Give up on bit of tooth?
September 9, 2018 5:53 AM Subscribe
Cusp/half of side of lower molar came off around old filling while eating, but it's Sunday in the UK, dentist shut, is it worth hanging onto the bit of tooth in milk to Monday or should I just bin it? What should I do?
There is an NHS dental hotline but it stresses it is for emergencies like people who've lost their entire tooth and can't wait. I have no pain or sensitivity in the tooth, it seems just the old filling is exposed, but I have the piece of tooth, and see you are meant to keep the bit of tooth in milk or saline and take to dentist for reattachment, but I can't imagine that would work over 24 hours. Should I just bin the bit of tooth and wait and call the dentist on Monday? Or does this count as a dental emergency?
There is an NHS dental hotline but it stresses it is for emergencies like people who've lost their entire tooth and can't wait. I have no pain or sensitivity in the tooth, it seems just the old filling is exposed, but I have the piece of tooth, and see you are meant to keep the bit of tooth in milk or saline and take to dentist for reattachment, but I can't imagine that would work over 24 hours. Should I just bin the bit of tooth and wait and call the dentist on Monday? Or does this count as a dental emergency?
I'm not a dentist, bit I thought that the technique of putting a tooth in milk was for preserving the nerve when a whole tooth was knocked out? In any case though, you've got nothing to lose by keeping it and taking it along to the dentist when you go.
posted by Cheese Monster at 6:06 AM on September 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Cheese Monster at 6:06 AM on September 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Call the NHS hotline anyway and get them to give you guidance on whether or not this needs emergency treatment.
I hate the way the health service here tries to guilt and shame people into not seeking care they might actually need, and I think it's legitimate in this case to seek their advice on whether or not this counts as an emergency rather than letting their outward-facing messaging talk you into not bothering in the first place.
I know it's hard to make a fuss when you're British, but calling the dental emergency line doesn't sound unreasonable based on what you've said here; even if they advise you not to seek treatment until tomorrow, you haven't placed an undue burden on the health service by making one phone call.
posted by terretu at 6:27 AM on September 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
I hate the way the health service here tries to guilt and shame people into not seeking care they might actually need, and I think it's legitimate in this case to seek their advice on whether or not this counts as an emergency rather than letting their outward-facing messaging talk you into not bothering in the first place.
I know it's hard to make a fuss when you're British, but calling the dental emergency line doesn't sound unreasonable based on what you've said here; even if they advise you not to seek treatment until tomorrow, you haven't placed an undue burden on the health service by making one phone call.
posted by terretu at 6:27 AM on September 9, 2018 [24 favorites]
When I've broken my tooth like that they've never used the old tooth bits.
My dentists (US) have never considered it an emergency; in ninth grade I had to go to school for three days with half my front tooth knocked out.
posted by metasarah at 7:29 AM on September 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
My dentists (US) have never considered it an emergency; in ninth grade I had to go to school for three days with half my front tooth knocked out.
posted by metasarah at 7:29 AM on September 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
The TOOTH came out? Leaving the filling? What's the filling holding onto?
I am constantly losing fillings--okay, "constantly;" it's happened twice, once because I tried, pointlessly, to get a wine cork off a corkscrew by holding the cork between my molars and turning the corkscrew. I guess I must have consumed the entire bottle if I thought that was a good plan. Anyway, the filling material looks and feels just like tooth. Are you sure it's the tooth that came out and not the filling?
posted by Don Pepino at 7:30 AM on September 9, 2018
I am constantly losing fillings--okay, "constantly;" it's happened twice, once because I tried, pointlessly, to get a wine cork off a corkscrew by holding the cork between my molars and turning the corkscrew. I guess I must have consumed the entire bottle if I thought that was a good plan. Anyway, the filling material looks and feels just like tooth. Are you sure it's the tooth that came out and not the filling?
posted by Don Pepino at 7:30 AM on September 9, 2018
I've had similar happen on several occasions (bits of tooth cracking off around fillings) and have never kept the broken off bit and have never been asked for either. And annoying though it is, I've just waited until my dentist was next open even if it was painful and not bothered about emergency lines. And yes, I thought milk was when the whole tooth came out, root and all (which makes me feel quite icky just thinking about it).
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 7:44 AM on September 9, 2018
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 7:44 AM on September 9, 2018
Response by poster: Screwed up courage to call NHS dental healthline again, got put through to dental nurse who gave sensible advice. It can wait till dentist opens tomorrow and they don't need the bit of tooth. Thanks for advice to persist!
posted by Flitcraft at 9:05 AM on September 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by Flitcraft at 9:05 AM on September 9, 2018 [12 favorites]
Hi - this exact thing happened to me a few months ago! Looks like you've already gotten the advice from the dental hotline, so I'll go on to offer other anecdotal follow-up opinions about "now what" -
My own dentist said that the reason this happened was because some metal filings gradually expand over time, which pushes the remaining tooth apart. He also said that it would have cracked open several days before the bit actually fell off, and that would have allowed bacteria in several days before the bit fell out. His point was that if I hadn't developed an infection by the time the bit of tooth finally fell out, odds were good that I wasn't going to. In my case all he had to do was take out the filling, clean things up a bit and put in a crown. I didn't need a root canal and there was no major pain (aside from the usual soreness you get when someone's poking around in your mouth a little aggressively). So if you have no pain then that's a good sign, I would say.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:56 PM on September 9, 2018
My own dentist said that the reason this happened was because some metal filings gradually expand over time, which pushes the remaining tooth apart. He also said that it would have cracked open several days before the bit actually fell off, and that would have allowed bacteria in several days before the bit fell out. His point was that if I hadn't developed an infection by the time the bit of tooth finally fell out, odds were good that I wasn't going to. In my case all he had to do was take out the filling, clean things up a bit and put in a crown. I didn't need a root canal and there was no major pain (aside from the usual soreness you get when someone's poking around in your mouth a little aggressively). So if you have no pain then that's a good sign, I would say.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:56 PM on September 9, 2018
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I do not know if it can be kept for 24+ hours, but, if you are going to wait until Monday, why not try? If it won't work, he downside is just throwing it away then, not now.
posted by thelonius at 5:57 AM on September 9, 2018