Cost of dental treatment is painful ...

[Daisydoodlepoo]

Having moved house and unable to get signed up with an NHS dentist, I registered with a private practice just over 12 months ago as I was experiencing pain with back tooth which had had root canal treatment about 10 years ago. The cost of the treatment including extraction was £1800. Today I have been for a routine check up and x ray identified issues with 2 front teeth which apparently are likely to result in both failing 2/3 years down the line. The cause is linked to undue pressure on the teeth as a result of overbite. My dentist said we need a plan to address these issues including work to build up the back teeth to reduce the impact of the overbite, potential loss of teeth etc. I understand that the treatment cost would be around 10k which is significant in addition to the £1800 spent relatively recently. My first reaction was that I said I simply could not justify that amount of spend at present to which she asked me directly if I was in financial difficulty and I should be honest if that is the case. Also if I did not go down this route, what would be my plan when teeth failed as was likely. I just felt really uncomfortable with these questions as thankfully I am not in financial difficulty, but on the other hand, being suddenly presented with unplanned expenditure of 10k was a shock and asking anyone directly if they are struggling financially seems insensitive and unreasonable given the amount involved is not insignificant. Maybe I am being too sensitive? but the whole experience made me feel a bit emotional and incredibly frustrated like everyone else is with the state of NHS dentistry. 😟

Definitely consider going abroad - my DD needed emergency dental treatment during her year abroad in Poland after she slipped and fell down a concrete flight of stairs, knocking out her two top front teeth and breaking three other teeth. She had excellent treatment there from a private dentist, including two implants and three crowns - I think it came to less than £2.5k in total. I don’t even want to think what it would have cost in the UK. She’s actually ended up going back to Poland for a couple of check ups - we live near Luton airport and can get very cheap midweek WizzAir or Ryanair flights to most Polish cities (£30-40).

I had a emergency appointment due to severe toothache turned out to be infected so I ended up with a injection to kill the pain instantly appointment cost turned out to be 2 teeth extract and I needed a 3 tooth denture due to them being In the front I couldn't afford implants or crowns cost me £1900 cheapest private dentist I could find

yes, get one or two second opinions. it does not hurt to shop around with dentistry quotes and most don't realise that they can do this!

You can't have had a root canal and an extraction on the same tooth? As a root canal is purely to try and stop the need for an extraction.

And either way a root canal plus and extraction (on different teeth) shouldn't cost £1800. You need to see a different dentist. They sound like a total rip off.

I had a wisdom tooth extraction by an oral surgeon (my dentist wouldn’t do it)
it was £150 consult including X-rays and then £190 extraction and that was on the pricey side!

If it was me I would just wait for them to fail and get implants. It would probably be cheaper for 2 teeth. I am saying this as someone who has spent 6.5k at the dentist in the last couple of years.

As other PP’s have said, shop around.
i have just had a massive amount of work done, hereditary issues with my gums combined with previous experience with horrendous dentists meant I didn’t go for many years.
4.5k later and many hours crying in the chair through fear, I have an amazing smile, no pain and a bucket load of confidence restored!

My treatment should’ve been 7 appointments, ended up at 10 but I was charged no more than originally quoted, my dentist was amazing, she never pushed me further than I could cope with, I had 90 min appointments that turned into 3hrs with a additional appointments needed to finish off.

I live in Somerset. I drive 4 to 5 hours to my old affordable dentist in Sussex because I can't afford the inflated costs in Somerset. It's ridiculous.

As others have said, I'd definitely get opinions elsewhere. It's not as if they have a central database and know where you've been seen previously.

I had a wisdom tooth out privately and it cost £350, I don't know exactly what your extraction involved but it does seem very pricey, as does the recommended treatment.

Thank you for your post that does sound a lot of work for the cost which makes me feel more optimistic about getting my treatment done for a more reasonable price. I think what upset me most yesterday was that I was left feeling I had no choice but as so many have said there is no reason not to shop around and travelling further afield also an option.

Since watching nhs dentistry fall apart I've taken out policy for cash back for dental work and started saving.

