The saga of my tooth continues... Upper left molar. Was infected. Been drilled out and 'dressed' by my dentist who has referred me for a root canal with a specialist. Paid £100 for him to look at it today, the quote is £1333 for the root canal. Plus a crown. So say £1600.
Or £150 to have it pulled out?
I'm quite attached to my teeth (no pun intended) and don't like the thought of losing them one by one. The idea of having one pulled also makes me squirm.
But I'm also attached to £1600.
Would I hate having the gap? Would it annoy me?
It's obviously payback for all the years/miles I spent training and drinking energy drinks and scoffing gels.
What would you do?
Ps I'm lucky to have the money in savings, so no negative life impacts of the spend.
It depends how important the money is to you . If paying that much won't really affect your finances then get it done If you can't afford it then have it pulled. You may well fall between these 2 extremes
If it was the rear most tooth, I think I'd have it pulled. If it's between two others, I'd probably go for the crown.
Is the crown going to be porcelain or gold?
Ask the chances of a successful procedure. I had mine pulled when they said a 60% chance of successful pain free. Yeah I'll save that grand.
I’d pay, if I was short of cash I’d put it on a zero percent credit card. You won’t get any more teeth and they don’t grow back when they get yanked out.
Lastly, google dry socket. The single most painful thing I’ve ever experienced when I had a wisdom tooth extracted.
It's way cheaper than an implant, so I'd have it done . I have had it done and don't regret it (but I would say that since it worked).
That said, £1333 is pricey in my experience, even for a specialist, so you could consider shopping around. My last one (2020/21) was less than a grand including the consultation fee. That was for a molar with an abscess, so it was bad enough that my dentist recommended me to a specialist because I'd have a much higher chance of success.
If you're in or near London, I can recommend where I had it done: the Root Canal Dental Referral Centre in Twickenham. Dr Orsteen.
I've had a similarly priced treatment and it worked well, but it was completely covered by my insurance. There is risk it won't work. I'd buy a bike, but it depends how much money a grand is to you
That sounds incredibly expensive.. root canal for me, privately, was a shade under £400 if I recall correctly, that was probably 5 or more years ago but even so... £1300 sounds utterly crazy...
Get a second opinion with a different dentist!
I paid £1100 for a root canal and crown last year but I'm glad I didn't have it pulled and I'm a long way from being rolling in money
I had it done but it was infected 6 months later and had to be pulled. Fortunately it was 20 odd years ago on the NHS.
I would do it again if I had to but that's only because I had so many taken out as a child that I haven't got many left.
Root canal specialists have a much higher chance of success, especially with difficult or infected teeth, but you pay a lot for it. I think it’s worth it since the alternative is losing the tooth.
Depending on the position, I'd pull it. I had a forward molar pulled and I've never looked back. It was probably salvageable but cost and the work involved put me off.
The gap doesn't really show unless I open my mouth wide, and strangely the space has closed slightly as my teeth seem to have spread apart slightly. Overall this is a good thing as my teeth were impacted at the rear
I had one pulled a few years back, second from back on the bottom leaving a gap before my wisdom tooth. Once it had healed (no dry socket thankfully) it has caused me no problem whatsoever.
Also do not Google dry socket. Especially not when you have one, trust me on that
Pulled out and have a nice holiday.
20 years from now you'll have health issues that make a tooth pull seem like a paper cut and you'll wish you had the memories of a nice holiday instead.
I had a molar pulled about three years ago so now have a hole but I barely notice it. My dentist was trying to "sell" me on a bridge or an implant but both were stupidly expensive, like four to five times what you've been quoted for root canal so a big fat nope from me.
I also had root canal work on one of my molars but I'm not sure whether it was the one eventually pulled 🤔
I had mine pulled, despite living in the US and being very fortunate to have great company medical/dental cover. my reason was that my dentist advised that after root canal the tooth is dead and it's a matter of time until it needs pulling anyway. as I'm 39 I decided to get it done now and consider implant in future if it bothers me (6 months on and I don't notice (back lower right molar). So it might depend on your age as to whether root canal is permanent fix.
ps, I got dry socket, seriously flipping awful, but filling the hole with ulcer painkiller gel got me through it!
Not sure about the time thing. I had one done when i think about 14-16ish only time i was in enough pain to ask to go to the dentist (husband and wife who were bloody butchers) that was about 35 years ago and its been fine since.
my dentist advised that after root canal the tooth is dead and it’s a matter of time until it needs pulling anyway. <br /><br />
Interesting. I had tooth pain a few years ago. Dentist said one of my front teeth was long dead, there was an abscess and I required root canal surgery. It must have been 25 years after getting an elbow in the face in a football match and the tooth looks fine. I don’t remember what it cost, but we looked at an xray and he said it was borderline that it would work given the size of the hole. Anyway he drilled up in through the back of the tooth and sucked it all out and it’s been fine for the last couple of years. Hopefully it stays that way for a long time!
my dentist advised that after root canal the tooth is dead and it’s a matter of time until it needs pulling anyway. as I’m 39
I broke my two front teeth (longer story) aged maybe 13. I've had various surgeries including having the nerve burnt out of one if not both, they were effectively "dead." I had an abscess behind one treated maybe 15 years ago, that required a root canal through the back of a crown and up, that was proper boak but didn't hurt because Nerve as above.
