root canal treatment - NHS and private costs & pros and cons

judderman62

hethmar wrote: »

Well, surely the receptionist would have known the treatment you were going to have? She would have known how far apart the appointments should be.

Exactly - sure you'll be fine oh and for a counter experience to others here - mine hurt like you would not believe - never experienced pain like it - but seems I am very much in the minority.

Actually if I may a question to the dentists on here.

I had the two trips for the treatment - , as I just said, it hurt like hell. Since it has been done I don't have pain .... except when I brush my teeth (oral b leccie toothbrush) now it's not very painful , but it hurts a little as it does if I tap the tooth with said toothbrush.

So my dentist has tried two doses of antibiotics in case there was still an infection - they haven't sorted it. Also last time she said a little of the filling had broken away so she refilled it - no anaesthetic and again it hurt like h*ll. She said if the last lot of pills didn't help she'd pull the tooth (which I 've made an appointment to have done) she suspects the tooth might be cracked/split and said that depending what plane it was split in it wouldn't show on an x-ray.

Does all that sound feasible given what I said above ?

Thanks all

Toothsmith

That sounds reasonable.

judderman62

Thanks TS :beer:

Oh the irony all that pain and the tooth has to go anyway Argghhhh

Happy_shopper

Thank you for your replies.

mrs_angry

well i have an update, the private dentist i went to rang me today and said he has been reviewing my x rays and doesn't think that my crowned tooth is the problem causing the lump on my gum,he said my root canal is fine and apart from the very slight shadow running along one of my roots(which he was unsure of) all looks OK. he said as mine was a more unusual case, he would be referring me to the hospital specialist.(and this is free)

i am now thinking that maybe i have a problem with this part of my gum(not made better by me poking it with a dirty needle of course) so heres hoping that i will finally get to the end of my problem, and maybe find out if my really bad sinuses are the root of this problem!

the private dentist did not have to do this, the nhs dentist wouldn't do this, so i am really pleased that the private dentist is taking the time and explaining everything, this is how dentists should be and from my experience its definitely worth paying to go private, you get what you pay for

hethmar

Im glad things seem to be working out for you. Let us know whether the tooth is saved

emv54

Really useful thread... My 16-year-old daughter has been having problems with a molar (bottom left) for more than two years. She had her first RCT when she was 14, and that appeared to be successful. She had odd days when the tooth was sensitive, but nothing more. Then it flared up again in August this year, and she's had another full course of RCT (3 x 40-min appts) after antibiotics and it appeared to settle down again. However, we appear to be back at square one and she had to take the day off school today for an emergency appointment after being awake half the night.

We saw a different dentist (same practice) today because I wanted a second opinion about whether or not the tooth should now come out - Dentist A had said it should if the RTC didn't work. Dentist B today at first suggested an apicectomy but after consulting the practice principal retracted this option (I think primarily on the grounds of her age). So we left with another course of antibiotics to see whether this will sort it (I'm not optimistic) and then extraction as the only course left. My daughter obviously does not want to lose an adult tooth so young, but she's also now weary of this treadmill, so I'd be really grateful for suggestions here...

The treatment has been carried out on the NHS: we were not offered options, though this is a dual NHS/private practice. We live in the North-east Scotland where all practices (NHS and private) are hideously over-subscribed so moving would be very difficult. We do have limited health insurance but I'd only want to pay if it really could be the difference between saving the tooth or losing it. This is partly because I don't want my daughter to endure endless treatment and more false dawns only to end up with an extraction anyway, and also because I still believe in the NHS and prefer not to undermine it.

I'd like to stress that my daughter's dental hygiene has always been very good from as soon as she was old enough to hold a toothbrush, she has a good diet (her own choice: not imposed!) with little in the way of sweets and no fizzy drinks at all, is very active, and is generally fit and healthy. None of the dentists we've seen has been able to explain why she ended up with the infection in the first place - there were no obvious clues.

I'd particularly welcome guidance on the questions I should be asking the practice if (or, alas, probably when) we have to go back.

Many, many thanks from a forum newbie!

Froglet

judderman62 wrote: »

Exactly - sure you'll be fine oh and for a counter experience to others here - mine hurt like you would not believe - never experienced pain like it - but seems I am very much in the minority.

Actually if I may a question to the dentists on here.

I had the two trips for the treatment - , as I just said, it hurt like hell. Since it has been done I don't have pain .... except when I brush my teeth (oral b leccie toothbrush) now it's not very painful , but it hurts a little as it does if I tap the tooth with said toothbrush.

So my dentist has tried two doses of antibiotics in case there was still an infection - they haven't sorted it. Also last time she said a little of the filling had broken away so she refilled it - no anaesthetic and again it hurt like h*ll. She said if the last lot of pills didn't help she'd pull the tooth (which I 've made an appointment to have done) she suspects the tooth might be cracked/split and said that depending what plane it was split in it wouldn't show on an x-ray.

Does all that sound feasible given what I said above ?

Thanks all

It is very annoying ,paying for all that treatment then having the tooth out anyway.The same happened to me earlier this year and i went through three gum abscesses in 4 months around a root canal filled tooth and it was agony but because i wouldn't give in owing to what i had paid,i kept hoping it would go away.

In the end i was getting nowhere with the dentist so i changed and after a thorough set of xrays he recommended i have it out,upon which 2 big ctacks were found.Result,no more pain.So you are defintely doing the right thing having it removed before it gives you any more grief!!

fridayschild_2

I had a fall a couple of weeks ago and broke two teeth on a paving slab. I had to wait for the swelling to go down before the dentist would look at them but when I went yesterday he just asked me if the one at the front still hurt and when I said yes he said that it would need root canal work and started straight away.

He took an x-ray but didn't even wait for the results.

I tried asking if there were any alternatives but he just said no.

I am not at all happy with this, I wish to heaven that I had just walked out but I didn't.

I'm supposed to go back next Tuesday but I have lost (what little) faith I had in him.

My front tooth is now wobbly which it wasn't before and I don't know what the heck he has done.

I had root canal work on a back tooth years ago and from what another dentist told me its just buying time because you are removing the nerve so in effect the tooth is dead and will have to eventually be extracted.

I feel very upset by this, I really don't want to end up with false teeth at my age.

Is there anyone out there who can suggest anything? Please!

skintas_2

well i have a very painfull tooth at the moment, i had a root canal on one tooth, anyway it was broken, the reason why im in so much pain is because my gum has grown over the top of it, i waited 3 weeks to have the ttoth out, yesterday the dentist said i have to go to a special clinc, the pain and sweeling is unbelieveable, they told me to use corosdyl or whatever i just think this has irriated my gums more