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

Toothsmith

First of all, I would agree that amalgam fillings are the least of your worries, and really, you shouldn't get anything that is still functioning well changed just for the sake of it.

The root filling vs implant debate is an interesting one.

A root filled and crowned tooth, done by a real expert (rather than a pretend expert!!) should last at least a good 10 years if not longer. But it will have a life span.

This makes implant people think that the implant is the best option!

BUT - no-one yet really knows how long inmplants last as although they've been around about 10 years now, and 10 year survival times run at a good 95%, they've not been around much longer than that!

I often say to people that the only thing that has a chance of lasting you a lifetime is a completely untouched tooth. As soon as even the smallest filling is placed into it, then that filling has a life-span, and the thing that replaces it will always be a little bit more damaging, and last just a little bit shorter. Which is why it's always vital to get things done as small and as well as possible. (Which is why people are not 'lucky' to have NHS dentistry by and large!)

So - to return to your question, my answer would probably be to have the root fillings and crowns now - providing the dentist can promise a reasonable chance of success, but be saving up for the implants that will inevitabley follow in (hopefully) 15+ years.

If you have the implants now - you never know if the bone that will be left if/when they fail will be good enough to support more implants.

Hope that helps?

sheilavw

I needed dental work done, either implant or bridge, it was going to be about £1600 so I had it done whilst on holiday in Turkey for £425

Toothsmith

Yes - but this is someone with a more sensible approach.

pinkpig08

Toothsmith - hope you don't mind but could I ask you a question? I had a filling on 18th on a tooth I didn't realise was going to be filled (thought the dentist was goin to fill a different one). The anaesthetic injection was absolute agony. I had had no pain or discomfort in the tooth (second molar from the back - bottom right), but now I've had the filling I get toothache and the tooth is sensitive but wasn't before. The pain in my jaw has only just subsided and there is still a little niggle at the back when I move my jaw to the side.
Sorry to ramble but my question is could the dentist have made the tooth worse by filling it? ie: sensitive when it wasn't sensitive before? I'm due to have another filling on a top canine in Feb but now am not really sure that I want it doing!

Sorry to go on a bit but thanks for any help,
pinkpig

Toothsmith

pinkpig08 wrote: »

Toothsmith - hope you don't mind but could I ask you a question? I had a filling on 18th on a tooth I didn't realise was going to be filled (thought the dentist was goin to fill a different one). The anaesthetic injection was absolute agony. I had had no pain or discomfort in the tooth (second molar from the back - bottom right), but now I've had the filling I get toothache and the tooth is sensitive but wasn't before. The pain in my jaw has only just subsided and there is still a little niggle at the back when I move my jaw to the side.
Sorry to ramble but my question is could the dentist have made the tooth worse by filling it? ie: sensitive when it wasn't sensitive before? I'm due to have another filling on a top canine in Feb but now am not really sure that I want it doing!

Sorry to go on a bit but thanks for any help,
pinkpig

I'm afraid there are just too many possibilities here to give any sort of accurate answer.

If the tooth didn't need a filling, then he's made it very much worse by putting one in.

It is perfectly possible to have a very large symptomless hole in a tooth though that only starts to give problems once the dentist has 'fixed' it.

This doesn't mean that it shouldn't have been fixed though, as sooner or later that big hole would have caused problems, and by then it would be a much bigger job to fix.

Ask your dentist next time you go.

pinkpig08

Thanks for the reply, I've only been with this dentist for a year, I'll ask her next time I go.

maria1981

Well, that`s your choice, I could have had it done for about £500 by a very qualified dentist in a different country who my mum goes to, but firstly I could not fly out there every one or two weeks for treatment, my insurance would not cover it and I wanted to make sure my dentist is here in a case I have the pain.

sheilavw wrote: »

I needed dental work done, either implant or bridge, it was going to be about £1600 so I had it done whilst on holiday in Turkey for £425

maria1981

Thanks a lot for your reply. I went to visit the specialist yesterday and he said the chances of root canal working would be about 80% in my case. Good news is that he says I only need two (the ones where the pain was when I took antibiotics). He also says that he will do it over two visits to kill any bacteria which could be there and that I can expect to be there about two hours each time.

I agree with you about the implants vs root canal. I think if this can give me at least ten years, it`s money well spent / if it doesn`t work I can always have the tooth pulled out and implant put in straight away.

Now just to go through with it.. I am actually petrified of dentists, last time I had everything done, it took about 10 hrs over few weeks in total, yay..

Will keep you posted!

Maria

Toothsmith wrote: »

So - to return to your question, my answer would probably be to have the root fillings and crowns now - providing the dentist can promise a reasonable chance of success, but be saving up for the implants that will inevitabley follow in (hopefully) 15+ years.

LuciferTDark

I had root canal work done on 4 of my teeth when I was 16, I'm now just a few months short of 40 & all those teeth are still with me. I know it doesn't help with the cost as I got it done free on the NHS but I hope it shows the original tooth can still last almost a lifetime even after being "killed".

Toothsmith

LuciferTDark wrote: »

I had root canal work done on 4 of my teeth when I was 16, I'm now just a few months short of 40 & all those teeth are still with me. I know it doesn't help with the cost as I got it done free on the NHS but I hope it shows the original tooth can still last almost a lifetime even after being "killed".

And it shows that 20 odd years ago you could get some very decent dentistry done on the NHS!