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

mm66

Toothsmith wrote:

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.

Normally not...but if you have the inclination then you could cobine this with other dental work that might be needed. Anyways, a holiday and dental work in the price of dental work is better than just dental work. There isnt any after care after a proper root canal.

Even in private dental care unless you go to a specialist/consultant, which would be more expensive, the quality of work is not guaranteed with a NHS dentist. This is an unfortunate fact (not saying always the case and you might be lucky with your dentist)

*Louise*

*shudder*

Oh jeez - I'm having flashbacks from the root filling I had done on the NHS a few years ago. It was awful, I've never been back.:o

Wish I had a dentist like Toothsmith in my local place!!

Toothsmith

Savvy_Sue wrote:

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?

Sorry - yes.

If you get it re-done by a specialist endodontist, a failed root filling has a better chance of success than if done by an ordinary Joe like me. Chances of success are still lower than when done first time though.

If you get a poor root filling re-done BEFORE it fails, then it has a good chance of lasting much longer than it otherwise would have.

If a root filling looks good - nomatter on what system it was done, then it should be left alone.

But this is the 'aftercare' that MM66 thinks won't be needed.

Toothsmith

mm66 wrote:

Even in private dental care unless you go to a specialist/consultant, which would be more expensive, the quality of work is not guaranteed with a NHS dentist. This is an unfortunate fact (not saying always the case and you might be lucky with your dentist)

Is the quality of work 'guaranteed' in any branch of healthcare?

You need to find a practitioner you are confident with, and establish a trusting relationship with them. Follow their advice, and get things checked regularly.

This is the exact opposite of jetting off somewhere to take a stab in the dark with someone you've read about on the internet.

Chopping and changing any healthcare provider, especially based on price, is not the way to ensure continuity of care, and the less continuity, the more likely it is for things to go wrong.

mm66

Toothsmith wrote:

Is the quality of work 'guaranteed' in any branch of healthcare?

You need to find a practitioner you are confident with, and establish a trusting relationship with them. Follow their advice, and get things checked regularly.

This is the exact opposite of jetting off somewhere to take a stab in the dark with someone you've read about on the internet.

Chopping and changing any healthcare provider, especially based on price, is not the way to ensure continuity of care, and the less continuity, the more likely it is for things to go wrong.

I agree if you have a good providor that you can trust and build a relationship with then that is great. However, for most of us that is not a reality on the ground. so if we have to take a stab at any dentist, private or NHS, might as well be overseas and based on price and reputation. It cant be worse than what you get by picking someone here out of a hat and pay over the top price.

I am speaking from experience. I have dental issues that require frequent work and my chice was pay about £3000/year for two three years here to a local dentist or get a top of line orthodontist in Dubai where it costs me about £2500 for a weeks five star holiday and dental treatment.

Toothsmith

mm66 wrote:

I am speaking from experience. I have dental issues that require frequent work and my chice was pay about £3000/year for two three years here to a local dentist or get a top of line orthodontist in Dubai where it costs me about £2500 for a weeks five star holiday and dental treatment.

I don't understand this.

An orthodontist moves teeth around using braces. Braces need monthly adjustments and treatment takes 2-3 years including retention periods. How did he do everything in a week?

Even a proceedure called an osteotomy, where the jaw is broken & re-set in it's new position needs wiring together for several months, and needs constant checking.

How did a dentist in Dubai cure the 'dental issues that need frequent work'?

What was the 'work that would cost £2-3000 a year for 3 years' over here that was done in a week over there?

I have said before on a thread about treatment abroad that someone with severe dental problems should not have a huge amount of cosmetic work done without demonstrating a change in behavior that would suggest they could look after the new work.

This is why, with a dentist you are with long term, and who actually accepts a long term responsibility for you, you are likely to get a treatment plan that uses temporary restorations that will get you out of triouble and make you look OK whilst the underlying issues are addressed and improved. If those issues cannot be changed, then the treatment doesn't proceed - but at least you are no worse off.

If you go abroad, and get the final job straight off from a dentist who has no thought for your continuing care, then yes. You will look fantastic, and to all intents and purposes you will feel 'cured'.

Nomatter how good the dentist and the quality of the work though, if the underlying issues haven't been addressed, it will fail. Decay or gum disease will affect the edges and work it's way under the teeth without you really knowing.

Then one day, it all falls to bits, and you are left with very few options as to what to do next, as all the decent tooth support in your head has gone.

