BristolUK

I recently paid just short of $3000 for two root canals.

One of them is to be crowned and there's another to do.

Shard

Root canal last year, £380 I think.

dave_j

Aaah. The true cost of vanity. I had a tooth pulled a few years ago, still have the gap to prove it.

BristolUK

Vanity is one thing, practicality is another.

What happens if you need a tooth pulled or saved near an existing gap? If you opt for another extraction, how do you chew? What if you whistle while you speak or have to repeat things because many of the words you use can't be pronounced properly?

Ah, I hear you say (to quote someone famous ) then I seek out alternative words that I can pronounce.

Novocastrian

That would have been much less at an NHS dentist.

Shard

Yes, if you can find one you that like/trust, they are good too.

Shard

So you're not really a shark, then...

dave_j

You used to be able to get cheap teeth from dead bodies....

BristolUK

I never get tired of posting this

Novocastrian

Why on earth would you like/trust a dentist charging private fees over one working for the dental health of the public?

Perhaps you live under the befuddled idea that if NHS dentists were more skilled they'd stop working for the NHS?

scrubbedexpat091

I went a couple of years ago, got x-rays done ($40) and a general check. For the most part all looked fine, no cavities or other issues that were pressing need.

Now if I had $$ or coverage that covered it, I am sure the dentist would try and push for more cosmetic stuff, but he knows our extended cover from the province is very basic so doesn't push anything on us that we don't actually need, but even when something is needed like a crown he will mention it, but he knows crowns are not covered so not much can be done.

I don't think root canals are done either.

I was told I needed a root canal once, was given the estimate, so that tooth is no longer with me, it wasn't a visible tooth, and the pain was too bad to suffer with it, and no way I could pay for a root canal, so only option to stop the pain was to remove said tooth, it worked, but there is a gap there now, but then my wisdom teeth came in shortly after and had that tooth not been removed that may have caused issues, but there was sufficient room with the missing tooth, so the gap in tiny as a wisdom tooth filled in the spot nicely.

15 years now and no issues from those wisdom teeth, so far so good.

If those wisdom teeth do ever cause issues, I hope its so severe that it has to be dealt with in hospital as its covered then.

Shard

No befuddlement, I'm simply saying that it depends of the individual dentist, and there are fewer available NHS dentists (in our area) than there are private.

As it happens, I did start going to an NHS dentist, a recently qualified Bulgarian lass, who seemed ok until one day I arrived to find the paramedics escorting the patient prior to me out on a stretcher. She seemed a bit flustered but put it down to it being an anxious patient. Needless to say, I switched my dentist after that, and decided to go with our private one who happens to be very experienced and capable.

MarkG

The only things my NHS dentist ever seemed to do were pull teeth or fill them, and visiting their office was like taking a day-trip to the Soviet Union. Whereas my private dentist in my last few years in the UK was a complete tooth nerd who loved showing off whatever new tech he'd acquired since my last visit.

In any case, we're not far away from being able to build replacement teeth, and there's at least one treatment being tested on mice which can rebuild teeth in-situ if the damage isn't too bad.

magnumpi

Tooth pulled last July $20 with 80% coverage

Novocastrian

You mean because the treatment was free?