Re: UK SAVING TEETH AWARENESS CAMPAIGN via endodontics (root canal treatment)
Where I'm at this is the norm. I am unable to remember when I have removed tooth that could have been saved with the exception of a few where an implant made more sense.
Yes for sure. Root canal therapy doesn't seem to have been a very widespread treatment in UK until the late 1980s when lots of mainly experienced dentists opted out of the NHS contract first of all in London. I think they were always taught at dental school but not put into practice that often except in private sector, plus they had that bad reputation in American film one-liners.
I never knew anyone who had had one until I had mine (private dentist), then a couple of relatives said 'Oh I had one(NHS) but it didn't work'. My sister got one done while at College in USA (deep south - probably an early Medicaid Mill lol) and said it hurt like hell so she was a bit miffed when she heard my UK one was pretty tolerable.
However it is not as bad as it seems, as back then dental care was 'free at point of use' or extremely cheap to most people and many saw their dentist every 6 months, got timely amalgam fillings and so wouldn't very often get to root canal treatment stage. It would be the dentist-avoiders who had the bad toothaches and they were likely 'after an extraction' anyway and the rushed NHS dentist wasn't often going to talk them out of that.
I think as in my case if you were a regular attender (=valued your dental health=good patient) your dentist NHS or private would have been keener on pulling out the stops to save your tooth e.g. mine stayed late on a Friday to help me out of pain as he had sent me away saying I was clenching earlier in the week. He spent 2 hours on the tooth over 2 appts. I still have the tooth - it has been retreated by an endo but he did right by me then all those years ago as far as he was able with no microscope.
Now the situation is that NHS dentists can do endo but they tend to be busy and are not adequately remunerated for it and almost all the endodontists are in the private sector or dental school environment; and your average UK citizen is simply unaware how easy and painfree it can be to save your tooth BUT they have to be willing to pay for it as an NHS endo by a General dentist will likely be an inferior product in many cases.
I am sure the British Royal Family with their Harley Street dentists have availed themselves of root canal therapy for many a decade. It's really just that the NHS offering didn't prioritise it. It doesn't prioritise dental hygiene even now. It really can be very basic. No implants on NHS for instance but then you don't want the newly-qualified placing those.
NHS medicine is much more comprehensive in comparison despite/because of having even less of a profit motive in it. Medical GPs are sort of salaried. They are not paid per procedure.
UK dentists don't restrain kids in papoose boards though - so it is not all bad.
I think you can get the best and the worst of care on both sides of the pond. UK NHS is in many ways a training ground for the newly qualified and has to be a better option than dental mills but I am not personally planning on giving up private dentistry anytime soon. I was training fodder for long enough lol.