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

kaskas

Thank you Toothsmith for your reply.

I will go to speak with someone at the dental practise today.
Are all 3 teeth so very difficult? Maybe 7ths are difficult generally.
And what about those special tools? How would I know if tools are owned by practice or not?
I just want to understand.

Anyway, I don't think it would be a good idea to have this done by a dentist who is not pleased to do the job for £50 when he asked £400
Is it possible to ask to be seen by another dentist as Martin's impression was that this dentist had a negative attitude like he didn't like a root canal job.

There are private dentists operating at all sorts of price points, although as a rule, the cheaper the price, the shorter the appontments will be. If you do a bit of legwork and look around your local area, I'm sure you'll find somewhere that will suit your needs and your pocket.

I appreciate you may qualify for free NHS 'care', but you might well find that even when it's free, you're not getting value for money!

As yet we have only negative experience in regard to dentists we have met in UK.
Maybe its better idea save money and go privately.
I was wondering, maybe you (or anyone!) could recommend a dentist in lincolnshire or nottinghamshire area?
(You probably live elsewhere but its worth to try :-) )

Thank you for all advice.

Toothsmith

kaskas wrote: »

Are all 3 teeth so very difficult? Maybe 7ths are difficult generally.
And what about those special tools? How would I know if tools are owned by practice or not?
I just want to understand.

Anyway, I don't think it would be a good idea to have this done by a dentist who is not pleased to do the job for £50 when he asked £400.

It doesn't matter if they're difficult or not.

If that dentist has offered to do them himself privately, then, according to the NHS contract that he has signed - and is receiving taxpayers money for - he is duty bound to provide that treatment to an NHS patient.

The £43.60 you pay is just the NHS charge, like the £6.95 prescription charge, it bears no relationship to the value of the treatment, or the amount the dentist gets paid.

The dentist's NHS contract value is based on the amount he earnt in the months leading up to the new contract of April 2006, and during that time he would have been providing molar root fillings on the NHS, so for him now to say he won't means that he is receiving money, but not doing the work.

There are great problems with the NHS contract, and I myself refused to sign it for just the sort of reasons that your dentist is now only apparently providing bits and pieces of what he's supposed to.

The bottom line though is that if he didn't like the contract, he shouldn't have signed it.

To sign it, and take the money, but then to 'cherry pick' the treatments he provides in order to maximise his profits is tantamount to fraud.

You should have no hesitation in reporting him to the local PCT, who will have a serious word with him about the terms of the agreement he signed.

zincoxide

I broke a tooth before Christmas and got it packed as a temporary fix, had a check up last week where the dentist told me I had an abscess and gave me a course of antibiotics. She also said I'd need root canal. Great!!

So I had my appointment at 14:30 today and I must admit, for an NHS dentist, she was excellent, I didn't feel a thing.:D

But now the anaesthetic is wearing off and I'm in pain! She told me she hadn't sealed the tooth cause there was still some infection, instead she has put a dressing in there and filled it temporarily - so I need to go through this all again, on Valentines day too!

Froglet

Join the club!! I went today for a check up(unfortunately private) and mentioned that my teeth have been extra sensitive lately,where i have crowns.She said the gum has receeded and put a coating on the exposed nerve to stop it being affected.All afternoon it has been getting more painful,worse than i have suffered with the sensitivity.

Great,I pay £63 for check up and xrays,and it seems, the privilege of being in pain!!

Jennifer_Jane

Oh now, poor you two! I have it to come. Have an abscess with root canal scheduled for 21st February as that was the earliest the dentist could manage a 1hr appt. And this is private. Was heartened to hear that it was fairly painless - thank you so much for that - and will ensure I have all kinds of analgesics - paracetamol/ibruprofen etc and will go to bed early that evening.

Thanks for the post!

Hope you feel better very, very soon and sorry you have to go back again - Ouch! My dentist said that we would only know at the time whether it was one or two appts.

Love
Jen
x

donteatthat

Sometimes infected teeth do "blow up" with another abcess when root canal treatment starts. Sometimes they can just be sore from the fiddling around.
If its still hurting tomorrow ring the practice for some advice. It doesn't mean you will have the same problem next time, so don't fret!

I'm glad you found the visit pain free!! "For an NHS dentist I didn't feel a thing" made me have a mini chuckle lol.

anewman

Hmm there's such a thing as an NHS dentist still? Last time I went they spend 2 minutes looking at my teeth after which I was given (what seemed like) a sales pitch on why I needed to pay them £300 to have 2 wisdom teeth removed. Apparently they will both rot and take the one's alongside them with them if I don't and the Hospital isn't accepting patients on the list at the moment and even if you do get on the list you'll be waiting a year or some crap like that.

Last time I went to a dentist with exactly the same problem they spent a good long while looking at my teeth, x-rayed them, removed the offending tooth the same day and polished them. This of course was before the NHS messed up the contracts.

And it disgusts me that dentists see providing free NHS services as a sales opportunity for people who *need* dental work doing.

Jennifer_Jane

donteatthat wrote: »

snip..

I'm glad you found the visit pain free!! "For an NHS dentist I didn't feel a thing" made me have a mini chuckle lol.

Hah! My dentist said that he'd been bitten by patients more now he is private than when he was NHS - I think he's taken on some secondary job at the Vet's

:rotfl:
Jen

zincoxide

The anaesthetic has almost completely worn off - it's not really painful (I have had a load of painkillers) but more uncomfortable though it's getting better with each hour that passes!

As for the NHS dentist, I only got it on NHS because for the first time in my life I'm on benefits - before now I had always paid private prices! They've already told me that the minute I come off my benefits - I'll be treated as a private patient!!!!!!

lpt_2

Hi I have been reading this thread with great interest. I am currently on penicillin for 7 days before a root canal booked on 11th Feb. I have been taking this for 48 hours - should the pain have gone completely by now? I am still very sensitive and achey along the jaw. Ibuprofen helps but does not get rid of the pain completely.

I am with an NHS dentist and have been with her for nearly 18 years. She has always been good - ( a few fillings but nothing more serious up until now). Having read the forum I am now concered and wondering if I should see a private dentist instead. Obviously I am keen to save the tooth.

The x ray showed a shadow at the base of the route and I was told the nerve is dead. It was a tooth that broke many years ago and has had a very deep filling. I have also been told that I don't need a crown. Should I ask for one? Again I am hoping to protect the tooth for as long as possible.

I go to the dentist religiously and brush my teeth wellwith electric toothbrush although I find flossing very uncomfortable and so don't do it. What are the best alternatives to flossing?