Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Anyone had root canal treatment?

95 replies

BerryTwister · 04/09/2025 13:30

I’ve lost a chunk of tooth and a filling. The dentist says if the decay is too deep it’ll need either root canal treatment or extraction, the choice will be mine. It’s private (no NHS dentists taking patients where I live), and root canal work will cost much more than having the tooth removed. It’s far back so not visible. I’ve heard horror stories about root canal treatment. Anyone had it done without problems?

OP posts:
Dozycuntlaters · 04/09/2025 15:56

I've had exactly the same problem with one of my back teeth. Was offered root canal and a crown for 1k or extraction for £75. I went home, looked in the mirror to see if you can see I'm missing a tooth when I smile, which you can't, so I opted for having the tooth removed. No way could I justify £1000 on a back tooth, not that I have that sort of money anyway

Alphabet1spaghetti2 · 04/09/2025 16:04

Numerous root canals done both private and nhs. Also had a tooth out last week. Would opt for root canal over extraction any day of the week. (Regardless of cost. )

Buxusmortus · 04/09/2025 16:16

Ginmonkeyagain · 04/09/2025 13:50

Yes- it was fine. but something to consider - root canals fail after about 10 - 15 years. Essentially the tooth is now dead and it is is borrowed time.

I had one at 19 (a mistake by a dentist trying to pin a shallow filling damaged a nerve meaning the tooth had to be root canaled to deal with the pain) I had it replaced at 30 and then it failed again in my late 30s. Now I now have an implant.

Not true at all that they fail after 10 to 15 years.
I've had 2, having them done was fine, your mouth is numbed anyway. I had one done 20 years ago, crown on top, no problems since. The other was done 36 years ago, was done through an existing crown, had the crown replaced 2 years ago, root canal was still absolutely fine.
I would do anything to preserve existing teeth rather than have an extraction. I had to have an extraction 4 years ago, there was nothing else which could be done, I then had an implant which cost about 2500 and I'm really happy with it, but if I'd had the chance of root canal at 1000 I'd have gone for that.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Dental health General health
27pilates · 04/09/2025 16:19

No evidence exists to support root fillings fail after 10-15 y. That’s incorrect. OP you need to factor in the price of a crown or onlay post -RCT, if this is a molar/premolar too. RCT renders a tooth brittle, so to avoid vertical /horizontal fracture, you must have a crown.

Ginmonkeyagain · 04/09/2025 16:20

@Buxusmortus oh I agree with that. I was just noting that it is not a permanent solution and the OP should be prepared, at some point, to have to replace it.

BeMintFatball · 04/09/2025 16:25

Better to save the tooth . A lost tooth puts more pressure on the surrounding teeth weakening them. If you leave a gap too long the bone recedes making an implant hard. This happened to SH je has had to have bone grafts before his eventual implants are fitted.

I had my first root canal last month. It will be crowned soon. On the NHS and not nearly as bad as was expecting. I had to watch my daughter get a root canal it’s a dental treatment I do not recommend watching 🤮 but as the patient once you are all numbed up it’s fine.

PissedOffNeighbour22 · 04/09/2025 16:29

I have this decision to make too and I’m going to go with extraction as it’s right at the back and causing issues with the wisdom tooth at the side of it anyway.

My DH was offered root canal recently on a slightly visible tooth and chose extraction as the tooth was awful and not really worth saving.

Theraffarian · 04/09/2025 16:32

My root canal was with a private endodentist, cost £1300 , but they have access to far more sophisticated equipment and allow more time for the procedure than NHS . I was advised the success rate would be higher with them . Procedure lasted about 50 minutes for a molar with just one canal , some teeth have more than one so can require more than one appointment. Not particularly painful being done , but I did find the recovery was far longer than expected. It was actually 6 months before I felt the uncomfortable sensation had reduced to a level to have the crown done. Also worth considering that if you have a tooth removed it can cause teeth either side of it to move as well and weaken the jaw bone over time .

My NHS dentist did a white crown ( which is unusual for NHS on a molar they are normally metal) for £326. If I had returned to the private dentist the fee was around £1500 for a crown , but they said the result would have been similar. The crown fitting is two appointments, one to file the tooth to a shape to accept the crown ( if having a full crown ) with a temporary crown placed on then .Then the permanent crown is fitted about 2 weeks later .

LittleBobbyDazzler · 04/09/2025 16:36

Yes, I've had a few (poor dental hygiene as a teen and unbothered parents).

The worst took I think 4hrs but it was at a dental training hospital so everything had to be checked by a trainer, that was horrible but it was just the fact it took so long / my mouth was jammed open by scaffolding and dams.

The others have been fine, as PPs have said pressure and pushing etc but never any pain at the time, a bit sore after as standard but nothing compared to toothache.

Once they kept missing the correct nerve and the numbing agent kept going to my upper jaw / nose instead of lower jaw. Took 4 or 5 rounds to get it into the right place. My nose was numb until about midnight 😂

ithinkilikethislittlelife · 04/09/2025 16:54

I had an nhs root canal a couple of years ago and I’m terrified of the dentist but it was honestly fine and I’m really glad I did as it save d the tooth. Obviously it was an uncomfortable experience but once the injections took hold it didn’t hurt. Afterward the tooth ached for a number of days but this was eased with mild painkillers and it is definitely, if needed,something I would have done again.

