# Dental - root canal treatment



## Dusty (22 Nov 2005)

Has anyone here had root canal treatment done lately? What was the cost? I have been quoted €500 for the work (a triple canal treatment on one molar), plus €70 for the first visit (check-up and xray)

How does this compare?

Cheers
Dusty


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## holton_l (22 Nov 2005)

Dusty 

You should do a google search on the dangers of root canal treatment before you think about going ahead with it.

Liam


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## getoffthepot (23 Nov 2005)

Its about right I have to get one done before I get a crown next month.


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## muzaway (24 Nov 2005)

I Paid €450 for a lovely root canal around May, and am now paying €750 for a crown. Both in West Dublin.


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## Dunners (24 Nov 2005)

hi Dusty,

I paid e410 last year for root canal work, and going back next week for the crown, which will cost around e500.... at least I'm covered by BUPA and PRSI, so will recover a lot of the cost next year...


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## crassus (28 Nov 2005)

Dusty the cost sounds ok - I paid E800 for a molar needing all 4 canals cemented about 3 years ago. This comprised of 3 separate visits: 2 to  have actual work done and then a third a few months later to check that the bone had grown back. I got this done in Dublin, but I got the crown measured and fitted by a dentist in the North, where I am from. The crown then cost stg£250 for a "white" crown although you could pay stg£80 either for a metallic crown (and look like Goldie). It may not work but it's worth a try to save your tooth in my opinion.


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## BillK (28 Nov 2005)

I paid £120 for a ceramic cantilever crown i.e. consists of 2 "teeth" but fitted on one to cover a gap. I do pay into an outfit called Denplan which covers my wife and myself for 3-monthly checkups and 3-monthly treatments from the hygienist together with all labour charges for any dental treatment required such as the odd filling.
This is a longwinded way of saying that the £120 charge is solely for the cost of manufacuring the crown; all other costs are covered by my monthly payment (£60 per month for the 2 of us).

BillK


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## sandrabing (28 Nov 2005)

my mother was quoted €700 per root canal in Galway (she needed two) she went up north to Enniskellen got 2 root canals and a crown for around  €900......... A year later she has had no problems with them since....Highly recommended


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## Dusty (1 Dec 2005)

Thanks for the replies, I am in the middle of the root canal treatment (one more visit I think, I have also been quoted €700 for a crown if i wish to get one, But the dentist said that there is enough tooth left to support a filling and it will last a while without the crown, and this can always be done later if the filling fails.

BillK - I would be interested in details of that dental plan.

Dunners - What Bupa Plan are you on? I have cover but they say it doesn't include dental work!

Cheers
Dusty


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## Swallows (2 Dec 2005)

Root canal treatment is not always successful. I had four done, one upper front. After some time an infection set in at the root which I had for a couple of years. In the end I had to go to a surgeon who performed a small operation.It was not a pleasant experience and I would not recommend root canal treatment since.

Also the crowns dont last. After a time they come off regardless of how well they are done. Of course not in every case and I am not saying this will happen to everyone. I can only give my own experience and I was not eating nuts all the time either.

The cost is very high and you would expect these things to be successful but this is not the case. Before you pay out a lot of money ask around for other peoples experiences. Ask your Dentist for more information before you go ahead.


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## markowitzman (2 Dec 2005)

how long did the crowns last? what did they cost? Did you have any joy with the dentist that fitted them?


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## Swallows (3 Dec 2005)

No joy from the dentist who fitted them because by then she was retired. One lasted about 6 years, the other less. I got them on the national health service in London and you pay three quarters of the cost so for crown about £150 which does not seem too bad compared to the cost here which is astronomical.

Also she was checking my teeth every six months and would have seen that there was a problem with the root canal treatment to the front tooth but never said anything. It was only after I had to get a new dentist that I was referred to the surgeon who performed the operation. My face was swollen like a balloon for three days after. Be aware that root canal treatment can sometimes cause problems, it will save the tooth for another while but eventually the tooth will have to be extracted. The dentist will cap the tooth with a crown but sometimes the tooth is not capable of holding the crown because it is too far gone.


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## delgirl (3 Dec 2005)

Swallows said:
			
		

> .... it will save the tooth for another while but eventually the tooth will have to be extracted.


Is this the case?  In my own experience it's not.  

I have 4 crowns and have had 5 root canal treatments - the first crown was fitted almost 20 years ago and is still absolutely fine and has never moved.  The second one would have been fitted some 13 or 14 years ago and is also absolutely fine.  

Perhaps you were just unlucky Swallows?  Or maybe I've been lucky?


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## Swallows (3 Dec 2005)

Delgirl, thats good that your dental work was successful, maybe I was unlucky with the dentist who did the work, although at the time she did everything she could with taking xrays before and after but there you go.

Its as well that people know and get as much information as possible before they go ahead because the cost here is  just ridiculous. Looking at some of the prices here that people have quoted it would be cheaper to go to another country and get it done.

