Problem Didn't Show Up On Dentists Xray

[renegadefm]

I had a normal dental check up on the 8th of August, which is only 5 weeks ago, and I had an xray on all my teeth to up date my records. 

I was given the all clear, and he said I will see you again in February. 

 

Then last night while eating a grated cheese sandwich on white bread I suddenly felt something hard while chewing, only to find the back piece of one of my back teeth, and the cracked bit was black and rotten. 

 

My point is shouldn't the xray have shown this?

I will now have to ring them tomorrow to see what to do. 

 

Its not currently painful, but it hurts to drink something cold or hot. 

 

Where do I stand with the xray, is there any sort of guarantees with it? 

[Buenchico]

Possibly relevant:
https://jamiethedentist.com/xrays/problems/

Spotting small cracks on X-rays isn't always easy.  I went to A&E with what I was certain was a broken wrist, only to be told that nothing could be seen on the X-ray, so it must be a sprain.  A fortnight later, when I was still in pain, I got them to take another look at the X-ray and it was only then that they spotted the fracture.

[renegadefm]

Buenchico, 

Thanks, I was just surprised a detailed dental xray didn't show that my tooth was rotten inside. 

The broken piece I have is black on the inside section. 

 

It seems ironic I only had the all clear last month. 

[renegadefm]

I think from a patients point of view like myself, I would have rather something showed up on the xray during my check up, so I could have had it filled or something then. 

Now theres a chance I could either lose my tooth, or have an expencive filling, or root canal, or even crown. 

 

I get the feeling only 5 weeks ago this could have been avoided. 

 

Or am I wrong in thinking that way?

 

I'm not blaming the dentist for negligence as such, but given it was only last month, do I have a leg to stand on by voicing my concerns to him?

 

 

[barry1010]

Are you sure it isn't an old filling?

[renegadefm]

barry1010, 

 

Yes its an old filling, but I have regular 6 monthly check ups. 

 

The only difference this time he asked if we could do fresh xrays to update the records. But no problems showed up. 

But here I am with a chunk of tooth broke off, and I was only chewing something soft. 

 

I honestly don't know where to stand with this.  Could the tooth have been saved sooner. 

 

I hopefully will have my questions answered tomorrow when I ring reception to see how we move forward with this. 

[barry1010]

So it is likely the black in the tooth is an oxidised filling.  Teeth can crack and fracture at any time.

An x-ray can only show the condition of your teeth at that time and can't predict a future broken tooth.

It is a tool to help the dentist, not a guarantee 

[renegadefm]

barry1010, 

I'm no expert in xrays, far from it, but I really assumed an xray would help the dentist to spot a rotten inside of a tooth. It was only 5 weeks ago. I don't think its rotten in 5 weeks. 

Or am I missing something here?

It almost makes xrays futile in dentistry. 

[barry1010]

As I said twice, it may not be a rotten tooth that you are looking at - it could be an oxidised filling that has fallen out, maybe with part of tooth that has cracked since the x-ray. 

Fillings can oxidise and turn black over time.

[barry1010]

X-rays are very useful in dentistry, they don't just show problems with the teeth themselves but also the gums and roots. The can show developing cysts, bone loss in the jaw and abscesses

[Peter Pedant]

My point is shouldn't the xray have shown this? - -  No. ( vedry conscious TTT says I dont write clearly - well today I am trying!)

it wont show rotting teeth - the black bit was just about to drop out.

X ray is an xray, and is good for bone erosion ( whoops ! long word there TTT) but not a tooth that is about to fracture

[Peter Pedant]

Or am I missing something here?

yes

dentists are dentists and not dental see-all gods

[Old_Geezer]

My dentists shows me my x-ray piccies. Yeah, not everything shows up as you'd expect. Sometime we see how it goes, and later I'm back and something then shows up (just) making it justifiable to start work.

[Canary42]

Last time I had a dental X-Ray the dentist showed me the result showing the "problem" but I couldn't see it, I trusted to his expertise and he went ahead with the treatment.

[douglas9401]

Dentists may be dentists but they're absolutely not what they were.

[Peter Pedant]

It was 7 d during three years in my day.... ( "odds and sods") - OK for an abs

but I did do dentistry in Labrador and Aswan - ( got very good at inferior dental block).