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

tenof26

as for pain i dont know,

but when i had the dental root canal thing done, my dentist said that on nhs, they had to use manual tools, to dig/drill/whatever they do, but with private, they use a machine so its a lot quicker, and (meant to be) more efficient.

Im a poor student, so chose NHS :-(

However, i was lucky, my dentist after injecting my face twice so i couldnt feel anything, saw i was still shaking and nervous like crazy (well, wouldnt you be?), said they were going to use the private machine anyhow and not charge me, to get it over and done with.

so i guess it depends if your dentist has emapthy, and if there in a rush, or more confident with the automatic machine thingy than the manual tools.

I dont know if thats any help, but thats just my experience, best of luck with it all, and hope it all gets sorted :-)

Bossyboots

I must say I am a bit confused. Who is going to know whether a dentist uses manual or machinery to treat a patient. If the machinery is quicker then it must surely be in the dentist's interests (let alone the patient) to use that and consequently increase the number of patients they could see in a day. The time saving would surely mean it is more cost effective to use the machinery.

Perhaps I am missing something. Hopefully one of the dentists on here will enlighten me.

Toothsmith

Bossyboots wrote:

I must say I am a bit confused. Who is going to know whether a dentist uses manual or machinery to treat a patient. If the machinery is quicker then it must surely be in the dentist's interests (let alone the patient) to use that and consequently increase the number of patients they could see in a day. The time saving would surely mean it is more cost effective to use the machinery.

Perhaps I am missing something. Hopefully one of the dentists on here will enlighten me.

As some may know from my posts, I have a bit of a problem with NHS dentists doing 'private' stuff. Root fillings is a good example.

There is no reason at all why the machinery an NHS dentist buys to do 'private' root fillings shouldn't be used on NHS patients. It is quicker, and a decent job can be done in less time.

The reason they don't is because NHS fees can nowhere near cover the cost of the time for doing the proceedure even with the more efficient machine, so they have to make up a reason that can be given quickly and easily, so that even more time isn't wasted explaining the ins and outs of the real reason.

The difference between a private root filling and an NHS one is probably less than 1/2mm!

A root filling done on the NHS will probably get to within 1-1/2 mm of the end of the root. A private one should get all the way to the very tip.

Does this justify the extra £200+ (Up to £5-600 if you're refered to a specialist). I would say yes, because in that 1/2mm of root end that has been missed lives all the crud that has caused the abscess in the first place!

The thing is though, that a dentist doing top speed file & fill root fillings will not be anywhere near as good at doing the job well as someone who is doing it properly day in day out. To do a root filling properly, it is essential to have the tooth isolated under a rubber dam (A square sheet of rubber put over the tooth and streched out to stop saliva getting back down the tooth and re-infecting it) How many people have had that done when they have a root filling?

Flashy machines do not guarentee a good root filling. Time and experience are a better indicator.

A quickly done root filling will take away the symptoms to start with. The abscess will be disrupted, allowing the body's defences to heal things. If all of the cause is not removed though, one day, it will come back.

Having said all that, I have seen some really bad root fillings 'cure' an abscess, and still look good on x-rays years afterwards. I have also seen perfect looking root fillings fail. Both are exceptional though.

So, yes, I would say paying the extra to get a root filling done privately is a good idea if you want to keep the tooth. BUT - make sure it's a dentist who does private root fillings often, and uses rubber dam, and ask how confident he will be that he can save the tooth. Consider the more expensive specialist referal if keeping the tooth is an absolute priority.

If you MUST have an NHS root filling due to circumstances at the moment, then plan to get it re-done with a specialist later on in your life when hopefully you will be in a better position financially.

If saving the tooth isn't really a priority, seriously consider having it out instead. It won't get re-infected if it isn't there!

Bossyboots

Thanks Toothsmith, particularly for the explanation of the rubber dam. I had my first filling in a very, very long time a short while back and I wondered what the heck all that palaver was for as I had never experienced it years back before a bad dentist put me off. It wasn't even a root canal filling I was having done but an old filling removed (ironically the one that was done that put me off dentists) and replaced.

Teerah

Toothsmith I hope you are not suggesting that all NHS root fillings are short of the tip and always fail

lisadupreez

Thanks for that. My dentist is really nice, and I think I had nearly decided to pay the private and get it done right - as I can always spread the £240 over a year or something. Spend now and get it done right instead of having to do it in a wee while and pay even more.

Thanks.

Toothsmith

Teerah wrote:

Toothsmith I hope you are not suggesting that all NHS root fillings are short of the tip and always fail

No - and as you see, I am a long way from suggesting that all 'private' ones are good.

I think it has been shown though that the vast majority of root fillings done on the NHS are a complete waste of time. Yours may very well be good, but the evidence points to you being in the minority.

mm66

How about taking a trip overseas and getting it done for about £50 from a good dentist and also enjoying a weekend holiday.. Poland, France and some places spring to mind!!

Toothsmith

Did you see the 'Real Story' on BBC1 last week?

Going to France really wouldn't save you money, and neither would Poland for such a routine proceedure.

Plus aftercare would be inconvienient.

Savvy_Sue

Now I'm confused. I thought you'd said (somewhere else) that if a root canal filling 'failed' it wasn't usually worth re-doing it? and now you're saying that if you've had one done on the NHS you could consider getting it re-done later privately?