Treatment and cost help

[Jemma89]

I don’t know if a dentist on here can help with this,

I went to the dentist in January as I had horrific toothache in a molar tooth that had a filling 3 years ago, he did an x-ray and no sign of any problem, he gave medication and the pain went away.
I then went to the doctor in April as I had a lump in jawline in the same area but no other symptoms, they said it would be worth getting a dental x-ray, they could refer me or I could go to my own so I went to my dentist who is private to be quicker (I was worried it was cancer!)
The dentist has now said yesterday it’s an abscess and I need a root canal filling and then a crown. Also warned me that there is only a 70% chance of a 5 year survival rate and there is a risk of fine instruments being left in the canal. Then on the end of the paper work says if this root canal treatment fails the tooth will be removed at extra cost.
The price given just for the root canal and crown is £1600 - something I can not afford especially after only having a filling on this tooth in April 2022 which cost me enough! He did offer to refer me to a specialist endodontist that has better outcomes as they specialise in root canals but the cost would be double his price.
I also suffer anxiety in general and have a huge dental phobia, I had iv sedation for previous treatment 3 years ago with this dentist as I get involuntary shaking but he has refused to give iv sedation for root canal treatment anyway.

Firstly did this dentist miss this problem on x-ray in January as the tooth he says needs a root canal is the one that caused toothache in January and secondly where do I go from here? I can’t afford the treatment so could I go back to the doctor and get referred that way for nhs treatment?
And is it true I can’t have iv sedation for a root canal?
He also has given no confidence to me that he can treat this tooth and keep this tooth in my mouth. I felt more like I had been warned of all the outcomes and the likely one was losing the tooth for extra money.
I don’t want to lose this molar tooth as I already had the other molar tooth removed by this dentist.

Thank you for any help you can give.

 

[Gordon]

Firstly did this dentist miss this problem on x-ray in January as the tooth he says needs a root canal is the one that caused toothache in January and secondly where do I go from here?

It's impossible to say from here, sorry. Teeth can be so damaged by the decay that the nerve still dies off even if it's been filled.

I'd be very reluctant indeed to do a molar root canal under IV sedation for various reasons.

The list of "things that can go wrong" is just a CYA exercise, the lawyers like us to dish those out, it cuts down the chances of being sued later on

A specialist will be more likely to do a successful root treatment on a molar than a general dentist.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Jemma89]

That’s helpful thank you