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

loobylee

You should always try to save the teeth you have - even though it is now very expensive! (however from my point of veiw you are getting a bargin - seriously you would not belive what we are charged for the materials)

You do have to think of the pros and cons though so here goes:
1. If you have a root canal you will almost certainly need a crown on the tooth afterwards - this will be more money especially if you want a 'white' one.
2. Root canals can fail which means you would have to be retreated - have crown removed, redo root canal, new crown = a lot more money. If that doesn't work they can try to root fill it from the apex of the tooth - the bit that is in your gum, again very expensive. If that still doesn't work then you will have to have it extracted!!!
3. If you have the tooth extracted the opposing tooth in the other arch may erupt further as it may no longer have a contact point.
4. If the tooth is badly broken it may need to be surgiacally extracted and this could lead to further complications - broken roots, perforated sinus, etc.

In my opinion you should always save teeth where you can otherwise you risk ending up with a denture (horrible things) or an implant - very very expensive!

I know it's scary but if you are comfortable with your dentist get it sorted now before it gets worse and you end up in agony. If you are scared just put your hand up and the dentist will stop.

It's worth trying to save not very MSE but it's well worth it. HTH

HC_2

belfastgirl23 wrote: »

I really sympathise too. I had a rotten experience with a dentist as a child and it left me terrified as an adult. Pain drove me there too after not having gone for years and I'm just finished the process of having all my big old fillings replaced. All I can say is that modern dentistry is a massive improvement on what it was when I was younger. It only hurt badly once and then only for a few seconds. Surprisingly it hurts very little afterwards beyond a mild muscle ache from keeping my mouth open. That said, the dentist said I might have to have my wisdom teeth out sometime soonish and I can tell you I will be sedated for that!!

Re the actual procedure this thread might help
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=932601&highlight=sedation

It sounds like the sedation is a very pleasant experience - maybe this might help you get through it.

Thanks, belfastgirl23. I've had loads of support from people on here and I really appreciate it.

Regarding the MSE thread that you quote in your post - that was actually my thread! I finally decided to opt for root canal treatment rather than an extraction, and I'd had an initial appointment with the sedation clinic to discuss things. I started that thread to find out about other people's experiences of dental sedation.

Everyone who posted said that they found it a fantastic way to undergo lengthy treatment.

Yes, it's costly but, although I'm not rolling in it, I'm not concerned about the expense. The root canal, the crown and the sedation will probably cost about £700 but the thought of sitting in the chair for the best part of two hours at my normal dentist's without sedation is too terrifying to contemplate. Besides, I'd not been to the dentist for about 10 years until recently, so I've saved lots of money on dentist's bills!

Having said that, and having read everyone's positive comments about sedation, I still can't quite make myself pick up the phone to make the appointment.

My temporary root canal is giving me no problems at the moment, but I've been advised that the treatment must take place fairly soon, so I know I must do it.

Horasio

I had a back tooth that started cracking in 1996 and it was root filled by a lovely and competent dentist. It was fine until it cracked in 2003 and left it. In 2006 it cracked big time and the dentist reluctantly removed it but it left the root, so had to wait and go on the list and get the root removed.

I guess it gave me 10 years extra life but it still crumbled away.

I registered with a great dentist but they went downhill when they went private. I am not impressed with my dentist, she wanted to leave the job half done with a filling and another filling came out within two hours. She charges a kings ransom. She has a strange attitude too.

I have a follow up appointment on Thursday and feel she shouldn't charge for it as the work was not complete and not done to a good standard. I feel she has a horrible attitude and very money grabbing.

Dental work isn't nice but it is a hell of a lot more bearable if the dentist makes you feel comfortable.

windswept

I had a back tooth rebuilt 11 days ago - this morning whilst eating my cornflakes it broke off completely and I'm back left with half a tooth.
Before I had it seen to I had no pain, just half a tooth that was a little rough on the edges, now I'm in pain and £100 down.
I've phoned the dentist and I've said I just want it out - 20 minutes of my mouth wide open last time left my jaw in agony for days. The only alternative is a gold crown and I really don't want one.
He'd better not charge for it!

belfastgirl23

HC wrote: »

Thanks, belfastgirl23. I've had loads of support from people on here and I really appreciate it.

Regarding the MSE thread that you quote in your post - that was actually my thread! I finally decided to opt for root canal treatment rather than an extraction, and I'd had an initial appointment with the sedation clinic to discuss things. I started that thread to find out about other people's experiences of dental sedation.

