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

brook2jack

There is absolutely no way a NHS dentist will specialise in root treatment and agree to take you on . Welshdent loses himself and his practice money every time he does endodontics.... the fee he gets won't even pay the monthly payments on his microscope. I'm sure he only does it on his patients as a "goodwill" gesture and hopes as the years go by he may make back some of the money he has lost himself and his practice.

There are no health authorities or PCTs who employ specialist endodontists as far as I know and most dental hospitals will not take referrals unless the treatment is particularly difficult.

Some NHS dentists do do an excellent job but they do it knowing they will lose money, and these are the dentists that are unlikely to have space on their lists for new patients... they will concentrate on doing their best for their regular patients.

You have a choice stick with your own dentist who will do their best but with a reduced sucess rate ,or pay privately, with a recommended endodontist. However from what your own dentist has said , if the tooth cannot be restored afterwards you may have to have it out anyway.

welshdent

brook2jack wrote: »

There is absolutely no way a NHS dentist will specialise in root treatment and agree to take you on . Welshdent loses himself and his practice money every time he does endodontics.... the fee he gets won't even pay the monthly payments on his microscope. I'm sure he only does it on his patients as a "goodwill" gesture and hopes as the years go by he may make back some of the money he has lost himself and his practice.

Thanks for reminding me LOL. My principal is very accomodating. Often because I help with tricky situations re difficult cases!

brook2jack

The economics of NHS endodontics are

cost of surgery time approx £130 per hour (molar endodontics takes at least an hour and this is cost of running a very cheap NHS practice)

cost of disposable rotary instruments £25 to £35 minimum plus other disposables costs

5 year monthly repayments on £15,000 microscope approx £300 a month (assume costs of endodontic motors,apex locators are in surgery costs).

Total paid for check up,gum treatment(if necessary) all fillings and all endodontic treatment (even if more than one = 3 udas or average of £66.

londondent

dont forget that most dentists (associates) only paid half that.

Jodiekate

Hi, I saw my private dentist yesterday as I had lost a filling in my upper right first molar and was having some pain.

She has told me that this tooth now needs a root canal and that this will cost me £4-500, she also said that this can't be done on the NHS. From reading these posts this seems a little odd to me as many people seem to have this treatment on the NHS.

I can get an appointment with an NHS dentist in two weeks time, is it worth me hanging on and seeing what they have to say before I make any decision, I can't really afford £500 but if it is my only option I would find this from somewhere!

At the moment the tooth has a temporary filling in, how long is this likely to be ok for?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

welshdent

You can only get nhs treatment from nhs registered dentists so a private dentist won't do it. It's not so mug not available on the nhs but they won't be massively inclined to do it. Regardless of what it says you are entitled to you need to be realistic especially as you would be a new patient so the dentist may wish to
Simply make you orally fit. That can very easily mean an extraction. Molar root fillings are notoriously hard to do and lots of dentists don't feel
Comfortable doing them so will lean for an extraction or referral to a specialist

welshdent

Can I also suggest that you do not go to the NHS practice and say "I have come here because you are cheaper than the private practice". It doesnt go down well

capomeister

Jodiekate wrote: »

Hi, I saw my private dentist yesterday as I had lost a filling in my upper right first molar and was having some pain.

She has told me that this tooth now needs a root canal and that this will cost me £4-500, she also said that this can't be done on the NHS. From reading these posts this seems a little odd to me as many people seem to have this treatment on the NHS.

I can get an appointment with an NHS dentist in two weeks time, is it worth me hanging on and seeing what they have to say before I make any decision, I can't really afford £500 but if it is my only option I would find this from somewhere!

At the moment the tooth has a temporary filling in, how long is this likely to be ok for?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

£400-£500 is much cheaper than the £625-£895 I am being quoted. Whereabouts are you in the country? Wouldn't mind saving myself a couple of hundred pounds for similar quality work by a specialist.

londondent

"£400-£500 is much cheaper than the £625-£895 I am being quoted. Whereabouts are you in the country? Wouldn't mind saving myself a couple of hundred pounds for similar quality work by a specialist."

i think thats price being quoted for her regular private dentist to do the work, not a specialist.

Happy_shopper

I'd like to draw on your collective experience, please. I had root canal treatment on a tooth nearly two years ago and subsequently had a crown put on the tooth. A few months ago, I had my teeth cleaned at the dentist and since then, I've had an intermittent sharp, shooting pain from the tooth (sometimes once a day, sometimes once a week) usually whilst or shortly after I've eaten or drunk something warm.

I know that the tooth is cracked already and I'm guessing this is the cause of my pain. I was wondering if any of you had experienced something similar and what your options were? Could it be a sign my root filling has failed? Or was it possible to have more root treatment done to dull the nerve? Or did you have to have the tooth extracted?

Obviously, I'm not expecting a definitive answer and I've got a dentist appointment in a couple of days' time to get it checked out. Until then, though, I'm really worrying about it and I'm hoping that if I get some idea of what my options are, it will put my mind at rest.

Thanks in advance.