“I hope that you don’t mind that I have sent you this email, but I really didn’t know who to ask about this, and would really appreciate your advice about something, please. Excuse me that it is a bit long-winded, but I will endeavour [...]]]> Email received from a concerned dental patient

“I hope that you don’t mind that I have sent you this email, but I really didn’t know who to ask about this, and would really appreciate your advice about something, please. Excuse me that it is a bit long-winded, but I will endeavour to explain my situation.

I am a family carer, and I care for 3 members of my family; for this reason, it is often quite difficult to put myself first, even when it comes to pre-booked appointments. I am an NHS patient and, until recently, I was undergoing treatment between my Dentist and the Hospital, as I am suffering drastic bone loss in my gums, and I am slowly losing my teeth. Unfortunately, due to my role as a carer I have had to cancel dental appointments on a few occasions, as something has happened with one of the people who I care for, where they have been unwell, etc. As I don’t have anyone to turn to for support at these times, I have had no alternative but to put whatever I have to do for myself on hold. As I cannot plan ahead for unforeseeable events like this, on two of the occasions, I have only been able to give them two and a half hours notice of cancellation.

Ultimately, I recently received a letter from my dental practice saying that they were ‘deregistering’ me for missing appointments, to make way for new patients. They argued that they cannot be expected to accept 2 hours notice, as it was not enough time to fit anyone else in the slot. As I already suffer with stress and anxiety, this has only added to my worries. I emailed the Practice Manager, explaining that I am a carer, but they wrote back to me basically saying that they are a ‘busy practice’ and they are not changing their mind.

I feel very strongly that I am being discriminated against because I am doing the job of being a carer, and have to put others before myself. I am at a real loss now as to what to do, because a temporary dental prosthesis has already been made for me, which was supposed to be fitted so that the hospital could see how I tolerate it (I suffer with globus hystericus) so that they could cut back on it’s size. Unfortunately, I now can’t go back to see my own Dentist, so don’t know what to do now!! Therefore, any advice that you could give me as to what, if anything, I can do about this (ie. If I can make a complaint to anyone) would be very much appreciated.

I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Many thanks”

“A porcelain bridge rooted to my left hand front tooth, that is secured to what I believe to be the eye-tooth has broken away from both anchorage points. Several attempt have been made to correct the decay in the rear tooth, without any repair being [...]]]> Email received from a concerned patient

“A porcelain bridge rooted to my left hand front tooth, that is secured to what I believe to be the eye-tooth has broken away from both anchorage points. Several attempt have been made to correct the decay in the rear tooth, without any repair being effective for anything other a relatively short time. I was told a year ago, that should the bridge fail due to the caries it would not be possible to recreate the bridge and due to my overbite I would need to go private should any form of denture be considered. Is there any solution to this situation via NHS Treatment?

If some alternative approach is not feasible and as my teeth are in such a terrible state, (extractions having been carried out since my late teens) it would seem the only viable options is to have total extraction. Can this be conducted on The NHS and dentures be provided?”

A bridge spans a gap in a row of teeth and is one option to cover up the gap or missing tooth. A bridge is a number of crowns joined together. The smallest bridge is a 3-unit bridge which is made up of 3 crowns and covers the gap [...]]]> What is a Dental Bridge?

A bridge spans a gap in a row of teeth and is one option to cover up the gap or missing tooth. A bridge is a number of crowns joined together. The smallest bridge is a 3-unit bridge which is made up of 3 crowns and covers the gap and one tooth either side of the gap.

The teeth either side of the gap have to be filed down and then once the bridge is made in the lab the 3 unit bridge is glued in place on top of the 2 teeth either side of the gap.

Dental bridges can be made from different materials. A basic bridge is normally made from porcelain fused to metal and this is what you would usually get on the NHS. A porcelain fused to metal bridge has a metal sub-base with a covering layer of porcelain. This material produces a very strong bridge but whilst perfectly adequate for side and rear teeth there are better looking options for front teeth. A more superior bridge might be made of zirconium and will look significantly better from an aesthetic point of view but this type of bridge is not normally available on the NHS.

Other options for covering up a gap or missing teeth are a partial denture or implants.