Fillings, possible root canal, cost?

[Malibu1209]

I last went to the dentist in 2008. A small piece of my broke a couple of months ago and then a week or so later another tooth just half crumbled away!

was an 8week wait to get booked in where I used to go so went to a new practice as was less of a wait. Finally went today and I felt sick all morning and my hands were shaking filling out the forms beforehand. Realised how scared I am of it!! I've had five babies and felt nowhere near as stressed having them as what I felt today
Have to go back again in a couple of weeks to have the work done

luckily the only problems are what I already knew about.
One will be a filling. Will this hurt? Will I have to have an injection?
i had a baby in March so have my exception card. The dentist said this one is free with my card.

the other one is a bigger job and he won't know until he starts if it is just a filling or root canal treatment.
what exactly do they do for root canal? How long would it take? Why do people make out like its so bad?

he put something cold on my tooth and it really hurt. Is this a good sign or bad?

The filling for this he said wouldn't be a white one as its not visible when I smile. So would cost me £100 if I want a white one.
but it is visible when I smile. What are the NHS rules for paying for white fillings? He said front visible teeth are covered by NHS. It's not a front tooth and I by no means have an enormous toothy smile but it is visible from the front that there is a gap so surely a silver filling will be more obvious?

i was too nervous to question it at the time but it seems expensive to me and wondering what the NHS guidelines are for charging for a filling when I am excempt from paying?

i didn't book the appointment to have it fixed as I would have had to pay £50 today and I had no money on me. Are they right charging that or should I go elsewhere? Sorry for the essay, need to
convince myself to go back!

 

[carole]

Hi Malibu1209 to the forum.

How much will I pay for NHS dental treatment?

Find out about NHS dental costs and what’s included in each band of fixed charges.

www.nhs.uk

If you are exempt from paying which I think you are for a year after having a baby, there should be no charge. The work they said that you need doing is covered by the nhs. The link I have put above for you explains all this. If you scroll down there is a part that you can click onto that goes into further detail about what is covered and all the work you need it.

I would find another dentist if this one insists that you need to pay and get the work you need doing while you are covered with your certificate.

On to the treatment you need:

Fillings: You would need to have an injection and these can be given totally pain free. The dentist will also have a gel called topical that they can rub onto your gum so that you don't feel the injection. The dentist can also give an injection pain free without the topical if they do it really slowly. It is the speed that the numbing stuff enters the gum that hurts. You would feel a bit of pressure but no pain.

RCT on't be afraid of a rct people say they are bad but I think a lot of people that say this haven't had one. They will get you nice and numb, and they can check that you are numb before they start to make sure, if at any point you feel anything they can add more stuff. They will put you a dental dam on, this is a small rubber square that has the position of the teeth on it. They will punch a hole in the rubber dam in the space to go over your tooth. They put a clamp on your tooth which you won't feel this is metal, when it is on they stretch the rubber over it and seal it around your tooth. It does cover the whole of your mouth but you can swallow and breath as normal. It won't cover your nose. At any point in the treatment they can in a second release the dam. There is very little drilling to gain access to the root canals. They use hand files to clean and shape the roots, they will also clean the root cavity with a bleach. When they are happy that they have done this and it is ready for filling they take an x ray to make sure that they have gone far enough down the roots and got all the nerve. The dam is released for this but stays on. It is a bit like a deflated balloon hanging from your tooth.
If the x ray is clear then they will put a filling in the root usually made of rubber but they can use a cement. Usually a temp filling is placed and you will return a week or so later and they will do much the same again and put in a permanent filling.
I would rather have a rct than a filling because it is so quiet and quite boring really, there is very little drilling and you get breaks inbetween what the dentist is doing. Your jaw may ache a bit afterwards from keeping your mouth open but will wear of quite quickly. If at any time you feel you need a break let them know and they should allow this. You can arrange a stop signal before they start.
A rct usually takes 45 minutes.

What they said about the white fillings is true. I wouldn't worry about a silver one in the back even if it can be seen, most people have them. They are tougher and longer lasting than the white ones as well.

I would probably question them about charging you, or go elsewhere.

I hope this helps

 

[Malibu1209]

That helps a great deal thank you so much. Know I will still be a big baby about it but at least I know what to expect now.

it isn't a back tooth, the one just needing a filling is number 6 which is free. The other one which is needing more work and a break rather than just a small hole is number 12. Or maybe a 5 and 11 as not sure I'm reading the chart right. It's the front half of that tooth so visible when I smile and talk.

I will add a photo later