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

suki1964

Most of my teeth are root filled. Having a root filling isnt painful as the nerve is removed. Once thats done as alison says, you can even fall alseep. Its a LONG procedure and can be done over a couple of visits with temp dressings in place in between

jamsandwhich

I had a root canal filling a few years ago. It started on new years eve and got so bad the pressure started to push my tooth out of the gum and I had scepticimia (sp?) Had an emergency appointment and the relief I felt when the pressure was released compared to the pain was heaven!!!

Don't worry - it sounds worse than it is and it will feel a hell of a lot better when it is done. If you have a phobia of needles tell the dentist and he may be able to put a freeze spray on the gum to numb it a bit first.

Good luck - i think it should come under the middle band costwise (£98-ish?) - have a look on the net.

coldstreamalways

If you're having it on the NHS it's covered by band one (£43ish). If your dentist is independent, ask him for an estimate. Ask him what caused it, he's your dentist afterall, not some random punter on the internet. You could always have the tooth removed if the idea of treatment scares you that much.

Bettyboop

That was scary. I just phoned for an estimate and was told that the root canal treatment is going to cost £180.00 + £25.00 for files?. These are independent prices as my dentist became non NHS in 2005. The only NHS patients are children.

Angel17

Hi

I recently had a root filling due to an abcess and it cost £200.00. The slight discomfort of having a roof fill is nowhere near as bad as the pain from the abcess.
Hope everything goes OK

HH62

I had a root canal done last summer and it cost £210.00. I am the WORST kind of scared at the dentist but the procedure was no worse than having a filling. And I felt so much better afterwards it was worth it.
My dentist doesn't do NHS work so the above fee was for private work.

Clark80

Hi all, I haven't been to the dentist since I can remember and this is because I have a phobia which is silly but hate the idea of instruments prodding around in my mouth. Toothsmith where is your practice based? I need to use a dentist who will be patient with me and also offers sedation as sitting in a chair for a few hours would be absolute torture for me.

LondonDiva

Bettyboop wrote: »

That was scary. I just phoned for an estimate and was told that the root canal treatment is going to cost £180.00 + £25.00 for files?. These are independent prices as my dentist became non NHS in 2005. The only NHS patients are children.

No., no. no, no.

If your dentist is in England & has an NHS contract, he cannot have a 'children only contract' since 2005 - apart from v limited cases & I doubt that he would qualify.

Check him on https://www.nhs.uk. If he shows up on the list, you should be able to get the root canal on the NHS for £43 odd - contact your local PALS at the PCT if he is an NHS dentist.

Bettyboop

Thanks for your responses. LondonDiva my dentist was the first one on the list. Does anyone know how I can clear up NHS treatments over Independent ones? When I spoke to the receptionist today she told me that the price of £225 was the normal price. We have been patients at this practice for almost 8 years. This amount is just way too much....can anyone see another way around this? Would appreciate any help please. I'm so worried....

Toothsmith

It was April 2006 when the contracts changed L.D, and there are a fair few child only contracts around. 3 of the 5 dental practices in my town have them, and I could have had one if I'd been stupid enough to have anything to do with it!!

They are being gradually phased out though, and April this year may well see quite a lot ending when the 3 years 'income guarentee' for dentists comes to an end.

There really isn't such a thing as 'independent' Betty - it was a pseudonym for 'private' designed not to scare the horses so much!!

Bearing in mind the average quality of NHS root fillings though, I would sooner pay £200 for a job that was likely to save the tooth than £43 for something that would be likely to flare up again within a couple of years and need another £43 to take it out.

If the NHS option is tempting, then I'd just spend one lot of £43 and just have it out. Or even just ask how much it is to have it out 'independently'.