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

vanilla

I gave in tonight and went to the hospital there was nothing they could do except freeze me mouth which they did except my tooth is still sore but my tongue.:mad:

He said it could take 2 weeks for the pain to go away because of the troma(sp) plus because the filling was to high it will take longer to heal.

So all i can do is live on painkillers all weekend and go see my dentist on monday.

Thanks everyone for the advice and stories. It's good to hear what other people have experienced.

Nordictat2

Filling to high? Make sure you tell your dentist that...it could also be that the tooth keeps banging into the other teeth. I had that before. I was having alot of pain there (more than I should) Seems the filling he had done was too high so went back to the dentist and he asked me to bite down on this special kind of paper and then filed it down here and there and it didn't help right away but I day or 2 later I felt alot of relief.
You need to make sure you tellt he dentist what you want or atleast try. You are paying him!

loulou123

I have no professional advice, but i am a tooth disaster area, so know how you feel.

If the pains really that bad, then id say it needs more than "a couple of weeks to settle down" i'd say it needs something doing and quickly.

However if there is an area of infection, they do not like pulling the tooth, as it makes the anaesthetic more tricky to administer and also may spread the infection. Its my opinion that some teeth just do not settle down with a root canal and then you end up having them taken out anyway. I have also been in the postion of being so fed up with the pain, that i have gone to the dentist almost crying and begged them to take an infected tooth out-which they did.

Hope the weekend isnt too bad for you.

Ps on the subject of pain relief, i personally cannot take ibuprofen (or aspirin/anything similar) as i am allergic to it, i always find that co-codomal works well, might be worth a try? (but it does contain paracetamol too, so please dont take them alongside something else.)

vanilla

Hi everyone, last night didn't go to badly as i only needed to get up once for painkillers. I've still got a lot of pain today but no where as bad as yesterday. My jaw is a little bit swollen but it's been like that since yesterday, think it's just down to the poking at the tooth.

Fingers crossed it's starting to settle but i know i'll never get another root canal again, they can pull the flipping tooth out.

Thanks again for all the replies.

Kandipandi

Your poor soul, it can be very exhausting having constant tooth pain. Hope you are better soon x

labyrinth_2

Hi,

I've read some threads on root canals but can't find much on a situation similar to mine.

I had a tooth that was sore to bite on and became sensitive to hot and cold, very very sensitive in the end.
X-rays didn't show a problem, so I tried Sensodyne and the dentist painted some de sensitizing stuff on it. It didn't work.

It was then decided that the old filling was taken out to see what was going on underneath. Being a dental phobic I was really anxious but went ahead. Under that old filling was a hole with some decay and a crack! None of which had shown on the Xray or when I bit down on a cotton wool swab at the dentist!

I was told that a sedative filling would probably work so went ahead with that too.

2 weeks later no improvement and so with great trepidation I faced my biggest dental fear, a root canal treatment. I was literally shaking like a leaf but my dentist is fab and talked me through and calmed me too. it took over an hour, but I was so relieved that finally this problem that had been going on for months was coming to an end.

Or so I thought.

The tooth was crowned with a gold crown glued on.

It's almost 4 months on and the tooth is still sore to chew on. The gums don't like hot and cold and ache and feel sore with those temperatures. It feels like it's the crowned tooth and it's not a nerve pain it's a deep dull pain in it which comes a few seconds after swilling with cold or hot. The tooth hurts if I press up on it with my finger. It was sore to brush at night, but that has improved and if I push my tongue on it it feels okay, not too sore. There might be a small amount of improvement. The soreness isn't so bad that I can't possibly eat on it, it just feels sore and is tiring and makes me anxious, so I tend to eat on the other side.

My dentist checked it our for me and said the sensitivity is just gums, so gave me little brushes to use and I also use Listerine mouthwash and senodyne, but there's little improvement after a good 6 weeks.

My dentist also said that if a tooth has been playing up for a long time it can take a long time to settle down again, maybe months and months.

It's been almost 4 months now and I still can't really use that side of my mouth properly because of the tooth and gum soreness. I still have my dental fear but it's worse now as I don't trust the x-rays or these dental procedeures.

Has anyone had a root canaled tooth settle after this long?

When do I call it a day and have it removed. My dentist is against that idea as I have a weird bite and she thinks my teeth could move around causing more problems, but I don't know if she's just trying to put me off having it extracted. It's an upper molar 3rd from back (I still have my wisdom teeth) so it's right in the middle of that top row.

I could put up with this if I knew it was going to get better, but if I'm waiting for nothing then when do I put a stop to it all?

I'm on a low dose anti depressant because of this and I've lost a stone as I don't eat unless I have to.

Can anyone offer advice? Has anyone lived successfully with a gap? Has anyone had a tooth settle after a long time??

Toothsmith

They can take a long time to settle sometimes, but sometimes they don't settle, and you'll need it out.

Your dentist seems to have been doing things properly, and in the right order, so I would be guided by him/her.

labyrinth_2

Thanks for taking time to reply Toothsmith.

1.If it comes out, is it possible to live with the gap? By that I mean what potential problems might I face without it?
If the other teeth move about what problems will that cause?

2.Is it harder to get a RCT tooth out?

3.My dentist tells me there's a chance the root might break, then what?

4.What time frame is long enough to see if it'll settle?

5. My dentist says that there is bacteria and inflammation in the tooth that my immune system needs to deal with. What would happen to the bacteria if it comes out, could it spread in my mouth or is it taken care of with the extraction?

It seems that there is no light at the end of this long dark tunnel, I haven't heard one positive thing about it coming out, but was told all the great things about having a root canal treatment, so I feel a little as if I've been frightened into having the treatment, and now am faced with all the horrors of having it taken out

Toothsmith

1.People do live without individual teeth. Wat problems it might cause for you would depend upon things I cannot see. Be guided by your dentist who can see.

2. No

3. The tooth would have to come out

4. That would be up to you and your dentist.

5. Once the tooth is out, the infection will go away.

If the tooth was important, then it's important to give it every chance. If that doesn't work, then you have to move on and consider the next set of options.

kjl26

Hi there,

Yet another person browsing this thread for some advice and wondering if anyone can offer some specific advice...

I went to an NHS dentist - a new one I haven't been to before as I've moved since the last time I went 3 years ago . Anyhow, I had bad ongoing pain near to a crown I had done about 5 years ago - he gave me a check up, did some xrays, gave me a 5 day course of antibiotics and made me another appt for 10 days time. The next appt was Saturday just gone, and he confirmed what he had guessed first time around, that I had three minor fillings needing doing, and that there was an infection on the root of the tooth under the crown.

He says the options are root canal or extraction, and that he will do the fillings and crown following the root canal for the top NHS band charge of £198, but that he can only do the root canal for a separate charge of £250.

He also said that his equipment for the £250 job wasn't as good as 'specialists' who have 'microscopes and things', and that a third option would be to refer me to a private person where the root canal would cost me in the region of £600-£700 and I'd come back to him for the crown.

So since I'm scared by what I've read about NHS root canals in general, and because it's still really painful and I would really like it done asap, I am tempted to go private.

However, I'm confused by the £250 charge, and his inability to do it on the NHS, and the doubt is starting to make me a bit worried about the other fillings. Can someone clarify the difference between the £250 and the other options, and comment on whether £600-£700 is a reasonable figure?

And could I choose my own private practice to do the root canal if I do have it privately, or do I have to go with whoever he recommends?

Just a bit confused, basically, and scared of losing my tooth as I only have one big molar on that side (it's back left if that helps).

Katie