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root canal treatment - NHS and private costs & pros and cons
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Comments
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If it has an infection, antibiotics will settle it down, but it will need further treatment.
Are they booking you back in for that?How to find a dentist.
1. Get recommendations from friends/family/neighbours/etc.
2. Once you have a short-list, VISIT the practices - dont just phone. Go on the pretext of getting a Practice Leaflet.
3. Assess the helpfulness of the staff and the level of the facilities.
4. Only book initial appointment when you find a place you are happy with.0 -
Don't be scared! My previous dentist hurt me so much I was afraid to go back, after about five years and not being able to put it off any longer I finally made an appointment with a new dentist. I was absolutely petrified today when I had my root canal done but I didn't feel a thing - not ONE thing! It took an hour and a half but I can honestly say it didn't feel like it was as long as that.
Now my problem is... I was made redundant last year and am now on Job Seekers Allowance. I have an excemption certificate from Child Tax Credits. This new dentist was accepting NHS patients which is why I signed up with him, however, despite last week at my initial consultation telling me that I could have the RCT on the NHS and pay for the white fillings (I needed one RCT and two fillings on other teeth) he charged me £325 for the work and I will have to pay another £175 for the white filling/crown. I was then presented with a list of work to be done and another RCT appeared on the list making a total of £1025. I don't know how or when he changed his mind about the other tooth needing an RCT - I've never had any trouble with it other than when I bite on something hard it hurts. The tooth that was fixed today was one that continuously got abscesses. I'm still left with the tooth that hurts that got me to the dentist in the first place - seems odd a tooth that wasn't bothering me was done first... Anyway, I had agreed to paying for the white fillings at the consultation but am not sure why I have been given this big bill. I queried it with the receptionist but all she told me was my consultation and x-rays were on the NHS.
I've since found online that you can mix the treatments. As I have paid for the RCT and impressions now where does that leave me? I don't even particularly care if I have black fillings or not just as long as my teeth don't hurt! My brain doesn't compute very well when I am stressed - which the dentist does to me so I didn't query it as well as I would have under normal circumstances but I feel like I have been backed into a corner somehow without realising.
I'm going back next week - any suggestions on how to broach this with the dentist?
Thanks!
BJ0 -
This sounds to me like a genuine mistake.
I would just stress with the receptionist that you had discussed your treatment with the dentist, and you were under the impression that the white filling was the only thing you were paying for privately.
The way you describe things sounds to me like the dentist is playing by the rules, in that he has said he will do everything necessary on the NHS, and only charge you for cosmetic 'options' (the white filling).
I just think something has been clicked wrongly on the computer, and private charges have been added.
If he IS charging you privately for the root filling having discussed doing it on the NHS, that is very wrong, and you should complain. First to the practice, and then to the Primary Care Trust. But the burden of proof is on them to show that they discussed all options fully with you and you agreed to private treatment, not on you to prove they said it would be NHS.
Plus - all NECESSARY treatment should be provided on the NHS to an NHS patient, so they would be on a very sticky wicket explaining why the root filling was done privately.
My feeling here though is that this is a simple mistake.How to find a dentist.
1. Get recommendations from friends/family/neighbours/etc.
2. Once you have a short-list, VISIT the practices - dont just phone. Go on the pretext of getting a Practice Leaflet.
3. Assess the helpfulness of the staff and the level of the facilities.
4. Only book initial appointment when you find a place you are happy with.0 -
Thanks for that. I hope you're right! Still slightly miffed that I let myself get talked into things though - the tooth that was done yesterday is so far at the back that it wouldn't really matter what colour filling was in it - no one would see it! The receptionist told me that the private materials are a higher quality and last longer - is that implying the NHS stuff isn't good quality? Just like opticians, dentists are a mine field!0
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I already have a 50 min app booked at end of June but will phone on Monday to see if they can get me in sooner. Might ask them to ring if they have a cancellation. Other practice said to phone original one.
Jaycee x0 -
Hello,
Hoping for some advice on dental stuff. Had terrible pain over the weekend so went to my (private) dentist yesterday. One tooth was badly decayed under and old filling, my options now are to have root canal treatment or an extraction.
The tooth is on the upper right hand side, third one from the very front tooth (upper right premolar).
I think an extraction would look unsightly as the tooth is fairly near to the front? – Any opinions on this?
Dentist does do implants at a cool 2.5 K
Of course the Dentist has warned that the tooth will be weaker after RCT and may need to be crowned in the future.
RCT is £370 for the treatment and composite restoration (filling?)
As an aside I am 27 so of course I want to keep my teeth in the best shape I can.
Any advice or thoughts. Low over all of this : (0 -
Hello,
Hoping for some advice on dental stuff. Had terrible pain over the weekend so went to my (private) dentist yesterday. One tooth was badly decayed under and old filling, my options now are to have root canal treatment or an extraction.
The tooth is on the upper right hand side, third one from the very front tooth (upper right premolar).
I think an extraction would look unsightly as the tooth is fairly near to the front? – Any opinions on this?
Dentist does do implants at a cool 2.5 K
Of course the Dentist has warned that the tooth will be weaker after RCT and may need to be crowned in the future.
RCT is £370 for the treatment and composite restoration (filling?)
As an aside I am 27 so of course I want to keep my teeth in the best shape I can.
Any advice or thoughts. Low over all of this : (
I would go for the RCT, sounds like a reasonable fee to me. A root treatment done well takes time and many of the instruments have to be thrown away after use, rather than resterilized and used again.
I had a premolar root treated last november, but I would take the warning about a crown seriously. I certainly didnt wait before having mine done (I had an onlay rather than a full crown though)
And this is coming from a dentist who knows several fantastic implantologists:D
Truth is the root treatment will fail one day, everything does and you are still young so plenty of time for that to happen, But you will be able to have the implant then or even the rct redone. If you lose the tooth all your options are gone with it0 -
Is it true that RCT's are no longer performed on NHS due to them having to dispose of the drills after each treatment, or have I been fed a bunch of lies?“You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.”0
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~Chameleon~ wrote: »Is it true that RCT's are no longer performed on NHS due to them having to dispose of the drills after each treatment, or have I been fed a bunch of lies?
You've been fed a bunch of lies.
If a dentist has an NHS contract, then he is obliged to provide all necessary treatment to an NHS patient on the NHS. This includes any and all necessary root fillings.
Sometimes dentists try and get out of it by claiming a particular root filing is too hard for them, and they have to refer you to a specialist (Who are all private). This is hard to argue with, as it can sometimes be quite genuine.
If a dentist says they can't do it on the NHS, but offers to do it for you privately, then you've got them banged to rights, and you should complain. If the practice won't respond to your complaint, then take it to the dental people at your PCT. They hold the purse strings, and will have a word in their ear.How to find a dentist.
1. Get recommendations from friends/family/neighbours/etc.
2. Once you have a short-list, VISIT the practices - dont just phone. Go on the pretext of getting a Practice Leaflet.
3. Assess the helpfulness of the staff and the level of the facilities.
4. Only book initial appointment when you find a place you are happy with.0 -
Was wondering if someone could advise me please.....
Considering getting a dental implant but have no hope of getting a loan from a normal lender due to adverse credit. Do I have any chance whatsoever in being accepted through some sort of dental loan?
Also, what happens about the costs involved with the implant if I get referred to the hospital instead (was told I may not have enough bone in place so will need that sorting).
thanks, any advice appreciated.Sealed pot challenge: number 0830
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