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  • Root canal off dental trainee – will I die?
  • mudmuncher
    Full Member

    It’s looking like I need a root canal + crown on my pre-molar. Pain on biting but otherwise ok.

    A private dentist quoted me £850 for the root canal + crown.

    The local NHS dentist I see has trainees who provide the dental care. I guess it would be the standard £219 fee, but this guy would be trainee, have had some good and bad treatment in the past from their trainees.

    So would a trainees be competent enough to do this or should I go with a private dentist or pay even more and see an endodontist?

    jon1973
    Free Member

    Is it safe?

    DrJ
    Full Member

    No, but you may wish you had …

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    aracer
    Free Member

    Well they have to do their first one some time…

    I wouldn’t have been that bothered but for your mention of “bad treatment”. What sort of bad treatment?

    FWIW I’ve had less than brilliant stuff done by a private dentist, but now treated on the NHS at the same practice by somebody who’s really good. Still had a crown she did come out and have to be stuck back in, and I’m now permanently missing part of my front tooth (originally broken in a bike crash) as anything done by her or a previous dentist lasted at most 4-5 years, but I don’t think you can expect perfection no matter how much you pay.

    squirrelking
    Free Member

    I’ve had work done by students at the Glasgow Dental Hospital. Granted it was only a checkup and some fissure seal work (done by an old flatmate).

    Everything is closely supervised unless they have been deemed competent and for that work I’d imagine they would be right on top of it.

    Tl:dr – you’ll be fine.

    twinw4ll
    Free Member

    Used to go to Brum dental hospital, free if students did it, it was a bit hit and miss, can’t complain though, it was FREE.
    One student slipped with a pokey thing, went straight through the roof of my mouth, had to apologise for my bad language. 😯

    perthmtb
    Free Member

    I had a root canal on a canine done by a student dentist. On my second visit he apologised that he hadn’t got all the nerve out the first time so would have another go. He somehow forgot the anaesthetic though, and proceeded to screw a small corkscrew-like tool into the cavity in the middle of my tooth…

    I didn’t feel much pain because I fainted within seconds. First and only time in my life I’ve fainted. Been concussed a couple of times, but nothing else has ever come even close to my pain threshold – even the time a doctor removed my fingernail without anasthetic.

    You can guess what my advice is…

    mudmuncher
    Full Member

    Perthmtb – ouch, I’d be avoiding all dentists after that!

    Just got back from seeing the NHS guy, was actually quite impressed. He thought I didn’t need a root canal and I most likely had cracked cusp syndrome (invisible hairline crack causing pain when biting). He ground the pointy buts off my tooth and said that might cure it and see how I got on. If I still have problems he would have to crown it (but leave the root alone). If this still didn’t settle they would do a root canal through the crown.

    I like the conservative approach rather than jumping straight into a RC that the private guy was suggesting. I guess the problem with NHS vs. Private is there is a risk of over treatment privately and under treatment through the NHS.

    Hohum
    Free Member

    Perthmtb that sounds like quite a horrific experience, ouch!

    I have had 5 toot canals done now (4 molars and 1 pre-molar) and I would not feel happy having a trainee doing one of the biggies.

    But, it’s a hard one because if everyone took that stance how are thye going to gain any experience?

    mudmuncher
    Full Member

    Twind4ll – your experience has reminded me of a fresh meat episode…

    [video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejJHjfUB23s[/video]

    project
    Free Member

    A dentist i had could have been trained by the guy on Marathon man posing as a denist.

    another one instilled faith in his consumers by giving us a pair of dark safety glases to wear, just incase he droped a tool into your eye, and he didnt like to see the horror in some patients eyes as he driled and filled, but saying that he was excellent, calm, chatty, and with a sence of humour it appears.

    theotherjonv
    Full Member

    He somehow forgot the anaesthetic though,

    Is it just me, or would anyone else have raised this point before he set to with the corkscrew type thing? IANAE but even my limited experience would suggest that some form of analgesia is desirable for root canal work.

    kcal
    Full Member

    I wouldn’t. Had one rubbish dentist when I was much younger, since then I have tried to get a good one at every move to new area. Root canal is such a fiddly job, I can’t see how a trainee approach is going to be good.

    mudmuncher
    Full Member

    As mentioned I saw the NHS trainee guy a few hours ago and he thinks I don’t need a root canal (contradicting what the private guy said).