I'm not saying this is what's happened to you, but it is the sort of thing that can easily happen to people who let their teeth get into a bad way and then try to 'fix' it in one shot.

Savvy_Sue

Toothsmith wrote:

Sorry - yes.

If you get it re-done by a specialist endodontist, a failed root filling has a better chance of success than if done by an ordinary Joe like me. Chances of success are still lower than when done first time though.

If you get a poor root filling re-done BEFORE it fails, then it has a good chance of lasting much longer than it otherwise would have.

If a root filling looks good - nomatter on what system it was done, then it should be left alone.

And mine would count as 'failed', because I'm regularly getting a build-up of pus and blood which discharges quite painlessly ... and I should get it sorted out before it stops discharging painlessly and my jaw feels like it's going to explode. Have I got that right?

And now have I got this next bit right? My choices for getting it 'sorted out' boil down to having the tooth out altogether and leaving a gap, or something horrifically expensive which might damage the teeth either side so that if that ever goes wrong, the bill will be truly astronomical or the hole three teeth wide.

I'm tending towards leaving a hole: it's not going to show. Any contra-indications for that?

I really will stop TALKING about finding a new dentist and DO IT one day very soon! How about dental tourism to Yorkshire, Toothsmith, would that be OK? :rotfl:

lisadupreez

wrote:

...and I should get it sorted out before it stops discharging painlessly and my jaw feels like it's going to explode...

Trust me - I'm the OP and you WANT to get it sorted BEFORE it starts getting painful.

Currently I'm on high doseage antibiotics, 2 types of painkillers, salt water mouth wash, clove oil, sensitive toothpaste and a hot water bottle stuck to the side of my face most of the day.

I won't mention the sleepless nights, from pain, nor will I meniton the floods of tears thinking the childbirth would be preferable to this!

My advice - get it sorted now.
ps: I hate going to the dentist, but now that I've found a nice lady my teeth have decided it's time to get everything done and they are playing up big time - so now I go when dentist tells me to.

Toothsmith

Savvy_Sue wrote:

And mine would count as 'failed', because I'm regularly getting a build-up of pus and blood which discharges quite painlessly ... and I should get it sorted out before it stops discharging painlessly and my jaw feels like it's going to explode. Have I got that right?

Yes! You wouldn't ignore a weeping purrulent sore on the end of your nose would you!

Savvy_Sue wrote:

And now have I got this next bit right? My choices for getting it 'sorted out' boil down to having the tooth out altogether and leaving a gap, or something horrifically expensive which might damage the teeth either side so that if that ever goes wrong, the bill will be truly astronomical or the hole three teeth wide.

That's right too. A decent bridge on sound teeth should last a long time though, and with regular checking, any signs of failure can be acted on, and the bridge simply replaced.

Savvy_Sue wrote:

I'm tending towards leaving a hole: it's not going to show. Any contra-indications for that?

None at all really. There's nothing wrong with the odd gap.
Plus, if you come into a fortune, it's ready for an implant straight away!

Savvy_Sue wrote:

I really will stop TALKING about finding a new dentist and DO IT one day very soon! How about dental tourism to Yorkshire, Toothsmith, would that be OK? :rotfl:

I'd love to see you Sue, I have a few patients who have moved to other parts of the country, and I still see them. Most are just routine maintenance though, and it is always a pain if, at a check up, I find a little filling, but don't have the time to do it, so it's a trip up & down the country again to get it done.

It puts great pressure on me, and it tends to turn into a royal pain in the butt for the patients if they go through a 'bad spell'.

I don't come on here to attract new patients - I have plenty! And dental tourism even to lovely Yorkshire really wouldn't work!

I'm sure you have a local Toothsmith. I am not unique at all! I thought you had found one a few weeks ago?

phatbear

Ive had root canal work done recently on both Private and then I managed to get into an NHS dentist.

And I can honestly say that when I had it done privately I almost ripped the arm off of the chair I was sitting in, the dentist used long pin type affairs to dig my roots out and insisted on showing me how deep etc he was going.

Then fast forward a few months to my NHS dentist and she undertook 3 root canals and each time i didnt feel a thing due to her using a drill type machine to get rid of the root, of course it still wasnt a barrel of laughs but it was 95% less painfull than the private dentist.

And of course its less painfull paying for an NHS dentist than it is a Private one.

All the best

The Bear