Please if you have any knowledge of root canal treatment, extractions, dental treatment please come and advise me. Even considering trip to Turkey.

[NearlyToothlessDragon]

Because I am at my wit’s end with conflicting dentist advice and am in pain and don’t know what to do.

five years ago I had a filling in upper molar (number 7). 4 years ago it was hurting. My nhs dentist said it needed extracting and as I am nervous about extractions referred me to the nhs hospital. At this point there was nothing wrong with it on x-ray

soon after this I lost my nhs dentist as they went private

about 2 years ago I got another nhs dentist and they did some X-rays and still didn’t see anything wrong with it.

june 2024 I got in to a community nhs dental clinic who did an X-ray with a view to extraction, still couldn’t see anything wrong with it but found that a wisdom tooth needs extracting. The community clinic refused to do the extraction as I have a potential bleeding disorder.

nov 2024 I got my hospital appointment through and they didn’t have X-ray equipment and were confused about the need for my molar to be removed and said they’d write to my dentist for information but that they’d see me in Feb 25 to pull my wisdom tooth and maybe my molar.

i have never heard back from the hospital

went back to my dentist in dec 24 and had a new dentist at the practice who said it didn’t need extracting and that he’d take my old filling out and do a root canal and it would be fine, by now he could see something on an X-ray. Then he left the practice and my 3rd dentist at this practice did another X-ray, said the decay is extensive and she thinks it needs pulling. She says I could pay 1k privately for root canal at the same dental practice but not have root canal done on the nhs even though I’m an nhs patient. She said root canal might fail and I’d have wasted my money. She said one extraction would be fine and I wouldn’t need an implant.

another nhs dentist in town is taking on patients so I signed up for another opinion. He’s said my molar is urgently bad and also my molar number 6 has decay close to the nerve and probably also needs a root canal. Would have to be private, he won’t do it on the NHS. Said he refer me to another dentist at a different practice and I’d be looking at 2k per tooth. I asked might it fail and he said possibly but that everything has risks.

He said my only other option is extraction and then he says I’d need either implants or a bridge. He said implants would be 3k per tooth. He said a gap wouldn’t be good as I’d lose chewing ability. He said about removable dentures but that I’m young for dentures. Other option is a bridge but that would mean filing down healthy teeth to fit it?

so should I spend an awful lot of money which will be a massive chunk out of savings on something that might not work.? Or just go for extractions and implants? Or just extractions and have a gap. One dentist said a gap would be fine and the other said not. Is going to Turkey going to save me money? Poland?

If it won't be visible just have it pulled out. I've had root canals in my experience they can last five to ten years then the tooth needs extracted anyway. My teeth are wrecked from aged root canals and I need loads of implants now (bad start with my teeth, parents didn't raise me to brush and had me on a bad vegan diet)

It seems alot of stress over one back tooth. You haven't lost any others?

If you get it extracted, it'll be fine.

Alot of people have one back tooth (or more) missing

Well it was just one back tooth but now it sounds like it’ll be two, molar 7 and 6.

Why would going to Turkey help?

I'm assuming it's a very back tooth? In which case have it extracted. A missing back tooth is no big deal. See how you manage with a gap but a replacement isn't really necessary for one back molar

For the 6 they need to fill it first. If the tooth is vital and not painful then it can likely be filled, and it doesn't sound like the dentist is certain it's a root canal/extraction job. If the decay is into the nerve once they've opened it up you can cross the RCT/extraction bridge at that point

Thanks, sounds a good plan to try a filling in 6 first and just get the other extracted.

You poor thing OP! Sounds like you have had so many different options on that tooth! I agree that if its not visible when smiling, having it removed might be the option, unless you can afford treatment in the UK.

I have an NHS dentist and about 12yrs ago needed root canal. I was under the impression back then, that I'd need to be referred to an endodontist at another surgery because my dentist didn't have the training, nor specialist equipment to perform root canal surgery. I went to the other place, had the root canal and a crown on the top. All great for 11 years till the crown started to crumble. My NHS dentist then replaced the crown last year. I still have the tooth so am not sure why someone up thread said they need extracting anyway. X-rays have showed the root canal and tooth are both fine and stable.

If you have a clotting disorder, I would NOT be getting treatment abroad! Language barriers, knowledge of your condition, treatment options available if you have a bleed etc would be a major concern IMO. Plus, I doubt travel insurance would cover you with a known haematological condition having a surgery abroad, IF someone went wrong or your started bleeding! Do you have a consultant you see who could advise IF you do get the tooth removed- in terms of your condition?

@7238SM i wish I had a crystal ball. I’d be more inclined to pay for the treatment if I knew it was going to work and be good for 20 years.

my clotting disorder has actually now been undiagnosed. I have a condition which can involve clotting issues but have had more investigations and they’ve decided I do t have the clotting complications as part of the condition. But at the time of being at the community clinic I was still waiting for tests.

I had a root canal 6 years ago and it's still good, hasn't given me any trouble. It cost £150 with my NHS dentist. My second back tooth on one side basically fell apart. I had a filling but it fell out as it was too big so I had it extracted. It doesn't make a difference to my chewing or life in general. The root canal wasn't painful to get done at all, it was just long- a 90 minute appointment. I would get another one if I needed it.

