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Broken tooth following removal of braces

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  • 03-11-2011 6:51pm
    #1
    Spook_ie
    Registered Users Posts: 10,896 ✭✭✭✭


    My wife came home with our teenager who got his train tracks off today. When she was called in by the orthodontist to show her our childs teeth, she was told that unfortunately he had broken off a portion of the child's front tooth when he was taking the brace off - he said it wasnt a big deal and a composite filling would make it look better. Our regular dentist is going to look at the tooth tomorrow, but has said that it could be around 180euros or maybe more to fix the tooth - the dentist has received a fax from the orthodontist about the tooth but it does not say that he was responsible for breaking the tooth and to be honest more importantly it doesnt say that he will pay for the tooth to be fixed, am I being mean here to expect the orthodontist to make good what he has done to our childs tooth ??


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    #2
    Oral Surgeon
    Registered Users Posts: 3,240 ✭✭✭Oral Surgeon


    Spook_ie wrote: »
    My wife came home with our teenager who got his train tracks off today. When she was called in by the orthodontist to show her our childs teeth, she was told that unfortunately he had broken off a portion of the child's front tooth when he was taking the brace off - he said it wasnt a big deal and a composite filling would make it look better. Our regular dentist is going to look at the tooth tomorrow, but has said that it could be around 180euros or maybe more to fix the tooth - the dentist has received a fax from the orthodontist about the tooth but it does not say that he was responsible for breaking the tooth and to be honest more importantly it doesnt say that he will pay for the tooth to be fixed, am I being mean here to expect the orthodontist to make good what he has done to our childs tooth ??

    I think I understand correctly.... but, It's nearly unheard of for an orthodontic bracket to break some enamel off a healthy tooth when being removed.

    Was this tooth previously filled, did it ever get a knock beforehand? Was there any decay present??

    OS


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    #3
    CyberJuice
    Registered Users Posts: 692 ✭✭✭CyberJuice


    if he broke it he better pay for it,im sure he will be under some sort of legal obligation to pay for any treatment needed as a resualt of any negligence or error..

    dont know how much of the tooth came off but if its a big chunk then if i was you id have a veneer or a crown put onto the tooth as i lost part of a front tooth as a teenager and had some white material put on to make it look like a full tooth,and after mayb 2 years it turns yellowish,it chips,it falls off,your left with a black mark on the side of the tooth where rot sets in. the white filligns have a short life in them apparently.youd be lucky to get 4 - 5 years out of one.


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    #4
    flahavaj
    Closed Accounts Posts: 21,235 ✭✭✭✭flahavaj


    Spook_ie wrote: »
    My wife came home with our teenager who got his train tracks off today. When she was called in by the orthodontist to show her our childs teeth, she was told that unfortunately he had broken off a portion of the child's front tooth when he was taking the brace off - he said it wasnt a big deal and a composite filling would make it look better. Our regular dentist is going to look at the tooth tomorrow, but has said that it could be around 180euros or maybe more to fix the tooth - the dentist has received a fax from the orthodontist about the tooth but it does not say that he was responsible for breaking the tooth and to be honest more importantly it doesnt say that he will pay for the tooth to be fixed, am I being mean here to expect the orthodontist to make good what he has done to our childs tooth ??

    If the child is under 16 you could get it done free of charge in the HSE dental service.


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    #5
    Spook_ie
    Registered Users Posts: 10,896 ✭✭✭✭Spook_ie


    Thanks for the replies. When I rang our family dentist this evening to make an appointment she couldnt believe what we were telling her, our child has been attending her since he was four (just for normal 6 monthly checks - he has no decay and has never had any fillings) and she knows his teeth better than anyone, in fact, she saw him the last week of august for a normal checkup.So she has kindly made a space for him tomorrow afternoon. Our dentist has indicated that keeping a filling in that front tooth is going to be tricky long term. BTW our child is 13. While there is no doubt that the teeth look better, we are gutted now with the broken tooth.


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    #6
    Dianthus
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 933 Mod ✭✭✭✭Dianthus


    If there were no predisposing factors to breakage (decay, demineralisation, ect), then no, you'd expect not to have to foot the bill.
    What size is the break; a small chip or a large(more than a quarter of the tooth)break? Is it sensitive to hot/cold/eating? There seems to be a slight divergence of opinion; the orthodontist saying it "wasn't a big deal", to the dentist saying it'll be "tricky longterm"??
    It sounds like the fax was fairly matter of fact- broken tooth, please fix. Maybe the orthodontist was in a rush& took it for granted that by writing, he'd be settling the account. Maybe he expects you to. It's all supposition at this stage; just call the orthodontist, in the morning, BEFORE any treatment is carried out on the tooth (otherwise your own dentist will be out of pocket if neither you nor the orthodontist pay for the filling...)


