Root canal NHS

welshdent

Simba-ali34 wrote: »

What's to stop every dentist saying a 2nd molar tooth root canal is complex? I haven't been given An answer yet, it's still vital and they will try a medicine filling but they didn't mention a root canal thats why I'm curious.

In my opinion every second molar tooth IS complex. If we were in any other country in the world the advice to see someone specialising in endodontics would be pretty standard. It's only here that the "NHS" presumes all dentists are equally skilled at everything and demands they all have a go (while stringing them up on fitness to practice issues when it doesn't go right). They do not fund endodontics they just expect it to be provided. Imho to do it properly you need good magnification and around 2 hours of time. A microscope will set a dentist back around £15000. That's 15000 to provide a procedure that is not given any funding.

welshdent

silvercar wrote: »

That is the problem. Teeth which may have been saved in some cases are being routinely extracted because either the patient can't pay for a specialist or the dentist won't attempt a root filling on the NHS.

Wind back 30 years and the structure for dentist renumeration from the NHS was such that more root fillings were performed on the NHS, this naturally led to general dentists having more experience of performing root canal work.

Now you have the situation where many dentists don't consider that the NHS scales mean that they can allow sufficient time to perform a successful root canal on "complex" teeth and so won't attempt it and will only offer the choice of a referral or extraction.

Years ago people seemed to appreciate and understand "having a go" meant doing ones best but it may not work. Now it means potential reporting to the gdc for a fitness to practice hearing and or a stressful legal complaint and massively inflated costs to already massive indemnity. For most dentists the £60 on offer is most definitely not worth the risk these days. Sadly the people that suffer are the patients but you can thank previous governments for their changes not only to the NHS dental contract bur also to the changes made at the gdc. The rise in the obsession with "complaining" doesn't help either.

Simba-ali34

Its seems when they say "Anything is available on the nhs if it is deemed clinically necessary" is abit bogus if an extraction can be offered as an alternative treatment or solution meaning that the complex procedures are referred privately. It clearly states band 2 includes root canal, so if I need a root canal on a back molar surely that's clinically necessary? It doesn't say "less complex root canals are band 2".

silvercar

Simba-ali34 wrote: »

Its seems when they say "Anything is available on the nhs if it is deemed clinically necessary" is abit bogus if an extraction can be offered as an alternative treatment or solution meaning that the complex procedures are referred privately. It clearly states band 2 includes root canal, so if I need a root canal on a back molar surely that's clinically necessary? It doesn't say "less complex root canals are band 2".

That is where the NHS is today. Not enough money to fully fund all treatments that are available (in general, not dental specific). So the NHS offers "a solution" rather than "the best solution". NICE is constantly excluding treatments that don't offer patients the best options on cost grounds.

Simba-ali34

Anyway I am get a little carried away, they haven't said it can't be done on the nhs yet so I will wait and see.