Dentist here. Get the tooth extracted. It won’t affect your bite that much and it’s far enough back that the space isn’t visible. Obviously hard to say for definite without examine you.

bit just lose the tooth if it’s giving you grief. If the space bothers you in the future then you could look at a bridge or implant at a later date

Pull that tooth out.

I'm saying this as someone who has had years of dental trauma. And the cause of it all... failed root canals. After what I have been though I wouldn't ever encourage someone to have a root canal. Especially for a back tooth.

I'm old and suffered at the hands of awful dentists in my childhood who filled every nook and cranny as paid per filling in those days (never had toothache so not sure what they were filling🤷‍♂️). Consequently lots of breakages throughout life and teeth extractions. ( plus a dentist phobia as they never gave anaesthetic either🥴) One taken out that far back is not a problem, in fact the gap slowly gets smaller. I've got gaps in all four quarters of my mouth and can still eat properly.

Thanks everyone. I feel better about an extraction. Apart from the thought of having it done and the pain afterwards.

Get 7 pulled. NHS dentists do root canals, it’s about £300. If they are your nhs dentist and refusing to do a root canal you clinically need, write to you local nhs board as they are required to provide the treatment under their contract

I think I will do this for sure. Thanks. They argue that they’re not good enough to do it. 🤷🏻‍♀️. And it’s hard to argue with someone saying they’re not capable of doing something

I’ve had back teeth extracted as an NHS patient under IV sedation and it was really good, though it was over 30 years ago. I think getting “conscious sedation” on the NHS is a postcode lottery now, though I don’t know if it’s your home address or the dentist address that dictates which areas offer it (I’m close to two adjacent counties).

Since then, my last NHS dentist said they can no longer offer it and I’ve been too scared to ever go back. I suppose I’ll go if I get unmanageable pain.

Good luck OP. I agree that you can leave a gap where a back tooth used to be and it really doesn’t matter.

Until age 43 I'd been with nhs dentists and its not until I've gone private have I realised how neglected I was. If you can afford it I would do some research and switch as they are amazing with preventative care. I've had one root canal and 8 years on I've not had a moments bother with it. I was told it might not work but went to someone who specialised in them. I think they have to cover themselves but was best decision for me. Do you use interdental brushes?

I don’t use interdental brushes but I do use mouthwash and floss. I can’t use the brushes, the texture is awful.

They do make such a difference, maybe try a different brand. I use the TePe ones.

Don't go abroad. Who will look after you whilst you're there? Who will follow you up if there are any problems when you get home?

My teeth aren't great. I'm part way through root canal treatment at the moment and it's not going very well; I'm beginning to feel that my tooth (also an upper 6) might be a goner, but I'm so scared of having an extraction.

Anyway - I've been having problems for years with this tooth and my NHS dentist was unable to diagnose it with certainty. I ended up seeing a private dentist who did a CT scan which showed chronic infection in one of the root canals. I'm continuing with treatment through the private dentist because my NHS dentist didn't want to do root canal work. Maybe the contract says they should offer it, but I don't want someone who doesn't feel up to the job to do it! The private dentist (actually a specialist endodontist) uses an operating microscope, which the NHS surgery doesn't have, and mutters about how narrow the root canal is due to the longterm problems causing scarring, so I suspect that any attempt to do this with the naked eye would be doomed to failure anyhow.

So far I've had 3 appointments with the private surgery (more than initially scheduled because of the problems), a CT scan and XR, antibiotics, an initial drilling out and dressing of the canals, and I have at least one more appointment to finish the job - and open access for any emergencies as we go along. Total cost around £1450. I doubt that Turkey would come in a lot cheaper once you factor in flights, accommodation, insurance etc. And if things have been dragging on for a while it's quite possible that your tooth will not be an easy fix so what would you do about repeat visits if necessary?

Agree re the extraction. The rest of this post is wrong. Writing to your ICB will do nothing. An NHS dentist is under no obligation whatsoever to provide molar endodontics on the NHS, no matter what some random on Mumsnet says.

If it helps I had a root canal done at least 15 years ago I couldn’t even tell you which tooth it was in now, it has caused so little (I.e. no) bother since.

I just wanted to reassure you about the extraction at the hospital. I’ve had a back molar extracted and the ( all female ) team were so efficient I was calling DH to collect me before he’d even got home from dropping me off.

That is reassuring. Did you have sedation? I’m terrified about recovery/dry socket as well.

I've had two nhs root canals. I don't understand why they're making it so difficult for you. One of mine was with a crown so the cost was band 3 (about £250 a few years ago). The most recent one was band 2 because it was filled not crowned (£70 ish last year). I've also had an extraction and that was priced at band 2 as well. Healed really well and only needed painkillers for a couple of days. No dry socket
I had dry socket years ago following an extraction and it was so painful. That was all a bit complicated though because it was due to an abscess that left the tooth so loose they couldnt save it. If you have an extraction make sure you follow the instructions and do the salt rinses after 24 hours.