Root canal by nhs dentist - did it work?

[GentleSloth]

Anyone had a root canal by an nhs dentist - did it work?

Yeah I know the sensation you mean! They did also mention there may end up being discolouration due to the fact the nerve is killed off 😅

No. My mum warned me it never works and you lose the tooth eventually. In my case she was right. Maybe it lasted a year or two but it always niggled me. I'm the end the tooth had to go and it was a blessed relief.

I think my first lasted about 20 years (private) but was a beast to settle - took months and lots of (expensive) work. Second (NHS) was doing fine but I needed a filling on the tooth and it had become fragile. It was temporarily filled (and overfilled) and broke in half before it was filled properly which was not recoverable. So all in all maybe 5 or 6 years of being fine before it had to be removed.
Current one was very tricky to crown as part of the tooth had broken but it's been in place now for 7 or 8 years.

At least one of mine is more than 30 years old. I’ve had four, all successful. The one that failed was because the remaining tooth cracked.

I would like to see some evidence for the suggestion made by @goingdownfighting that going private has a better chance of success. There is an assumption that NHS dentists are inferior to private ones. They all get the same training, the private ones are just making more money! There’s no guarantee your private dentist has done any additional qualifications.

I can’t get an NHS dentist within 15 miles of where I live, so I don’t have a choice.

I've had root canal privately but my dentist would have been the same had I had it on NHS! So no difference in the actual person doing it.

I had one about 20 years ago, had a veneer on it and then a crown.

One last year now with a crown.

Touch wood both ok.

@MerelyPlaying. I stand corrected. When I refer my patients privately, I make sure they go to an endodontist who has a microscope and all sorts of fancy paraphernalia, as do most of my colleagues.

Had a root canal done 5 years ago on the NHS and it never took. Have had a gaping hole there sporadically over the years as they refill it and try to make it work. It never does. Paid to have a crown fitted in the next two weeks.

It irks me they didn’t fix it sooner as I had private Invisalign treatment during those 5 years. They shaped it round the tooth with a hole! So years down the line, they say I need a crown and now I’m left also having to pay for two new sets of retainers on top. So much time and money wasted.

I had one done around 15 months ago in hospital, my first appointment was nearly 3 hrs long and yhe dentist used a microscope, haven't had any pain afterwards, my check up is in a couple of months to do an x ray and see if everything is ok.
I also had a couple of root canal done privately around 15/20 years ago and thats still ok, had some that failed and i lost teeth so i think it depends.

It does not cost £300 for RCT on the NHS. It’s only a Band 2 charge

@goingdownfighting I simply asked if you had any evidence. Nobody is correcting anything. With respect, you still haven’t given any!

@MerelyPlaying
Dentists may get similar training. However some become more skilled at certain things and specialise.
They do more training and have very up to date expensive equipment and materials.
The first root treatment is the one that will give optimal results.

I haven't read the whole thread and it may be that an actual dentist has commented, in which case feel free to ignore this. However I had a root canal and crown over 12 years ago which worked perfectly.
I googled and researched extensively at the time and saw that the evidence suggested (then) that success rates are greatly improved if the practitioner is 1) a qualified endodontist and 2) has the best equipment. I didn't even bother trying to find one on the NHS on the basis that I couldn't even get one for routine dental work. I swallowed the pain of the cost and gave up a weekend away to pay for it. I do realise I was lucky to have that option.

@MerelyPlaying no you were right, and I clarified. No biggie.

I've had 2. First one was half done by the emergency dentist and at some point the tooth chipped a bit and it needed to be a very big filling as well. However it held up well for 10yrs without a crown. My other one was fine but tooth also chipped on hard nut in some cereal. However no crown on this one yet.

I've herd more horror stories of ppl going cheap private ( smile dentists ect) than nhs round here.

It does feel weird for a bit cause they reduce the hight of tooth to protect it before crown. Then when you get a crown it feels to high for ages!

I had 2 as a child and yes they worked. I’m in my 30s now of course though so looks like standards have slipped!!

My NHS dentist is amazing, anything she has done has been great.
I had a private root canal a few years ago and that dentist accidentally pulled out half my tooth and tried to fob me off. NHS emergency surgeon fixed it.
Had a private endodontist (really expensive) do a complicated molar, his boss had to redo it.
like someone further up thread said, different levels of competency in public and private, and in fairness, different levels of complications in patients too.

@BingoMarieHeeler how are your teeth now? I’m only 27 and worried having a root canal at a young age means I’m doomed for the rest of my dental health

Yes, an NHS dentist did root canal work under three of my teeth, preparatory to bone filling by NHS maxillofacial unit. Both successful, though tricky. I got an infection after the root treatment, fixed with a course of antibiotics. Surgeon said they'd done a great job.

Firstly most NHS dentists are also private, same qualifications and skills.
I had two root canals and crowns done when I was 22. I'm 66 now and they are still fine. I had another done a couple of years ago. All NHS.

@Solpa this is reassuring thank you!

@HansBanans how long did the sensation take to settle for you?

The teeth ended up coming out anyway a few year later 😬 so I can’t say I’m afraid! As an adult I have zero fillings, had those root canals on adult teeth but they had soft enamel and the roots were covered in abscesses when they were finally removed 😱 I’m sure yours will be fine, root canals are built to last! I wasn’t put to sleep or anything and must have been about 10 or 12, it was fine.

I have carried out loads of root canal treatments on the NHS. Success or failure is more to do with the condition of the tooth. Fractured teeth tend to have a poor prognosis because although the root canal can be straightforward the fracture can still let bacteria in.
Even the most experience specialist endodontists will often advise extraction of a fractured tooth if they feel that a root canal will not be successful.

I have plenty of patients who I have treated but advised that the treatment may only be temporary only for them to come back a decade later with a perfectly sealed canal and no sin of reinfection. Others return in a few months after a technically excellent root filling that has failed.

When I fractured one of my own teeth, a back molar, I had no hesitation in having it extracted. I knew it had a poor prognosis.

I would ask your dentist what they would do.
Obviously front teeth, which are often more straight forward to treat are worth perusing but again no endodontist will give you a guarantee over 5yrs.

Make sure that you ask for all treatment options and potential cost. Then have a think about it. If the tooth is currently symptomless then there is not likely to be a rush.

Always remember that you can just opt to leave it as long as you are aware of potential problems.

Yes. All fine.