    He thinks it is a tooth crack and has ground my tooth down a bit which might alleviate the symptoms. If not he will crown it but leave the root alone, if that doesn’t work and I end up needing a root canal I could always have this done privately I guess – or let him do it if he doesn’t drill through the side of my face fitting the crown!

    If anything I’ve lost confidence in the private guy now as I was a already a bit suspicious if I really needed the root taking out as it only hurt on biting hard things.

    northshoreniall
    Full Member

    Similar experience to perthmtb, only with a ‘qualified’ (still not convinced) dentist – return visit as pain after treatment few days earlier “you wont feel anything with this so will save time/ injections and not bother with local”

    After he peeled me from roof showed me remains of rotten root on his corkscrew thingy – b*s*a*d. Avoided dentists for years after that.
    So a trainee couldnt be much worse 🙂 though sounds like immenently better outcome you’ve had.

    jonba
    Free Member

    I had a few “new” dentists when I first moved to Newcastle. I had three fillings done over a few years.

    After a few issues I went private, I’ve had the old ones replaced as they were pretty poorly done and two had cracked in <2 years. I ended up having most of one molar removed for a filling as it had been done 3 times (once unlucky, once badly). My current dentist is very good and there is no way I’d go back to the nhs one I had before. I’m into “you could have bought a bike for that” territory on costs though.

    So no, for something as difficult as a root canal I would go to the best dentist you can find.

    swedishmatt
    Free Member

    My root canal was done by a trainee. That tooth is now out 🙂

    But she waa well fit (jesmond).

    Suggsey
    Free Member

    My best bit of advice is an extractions only £49 on the NHS…….I had option of root canal on a molar following on from seriously bad abscess…….sod that……
    I would add I have manky teeth with virtually none that don’t have fillings, a crown for one of my front teeth and am shit scared of the dentists hence my choice. 😆

    nick1962
    Free Member

    You have seen that VW advert haven’t you? 😉

    wolfenstein
    Free Member

    I am the most pussy (ist) man when it comes to dentist, they scare the bejesus out of me, i can only count with my one hand the number of times i went to the dentist… Went about 5 yrs ago, i think she puts too much anaesthetic as i kinda breathe funny afterwards to the point i dont think im breathing anymore..she’s done something with nerves and whatever shitty shit in my 1 front tooth, and told me if i feel pain after , that I should return… Never went back even if she is a looker.. Five years after , I still feel pain whenever I touch the skin between my lip and nose… I really want to go back to the dentist though to check what it is, but cannot get first hand good recommendation 🙁

    Root cana is major major job dude, check out youtube!

    @perthmtb.. 😯

    jonba
    Free Member

    I really want to go back to the dentist though to check what it is, but cannot get first hand good recommendation

    Where are you?

    Ewan
    Free Member

    Worse pain of my life (and I feel qualified to comment on pain as i’ve done a number of nasty things to myself) and lasted for a week – probably had about an hours sleep in that time. Thought I was going insane by the end.

    My op was done privately and didn’t go well. The heated file thing they use to scrape the nerve out ran out of battery half way through – queue the scary dentist yelling at his nurse until she started to cry, by the time it was charged again the anesthetic was starting to wear off and I made the mistake of thinking how bad could it be and manning up.

    So could go wrong if you private as well, but to be honest i’d not take the chance on a trainee!

    wolfenstein
    Free Member

    @jonba Coventry, Stoke area. NHS dentist

    chewkw
    Free Member

    I had two root canals with two different dentists one was hell (no crown) while the other was sore (crowned). Both drilled straight into the root canals then when the probe started to hit the nerves … ya, you will fill it even with local anaesthetic. Paaaaiinnnnnnsssss !!! All my dentists are male which does not help much … FFS!

    Toothache is also the mother of all pain after child birth apparently. I had toothache which resulted in extraction … bloody dentist … it’s either paying £2k or £78 for extraction. I chose the latter as money was tight. 😯

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