Tooth Nerve - Root Canal Question, £700 cost? Help Please?

steve007

Hi Everyone,

I went to my dentist today (UK) as I had a pain in one of my bottom back teeth that I knew already had a deep filling (grew up in the 70's..),

The dentist said the nerve has probably died, and took an Xray to confirm.

She stated that one side of the nerve was hardly visible, and that on one half (same half) of the tooth there is an absess under the tooth (the side where the nerve is hardly visible), she shown me this on the Xray and there was a shadow under one part of the tooth, which she said was the absess.

Dentist said she would drill into the filling and remove that section of the nerve, which she attempted.

When she finished she said she could only remove one section of nerve out of the three that are there (she said she could not find/see the rest of the nerves), and that I would have to see a specialist to get to rest of the nerve removed at a cost of around £700 - with a 70% success rate of the nerves being found and removed.

Then she said, if successful, a root canal would then be needed, and then a crown - or the alternative is have the tooth extracted, which obviously I would like to avoid.

Does all this sound about right to you educated folks?

Dentist said that most people just have the tooth removed because of financial reasons.

I can afford the payment (luckily), but I just wanted to make sure this sounds reasonable, and the treatment sounds about right? I cannot understand why she does not do a root canal immediately and remove the whole lot?

Thank you in advance.

Toothsmith

That all sounds very reasonable to me.

The dentist had a go at root filling it herself - didn't just palm you off with the private specialist straight away, despite the x-ray looking tricky before she began. She couldnt't "do" it there and then, because she couldn't find all the root canal.

I would trust her judgement and go with her recommendations.

I think the specialist might be a bit more optimistic of the chances of success than she was - but if you're happy to go ahead with a 70% chance - than anything better the specialist might say is a bonus!

Having said that though, even a 99% chance of success is no good if you happen to be the 1% it fails for!! The bottom line is, there are no certainties:)

One thing you seem a little confused on - the specialist will do the root filling for that £700 - not just find the nerves. So it will not "then need a root filling and a crown" it will just need the crown at some point after the specialist has root filled it (assuming they can).

steve007

Thanks Toothsmith, I appreciate that.


It was the nerves she said she couldn't not, so I am to assume now this is all part of the root? She was using what looked like white strings, which I thought were being used to pull the nerve out, if she found them.

I posted on a Facebook group asking if anybody has had it done, and out of around 80 replies, all but one person said get the tooth pulled, due to it not working/taking for them/failed root canal, and needing extraction anyway.


Just not entirely sure what to do, I'm only 45 with (hopefully) a good few years left, could do with keeping my original teeth as long as possible.

Toothsmith

It's impossible to advise without knowing/seeing the mouth. That goes even more so for the 80 or so people on Facebook!

Statistically, only about 40 of those people will value their teeth enough to go to a dentist for anything other than a toothache, and of the 40 who are left, most would never consider paying anything over NHS prices to get their teeth fixed. And of them, there will be a fair few like dontlikemondays on the '2 unit bridge' thread who think dentistry is a con and cheap dentistry is a god given right no matter how much you abuse your teeth!

So - valuing your teeth is not a mainstream view!!

But - thankfully for the dentists out there who enjoy doing a decent job, and properly taking care of their patients, there are enough people who do. It sounds like you have one who does. If either she, or the specialist she sends you to feels that the tooth is beyond saving, or won't last very long even if it is 'fixed' then they will tell you, so that you can change your mind. It is in no ones interest to have it fail early.

System

Toothsmith wrote: »

Statistically, only about 40 of those people will value their teeth enough to go to a dentist for anything other than a toothache, and of the 40 who are left, most would never consider paying anything over NHS prices to get their teeth fixed. And of them, there will be a fair few like dontlikemondays on the '2 unit bridge' thread who think dentistry is a con and cheap dentistry is a god given right no matter how much you abuse your teeth!

So - valuing your teeth is not a mainstream view!!

But - thankfully for the dentists out there who enjoy doing a decent job, and properly taking care of their patients, there are enough people who do. It sounds like you have one who does. If either she, or the specialist she sends you to feels that the tooth is beyond saving, or won't last very long even if it is 'fixed' then they will tell you, so that you can change your mind. It is in no ones interest to have it fail early.

I think it's more a case of people simply don't have the money to pay for private dentistry. I suppose laziness and dental phobia may account for some of the dentist-avoiders, but with over a million people in this country needing to go to food banks, the main reason would be financial, I suspect.

