Half my front tooth just fell off

[EarlG]

Hmm... bizarre. So I'm eating a popsicle, and suddenly half of the right-hand part of my right front tooth just falls off. It's not painful (yet), just feels a little odd.

Now I guess I'll have to go to the dentist. I don't have health insurance - anyone know how much this sort of thing costs to fix?

[Fenris]

1. Have you ever had any work done on that tooth?

Is it original or has it been replaced?

[EarlG]

9. That's the funny thing

The other half of that tooth was replaced about ten years ago (there was a stagediving incident... don't ask) - the half that just fell off was the good half :)

[Fenris]

11. Apparently, it wasn't!

:)

[EarlG]

14. Heh :)

Apparently not.

[FatSlob]

50. EEEK

Get thee to a dentist pronto! Infection could happen. I'm sure he'll work out a payment plan with you. Anyway, health insurance usually does not cover dental...so it wouldn't have helped anyway.

[name not needed]

2. hahahaaha

hahahahahahaahahahahaha!

[GOPisEvil]

3. Holy crap!!

I broke the lower 1/4 of both my front teeth when I was younger. I have no clue how much it costs to fix. Socialized medicine (an Air Force dentist) fixed 'em for me.

Good luck!

[redqueen]

41. Woohoo for socialized medicine! n/t

[nini]

4. sounds like you'll need a crown/cap

expect 600 dollars or so.

bummer..

see if there are dental schools in your area that will do the work. They usually do stuff really cheap and do good work.

[ScreamingMeemie]

5. Yowch! That just gave me an icky feeling.

I would imagine they will do some sort of crown. Crowns start at around $400 here in Michigan. I hope they don't have to do a root canal which can be around $1000. That's what mine was anyway. Best of luck Earl. :( Sorry and I hope it remains pain free.

:hug: Laura

[ewagner]

37. $1,000 sounds about right

Root canal + crown or extraction are the options

Shouldn't be much pain for a while....

[Richardo]

6. Uh...yoiks!

"My advice to you...is to start drinking heavily."

"Better listen to him, Flounder, he's pre-med."

[Bunny]

44. Richardo you are funny!

I like you!

[Richardo]

45. Why thank you bunnyj...

...any gal from Pennsylvania is OK in my book. :pals:

(While I'm in Texas now, I was born a poor white Yankee in Allegheny County - where are you?)

[Bunny]

46. Right next door, my friend!

Westmoreland Co. :toast:

[greatauntoftriplets]

7. You might need to get it capped.

No clue what that costs.

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. Front tooth, you might not need to fix.

I had part of one of mine come off, but it didn't expose the nerves or anything, so I didn't need to bother putting it back on.

Mine came off eating a jolly rancher candy. A red one, if memory serves.

[EarlG]

10. Yeah, I don't think this has exposed the nerves

I'm pretty sure I'd know about it if it had!

[Terwilliger]

28. don't be too sure

depends on whether the break is near the core

[EarlG]

32. Well, it's an incisor, not a molar

And the tooth hasn't completely broken - it's just the front part that's come off.

I guess I'll find out if it starts hurting like a mother in the middle of the night.

[dolo amber]

12. Some dentists

will do bonding for that sort of thing...it's not anything you'd want to keep permanently (it only lasts a few years anyway, from what I understand) but it might hold you over until you DO have insurance. Much cheaper than a crown, probably $200-$250-ish.

Good luck, it probably will be sore tomorrow. :(

:hi:

[truhavoc]

21. You are right about bonding, however

It is rather permanent, when i was in 3rd grade I was hit by a car and it broke half of my front tooth. The dentist used bonding to build it back up, I have it to this day (I'm 22).

[Qanisqineq]

13. depends

If you need a root canal and a crown... that's expensive. I know, I had that two years ago. It wasn't a great job (and I paid $1800 total) and am now having an implant (fake tooth screwed into my jaw) put in next week for a total of $2500. But mine was a molar so more expensive.

[nini]

15. were you eating alot of popsicles?

I did that once and froze my tooth. I was told your teeth get extremely brittle when they freeze like that so you probably had an existing crack that you caught just the right way and it did it's thing. That also may be why it's not hurting yet because it's frozen, DO NOT drink anything warm for a while. Let it come back to normal temperature by itself.

[EarlG]

24. Nope

I didn't even get halfway through it.

Here's the really gross part - when I realized there was something crunchy in my popsicle and took it out of my mouth, at first I thought it was the tip of someone's fingernail that had fallen into the machine at the factory.

Then I realized that it was just part of my tooth - which is a bit better I suppose!

[latebloomer]

43. Not better!

If it were a fingernail, you could have sued!!

[loftycity]

16. Check with some local clinics non profit clinics

There should a couple around. The have dentists and the bill would be much more realistic. Good to go to these...it helps the clinic.. to help people who cannot pay at all.
And, I have to say I have received much better and complete care from the non-profits.