"a matter of time" is relative I fear. Will it outlive you? I had a rotten premolar (cross-reference to the current 'most pain known' thread), the dentist advised "it's 50:50 whether it's salvageable, what do you want me to to do?" I said, well, try and salvage it then. He did, it jangles occasionally which gives me the fear but it's generally fine.
As a child I was a victim of removing healthy teeth to make space. I had four healthy molars pulled and never* got wisdom teeth. A full adult set is 32, I have 22. I cannot afford to lose more. Fixing over pulling any day. Your repair is £1300, how much is an extraction? The difference is your net cost.
(* - A solitary wisdom tooth erupted around my 50th birthday. It's done little other than give me a sore gum.)
£2600 last year for a tooth with a cracked filling that infected a previous root canal which then had to be cleaned out, redone and a crown fitted. Ouch.
Find a good review of a dentist in Poland, Czech Republic or similar. Fly out, get it sorted, come home. Having had dental work done in Czech Republic during a holiday I'd say it was at least as good as UK.
theres some good dentists in cambodia
Pay, I had the same dilemma last year with one at the back and got it pulled, absolute pain missing a tooth.
Judging by what my dentist charges for private work, I'd say it's expensive. The price list does say from £535, so likely will be a bit more.
https://www.mydentist.co.uk/dentists/practices/england/north-east-england/tyne-and-wear/78-dean-road
I'd have it pulled, based on my experiences where a root canal (NHS if it makes a difference?) was no fun and it was only a handful of years before it was pulled anyway.
I have two molars missing from failed root canals (opposite sides) and it causes me no issue.
If it was a 'smile' tooth I might feel differently, but probably not as I couldn't afford that price.
If you can afford it then get it done.
I had an abscess in my first molar after the canine. It was ten yrs ago and as I’d not got a dentist locally due having moved and people queuing outside for hundreds of meters to register for a local dentist I never got round to it.
cue abscess, lots of pain and a trip to the emergency nhs dentist who was a young Czech girl who drilled it out and patched it up for free I think. I then managed to get an nhs dentist who did the root canal and put a temporary filling on top as he thought he couldn’t get the last bit in the bottom. 11 yrs later and I’ve still got the temp filling and never went back to get the rest done as he closed down.
I keep thinking I need to get it sorted and did register for a new dentist but he said he’d take me on on denplan if I got the thing finally sorted first! Needless to say I haven’t. Yet.
I was in a similar situation years back.
Had my wisdom teeth removed and that exposed some pretty bad decay in one of my other teeth.
The pain was so bad after a freezing nightride then hot bath I seriously thought I was having some kind of a brain hemorrhage. The nerve was exposed and the sudden change in temperature caused the pain.
Went straight to the dentist the next morning for an emergency appointment.
I was given the option of a root filling that might work or removal.
I opted to have it pulled out there and then.
Can't say I've missed it or the three wisdom teeth.
I’d put it on a zero percent credit card.
Serious question; does such a thing still exist?
They do
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-0-credit-cards/
Had my root canal and crown done about 2 or 3 years ago on the NHS, a filling had fallen out at the start of COVID lockdown, and i just left it until the pain started, could've had it pulled, but cost wasn't huge and i know i'd hate that gap in the teeth for most things, when you have a bad tooth that hurts you kind of find out how much you use it for chewing and so on!
The price list does say <em style="box-sizing: border-box; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; caret-color: #000000; color: #000000; font-family: Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, 'Noto Sans', sans-serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; font-size: 15.9201px;">from £535
Roughly what I will be paying next month, no NHS available around here, so had to go private. He says a filling is failing in one of the big teeth at the back, cannot be refilled, as the sides are breaking, root canal/crown, around £500.
I was offered a root canal by the lovely but crazy expensive dentist in Cambridge near addenbrookes at about £1500.
I had it done by the lovely dentists in Cottenham for £500 and it's been fine for several years now.
So if no NHS dentists are available and you're paying NI contributions, then there should be a rebate, Shirley?
Paying for something that doesn't exist?
I had mine pulled, didn't even offer/advise another option - did manage to pass out completely whilst it was being pulled, apparently it was quite tricky 😯 only problem I have is occasionally getting a peanut caught in the gap.
I have had both done on the same tooth. Root canal by specialist, nice crown, lots of £s. It lasted 15years then I had to have it pulled*. The gap isn't that bad but I wouldn't want to add more gaps or I would be into dentures to keep the eating even on both sides.
