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

Toothsmith

Without seeing the tooth I couldn't say how difficult/easy it is, but one dentist has had a go at it, and not been that successful by the sound of it.

I have no reason to believe that the waiting list for the dental hospital would be any shorter than the dentist has told you it is - they're usually impractically long - which means the tooth will be getting worse and worse, and less and less likely to be saveable as you wait.

If you don't have the money for a private referral, then it's probably best to have it out, before it really starts giving seious problems.

purplemonkee

Thank you for your replies :-)).......It's looks like I will have to give up and lose my tooth :-((.......Just worried that as it's a main chewing tooth I will have problems without it.
Border collie ......My local Dental School would be UCL Eastman dental institute in London......you can imagine the waiting list!

gwhizz75

I have been reading through this thread and hoped I could ask for some advice from Toothsmith, or anyone else who can help.

I recently changed dentists and my new dentist performed a root canal treatment on a lower, back tooth. That was about three weeks ago and after a few days, it started hurting. I went back the next week and was given some antibiotics to clear up any leftover infection, however, these have not worked.

I rang the dentist to ask what to do and he said to give it a few days and if it doesn't settle down the tooth will have to be removed. I really, really don't want to have the tooth removed!

The pain isn't there all the time, it tends to be worse at night and it hurts if I eat on the right side of my mouth. It isn't a sensitive, tingling kind of pain, more an ache. Like I said, I don't want to have it removed but do I have any other option? Should I ask for a second root canal treatment or should I go elsewhere for one? I don't know if I want him to do a second treatment if his heart isn't really in it!

Thanks in advance.

maytaurus

just bumping this thread as I think it contains valuable info on both dental health and costs of treatment
Special thanks to Toothsmith for all the helpful info

mrhillier

I've been lurking on this thread for a while now and have found all the information in it extremely helpful. I just wanted to say a huge thanks to all whose expertise and knowledge have helped me understand my rights as an NHS patient, and to share my experience in case it might help anyone else.

A couple of weeks ago I developed an infection in one of my molars and, as it was the weekend and I was in extreme pain, went to the emergency dentist who opened the tooth to relieve the pain, cleaned and prepped it and told me to go back to my usual dentist for root canal treatment.

Having already read up a lot on RCTs I was well aware of the arguments as to whether having it done privately despite being an NHS patient would be better, and I was prepared to discuss this with my dentist.

However, when it came to discussing it with him he told me that there was "no more NHS funding" for root canals this year and he could either do it privately himself or I could wait until 2010 to "see if any funding became available". I informed him that I knew a little bit about the NHS contract, that I knew he was obliged to perform the treatment on the NHS if it's within his abilities regardless of any funding issues. I didn't particularly have a problem with him wanting to do the RCT privately, and potentially would have been prepared to pay for private treatment, but I was not happy about being lied to, especially given he has possibly told the same lie to other patients who aren't as aware of their rights as an NHS patient. He kept insisting I was wrong and even suggested that I phone the PCT to request more funding!

Well, I did just that, I got in touch with the PALS department of my local PCT requesting help. Personally I find trust a very important thing to have with anyone who will be working in my mouth, so told them I wouldn't be comfortable seeing the same dentist in the future.
Today I received a phone call from the Principal Dentist at the practice who apologised for how I had been treated and offered to perform the RCT under the NHS himself next week. He even said that if the work was beyond his abilities he would refer me to a specialist endodontist at no further cost to myself. :j

So, some advice to anyone else in a similar situation - contact your local PALS department and ask for their help, you should find they know the right things to say to the right people.

Toothsmith

Well done !!!

therealmcjonesy

Im after a bit of independant dentistry advice please.
Ive had trouble on the lower rhs for a few weeks. general ache. x ray of the 3 molars (including the wisdom jobby)
show the middle one has some decay below a filling hence this is being done on monday. However. the first molar
has slight decay around the outside edge of the lower tip of the root. the dentist (nhs) suggested extraction which i baulked at.
It further transpired that they hadnt got the correct equipment to repair such a problem. (is this common) and i would have to go private. (not a problem)
I suppose what im getting at here is did he suggest extraction as it really was a no hope situation in the dentsistry world or is there hope for it. is this a root canal that needs doing?
i really dont want to start losing teeth at 37!

Toothsmith

Do you mean decay here or infection?

It sounds to me more like your dentist is describing infection, and wiggling out of doing a root filling on the NHS.

Doing a root filling on the NHS is well within the remit of a general NHS dentist, and they are breaking their contract if they refuse - unless there is some peculiar difficulty with it.

It is true that you would probably get a better job done privately, but as they're being so naughty about it, I would very much urge you to complain about them to the local Primary Care Trust (PCT) and then look elsewhere to get it done with someone a bit more honest about your options.

batman75

Hi

Yet another person who's been reading through this thread for some advice. I think i've got a reasonable idea about things but just want to clarify a few things:

I need to get RCT on my upper front right incisor, and my dentist (never seen before as I've only just moved to the area) has offered to do it either under the NHS or privately - privately would cost between £200 and £350 - but has recommended the private treatment. My appointment is for Friday and I want to email the practice to clarify a few things:

- exactly what differences are the between NHS and private when he is carrying out the treatment
- success rate
- likelihood of the tooth being saved
- whether NHS treatment will use a white filling
- whether he uses a rubber dam, and in which type of treatment

Is there anything else I should ask, or are all the main points covered? To be honest, if I can do it on the NHS, I would rather do so as I'm a little short of cash at the moment, but I've been putting this off for a number of years so I would like to get it done as soon as possible.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Toothsmith

I have huge poblems with the ethics of this.

I know exactly what he means, and have some sympathy with it. He's trying his best to still offer NHS treatment for those that need it, but recognising that if he does his best work all the time, on the NHS - he will go bust.

The test that I always use is " would I like this treatment / method used on me or one of my family?" If the answer is "no" then I would not do it on a patient.
That led me to give up doing NHS stuff altogether, as I know of no way of making a living on it whilst providing treatment that I would feel happy with a member of my family receiving.

I could not do it well for one person, and do it less well for somebody else just because I was getting paid a different amount of money.

He is honouring the terms of his NHS contract though, and I'd go as far as to say that if you opted for the NHS filling, it would probably be just the same anyway! He sounds like a good guy to me, and probably couldn't do it 'worse' if he tried! His training would take over.

I would question him a bit further though about the differences. If he's missing out vital stuff like rubber dam from his NHS treatment though, you could easily take action later on if it failed early - especially if he was using it for private patients.