Dental Treatment Abroad

Petal_3

Hi there

I went to the dentist this morning. It seems I have an abcess above one of my front teeth (which is a crown on a post)...I will have to have this removed, I have bone loss and will need a bone graft...will have to wear a plate with one tooth on it whilst the bone grows and then have an implant. My dental surgery is fantastic and has all the latest equipment etc. but I'm really worried about the cost. I have to go for a consult first and will probably get a quote then. It just seems that as soon as I think I'm getting financially straight I get whacked with a huge bill for something (last one was £1200 for a new clutch etc).

Was feeling v sorry for myself this morning....I thought I'd just have to have antibiotics! (have got those too)

Ah well.....

ivyleaf

Poor you, Petal - I have had exactly the same problem with one of my front teeth, though it's a jacket crown. I had antibiotics, and thankfully the abscess is a bit smaller each time I have an x-ray. It seems to be healing itself. I was originally told I'd probably need a transplant, but it looks as if I may get away with it. Hope you do too - thinking of you!


ivyleaf. :rudolf:

Teerah

Antibiotics treat the symptoms of the infection and may control the infection for a while but it is not a longterm treatment. The cause of the problem should be investigated and remedied.

Testee

I had tooth troubles whilst travelling and had a crown fitted in Spain - the treatment was absolutely first class. The dentist spoke perfect English, the facilities were much more modern and up to date than any dentist I've been to in the UK. He was really helpful, kind and sympathetic (I'm a real baby with dental surgery), and he explained everything that needed to be done.

Also when I was travelling a lot of people used to go to Agadir in Morocco to have their dental work done. There are a lot of European dentists there, mainly Belgian, and I heard nothing but good reports about the treatment.

studoc

Has anyone been abroad for implants and found it successful?

Rachel71

Hello

I wondered if anyone could give me some advice about whether to have dental treatment in France or in the UK. I work for a company with an office in Paris and work 4-5 months each year in France (the rest in London) with some trips back and forth. I've previously had all my dental work in the UK. However, I felt some pain in my teeth when brushing them so, panicked, and booked a checkup with a dentist here recommended by some of the people I work with here. The dentist has said that I need quite extensive work, including:

- redoing a root filling
- putting a crown on the root filling
- replacing some other fillings.

I am worried that this will be quite costly (I would have to pay the full cost in France) and am so looking at the options in both France and the UK. I have an NHS dentist in the UK and am thinking about booking an appointment with her when I next go back. However, I have found that her examinations have tended to be quite quick and the French dentist was quite critical of the way the root filling (which my UK dentist did) had been done. I've had checkups every 9 months-1 year.

So....my question is....should I get the treatment done in France/get a second opinion from my UK dentist when I next go back/get a second opinion in France? And does anyone have any views as to whether the work is likely to be better done in the UK or France?

Any help/advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks v much
R

Toothsmith

There have been research papers in this country showing that the standard of root fillings done on the NHS is generally less than acceptable.

This is because dentists on the NHS generally don't have the time to do them properly. There are also some pretty crappy ones done in private practice, but on the whole, the dentist in a private practice could and should be able to spend more time doing them.

Root fillings should take at least an hour on a simple one rooted tooth (Front one) and 90 mins + for a more complicated back tooth. Ideally the tooth to be worked on should also be isolated from the rest of the mouth with a rubber dam (So the bug soup known as saliva can't get into and re-infect the tooth).

My private charge to root fill a back tooth is £300. On the NHS, it's about £60 with the Government chipping in an extra £15- so you can see how much time the NHS guy has to work with!

Re-root filling a tooth is never as successful as when you have the first go, because the bugs have become more established. If I can see an obvious failing of the previous root filling, I give the patient a choice, I can have a try and charge £300, or I can refer to a specialist endodontist (Root filler!) who will charge £500+ but almost certainly save the tooth. If the previous root filling looks as good as I could do it, then I offer the patient the choice of seeing the specialist, or I'll take the tooth out.

So, in short, have it done at the most convienient country. If trouble flares up during treatment, the last thing you will want is a ferry or plane ride!

If you are going to get it done in the UK, I would find a good private practice that can spend some time on the job, or ask your NHs lady for a referal to an endo specialist.

I'm afraid if you want to keep the tooth, then the cheapest job will not do the trick. Don't necessarily go for the dearest option, but go for the practitioner you feel most comfortable with that will do the best job for you.

Rachel71

Hello Toothsmith

Thank you very much for your reply, that's really useful. The French dentist showed me the x ray for the root filling and explained why she didn't think it had been done very well - she said that the filled in bit didn't reach all the way down as it should do (I'm probably not explaining this very well). The tooth is a bottom molar (third from the back, sixth from the front) Although the tooth and the filling is ok at the moment (the root filling was done in June 2005), she said that there is a risk of infection and showed me a darker area around the bottom part of the roots of the tooth where she thought there might be such a risk. So I don't think that there is any infection at the moment, the replacement would be more to prevent the risk in the future. Would this mean a greater chance of success with the replacement root filing? And then she says that I would need a crown on top to protect the tooth plus the replacement fillings (replacing some which I had done during my teens).

This was what the dentist said to me following the checkup - she is going to send me a written report and treatment plan and then I have an appointment next week with her to discuss the report/plan (and the cost...). This is without a commitment. I would really like a second opinion as the work (from what she said) seems to be quite extensive, particularly with the root filling. I'm in Paris at the moment and will be until mid/end May, although I do go back to the UK for short periods for work so should be able to go to my NHS dentist before then. I would like to take the report from the French dentist to the NHS dentist (or another dentist) in the UK to show them, although it will be in French, the dentist is going to include the xrays and then I should be able to translate what is written in the report for the UK dentist.

As regards convenient, I think that its pretty much equal between France and the UK. I'm in France usually from Jan-May so whether I get it done in France or in the UK its pretty much 50/50 as to whether I will be in the "right" country if/when I have any dental problems. I think that the quality of work and my confidence in the dentist are more important. Cost is also (unfortunately) an issue - whilst I want the best for my teeth, I don't have limitless funds and if it is likely to be more than a few thousand pounds I will probably have to delay the work. That's also partly why I would like a second opinion, to see whether having the work in the UK would be cheaper, even if I went privately (which I think I would do).

Poor teeth....
Thanks again
R

Mado

If you can get someone to recommend the dentist in France (you want good work!), then it probably would be better.

The reason being that in France there is no demarcation between NHS (well Securite Sociale ) and private: virtually all dentists will do some work where you can get a small amount refunded by Social security and bigger jobs (such as crowns) will be out of your pocket. So there is less of a demarcation between poor and rich dentists!

Toothsmith

I don't quite understand Mado's reasoning.

I do like the way the french dentist is operating, and that's the sort of level of service anybody should look for in any country.

I think the job will come in at a lot less than 'a few thousand' in either country, although I've only your (really quite good) descriptions to go on.

It is worth pointing out that a dentist is completely responsible for the treatment they provide, and saying 'Well, I did it on the NHS' is no excuse for poor treatment.

I wouldn't muck about too much with more opinions. If the costs seem OK at your next chat with the French dentist, and you are happy there, then get it done there as soon as you are able.