Broke a Tooth!

RJM62

RJM62

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Geek on the Hill
A first molar, to be precise. On the top left. I broke it eating jerky, of all things! The jerky was tender, but it had a bone in it.

It doesn't hurt, but I have to go to the dentist tomorrow to get it looked at and/or fixed. I also called the company that makes the jerky, and they implied, at least, that they would take care of my end of the cost. They're supposed to call me back in the morning.

I have a Dental HMO plan that's not horrible (actually, I've been pretty darned happy with it, to tell you the truth), so hopefully this won't break the bank, in addition to the tooth.

-Rich
 
I did the same thing two weeks ago eating a sandwich at an airport cafe (outside the USA). It never even occurred to me to blame or even contact the cafe/airport/meat supplier. Maybe I have been out of America too long. ;)

It cost me $400.
 
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Good customer relations, most people would start a law suit. Hope it works out for both parties .
 
frfly172 said:
Good customer relations, most people would start a law suit. Hope it works out for both parties .
Click to expand...

Thanks. That's basically what it came down to for me as a businessman, as well. I avoided being sued for all those years by admitting when I screwed up and fixing it at no charge. Sometimes I even refunded the original fee when it turned out my original diagnosis was wrong. It's just a matter of product stewardship and basic ethics, when you get down to it.

-Rich
 
I cracked a tooth. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it. While the Doc took care of the short term, he indicated I'd likely eventually have problems with what remained and he was right. I'm in the process of getting the thing replaced with an implant now.

The only thing I can say is sedation dentistry is a wonderful thing. Having two teeth extracted (the cracked one and one of my wisdom teeth that we decided we should take out
in the process) was easier than having a cavity filled.
 
I hope it doesn't jeopardize your medical.
 
I've had a few teeth break... so I can feel your pain/annoyance/whatever.
 
Before you affix blame, have it looked at. Often times teeth fracture due to predisposing factors, such as decay or very large fillings.

And yes, I'm a dentist in my real life.....
 
painless said:
Before you affix blame, have it looked at. Often times teeth fracture due to predisposing factors, such as decay or very large fillings.

And yes, I'm a dentist in my real life.....
Click to expand...


Exacly. It wasn't if, its when. And some folks just have genetics that cursed them with bad teeth.
 
painless said:
Before you affix blame, have it looked at. Often times teeth fracture due to predisposing factors, such as decay or very large fillings.

And yes, I'm a dentist in my real life.....
Click to expand...

Well, there was in fact a bone in the jerky, and I did in fact bite down on it... but yeah, I understand what you're saying. The tooth could have been weak already.

On the other hand, I had dental x-rays done about three months ago, which a layman like myself would think should catch those sorts of problems (or if not, would make a layman like myself wonder why they bother with the x-rays).

They used one of those newfangled machines that kind of orbits around your head snapping pictures of your chompers from every angle. Pretty impressive, actually.

Whatever the case, I'll know more later.

-Rich
 
RJM62 said:
Well, there was in fact a bone in the jerky, and I did in fact bite down on it... but yeah, I understand what you're saying. The tooth could have been weak already.

On the other hand, I had dental x-rays done about three months ago, which a layman like myself would think should catch those sorts of problems (or if not, would make a layman like myself wonder why they bother with the x-rays).

They used one of those newfangled machines that kind of orbits around your head snapping pictures of your chompers from every angle. Pretty impressive, actually.

Whatever the case, I'll know more later.

-Rich
Click to expand...

I also am a dentist. When I see large fillings in teeth and the teeth look brittle and/or cracked I try to tell the patient that the tooth will probably eventually need a crown.

It is nice of the business to offer to help with the broken tooth. I have seen a few of those restaurant, cookie, whatever hard things that break teeth over the years. Usually the tooth isn't a young healthy unrestored tooth but the hard thing certainly contributes to the break.
 
RJM62 said:
A first molar, to be precise. On the top left. I broke it eating jerky, of all things!
-Rich
Click to expand...

I still got you all beat.

About 10 years ago, seeing my son off to Iraq. Eating in the airport restaurant.

I bit into ------

a piece of lettuce

and the tooth broke.

Dental assessment? Was just the tooth's time

S*** happens
 
I've generally found that sticky stuff (bagels, chewy candy bars, and in my case pizza) get a lot of blame for pulling apart the last bit holding cracked teeth together.
 