I know that dentists are running a business and I suppose if people are prepared to pay the price then they will continue to charge high. Once you lose your teeth then thats that you cant get them back but there is a limit to everything. I'll never forget when the last crown came off, there I was left holding this thing with the metal post sticking out of it. There was no point in going to the dentist to get it put back on because the tooth woulden't hold it.


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## markowitzman (3 Dec 2005)

Swallows I sensed that these crowns and root canals may have been nhs work. Unfortunately the success rates for root canal treatments on the nhs are of the order of 3% via peer-reviewed research performed by Professor Paul Dummer Cardiff University.
International studies have shown that root canal done by best practice has a success rate of 90%+.
Having worked on the nhs root canal treatments were generally of very poor standard.
The standard of dentistry in Ireland is in general far far superior than the nhs in england.
The cost of a root canal in Dublin done to best practice is quite similar to the fees charged by similar private practitioners in other capital cities like London. I know because I worked there.
If you are getting a root canal on a back tooth you need to have a rubber dam or covering placed around the tooth to stop infecting the canals.
The treatment will take at a minimum 60-90 minutes and could take a number of visits depending on the complexity of the case.
Regarding crowns similar research has shown that nhs crowns are technically unsatisfactory. Similarly when I worked onthe nhs you could do your best work in the surgery and still get a crap nhs crown back from the lab. These crowns were supplied at about £18-30 per crown by the lab and to be honest it was just conveyor belt stuff.
In a private setting either here or in England you are talking completely different standards. The private crown cost to the dentist can easily exceed 200-250 euro which is a multiple of nearly 10 times the cost of an nhs crown.
I totally agree dentistry is very expensive but one must be aware that in many cases you are not comparing like with like when looking at state schemes like nhs and private best practice dentistry both here and in England.
I dread having to treat patients that have had nhs work done especially crowns etc as the costs and difficulty of trying to right the poor work done is huge and patients are often gutted when we tell them of the problems.
As I say there is nothing more expensive as poor dentistry as replacement costs and remedial treatments are usually very expensive.
Hope it works out ok for you.


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## sussie (8 Dec 2005)

Hi - Just thought I'd share my experience.
I look after my teeth.  I go to the dentist regularly.  I always had one tooth (num 6) that was very heavily filled.  Last June during a normal trip to the dentist he noticed that num 7 (same side) needed a filling replaced.  He proceeded with this, but shortly afterwards I had pain. He thought that num 6 may have been the source of the pain (being so heavily filled) and so he referred me to the root canal specialist.  He focused his attention on num 6 and after 5 months waiting, (putting up with intermittent pain for the sake of keeping the tooth) I got called to have this done - in fairness he was very professional and it was completed it one session, costing €675, plus the first consultation fee of €90.  I was delighted when it was all over thinking this is the end of the pain I put up with etc. I knew it needed to be crowned afterwards.  Didn't care too much about the money as I was glad it was over.  However a few days after RC treatment, I had the pain back as bad as ever! the RC specialist told me to take pain killers for two days as this can sometimes happen post treatment, and contact him in a couple of days.  The pain didn’t go away and  I went back to his surgery.  He blew air into num 7 and I hopped off the chair!!! yes it was num 7 that was the source of my pain not num 6 as had been treated.  I was very disappointed but didn’t get too alarmed yet - I called my dentist and explained the situation.  I went to see him and he replaced num 7 filling again with a sedative dressing in the hope that the nerve would calm down. It could be just filled again normally in 6 wks after the dressing takes effect (if sucessful).  I had a bad feeling.  I still had pain although I wasn’t waking up with it.  I went about going to the crown specialist (today) to arrange crowning num 6 - I told him about the sedative dressing in num 7 and the story as above.  He was able to use a microscope to examine the tooth.  It turns out that num 7 tooth is fractured probably into the root, causing the pain.  The only way again to keep it is another RC and Crown.  I couldn’t hold back the tears!! (Big baby I know!) I am so disappointed. I couldn’t stop thinking about this all day !!! I'm not one to flare up and point fingers but I truly believe the dentist weakened the tooth (probably causing the fracture to begin with) by replacing the filling in June.  I didn’t have pain up to that day. 
I asked about the costs - 
Another RC & consolation 90 + 675 
Two crowns 950 x 2  = 1900 
Two pins?  150 x 2  = 300
Consolation for the Crowns €100 (I already paid 100 to see him today!)
Apparently the crown price is good value has its his first year in business in this city.  


I hope there is something you can take from the above and if there is anyone that you like to share an opinion pls do.  I don’t think I have any option but to go ahead with this treatment. The dentist I'm sure isnt going to concur with what I've said, I haven’t got a leg to stand on, as really there is no way of proving otherwise.  It’s very disappointing.


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## Tarquin (19 Dec 2005)

You poor


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## Dusty (19 Dec 2005)

I have now completed my treatment and am pleased so far, the dentist managed to avoid a crown at this stage by using pins to strenghten the filling, though she did point out that i may need one in the future.

Fingers crossed...

In all I found her very professional


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