*When I say pulled, what I mean is each root drilled and removed individually but carefully as they were v close to my sinus. They had to check I still had an air seal between mouth and sinus after, but all good thankfully.
OP why are they referring you to a specialist for the root canal, is it a particularly awkward one or is you dentist just not comfortable with it? i've had 3 root canals in the past 20 years, all done on the NHS at considerably less cost.
if you've not had any other teeth pulled / missing, i'd be tempted to just get shot and save the money now and in future costs of repair of the root canal tooth, crown and eventual extraction.
Of the 3 i''ve had done, 2 weren't straight to fitting a crown as there was enough healthy tooth to repair. however this seems to be only a temporary measure and both failed within 5-10 years and then incurred more costs for getting crowns fitted. these also eventually failed and led to extraction and more costs and discomfort.
i am not a dentist, but root canal seems to be a 10-15 year fix with an inevitable extraction at some point. unfortunately i now have 3 gaps where rear molars were, so any more and the next step will be implants - a whole different magnitude of cost and discomfort!
That seems expensive, think my route canal was about £375.
It depends on the tooth. some are cheaper than others.
Why did your dentist refer you to a specialist?
If your dentist has had a look at the tooth with x-ray or locator, they may have seen that the roots are complex or there's more than they were expecting to see, and doesn't want to do the work. Endodontists are specialists with complex root canals, and will generally do a better job at filling, and you have a more successful outcome, and a stronger tooth to mount a crown on especially if you need a larger one.
FWIW, I've heard of both more expensive and cheaper, A specialist endo dentist will probs charge £650-750 for the work and crowns (depending on size and quality), can easily get to £600-700, so it doesn't sound outrageous to me. Easiest is obvs pulling it, but you may live to regret it - cosmetically?
had a root canal whilst travelling 20 years ago, the dentist in sydney asked how much my insurance covered me for, i said £1k he got his calculator out and said ok thats Aus$XXXX works out about £975 converted.
it was long and aching, i had a temporary cover/tooth till i got home 8 months later and got a cap.
now i'd probably get it done again, although i cringe thinking about it.
if i was in my seventies maybe not
Dentist doing a root canal is basically going to (obviously) save a lot of money temporarily, but then cost you a lot when it almost inevitably gets reinfected down the line, and you then have to cough up for a proper endo. Would be worth it to save the tooth in a pinch though, then get proper treatment when one can afford it. Pulling a tooth is always worst case. Think of it like knee pain - going straight to knee replacement.
Very good endodontist in Baldock if you're near (easy to find on google). From experience it's something along the lines of £100 consult, ~£800 procedure, if he feels you need a CT scan because it's a complex case/set of roots it's +£200 odd
Then belleglass inlay/onlay is more ideal than a crown if your dentist can offer that, it cuts away less of the tooth. Obviously some teeth are only able to accept a crown. They are about £400 including fitting. I think crown will be similar.
So price wise you're in the ballpark of normal as long as they are very good specialists
I had a root canal done on an upper molar late 2019 - the tooth was badly decayed and not salvageable. Was recommended an endo - root canal specialist - because there was a relatively complex root system and they figured it was the best chance of 'saving' the tooth. It was expensive, but despite all the horror stories you hear about root canals, more uncomfortable and tedious than painful.
My useless NHS dentist then prepared the tooth and fitted a crown that was way too big because she hadn't made the tooth small enough. It was incredibly uncomfortable - tooth contacted before anything else when eating. Long story short, ended up using an expensive, specialist dentist who took the NHS crown off, re-prepped the tooth and fitted a new crown, which has mostly been fine ever since.
I do occasionally wonder if I'd have been better off just having the thing pulled out - financially for sure - but since I didn't, I have no way of knowing. I figured if the root canal failed, I could always go that way regardless, but you can't do it the other way round. An implant seemed like a good option, particularly when the oversized crown was doing my head in, but was very expensive and, also, might not have taken anyway.
I think some of it comes down to how sensitive you are to irregularities/changes in your mouth. In my case, very, apparently. Others not so much. And how much longer you expect to live.
It all goes back to losing a filling on a mountaineering trip and not really trusting Bolivian dentists. With hindsight, I should have got it fixed back then, but hey.
I figured if the root canal failed
A root canal should only fail if it's a shoddy job. But even then, it can be re drilled, done properly, and made right
Can't do that with empty space
i had a porcelain crown done which cost probably about £600 following not long after by an implant for about £2500! (there was also some work to remove a little bit of gum!). the other option was to have them removed which would have left visible gaps. the implant is great. Felt a bit weird initially ( as there is zero feeling from that tooth) but glad i had it done. It was an expensive year for teeth but worth it in the long run. The dentist offered interest free credit for the work.....i think this is common if you need to spred the cost.
As someone else has said the thing to consider is how likely is the treatment to be successful in the long term. dentist will tell you thins....rather than STW!!!
