Advice please re Failed Root Canal

violet888

Would be grateful for any suggestions please. I had a root canal done on the NHS in November 2021.  It has never "been right" having mild discomfort, then a bleb appearing on the gum, bad taste etc. Every 6 months Dentist said it seemed ok and to "see how it goes", finally asked me at last check up if I would like 2nd opinion, I said yes. Only to find the only option for this 2nd opinion was with a private practice, so I went there at a cost of over £100 and have diagnosis of chronic apical periodonitis. My options are to have the private dentist re-do for over £800 and get a crown with my dentist (presumably/hopefully on the NHS for which I have dental insurance) or have the tooth extracted.  I have been told in the blurb that it can be difficult to get rid of all the infection.  I am now faced with paying over £800 which I can ill afford for a treatment which still may fail, or having the tooth removed from my NHS Dentist who I now have no confidence in.  I am quite worried about all this and finding another NHS dentist is definitely not an option in my area of the country, there are absolutely none with availability.

silvercar

Were you given the option of having the original root canal filled by an endodontist rather than your dentist? Generally these experts have a greater success rate than general dentists, particularly NHS dentists who can be time pressured and may not have such advanced equipment.

Guessing that you were given the choice originally, you are now where you are and as you say, it's a choice between:

 I am now faced with paying over £800 which I can ill afford for a treatment which still may fail, or having the tooth removed from my NHS Dentist who I now have no confidence in. 

I would have thought that an NHS dentist would have a  good chance of a successful extraction than they do at a complicated root canal filling.

That said, your third option would be a private extraction.

violet888

Hi silvercar and thank you. Yes, the private dentist is an Endodontist.  OK, yes - if I go for the NHS extraction with my own dentist  then I don't need any additional treatment? My other worry is the infection and what damage is it doing/done - I was surprised I wasn't prescribed anything for it

brook2jack2

Antibiotics are not usually prescribed for dental infections unless there is severe swelling or you are very unwell as the treatment for removing infection is re do root treatment or take tooth out , antibiotics only surpress the infection for a short while.

whoever does root filling the lutcome is not guaranteed as you are cleaning out and filing complex areas a fraction of a millimetre across. The further back the tooth , the more roots and the more difficult the root treatment is. 

As to whether losing the tooth would cause problems you need to ask a dentist who can see you and your mouth. 

There are , in the vast majority of the country , only private endodontists, so a NHS referral would not have been possible. 

violet888

I do worry though that the infection has been there for almost 18 months before any action was taken, and what other damage has it done