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    #7
    Spook_ie
    Registered Users Posts: 10,896 ✭✭✭✭Spook_ie


    Dianthus wrote: »
    If there were no predisposing factors to breakage (decay, demineralisation, ect), then no, you'd expect not to have to foot the bill.
    What size is the break; a small chip or a large(more than a quarter of the tooth)break? Is it sensitive to hot/cold/eating? There seems to be a slight divergence of opinion; the orthodontist saying it "wasn't a big deal", to the dentist saying it'll be "tricky longterm"??
    It sounds like the fax was fairly matter of fact- broken tooth, please fix. Maybe the orthodontist was in a rush& took it for granted that by writing, he'd be settling the account. Maybe he expects you to. It's all supposition at this stage; just call the orthodontist, in the morning, BEFORE any treatment is carried out on the tooth (otherwise your own dentist will be out of pocket if neither you nor the orthodontist pay for the filling...)

    This happened at 12.30pm today, and as yet our child has not complained of any particular pain in the broken tooth, the whole upper area is sore and the new retainers are hurting a bit too. He said that getting the braces off was alot more uncomfortable than he thought it was going to be and very rough. I would say there is about a fifth of the tooth gone. We have to bear in mind that the Dentist has not seen the tooth and only made the comment that fillings in front teeth can be tricky/troublesome long term. Anyway, we will see our dentist tomorrow afternoon and then we might know where we stand - the Orthodontist is away for a couple of days and has said he doesnt want the tooth fixed until he gets back because immediately after the fix he wants us to come up for an impression to be taken in order to make a new retainer. So, I can get a quote tomorrow from the dentist and take it from there. Thanks all


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    #8
    Dianthus
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 933 Mod ✭✭✭✭Dianthus


    Best of luck (Also, no harm to bring the new retainers with you tomorrow, on the offchance there is any exposed dentine which needs to be protected; may be possible to place a temporary filling in the interim- dentist can then check that retainer still fits)


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    #9
    Spook_ie
    Registered Users Posts: 10,896 ✭✭✭✭Spook_ie


    Thanks - will let you know what happens tomorrow


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    #10
    Spook_ie
    Registered Users Posts: 10,896 ✭✭✭✭Spook_ie


    Just to let you know, Ortho is going to pay all bills associated with broken tooth !


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    #11
    CyberJuice
    Registered Users Posts: 692 ✭✭✭CyberJuice


    sweet

    get a crown or a veneer on that tooth,the best one posible :)


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    #12
    Oral Surgeon
    Registered Users Posts: 3,240 ✭✭✭Oral Surgeon


    CyberJuice wrote: »
    sweet

    get a crown or a veneer on that tooth,the best one posible :)

    Yeah, get a gold crown, good investment as the price of gold is going up!!!!


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    #13
    ballsymchugh
    Registered Users Posts: 7,936 ✭✭✭ballsymchugh


    Oral Surgeon wrote: »
    Yeah, get a gold crown, good investment as the price of gold is going up!!!!

    one with a diamond in it too! kids love the bling!


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    #14
    Spook_ie
    Registered Users Posts: 10,896 ✭✭✭✭Spook_ie


    LOL !!! what are you all like !!!!The impression I am getting is that he is too young for a crown and it will be just a white filling. The dentist said that each time this filling needs to be replaced, she would have to take a teeny weeny bit more of the tooth to get the new filling to take and that a crown will be eventually needed. Apparently fillings on front teeth dont last as long. So, would I be better going down the road of a veneer ?


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    #15
    helimachoptor
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 21,653 Mod ✭✭✭✭helimachoptor


    Apologies spook, the dentists don't get out much..!


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    #16
    ballsymchugh
    Registered Users Posts: 7,936 ✭✭✭ballsymchugh


    Spook_ie wrote: »
    LOL !!! what are you all like !!!!The impression I am getting is that he is too young for a crown and it will be just a white filling. The dentist said that each time this filling needs to be replaced, she would have to take a teeny weeny bit more of the tooth to get the new filling to take and that a crown will be eventually needed. Apparently fillings on front teeth dont last as long. So, would I be better going down the road of a veneer ?

    no, if it just needs a filling at the moment then it should be fine. i have a filling on one of my own front teeth, probably bigger than 1/5 of the tooth. broke it off in 2004 biting into a peach or something on a weeknight so had to fix it myself in front of the mirror before work the next morning as a temporary job (til lunchtime and then one of the other dentists could fix it properly). it's still there now.


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    #17
    Spook_ie
    Registered Users Posts: 10,896 ✭✭✭✭Spook_ie


    helimachoptor wrote: »
    Apologies spook, the dentists don't get out much..!

    No apologies needed ! it gave me a great laugh thinking of DS going into school with a diamond encrusted gold crown and the reaction he would get !!!! he has just started secondary school and he has a very strict Principal. So thanks for the laugh !!! I was getting very down about the whole thing as was our son, anyway, we'll get the tooth fixed and see what it looks like.


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    #18
    ballsymchugh
    Registered Users Posts: 7,936 ✭✭✭ballsymchugh


    helimachoptor wrote: »
    Apologies spook, the dentists don't get out much..!

    excuse us! but if this kind of carry on...
    CyberJuice wrote: »
    sweet

    get a crown or a veneer on that tooth,the best one posible :)

    was discouraged, ie trying to squeeze maximum out of the dentist for what is essentially a minor problem (spooks, not belittling it your end, but to us, it's probably just another filling) then prices would come down. it's because of litigation in matters like these that professional indemnity is 4 times higher in ireland than the uk. the cost has to be passed on some way.


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