Do I realy have to have to have my roots removed 😥

[Pollyannna]

Hi, I am looking for advice as to what my options are. My bridge of 4 teeth has broken, it did consist of 2 posts which went into my tooth roots which the dintist filed flat to accept the bridge (which both posts have broken off)and one of my own teeth that the dentist filed to a point and then one tooth that has no root (dentist removed).

I went to the dentist after my failed attempts at gluing it back in, and he made a lovely job of gluing , but then advised me that it would not last for long, and his advice was to remove the 2 roots and have a denture fit for a period of about 6 months and then have another bridge made that would fix to the next tooth along which would then be 5 teeth. Two problems .. I won't cope with a plate, not only do I suffer from anxiety and can't wear jewelry because it irritates, and I suffer with sores /upsets in my mouth now, and number 2 .. I don't want my tooth roots taking out, in my view they form my face outline, I have one root out already and I can see and feel the indentation.

Please please please can anyone give me an alternative that is affordable is I don't have to sell my car or house for

[Nessie50]

Why would you need a temporary denture? Surely you need the implants that were broken out and replaced with new bridge,I would get another opinion.

[Pollyannna in reply to Nessie50]

I agree, the only thing is that I don't know what I am talking about. I need to get ginned up before I go back for my check up at the end of January.

[AnotherDentist]

1.) Bridges have a finite longevity - no bridge can be expected to last a lifetime, they are all expected to fail eventually

2.) Ask your dentist is there is a reason they want to take the roots out?? - it may be they are infected, in which case it's a ticking time bomb for pain, infection and abscess. If the roots aren't infected, they are still likely to flare up eventually - which means in the future, when they flare up - your bridge will have to be removed,to access the roots and remove those - and then you would have to have completely new bridge made. That's pretty cost heavy!!

3.) If those roots don't need to come out & you are happy to have a fully new bridge made if problems arise with those roots (could be days or years!) - then yes, you can keep those teeth and have the new bridge made immedeately

[Polly42 in reply to AnotherDentist]

Hi thank you for your reply. I initially went to the dentist because one of my crowns had come off, and when he glued it back on he then advised me that I needed a bridge so nearly £1500 later I have 4 tooth bridge which consists of 2 posts which have broken off and a filed down tooth that is glued to and it has lasted about 3.5 years. My concern is that if they take the 2 roots out that have the metal posts in (I think he wants to take them out because he won't be able to remove the metal posts) and then files another tooth down to either glue or add a metal post, that the same will happen again and I will run out of teeth to glue too.

[AnotherDentist in reply to Polly42]

I think I understand your concern, I will try to anwser accordingly.

1.) I think you need to have a discussion with your dentist - ask again why exactly do the roots need to come out?

a.) If teeth (with metal posts) are heavily decayed? - in this case, the dentist is probably correct to want to remove those roots as it's likely they are unrestorable (not possible to fix)

b.) You may have severily damanged your own teeth when you were trying to 'glue' the bridge back yourself - it may be this bridge is no longer salvagable. What glue did you use? (I hope you don't say superglue, that is the worst thing and if that is the case, then you should probably listen to your dentist).

c.)Dentist cannot remove metal posts? - the dentist should try to remove the metal posts before givnig up on those roots, in many cases it's possible to remove the old metal posts & place new ones -HOWEVER, this weakens the tooth considerable and can lead to a shorter lifespan

2.) 3.5 years for a bridge isn't great (I would expect much longer)

3.) The teeth the dentist now wants to file down, are they also filled/broken down? - if they have large fillings in them, then actually filing the tooth down for a bridge isn't a big deal. However, if it's a virgin tooth (unrestored) then I would try to keep it that way.

[Polly42]

Thank you for replying. I know it seems like I am going over old ground, but to me it's very important and that is why I really really appreciate you views.

The tooth that he wants to file has a filling which I presume is mercury, but it is very strong.

I tried to glue it back in with superglue-just a little which I managed to remove from the bridge when it didn't work. Bad move I know.

Unfortunately my top teeth are terrible 3 crowns, a bridge of 4, and 6 fillings And 1 good one, my bottom teeth 13 of them are all fine and dandy. Why so different I don't know.

[AnotherDentist in reply to Polly42]

You are right,superglue is probably the reason those roots now have to come out.

So, if you have fillings in the teeth the dentist wants to now file down for the new bride - that's not an issue - as they will mainly be filing down structure that is a material put in there artificially. In this scenario, I don't see anything wrong with going ahead.

But please, have a chat with your dentist - they should be able to anwser all your questions & explain the reasoning behind doing one over the other.

[Polly42 in reply to AnotherDentist]

Thank you I will try and be brave