experience and horrors.

I am not certain I would want to argue the toss with the person that is about to put me partially under and then put diamond tipped grinding tools in the region of my most sensitive nerves. Its not really setup for a win-win as they say.

I do agree with the situation however. Then again how do you register the warranty terms. 1,000,000 chews (no toffees or apples) or do you go for a time limit!

I guess it is the ultimate mileage-may-vary issue.

I suppose that implants are the ultimate solution, but they start at £2k+ and involve an extraction. When there's no tooth left above gum level, that must be like a sheared stud extraction. not something to look forward to at all.

Most of my back teeth are like ruined castles, with the keep filled in with metal. Providing they keep quiet I'm happy.

As my dentist said, amalgam is fine for filling holes but poor at sticking to teeth. The white fillings are much better at sticking.

I had two teeth extracted earlier this year. Both on rhs and towards the rear so no visible issues. One from top and second one from lower but not in line giving a net double gap effect. This makes chewing on that side a bit of a no-go. Dentist said I should wait before deciding on replacement, possible with partial plates or ultimately full drilling into jaws for inserts.
So far I am happy with things as they are with gaps. So, if needed I will try plates first and hopefully no side effects such as discomfort, gagging effect etc..
No need yet to live off soup, liquidised food !

My dentist looks so young, I imagine his Mum still sends him off with a packed lunch.
Great bloke though and like me an Exeter Chiefs Season Ticket holder.

He was telling me that many people of my age (67) have issues with visits to the dentist. As he said, dentistry in the 1950s and early 1960s was "barbaric", with any small blemish in a tooth being drilled and filled.
I certainly have memories of belt driven drills.

And they earn more than 64k too!

As a dentist, my observation is that this thread is a pretty fair reflection of the age demographic of the forum: what we call the “heavy metal generation”, i.e. lots of large amalgam (and other) fillings from our misspent sweet-eating childhood, coupled with a rather less conservative professional approach to treatment in those days.

Unfortunately, every loaded structure will suffer from fatigue failure given time, and that is what has been described in previous posts. As there is less and less tooth to work on, then the ability to repair becomes less easy. Winkling out a root is actually usually a lot easier than a broken stud.

Modern dentistry has a much better philosophy of prevention and minimally invasive restoration techniques, so I hope that our children have a happier time than you lot. Incidentally, I have a string arm dental engine in my workshop and very good it is too.

I worked in part time practice for 33 years on a Saturday morning. We had the policy that if something needed replacing that we had made, then we deducted the original cost from the replacement price. Fortunately, I never invoked that clause.

You are right, dentists are getting younger: or at least it seems like it, as I’ve been training them for the last 34 years.

Prof Tim

That's an interesting insider take Tim. My wife had fourteen teeth removed in junior school, and we think some were adult teeth because she has large gaps. I certainly had two good teeth filled (lower right 4&5), and never went back to that dentist. That was probably 1971. Lower left 4&5 are still perfect.............

I broke a tooth last year right off at the gum. My Dentist drilled down the middle, (it had already had the root canal done), screwed in a brass self tapper and then built up the tooth with some sort of amalgam pointed an ultra violet light at it, DONE, and cheaper than the previous caps