Dentist: Root canal advice.

Paul875

Hi all,

I'm after some advice. My dentist has informed me I need a root canal if he does it it will cost £220 with a less than 50% chance of it working and if it works it'll only last 2 years max. Or I can go else where and pay £1,000 private with 98% chance of it working and lasting at least 6 years. Does this sound correct and what are my best options?

Thanks in advance :beer:

Paul

SuperPikachu

Well I had it done on the NHS and I think the cost was a few hundred. Turned out it "failed" and I put up with a chronic abscess for about a year and then just had the stupid tooth out (Which I had to pay more for! jokers).

So good luck

sheramber

I have had three root canals and paid nothing like that. All were successful and are still okay many years later. One has a crown that has been there over twenty years. The other two are much the same age. All done under NHS

According to NHS Choices root canal is included in band 2 treatment and can last up to 10 years

https://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/dentists/Pages/nhs-dental-charges.aspx

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Root-canal-treatment/

Owain_Moneysaver

Paul875 wrote: »

My dentist has informed me I need a root canal if he does it it will cost £220 with a less than 50% chance of it working and if it works it'll only last 2 years max. Or I can go else where and pay £1,000 private with 98% chance of it working and lasting at least 6 years.

He either doesn't want the work on the NHS and is misleading you about the nature of NHS treatment, or he's incompetent to do the work. NHS treatment should not be so significantly below the level of quality of private treatment.

I had a root canal on the NHS for £100 (NHS Scotland fees), which would have cost £500 private, and my dentist was very happy to do the work (he's bought a special tool for doing them which not all dentists have, apparently). As far as I'm aware the root canal should see me out, although it may need a crown on top at some stage.

Saffythecat

I think it depends on the tooth and whether the dentist feels able to do a good job. I have been having trouble with an upper molar which looks like it may need a root canal. It has an extra root, and the roots are twisty. My (excellent) NHS dentist has said she can do it, but because it looks complex, it may need referred to a specialist. I asked whether she would want the specialist to do it if it was her tooth, and she said yes, so the plan is that she would start it off by drilling out the pulp/nerve, then refer me on for the actual root cleaning and filling. It’s expensive, but I would rather not go through the process twice and have to pay NHS then an endodontist on top.

On the flip side, I needed one on a lower molar which had clear, straight roots (and only the usual number!) and she said she was 90% confident she could do the work with no issues. I then would have had the option of being referred out if complications arose.

Saffythecat

Oh, and I’m absolutely not a dentist but have had a load of treatment recently - my understanding is that if you go privately you want a root canal specialist, not a general private dentist. The specialist has done years of extra training, will work on mainly root canals as a job, and will have super-powerful microscopes and fancy x-rays. The person I would be referred to does sessions at a nearby surgery and also apparently works in a teaching hospital, so hopefully I would be in good hands.

keith969

I’ve had it done twice, once six years ago and (on a different tooth) six months ago. Both done by a private dentist I’ve been with for 25 years, cost was about £300 each time iirc. The trick is finding a dentist that’s good - there is no guarantee that private will get you a good one.

sheramber

On the two occasions I needed treatment that my NHS dentist was not happy to deal with I was referred the NHS dental hospital who did the job.

Saffythecat

The dental hospital here will only provide root canal treatment for patient for whom an extraction would be medically dangerous.

Toothsmith

Paul875 wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm after some advice. My dentist has informed me I need a root canal if he does it it will cost £220 with a less than 50% chance of it working and if it works it'll only last 2 years max. Or I can go else where and pay £1,000 private with 98% chance of it working and lasting at least 6 years. Does this sound correct and what are my best options?

Thanks in advance :beer:

Paul

No-one can say exactly how long the tooth will last, no matter who does it. Not this dentist, not the specialist, and certainly not NHS choices website. Nor can I.

Teeth are not all exactly the same, and people are not all exactly the same.

This tooth, when it came through your gum as a kid, had an excellent chance of lasting you your entire life. But bad habits, the effect of fixing the damage, more bad habits have all had their toll, and now it is on 'death row'.

If it is a tooth with curvey roots, or roots that have closed up because of the effects of damage (inflicted by both you and other dentists trying to fix it) then it could easily be a very difficult tooth to root fill. In that case, then referring you to a specialist will give a better chance of success.

I'm presuming that the costs quoted are for the root filling, followed by a crown to properly seal the tooth and give it a bit of strength back again? That would push it into the Band 3 £220 NHS charge. And the £1000 pvt charge from the specialist.

A 98% chance of still being there 6 years later does still mean that 2 out of 100 similar teeth will still fail. One of the major reasons for failure is that the patient hasn't changed their habits, and more decay will form at the edges of the crown. So the chances of success are as much in your hands as the hands of the dentist you choose to do the work.