Root canal costs

[janinerhind]

Last month I had a root canal in my front tooth as the nerve had died and I had a terrible absess. It was done privately and cost £750. The first section of the root canal was completed and was very painful due to the absess. The second part was completed a week later even though I mentioned my concerns about the absess which was still in evidence despite strong antibiotics. My dentist said this was normal . Over the next 3 days the infection continued to cause me a great deal of pain....J had been on back to back painkillers for the last 3 weeks by now. On returning to the dentist about the pain, he said he would correct my bite on the front tooth which had a very old Maryland bridge attached to it (the cause I believe for my bruxism, not stress, as I now do not suffer from it). and this would relieve the pressure and the problem with my absess. I insisted that the infection was worse than ever and demanded another course of antibiotics which he prescribed. I returned to the dentist the next day where he took an xray and told me that I had cracked my tooth and would need it to extracted. He would refer me to an endodontist for a second opinion on the same day. The endodontist told me the tooth had not cracked and needed cleaning out properly. He charged me £750 and has completed the first part of the root canal and the infection cleared up a few days later.

It has all been very upsettling and painful. The additional financial burden is painful too. The question is should I be expected to pay the first dentist? £1500 for one root canal treatment within a week is untenable for me. What can I do? I can't ask the endodontist for his opinion as he works in conjunction with the orignal dentist. I am working up to having a conversation about finances with him but really don't know where I stand on this. Any advice would be most appreciated.

 

[comfortdentist]

There are several thoughts here.
Medical(dental) treatment comes with no guarantees.
However it is reasonable to expect that the treatment is properly rendered. IF the endodontist said that the root needs to be properly cleaned it then he is saying that the treatment was inadequate. Since your tooth is a front tooth it is pretty easy to look at a x-ray and tell if it was inadequate or not.
Many dentists under the conditions that you have described would refund or credit you for the treatment rendered previously. Not all would though.
In general it is possible to have treatment done in a manner and technique that is acceptable and have it fail. We are fortunate in dentistry as our treatment have an extraordinary success rate in general.

 

[BioMan]

Sorry to her this - what a financial nightmare and this added to the pain and problems with the tooth.

In your situation I think I might give the helpline at the British Dental Health Foundation, a ring. If you google them you will see the number (not sure if I'm able to post it here) and they may offer advice as to whether you have any recourse or not. I wish you Luck and hope you are able to save that tooth

 

[vicki]

Hi

Sorry to hear about the problems you've been having .

I don't know whereabouts in the UK you are, but my first thought when I read your post was that £750 is a lot of money for root canal that is done by a general dentist and is more at the cheaper end of what you could expect to pay for an endodontist to do the treatment. It seems strange that they both charge the same amount - if they both cost the same for root canal treatment, surely you would've gone to the endodontist to have the root canal done, since they're the experts?. As an example, I think my dentist charges about £450 for a root canal on a molar, but the endodontist I've been seeing over the past couple of years, charges £950.

I've had eight root canals over the past couple of years, they were all done by an endodontist and I was told right at the start that whilst there was a very good chance the treatment would work and that he would do his best, there could be no guarantees. So, to a certain extent, I think it maybe depends on what exactly it is that you signed up to (i.e. were you told beforehand that the treatment might not work).

On the other hand, it seems very strange that the second part of the treatment was completed even though you still had an infection/abscess. If the treatment wasn't done properly and that's what caused you to need further treatment from the endodontist, then I would say that you are entitled to a refund, because if it had been done properly in the first place, you wouldn't have needed to visit the endodontist and therefore incur extra expense.

None of my root canals were needed because of infection or abscess, but from years of reading other people's root canal stories on here, it would seem that if you had an abscess, then the tooth should have been thoroughly cleaned out and no signs of infection present, before the root canal treatment was completed.

If it was me, I would follow BioMan's advice and give the British Dental Health Foundation's helpline a call on 01788 539780 as they may be able to advise you on your rights.

Best of luck and let us know how it goes .

 

[carriss]

When I've had root canals done, in the paperwork provided it states that if the root canal fails within one year you are entitled to free retreatment or a 50% refund if it fails totally and has to be extracted. The cost of treatment was £600 with private endodontist. My general dentist (NHS) charges around £60 for a root canal. As the others have said I would seek advice.

 

[comfortdentist]

One more thought...
I would speak to the dentist first as he(she) might just be willing to settle this right away and avoid the rest.

 

[rob wain]

I would echo Comfortdentists views.
Just have a conversation with the dentist, he may be more than happy to refund you and stay friends.