Everyone who posted said that they found it a fantastic way to undergo lengthy treatment.

Yes, it's costly but, although I'm not rolling in it, I'm not concerned about the expense. The root canal, the crown and the sedation will probably cost about £700 but the thought of sitting in the chair for the best part of two hours at my normal dentist's without sedation is too terrifying to contemplate. Besides, I'd not been to the dentist for about 10 years until recently, so I've saved lots of money on dentist's bills!

Having said that, and having read everyone's positive comments about sedation, I still can't quite make myself pick up the phone to make the appointment.

My temporary root canal is giving me no problems at the moment, but I've been advised that the treatment must take place fairly soon, so I know I must do it.

sorry, duh! The image of the sedation stayed really strongly with me and has been comforting me in my worries about having to get my wisdom teeth out some day (I've also been scrubbing and flossing religiously!)...

I'd say stump up too though. I have a relative who got false teeth a couple of years ago and hates them, of course once they've gone there's nothing you can do about it!

donteatthat

I have some theories up my sleeve!
1: Dental care seems to cost the same amount over any one period of time whether you go or not. So if you go once every 10 years you get the same bill to sort it out as if you had of gone each year and paid 10 times!
2: The most nervous patients seem to often end up with the dentists who have the least time to manage it, which is a receipe for disaster. The NHS dental service doesn't have time often for the time / money it takes to deal with anxiety.
3: Beware of the the NHS practice who goes "private" but offers no improvement in standard of care.
I hope you make the right decisions. You only get one set of teeth!


HTH
donteatthat

HC_2

donteatthat wrote: »

1: Dental care seems to cost the same amount over any one period of time whether you go or not. So if you go once every 10 years you get the same bill to sort it out as if you had of gone each year and paid 10 times!

I think you have a point there! That's why I don't feel bad about spending £700 on root canal treatment with sedation.

donteatthat wrote: »

2: The most nervous patients seem to often end up with the dentists who have the least time to manage it, which is a receipe for disaster. The NHS dental service doesn't have time often for the time / money it takes to deal with anxiety.

My dentist is an angel. She puts up with my ridiculous behaviour while still treating me with respect and gentleness. Admittedly, I have registered as a private patient because her NHS list was full, but I'm quite sure that she would treat me exactly the same however she was being paid.

donteatthat wrote: »

3: Beware of the the NHS practice who goes "private" but offers no improvement in standard of care.

Should there be a difference in the standard of care? Is there?

donteatthat

Yes there cann be a difference in standard of care. There shouldn't necessarily be, but due to financial constraints NHS practices cannot always spend the required time on treatments as is required to do the job properly and keep the business going. This is borne out in patients finding their root canals don't last and they have recurent infections, fillings need frequent replacement, they get pain after having treatment all on a regular basis, treatment decisions can be made in a rush without the patient understanding fully what is going on, and what may happen after the treatment is completed etc.

It sounds like your dentist has your best interests at heart. I would stick with her as you obviosuly feel comfortable with her.

HC_2

donteatthat wrote: »

Yes there cann be a difference in standard of care. There shouldn't necessarily be, but due to financial constraints NHS practices cannot always spend the required time on treatments as is required to do the job properly and keep the business going. This is borne out in patients finding their root canals don't last and they have recurent infections, fillings need frequent replacement, they get pain after having treatment all on a regular basis, treatment decisions can be made in a rush without the patient understanding fully what is going on, and what may happen after the treatment is completed etc.

It sounds like your dentist has your best interests at heart. I would stick with her as you obviosuly feel comfortable with her.

That all sounds like a total nightmare to a scaredy-cat like me.

I feel thankful that I can afford to go private. Saying that, my husband and daughters are NHS with the most wonderful dentist. I nearly went with him until I found my angel, who just had the edge (i.e. she didn't mind when I cried that first time, when I went in, terrified, in unbearable pain. Another lovely thing about her is that she charged me in advance for a scale and polish, which I agreed to, but I couldn't cope with all of it. So now she cleans a few teeth every time I go. How sweet is that!)

Do you think that the problems you mention in your post are due to poor professionalism or are they symtomatic of NHS dentistry generally?

donteatthat

I think the problems are due to an unwillingness on the part of the government to pay the NHS dentists enough to cover the running costs of a surgery and allow enough time to be spent on delivering the dental care to the required standard.

I think as a profession we all want to be able to do a good job. Many of us quit the NHS for reasons to do with standards of patient care.