I know im lucky I cam afford to do that

Iv also become super strict with teens. Paying for them to see hygienist every 3 months to try and head off potential problems in the long run

Stick with the english dentist. I went to turkey, spent 8000, disasterous, got back andno dentist would deal with me, 3 months on after almost havng a nervous breakdown a uk dentist quoted 15,000. It took a year of appointments… then was i ok? …. No, the following year, 2 grand for root canal, now year 3 and having old implants from turkey which were re crowned by english dentist back out… acheing and pain for 3 years and still ongoing, i cannot explain the amount of pain,acheing, anguishm heartache, missed holidlayd and depression….and..now i am skint, DO NO GO ABROAD x

Bit of a thread hijack but I've been wondering why implants are so expensive. They can fit them in a day apparently so it can't be labour costs though £2000 an hour seems a bit steep anyway.

Calculated from full implant set around £16,k if you are lucky and 8 hours work.

Just back from Budapest (Helvetic Clinic). Brilliant dentistry for around a third of what it would be here. It is time consuming, but Budapest is a v nice city. Implants would need two x mon- fri visits. I am really pleased with my teeth!

That seems insane! I had 2 extractions which cost me £210.

10k is bloody ridiculous

We’re not rich by any means and our private health insurance is a godsend. There’s no good equivalent for dental care - Denplan is very limited in what it covers.

Dentists in the UK charge way too much. All my dentist family and friends have their kids in private schools and drive the flashiest cars. My cousin, a dentist, admits that the new young dentists coming up are just after profits. Cousin is like that too but won't admit it.

The country's dentistry system needs overhauling if people are having to go abroad for essential treatments. NHS dentists these days do the bare minimum.
I went to the NHS dentist a couple of months ago and she didn't count the teeth. She just wanted to sell me private treatments.

I hear you 😢

Just had a cracked and infected tooth extracted for £850 and now have to save up approx £2k for a post and crown. Luckily this will be next year.

I sometimes wonder why I have savings, and this kind of scenario demonstrates the importance of having a bit set by. Fingers crossed the boiler doesn’t break down…

That's how much dentistry costs I'm afraid. It's not that it's private that it costs a lot, that's the actual cost you're seeing upfront instead of the state absorbing it all in NICs. People have got so used to the state paying for everything that as soon as people are forced to go private, they get angry.

I absolutely second going to Poland for private dental treatment. Superb quality and much cheaper than the UK.
Their work is so good crowns lasting decades.

And to add Polish dentistry is nothing like Turkey. They are very well qualified and the quality exceeds UK by miles.

@Sadworld23 you absolutely cannot do an implant in a day. I have just had one and it took six months.

@Sadworld23
Cost of initial implant training £30,000 to £50,000 , plus cost of mentoring for initial cases at £1000 per session.

Cost of kitting out surgery for implants plus cost of kits , tools ,etc upwards of £250,000

Running costs of surgery room upwards of £250 an hour

Laboratory costs for implants including guides , temporaries etc several thousand pounds for multiple implants placed

Cost of indemnity once you start placing, restoring implants and doing sinus lifts etc can be a five figure sum per year .

I was asked a few years ago to restore implants that someone else placed , I couldn't afford to do so as my indemnity increase as well as kit I would have to buy made it unaffordable unless I was treating dozens of people a week and in my area that was never going to happen.

Also implants are a multi stage process taking , on average , upwards of 6 months to finish treatment with multiple appointments
.

I have a molar which had root canal about 3 years prior. I cracked the tooth which is not giving me pain due to RC. Can’t remember how tooth got cracked. Then about four months later the cracked bit fell off. It’s on the outer side of the tooth.

My dental practice is NHS and private. NHS patients can get private treatment. My DM had a filling redone privately as it’s at the front and filling is white.

I don’t have enough tooth exposed to get a crown on NHS. They quoted me £3130. Can’t remember what the procedure was but it was 4 visits. I said sod that. I said to a friend, for the same money, I could buy a bottle of gin averaging £17 every other day for a year!
My friend said gin over tooth is way better