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

boyd

My experience with recent dental problems: I went to my dentist in January as I had a small amount of sensitivity in a molar. He made me an appointment in may for a filling which he carried out (although actually by that time I was having no problems with the tooth). Following this I had a great deal of pain and went back. The dentist removed the filling and put in a temporary one and booked me in for a root canal. In the meantime the tooth split. Went back again and he removed part of the tooth (and root). He then carried out the root canal 9 days ago and have had pain ever since when I bite on it. Although the dentist told me the tooth was rock-solid, it now seems to be a little loose. He is due to do a crown in 2 months and I'm at a loss to know what to do now.

Toothsmith

If you're still in pain, you need to go back.

freaked_out

I've just got back from a lengthy talk with a dentist in my practice. I have a bridge of 3 upper front teeth, the two main supported by posts and the third reliant on those. I have an infection but the dentist will not attempt the root canal work needed because he cannot guarantee that the bridge won't fail. He will do the root canal work provided I choose the resultant replacements.
The options he has given me are :
NHS Plastic plate £198
unbreakable plastic £500
Metal £600, £800 or £1000 (All these are scary. I don't like the idea of things touching my palate.)
Then implants with some 'experts'
£80 consultation then £1100 to £1200 for implant posts for each tooth then
extra £1000 per crown on top.

Now you can see why I'm freaked out. If I live on antibiotics can infection be cleared up? I would be grateful for advice as there is no way I can afford most of these private options.

Toothsmith

Antibiotics won't make it go away. It will keep the symptoms away for a while, but it won't do you any good in the long or even medium term.

A denture isn't that bad, and you'd soon get used to it.

If you ignore the infection, it will possibly affect the quality of the bone, and make future implants (when your finances might be up to it) impossible.

suki1964

As toothsmith says a denture really isnt that bad - once you get used to it which I admit does take time (esp if the front biting teeth)

Ive had a front upper denture for the best part of 20 years now and very very few people notice its false

suki1964

brenda, its not a good idea to quote spam, his post will be deleted but yours may be left behind with the information still showing

ClaretHead

I ‘ve been using a NHS dentist for some time now. I always opt for tooth coloured fillings, which he tells me can’t be done on the NHS, and so I pay him £105 a shot for them.

He concentrates on basic NHS dentistry, and tells me that anything complex either has to be done at an NHS dental hospital where there will be a 12 month wait for treatment, or privately. So last year he sent to a specialist Peridontalist for gum care (£400) and in April I was sent to a root canal specialist (£700). Last week I went back to the NHS dentist for the root canal tooth (Upper Left 6) to be crowned. However he found some decay in the root, and says that a crown would be unwise as the root will fracture – maybe in a month’s time or maybe in a couple of years. He says that the tooth needs to be extracted. The root canal specialist said that there was a 10% chance of failure, so I guess I was one of the unlucky ones.

My dentist says that after the tooth is removed there will be 2 options - either a bridge (privately of course - £1400) or an implant (£1600). Having already spent £1500 on dental treatment in the last year I’m reluctant to just jump in and say “Go ahead”.

I have 2 questions.

• Are there any cheaper options?
• I don’t want to run up the credit card for dental treatment, so If I decide to go ahead with an implant I’d like to wait until next year when I’ll be getting some money come through. Should I wait for a few months with the temporary filling in place, or should I have the extraction and wait with the hole in the back of my mouth?

alison999

ClaretHead wrote: »

I ‘ve been using a NHS dentist for some time now. I always opt for tooth coloured fillings, which he tells me can’t be done on the NHS, and so I pay him £105 a shot for them.

He concentrates on basic NHS dentistry, and tells me that anything complex either has to be done at an NHS dental hospital where there will be a 12 month wait for treatment, or privately. So last year he sent to a specialist Peridontalist for gum care (£400) and in April I was sent to a root canal specialist (£700). Last week I went back to the NHS dentist for the root canal tooth (Upper Left 6) to be crowned. However he found some decay in the root, and says that a crown would be unwise as the root will fracture – maybe in a month’s time or maybe in a couple of years. He says that the tooth needs to be extracted. The root canal specialist said that there was a 10% chance of failure, so I guess I was one of the unlucky ones.

My dentist says that after the tooth is removed there will be 2 options - either a bridge (privately of course - £1400) or an implant (£1600). Having already spent £1500 on dental treatment in the last year I’m reluctant to just jump in and say “Go ahead”.

I have 2 questions.

• Are there any cheaper options?
• I don’t want to run up the credit card for dental treatment, so If I decide to go ahead with an implant I’d like to wait until next year when I’ll be getting some money come through. Should I wait for a few months with the temporary filling in place, or should I have the extraction and wait with the hole in the back of my mouth?

If you have a NHS dentist and you clinically need any treatment then you are entitled to this on the NHS. White fillings are classed as cosmetic which the NHS ont provide, but the NHS does provide RCT, crown etc. Im sure T.S. will be able to explain it better than me.

~Chameleon~

alison999 wrote: »

If you have a NHS dentist and you clinically need any treatment then you are entitled to this on the NHS. White fillings are classed as cosmetic which the NHS ont provide, but the NHS does provide RCT, crown etc. Im sure T.S. will be able to explain it better than me.

Is it possible to have a combination of private and NHS treatment? Also, what sort of crown can be provided on NHS?

alison999

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Is it possible to have a combination of private and NHS treatment? Also, what sort of crown can be provided on NHS?

many dentists do a bit of both, hence white fillings on back teeth etc, but rct is a pretty everyday treatment that should be provided, sorry but i cant answer the second part of your question, i think it depends what tooth its on?