[Jesus H. Christ]

17. Auction it off.

nt

[EarlG]

25. LOL

[Jersey Devil]

18. Try Superglue

That fixes anything! :)

[SOteric]

19. Local dental schools often will do the job

using a qualified student trainie as a learning experience. For dramatically less than straight costs of dental repair.

I recently had to have a molar rebuilt (granted it was complex) and it cost about $1,500 including a root canal and some cosmetic work.

[trof]

55. Bingo!

Dental school.

[Terwilliger]

20. the only danger is as it affects the root

but caps and fixtures are not inexpensive

[Lisa0825]

22. I second the advice of checking dental schools and non-profits...

Also the mention of bonding.... if the nerves are still healthy, you may be able to have it bonded. If the nerves are damaged or dead, you probably would need a root canal.

If you need a root canal and crown, and can't finds a sliding scale fee place to do it, I suggest you do a fundraiser here!~ Heck, I'd pitch in! I had friends help me out when I was uninsured, and I promised I'd do the same for someone else someday!:-)

[MuseRider]

23. Hey EarlG

Do you know if the tooth broke right along the line where you had it bonded before? If so and the good part broke off you will probably just need another half to bond or a crown. If it did not break at the point where it was bonded and it broke through living tooth you should call a clinic or ER. I think I remember that a living tooth needs to be in saline to keep it viable. I am not sure (my nursing days are long behind me) but I would check just to be safe.

[EarlG]

26. It was the other part of the tooth

Not the part which originally broke. I'm pretty sure the nerves aren't exposed, do you think that makes a difference?

[mmm]

36. I've had one of my front teeth re-glued twice

cost about seventy dollars.
Looks and feels like the real thing.
simple painless cheap

[TrogL]

27. You need a root canal, a post and a crown

$2500-3000 US

[EarlG]

29. Crap

Where's GrovelBot when you need him?

[GOPisEvil]

30. I'll get him for ya!

:-)

Edit - See? :7

[Rabrrrrrr]

34. LOL!

I bow to you, O Summoner of the GrovelBot!

[DU GrovelBot]

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Please take a moment to donate to DU. Thank you
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- An automated message from the DU GrovelBot

Click here to donate.

[EarlG]

33. Lol

Thanks pal :)

[Exultant Democracy]

35. GrovelBot, you need to work harder

won't somebody think of the children.

[GOPisEvil]

38. Hey EarlG. Any updates for us?

How ya doin'?

[Khephra]

39. My sympathies

I'm going to have to have the rest of my teeth pulled soon. Damn health care system! I never could afford to have anything done for years, and now I'm paying.

[GOPisEvil]

40. ??

:shrug:

[Skittles]

42. Earl, at least get it checked out by a dentist

are there any dental schools around you? They do some pretty good work very cheaply. Sure they are amateurs but they are supervised by experienced dentists.

[geniph]

47. I think you guys had better keep the donation drive

going a bit longer than you'd planned - an extra 100 donations for EarlG's snaggletooth. Don't want you going around looking like a freeper! :D

(by the way, you'll probably only need bonding. Call around to dentists and ask THEM this question.)

Did you rescind your English citizenship? Can you fly home cheaper than that and have National Health fix it?

[EarlG]

48. Funnily enough

I probably could fly back to the UK and have them fix it cheaper than I could get it done here.

But then... I wouldn't feel very patriotic. :)

Thanks to everyone who gave advice in this thread by the way. I should be seeing a dentist on Tuesday or Wednesday (I checked out the dental school but I think it'll be too much hassle). Hopefully it won't need much work - it seems that just the top layer of enamel has come off. There's still no pain.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

57. They can probably just fill that with bond temporarily

while you save for a crown. The tooth is weakened by the fracture so it would be best to get a crown before you risk any further fracture at the base and risk infection.

[Kellanved]

52. cheaper even without national health

Dental trips to Europe are pretty popular.

[RebelOne]

49. Take it from me as one who has had every dental procedure

possible, it ain't going to be cheap, since you probably are going to need a crown. My whole mouth is full of crowns and bridges. which cost over time $15,000.

[Crewleader]

51. I feel for ya EarlG

going through it myself...schedule for a root canal and crown this week. Just had a crown last week on a emergency basis too, didn't need the added expense right now dealing with the high cost of braces for Sarge.

Best to you on getting it fixed as cheaply as possible and getting it done that pleases YOU! :-)

[localroger]

53. I feel for you

I just had ALL 28 of my teeth capped because I'd ground them down. The only way I could afford it was to go to Mexico. It probably wouldn't save you any money for one tooth but I wrote about my experiences and quite a few people wrote to ask who my dentist was.

[kodi]

54. same problem i had a while back while the act of autofellatio

.

[ariellyn]

56. I used stopped using those sonic toothbrushes after that happened to me

seriously, one of my top teeth next to the eye tooth just broke off like that. The only thing I could attribute the damage to was my new toothbrush.