Sleeposaurus · 04/09/2025 16:58

I have had 3. All fine, boring and uncomfortable in the sense of having someone's hand in your mouth for an hour and having to lie still, but not painful. The last one I had done by a specialist after my dentist initially failed to get it done and it was even better- even nu bed my gun with cream before the injection which my usual dentist doesn't do. He also didnt need my mouth as wide open as my dentist and I almost fell asleep whilst it happened.

Ddakji · 04/09/2025 16:58

I had a back tooth removed. Bottom row. Over a few years the corresponding top tooth lowered as nothing to grind against, so I had to have that removed as well.

AgnesX · 04/09/2025 17:01

Not the most pleasant experience - is going to the dentist generally - but in terms of discomfort it's no worse than a filling. It takes a lot longer though.

thelovelyview · 04/09/2025 21:25

Only tooth I had problems with needed a root canal. It was a waste of a huge sum of money and I lost the tooth.

Fantan · 04/09/2025 22:18

Yes more root canal than most people have hot dinners ! Many years ago, however I had to have an extraction 3 weeks ago which was very painful and my dentist decided to stop. I had another appointment to remove the roots but unfortunately I then had an infection requiring penicillin. The tooth did have a crown which was crumbling which was part of the problem. I’m ok now though. I didn’t find the root canal treatment difficult though.

sueelleker · 04/09/2025 22:36

I had a root canal on a front tooth. They drilled out the nerve under local anaesthetic-never felt a thing. Over two further sessions, they filled it. No nerve left, so totally painless. I don't know why people make out it's so horrific.

Sunshineandoranges · 04/09/2025 22:41

Lots of nhs dentists where I live but they don’t do root canal on nhs. A thousand pounds is about the going rate.. I had root canal on front tooth..not too bad. Back teeth can be harder as they have more root canals apparently.

Sunshineandoranges · 04/09/2025 22:48

BeMintFatball · 04/09/2025 16:25

Better to save the tooth . A lost tooth puts more pressure on the surrounding teeth weakening them. If you leave a gap too long the bone recedes making an implant hard. This happened to SH je has had to have bone grafts before his eventual implants are fitted.

I had my first root canal last month. It will be crowned soon. On the NHS and not nearly as bad as was expecting. I had to watch my daughter get a root canal it’s a dental treatment I do not recommend watching 🤮 but as the patient once you are all numbed up it’s fine.

Which area do you live in. In outer London I asked lots of practices and even spoke to a lady who dealt with oversight of nhs dentists and she confirmed they don’t do root canal due to the complexity and time it takes and nhs only allow band 2 charge of seventy odd pounds.i did meet one last after we’d paid privately and she said she had a small tooth root canal treatment on the nhs…I tried to find that dentist unsuccessfully.

BeMintFatball · 04/09/2025 23:00

@Sunshineandoranges put it this way 35 minutes on a semi fast train and I’m in Liverpool Street Station.

I’ve paid NHS charge for root canal. Come to think of my daughter’s treatment was also NHS

workingcocker · 04/09/2025 23:12

I had mine done privately and had lots of drugs. It was just like. Filling. Easy just took a while so jaw was sore.

fashionqueen0123 · 04/09/2025 23:16

Yes very boring but doesn’t hurt - the only thing that hurt was the numbing injection!
Had a crown over it which lasted 13 years before being replaced

Maddy70 · 04/09/2025 23:31

It's really fine and painless. Just uncomfortable having your mouth open for so long

Fgfgfg · 04/09/2025 23:49

Sunshineandoranges · 04/09/2025 22:41

Lots of nhs dentists where I live but they don’t do root canal on nhs. A thousand pounds is about the going rate.. I had root canal on front tooth..not too bad. Back teeth can be harder as they have more root canals apparently.

NHS root canals are Band 2 but most can charge Band 3 because people opt to have it crowned rather than filled. Mine was charged at Band 3.

Band 2 Treatment: £75.30 This covers everything in Band 1, plus additional treatments such as fillings, root canal work, or tooth extractions.
Band 3 Treatment: £326.70 This includes all treatments in Bands 1 and 2, plus more complex procedures like crowns, dentures, and bridges.

curious79 · 05/09/2025 07:22

I’ve had root canal and the procedure itself was fine. Very good dentist. However, there are some functional medics who say that whenever you have root canal there will always be bacteria left some degree in the cavity which can cause all sorts of unimaginable problems down the line, not just with teeth. We’re talking systemic poisoning. If I would have that issue now, and it was in an area that wouldn’t be visible, I would probably opt for extraction.

Askingforafriendtoday · 05/09/2025 18:27

BerryTwister · 04/09/2025 13:30

I’ve lost a chunk of tooth and a filling. The dentist says if the decay is too deep it’ll need either root canal treatment or extraction, the choice will be mine. It’s private (no NHS dentists taking patients where I live), and root canal work will cost much more than having the tooth removed. It’s far back so not visible. I’ve heard horror stories about root canal treatment. Anyone had it done without problems?

Would recommend extraction. I chose that in that exact situation. My dentist told me that's what he would have chosen...after I'd made my decision. So there was no pressure. Extraction, as you say, is much cheaper too

Swipe left for the next trending thread