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

welshdent

yes re the coronal filling on top. If he is a specialist he should be on the list now I should imagine. Some may correct me on that but thats how I understand things?

You should be looking for things like Msc, MClinDent, lots of other random letters that equate to hospital training pathways etc etc

donteatthat

I think the dentists actions all sound reasonable, and the prices seem very reasonable. (upto £1300 for molar endo in my neck of the woods). Why would the dentist lose potential income to his own practice by referring work to someone else? That doesn't really make sense at all.

welshdent

just to clarify my post, the qualifications I noted are things to look for in terms of extra training but that do not in themselves make someone a "specialist" in the GDCs eyes

usignuolo

So what is the qualification to be a specialist as far as the GDC is concerned?

Our dentist's is a large well equipped group practice with experienced well qualified dentists who always did root canals in the past. They even list endodontics as one of their specialisations. They only do private work for adults and it has been established in its own premises for a long time now so I would not have thought it was struggling. Seems very prosperous. My OHs dentist, the one doing the referring, is the senior partner in the practice.

It does however raise some niggles in my mind, that he should have suddenly stopped doing root canals and started referring his patients to a new specialist practice, just started up round the corner, by the Harley Street consultant he uses for second opinions and more advanced treatment generally.

Maybe dentists make so much money doing routine procedures they have decided to offload some of the more complex ones. That is fine for them but of course increases the cost for the patient.

brook2jack

10 years ago I did all my own apicectomies, I took out most wisdom teeth and attempted all root canal therapies.

I now do no apicectomies,extract only very easy wisdom teeth and do only simple enododontics. The reason? British dentists are more likely to be sued than any where else in the world including the US. Techniques and expectations have increased enormously and it is no longer enough to do your best and often difficult to defend medico legally. I refer all these things because a specialist can afford the kit e.g.£15,000 microscope , MDA cement at £90 a time , drills at £100 a time, when they do nothing but specialise in that proceedure.

I refer wisdom teeth because even the best treatment given by the best person occaisionally goes wrong due to no ones fault and it is much easier to defend when it is a specialist doing it.

The trend to refer things on will become even greater because litigation is ever increasing and this is a double edged sword because it impacts even worse on the NHS where it is economic suicide to attempt e.g. molar endodontics using the best instruments and techniques on all who may benefit.

welshdent

What you have to bear in mind is most dentists ... certainly the ones I know .. HATE doing molar endodontics. I am apparently a rare breed that actually revels in the challenge of them. Private or NHS makes no difference but private dentists technically have more scope to avoid doing treatments they do not feel as competent doing. They may well have done them routinely before but if a practice with special interests opens up near by then its understandable that they would seize this opportunity to refer out this work. Personally if I had the opportunity to never take a tooth out ever again or make another denture I would take advantage of it immediately. We get zero kick backs for referrals to other dentists, none whatsoever. We do so with only the patients interests in mind. As far as recognised qualifications are concerned. There are lots of pathways that a dentist may take to become better trained and more competent at a skill or area of dentistry. To actually be recognised as a "specialist" however is very difficult in view of the time scale involved. You need to give up general practice and do hospital training posts which can be hard to come by. Hopefully this will be eased up somewhat in the future. I know a lot of people that have a special interest as opposed to being a specialist who do superb work. I think you are being a bit unfair alleging that they make so much money they are referring out the complex work. I would highly doubt that based on the reasons I have alluded to. I actually think based on the story given, your OH is being managed appropriately. Does he want the work done ... or does he want the work done right? brook sums things up nicely with their post re complexities and litigation.

Sorehead

You're not the only one feeling ripped off by the dentist for this treatment. Yesterday I went to my NHS dentist and was told I needed a root canal. I've had this done before at my dentist and paid the set NHS fee (around £200). Unfortunately last year the original dentist left and since then I haven't had the same person twice. My new dentist informed me that he didn't do root canals and that I would have to travel to a different town and pay at least £600 for the privilege. There are other dentists at the practice who might be able to perform this work so I'm not sure where I stand now - if I can insist someone else sees me - I don't see why I should have to pay a months wages (which is what this would be to me) and travel half an hour each way just because this replacement dentist doesn't have the training.

welshdent

They do have the training .... they just may not be any good at them and is sending you to someone who IS good. If it is a complex treatment you may be better off anyway. The standard NHS charge is around 42 in england and 39 in wales by the way. If you need to have a crown placed on top then the price gets to around 200 ish

Maysie

I had root canal at nhs dentist in january. The dentist was very honest and said his % of success with molars in this posistion and then reccomended this other place that charged and had a 20 higher % success rate. I took my chance and stuck with my dentist and he has done an excellent job and i was ok.

scotsbob

usignuolo wrote: »

PS Just to add, it is not the Harley Street consultant who would be doing the root canal for £750+ - it is a young overseas dentist at the new root canal specialists. He is so new to the surgery that his CV has not been posted up yet. Nearly all the dentists at the root canal specialists recommended are from overseas so it is not really possible to trace their careers in the UK. It was only set up late last year.

Interesting that the specailist dentists are from overseas.

Whenever people on this forum mention that they are going abroad to have their treatment, at 30-50% of the UK cost, the posters on this forum with a vested interest become very xenophobic and tell us UK dentists are the best. Strange that dental practices here are bringing the continental dentists here.