Well, the dentist said that most likely, grinding my teeth at night had more to do with the break than did the bone in the jerky, so the jerky company's off the hook, as it were.

He told me to buy a night guard thingie at Rite Aid for thirty bucks, boil it and shape it, and if I didn't like it, he'd sell me a fancier, custom-fit one for $400.00. I decided to try the Rite Aid one first.

He also decided to try an amalgam filling to fix the tooth, but also told me that if it broke again, I'd need a crown. Because the two adjacent teeth are intact, he thinks the filling should work. I guess he's thinking in terms of how much pressure the tooth has to bear. I didn't ask because I had a mouth full of fingers at the time.

Total out-of-pocket cost for the x-rays and the doc's handiwork, after insurance, was $55.00. Not horrible at all.

-Rich
 
RJM62 said:
Well, the dentist said that most likely, grinding my teeth at night had more to do with the break than did the bone in the jerky, so the jerky company's off the hook, as it were.

He told me to buy a night guard thingie at Rite Aid for thirty bucks, boil it and shape it, and if I didn't like it, he'd sell me a fancier, custom-fit one for $400.00. I decided to try the Rite Aid one first.

He also decided to try an amalgam filling to fix the tooth, but also told me that if it broke again, I'd need a crown. Because the two adjacent teeth are intact, he thinks the filling should work. I guess he's thinking in terms of how much pressure the tooth has to bear. I didn't ask because I had a mouth full of fingers at the time.

Total out-of-pocket cost for the x-rays and the doc's handiwork, after insurance, was $55.00. Not horrible at all.

-Rich
Click to expand...

I have a problem with grinding my teeth at night too. I have a custom fit one. My Dentist doesn't think the store ones are good because of how they hook on to your gums. The custom one took me a few nights to get used too, but now I don;t even notice it. I have had it for 3yrs now. I would get the custom fit if you have the $$ for it. My Dental insurance wouldn't cover it. I guess they would rather pay for crowns etc than a little preventitive care.
 
flyingron said:
The only thing I can say is sedation dentistry is a wonderful thing.
Click to expand...

Second that. I can't tell you how many thousands of miles I drove listening to those stupid commercials and laughing, and then one day when I finally gave in and had all 4 of my wisdom teeth cut out (at the age of 42, not exactly a fast healer) I used my wife's dentist (sedation) and loved it. Last thing I remember is on the road with her driving me in, and next thing was about 30 hours later in bed at home.
 
us AAirways said:
I have a problem with grinding my teeth at night too. I have a custom fit one. My Dentist doesn't think the store ones are good because of how they hook on to your gums. The custom one took me a few nights to get used too, but now I don;t even notice it. I have had it for 3yrs now. I would get the custom fit if you have the $$ for it. My Dental insurance wouldn't cover it. I guess they would rather pay for crowns etc than a little preventitive care.
Click to expand...

My dental insurance doesn't cover the night guard, either. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with the policy. It's probably saved me a grand or more this year.

I already bought the generic one of the brand he recommended ("The Doctor's Night Guard") at Rite-Aid, however, and will try it out. If it doesn't work, I'll get the custom one. It's not a matter of not being able to afford it. It's just a matter of being cheap. :tongue: When there's that much of a difference in price, I just can't help trying the cheap way first. But I'll spring for the custom one if it makes a difference.

-Rich
 
In the interest of providing closure to this silly thread, I did the boil-and-bite thing with the OTC night guard, and it seems fine. It didn't hurt or keep me awake, and it was still in place this morning, which to this layman seem the only things that could matter.

-Rich
 
Just to close this out, I just got a call from the jerky company's insurance adjustor. I explained that the dentist told me the tooth was already weakened, and probably would have broken anyway, eventually; and that the bill was only $55.00 after the insurance. She still insisted on reimbursing me for my share of the dentist's bill.

Hey, if she insists, why not? I told her to go ahead and mail me a check.

I suppose there are legal reasons for doing that, to avoid further liability and so forth. And I suppose it's refreshing for a company when someone's not trying to scam them for thousands of dollars. And of course, there's also the possibility that they genuinely want to be ethical business people and take responsibility for their product.

Whatever the case, I'll take the money. :yes:

-Rich
 
Funny, I just broke part of my molar yesterday. Dentist appointment tomorrow.
 
Just had the second step. My wife asked what i was doing today and I told her I has have the helicoil put in.
 
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