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

headcrash27

headcrash27 wrote: »

Hi, I wonder if one of the dentists would be able to answer a question for me please? I had 2 root canals done around 5 years ago, both have since got infected and the dentist referred me for an apeisotomy (sp?) at the hospital but the hospital said it wasn't necessary as it wasn't giving me any pain. Anyway 2 weeks ago one of my root canal fillings fell out whilst eating followed by the rest of the tooth breaking off 2 days later. I have now had the tooth removed and am left with a gaping hole as i can't have a bridge fitted for 3 months. Neither of my root canals were crowned and my concern now is that this is going to happen to my other root canal and i will end up loosing another tooth. I did look into having both crowned several months ago as they have both turned black and look unsightly but i was told i would have to pay privately to have this done as it was for cosmetic reasons. My question is how can it be for cosmetic reasons when so many other people seem to have had their root canals crowned as standard. I am so angry with the dentist who did this as if he had just crowned these canals in the first place i wouldn't have one black tooth and one missing tooth. It has cost me £198 to have a temporary denture made up which i cannot wear as it makes me gag and i am going to have to pay another £198 in three months time to have a bridge fitted. Surely all this could have been avoided if the dentist had crowned both teeth in the first place? Do i not have the right to request a crown on the nhs for my other root canal to prevent loosing this tooth as well?

Sorry to be cheeky and bump this up but I was wondering if anyone knew the answer to this? I would really appreciate it if anyone knows whether or not i can request a crown for my other root filled tooth on the NHS or whether i will have to have it done privately as my dentist says is the case.

Toothsmith

If it's necessary, then it should be available on the NHS.

Most opinion is that a crown on a root filled tooth IS necessary. There may be circumstances that your dentist will be able to explain to you why he considers it not to be necessary.

judderman62

I had the tooth that had had root canal treatment done on it extracted yesterday :-(

not a hint of pain even now 33 hours later :j:j:T:T

woohoo

Hi,
I wondered whether anyone could give me any advice on a dental 'emergency' that my husband has just experienced.
He had a bridge with 4 front top teeth on, fitted about 20 years ago, after a falling off a bike incident. Just as hubby was tucking into his Lion bar, the bridge fell out! As you can imagine he is not looking his best (well - you know what I mean!;) ). He is registered with a private dentist but hasn't been for about 3 years. There are dentists in our area advertising that they are taking new NHS patients. Would they take him on as a new patient to make a new bridge - or this this just clutching at straws? Does anyone know how much this is likely to cost (NHS and private). Will they be able to make him some 'teeth' to use temporarily very quickly. As you can imagine - 4 front teeth missing on a 38 year old is not a good look. He is really embarrassed.
Any help would be really appreciated. Thanks.

Toothsmith

Cost is impossible to predict. It depends what teeth are involved, their state, and why this bridge failed.

It might simply cement back on again, which would be quite cheap, or it might need to be completely rebuilt, which wouldn't.

At an NHS practice, it would almost certainly be replaced with a plastic denture. This would cost £198. (Assuming you're in England or Wales)

It would be possible to make a 'quick' denture, but this would be an extra item, so an extra cost, or they could make the proper denture quickly, but this would use a dental lab's 'express' service, which would cost more, so would probably mean it wouldn't be done on the NHS.

If anyone has complicated stuff in their mouth, it is vital to have it checked regularly. Small repairs are a whole lot easier than major rebuilds.

ekkygirl

I have been told I need root canal on one of my eye teeth and that it wont need crowned as only the premolars and molars have to be crowned after root canal. I have been told by my friend that even after the injections she could still feel a lot of pain and the dentist had to stop working on her tooth, she said that only the gum is numb and that nerve cant be numbed and will still hurt. I wanna cancel Im not in pain and have a temp filling at the mo. Can the dentist just give me a big filling? There is no infection in the root (xrayed today) I am not good at the dentist anyway is there anything else besides root canal and was my friend unlucky or does everyone feel pain?

Toothsmith

Your friend was very unlucky.

If the nerve of your tooth has died, then it will get infected sooner or later.

It's when it gets infected that you can sometimes have trouble numbing them. With a dead tooth and no infection, you COULD even get away without anaesthetic at all. (Although not many people choose this!!)

The bit about front teeth not needing crowning after root filling depends more on how strong the tooth is after the proceedure rather than where it is.

ekkygirl

Thanks, Im not sure the nerve has died though the tooth has a big hole in the back and the filling came out. I think the dentist said the filling would need to be too big and would come out without root canal. My hubby had it done and said he got a kind of electric shock (first time I seen him crylol). I really want to brave it but am petrified.

judderman62

I was in agaony with my Root Canal as was a lady in the office here ***but*** I believe we were very much in the minority as all other opinions I have heard said no different to any other filling - seems it's different for different folk and different circumstances. I believe the infection on mine may have prevented the anaesthetic from being effective.

Hope you'll be OK :grouphug:

coldstreamalways

Anaesthetics don't work so well when there is infection about. I always say to my patients- It's better to get this treated on our terms, at a day and time that we have chosen, than you call me during my Sunday lunch because you've not slept for two days. Neither of us will be in the mood for treatment then.

The important thing is to tell the dentist if it's painful. If your dentist wears magnifying loupes (funky looking glasses) which they really should do for root canal, she'll only be able to see the tooth she is working on and not your fingers gouging holes in the chair, or your eyes screwing up etc. None of us are psychic and it's not fair to blame us for it being painful if you haven't told us the anaesthetic isn't working.

If your dentist ignores you after you've told them-it's time to find another dentist.