Working in the gig economy, zero hours contracts, high rent/mortgage/bills.. all these factors and more mean that paying for good dentistry sadly falls to the bottom of the list, for many people.

Luckily the OP has the money to pay for his treatment.

brook2jack

Historically only 50% of people visit the dentist and that figure has not changed over the years.

Even more worryingly when the number one reason for a child to have a hospital stay is because of tooth decay over 40% of children don't visit the dentist and it's free! https://bda.org/news-centre/press-releases/national-disgrace-nearly-5-million-children-miss-out-on-free-dentistry

In the U.K. there is a long and inglorious history of dental avoidance not all of which can be blamed on money, lack of NHS dentists etc.

System

brook2jack wrote: »

Even more worryingly when the number one reason for a child to have a hospital stay is because of tooth decay over 40% of children don't visit the dentist and it's free! https://bda.org/news-centre/press-releases/national-disgrace-nearly-5-million-children-miss-out-on-free-dentistry

It's free if you can find an NHS dentist who will take them for free
Our local private practice for example charges £34 for a child's new patient dental examination (£96 for an adult!!) and that's before they have any xrays, treatment, etc. I'm sure it's a great surgery, but the reality is, people often can't afford this kind of money.

In the U.K. there is a long and inglorious history of dental avoidance not all of which can be blamed on money, lack of NHS dentists etc.

It is a significant factor. This being a money-saving website, there will be many many people who are cash-strapped, who don't need or deserve to be made to feel like failures because they can't afford private dentistry.

As I say, not relevant to the OP on this thread anyway, as he has the £700, but many people reading this may balk at the thought of having to produce that amount of money out of nowhere.

brook2jack

The other sobering statistic for those who are waiting for a NHS Dental place is that 40% of all new NHS dental appointments are missed .

That is people who have made an appointment , in many cases will have had a reminder , fail to turn up to 40% of those "highly prized" NHS appointments.

It deprives other people of appointments and ,because the expense of dental practice still have to be paid with no income, makes NHS dentistry even more precarious.

Unfortunately statistics show some people are more likely to fail appointments than others.... males, those aged 20 to 30 , and those who do not pay for dental treatment.

Text reminders, phone calls , emails make a small difference to this failure rate. However the NHS does not allow the most effective way of preventing failure to turn up , which is a fine.

Clearly non attendance is not just financially based but multifactorial in the U.K.

humptydumptybits

I can't understand people who don't want to pay for good dental treatment. I grew up in the 50s and dental care wasn't high on my parents' priorities. I've managed to get to mid 60s with all my teeth and alot of fillings but they all date back 40+ years, although some have been redone along the way. I have a crown and will willingly pay for implants if I need a tooth extracting. I know implants don't always work but I've never smoked and I think that improves my chances. I pay Denplan, sometimes it has been a struggle but I think it has been a good investment.


I'm married to a man who was dentist phobic, when we married I couldn't even say dentist without him having a melt down, big strong 6 footer who was a quivering jelly at the thought of a dentist. He has worked hard with our dentist to overcome this and he is proof that it can be done.


The one thing that breaks my heart is that one of my children, all grown up, doesn't see the dentist. I took such care of their teeth and he takes it for granted.

System

brook2jack wrote: »

The other sobering statistic for those who are waiting for a NHS Dental place is that 40% of all new NHS dental appointments are missed .

That is people who have made an appointment , in many cases will have had a reminder , fail to turn up to 40% of those "highly prized" NHS appointments.

It deprives other people of appointments and ,because the expense of dental practice still have to be paid with no income, makes NHS dentistry even more precarious.

Unfortunately statistics show some people are more likely to fail appointments than others.... males, those aged 20 to 30 , and those who do not pay for dental treatment.

Text reminders, phone calls , emails make a small difference to this failure rate. However the NHS does not allow the most effective way of preventing failure to turn up , which is a fine.

Clearly non attendance is not just financially based but multifactorial in the U.K.

Yes, it's quite possible that some people, perhaps those who are vulnerable, have chaotic lives and/or health problems, including mental health issues, may struggle with keeping appointments and will need to re-schedule.

The majority of these 'awful' NHS patients do turn up, as your figures suggest. I don't share your view that only those who are affluent should have access to adequate dental care.

And by the way every dental surgery I've visited (and quite a few I haven't!) have a cancellation policy. If two appointments are cancelled without good reason in one year the patient is thrown off the list.

System

humptydumptybits wrote: »

I pay Denplan, sometimes it has been a struggle but I think it has been a good investment.
.

This sounds like a good option but the initial outlay needed may be beyond a lot of people.