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

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Anna-Marie wrote:

I have had a root canal done, it was really painful, i developed an infection and had to have the tooth out!!!

Same happened here. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise though. My wisdom tooth had started coming through and according to the dentist, it pushed the other tooth into the gap where the previously infected tooth had come out. The tooth in question was third from the back at the top left-hand side, so you can't notice a gap when I am speaking etc, and it's much smaller now since the wisdom tooth pushed the other tooth forward into it.

To be honest, I wish I'd never had the root canal. It was very expensive, and in my case, only prolonged the problem. Having the tooth out caused no major discomfort. I'd only consider a root canal nowadays if the tooth is visible. Thankfully, I shouldn't have the same problem for many years. It was the jolt I needed to become super-fastiduous about dental hygiene.

mah_jong

I have had three over the years ...... one has scince been extracted, the second flares up from time to time and is then, exrtremely painful ( the dentist has checked it out and there is nothing obviously wrong though they have seen the evidence ...enough pus to move the crown up !) however am loathe to have it out (when its fine!!) coz the next one back is just a heap of filling with a bit of tooth keeping it together it will collapse if this one goes.

The third has been fine. No probs at all.

What was not explained at the time is the shelf life of these treatments and they are not always successful, they were also costly. Indeed still costly, as I have to pay over 24 quid a month for them!!

Scottish-Diva

:eek: :eek: Im sitting in agony here waiting for my painkillers to take affect after recieving root canal treatment today:o
Anybody had this treatment...how long were you sore for afterwards???

Also how much is this going to cost me Was in a rush at the dentists and didnt ask or probably didnt hear what he said to me becuase im the worlds worse patient....

Thanxs in advance!

Eels100

Scottish-Diva wrote:

pain&cost

That just about sums it up ...

laurajayne

I'm sure toothsmith will find you shortly....

but for what it's worth, after my root canal work, I wasn't in pain - I was sore but not anywhere near 'agony'....is it finished or do you need to visit again?

My root canal cost £270, plus £400 for the crown :rolleyes:

Good luck xxx

Scottish-Diva

laurajayne wrote:

I'm sure toothsmith will find you shortly....

but for what it's worth, after my root canal work, I wasn't in pain - I was sore but not anywhere near 'agony'....is it finished or do you need to visit again?

My root canal cost £270, plus £400 for the crown :rolleyes:

Good luck xxx

^^^
Omg:eek: I wasnt thinking anywhere near that ammount.....

I am in pain with this treatment, my tooth was sore before hand, so I think thats why Im still hurting right now......I hope I can pay my ammount weekly...

j-baby-scotland

I'd two lots of successful root canal treatment earlier this year (free), following an abscess, in each case.

The after effects painwise were negligable.
Root canal treatment doesn't necessarily make a crown necessary. Keeping expenses down (nhs dentist), rounding expenses up (private dentist)?

Scottish-Diva

Im starting to worry about the pain now....My mum wasnt sore afterwards, and on the nhs site it did say that the pain would be managable...maybe I just have a low pain tolerance??? or due to the condition of my tooth before the treatment!

[Deleted User]

After my root canal, my dentist told me to take some Neurophen when I got home because I would have been in pain when the anaestethic wore off, but I wasn't! Nothing at all.

Toothsmith

Scottish-Diva wrote:

Im starting to worry about the pain now....My mum wasnt sore afterwards, and on the nhs site it did say that the pain would be managable...maybe I just have a low pain tolerance??? or due to the condition of my tooth before the treatment!

It can be sore for a day or two.

All the things you mention are variables in every case - state of the tooth at the start, patients pain threshold (And some people with high PTs in some areas can have low PTs in others eg, a bloke taking blood from me once said that the biggest number of faintings he'd ever had was when he had to do blood tests whilst in the Navy on a squadron of SBS members!!)

Also if you'd been in pain beforehand with it, that can lower your tolerances too.

Whatever you do DON'T be tempted to hold anything warm against it. This will seriously INCREASE the pain you will get.

Use ibuprofen if you can take it OK, and it's also OK to mix it with paracetamol. They have diferent ways of being removed from the body, and so you can take both up to the maximum. Go and see your dentist again if you have any doubts though.


As for cost, you really should have known this before you started. It is the duty of the dentist to make sure you are aware of all charges.

Is it NHS or private?

I am not sure of scottish NHS charges anymore, but would guess it wuld be around £80 if it's a back tooth, bit cheaper if it's a single rooted front tooth.

If it's private, could well be around what Laurajayne quoted.