Dental filling gone wrong

TightBum on 26/05/2015 - 15:12
Last edited 26/05/2015 - 15:17

The story is quite long so I'm writing it dot points

  • 3 weeks ago a filling in my upper front tooth fell out(lasted about a year) and the previous lasted 2 years.
  • I'm only in my 20s, so I'm getting concerned with how long they were lasting as the filling has gotten bigger with every re-filling.
  • Decided to try out another clinic with great online reviews to see if there was a difference ( my usual clinic had no urgency in refilling it)
  • Told the dentist about my concerns about the longevity of my front tooth and asked for possible solutions
  • She listened and restructured the filling hoping it would last longer
  • Went home and felt sensitivity in the next few weeks which is pretty normal post filling, decided something wasn't right in the 3rd week and went back for a check
  • X-rays were taken and apparently I have really big nerves (hah)
  • Results were that the nerve did not like the filling and it was irritated
  • She placed a glue to seal (what I'm assuming) spots where it wasn't properly sealed (places where I felt pain when she blew cold air)
  • Told to come back in a week to see if things feel better
  • Went back in 3 days because I could hardly touch the tooth with anything including my tongue. previous 2 days was painful but bearable
  • Was told that it would be best I get a Root Canal Treatment done

Now I'm sitting here really upset because I thought I spent the extra money so I would avoid needing something like the root canal treatment. I just keep thinking that I wouldn't need this, if the filling was sealed correctly in the first appointment.

She has not charged me anything extra so far but I was quoted $1500 for the RC treatment, and no additional cost for the filling since it obviously failed (which initially cost me 3x what I normally paid).

My question is if I should have to pay for the $1,500? Which could be due to the fault of not sealing the filling properly or me just having a large nerve in that tooth, or that I waited to long to go back to the dentist.

I would be more than happy to pay the 1.5k if I can get my tooth back to a healthy state. :'(. Either way I'm so shattered that it had to come so soon.

Poll Options

  • 12
    Pay the $1,500
  • 3
    Don't pay the $1,500 and complain
  • 4
    Time travel back and try another dentist
Health & Beauty

closed Comments

  • shaiguy on 26/05/2015 - 15:40

    Surely there has to be a dentist on Ozbargain? Other than that I would ask for a second opinion at the Dental Hospital (if you are in Sydney) or equivalent in another state.

  • Cheeper on 26/05/2015 - 16:05

    Sounds like the typical professional rate / amateur service scenario.
    By rights the filling that fell out after a year should have been put right for no charge. For the prices they charge they should guarantee their work, for at least a year??
    I don't like your chances of getting your latest dentist to sympathise with your situation. It looks like you may have to pay up wherever you go?

    They can pretty well do a crap job and you have no recourse unless you are willing to endure the process of getting remediation through a very long winded and very much against you process.

    BTW… chewing gum is bad news for fillings.. if you don't already know.

    • TightBum on 26/05/2015 - 23:28
      +1

      the filling was in a front tooth, apparently they only last anywhere between 6 months and 5 years. I've come to terms with the costing of that.
      I was more concerned with the filling not being sealed up properly which caused the irritation
      Yeah I lost my second filling when I was chewing gum.

  • exp1 on 26/05/2015 - 16:12
    +1

    Hi -
    might be worth getting a copy of your x-rays and seeking a second opinion, however -
    Just to let you know - fillings are NOT permanent and depending on the location and materials used are more/less likely to fall out (this is called the restorative cycle). So you'll have some fillings in molars that last 10+ years and some small fillings in front teeth that sometimes only last a few weeks/months.

    Fillings that are placed will sometimes need re-placement (as they fail) and as this process continues often the hole gets bigger and bigger and becomes infected requiring root canal therapy.

    • TightBum on 26/05/2015 - 23:30

      Yes I am well aware of the fact that fillings aren't permanent and I knew that I would have to do RCT eventually, but didn't anticipate the fact that this filling didn't work out.

  • lisss on 26/05/2015 - 19:41
    +2

    I don't think anything you've said necessarily means any of the dentists has done anything wrong.

    Fillings fall out, and I'm not sure how you'd prove that it fell out because of negligent work because there are a lot of factors at play. Unfortunately, no dentist that I'm aware of guarantees that a filling won't fall out or replaces it for free if it falls out within 6 months or 12 months etc.

    The second dentist didn't know your nerve would get irritated. If the filling has become particularly deep, this is somewhat predictable but even then you can never be sure. A re-filling is much less expensive than a RC treatment, so it's worth having tried that IMO.

    I have just had a similar, expensive situation on a molar. The filling fell out. As you'd be aware, fillings often fall out due to decay underneath which has to be cleaned away, so the subsequent fillings get deeper. I got the tooth refilled, which caused it to get really painful. I went back to the dentist and he said the tooth might settle down but that if it didn't, I'd need RC, and one can never really tell.

    The tooth settled down, but a few months later it suddenly started aching terribly even though the filling was still in place and I knew my time was up. The dentist did some sort of drilling to put medicine into it while I waited for RC (approx $200 after private rebate). It was still painful so the dentist gave me an antibiotic to target a suspected abscess, which fixed the pain. In hindsight, I probably should have cut my losses and gotten RC earlier before the tooth got infected.

    I then had to go to an endodontist because my dentist didn't want to do the difficult molar RC. I got a second opinion from another dentist who also didn't want to do the RC, so I went to the specialist. It cost $1900 for the RC and temporary filling only, of which I got $350 back from private health insurance.

    Now it has a temporary filling in it and I have to go back to my dentist and get a crown fitted (because the RC makes teeth more brittle, a crown will almost always be needed for molars and sometimes for front teeth depending on how much work has been done on the tooth).

    So far am out of pocket $1750, and I'm expecting that to approximately double after the crown. Teeth are ridiculously expensive and I can see why people travel overseas if they need lots of work done!

    As depressing as it is, I'd spend the $1500 and cross your fingers that the RC is one of the approx 95% that is successful. I have exhausted my 'Europe holiday fund' with this unexpected dental work so a holiday next year is now out of the question, I feel your financial pain! :/

    • TightBum on 26/05/2015 - 23:55

      I'm really not too concerned with getting the filling which fell out done for free, I was just looking to see if there was anyway to prolong the life of the next filling, so the tooth could last for longer and RC could be postponed for later years in my life.

      Yes the second dentist wouldn't of known it was going to be irritated, but am I wrong in thinking that she should have sealed off the filling completely with no gaps when she initially filled it in. I agree, it was better to try out the filling before heading straight to RC. At the same time, she was really surprised at how large my nerves were, so much that I don't think she was expecting it.

      Can you feel anything from the tooth you've had RC? Was it painful. Mine didn't suggest a crown given it's the front tooth, but I'll still ask her tomorrow.

      I think it's the fact that I need to kill of the tooth that makes me more upset than anything else and the financials just makes it worse :(. I wish I brushed more when I was younger.

  • [Deactivated] on 05/06/2015 - 14:19

    Aargh. I cannot contribute anything more than I hope your issue is resolved quickly :)

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