Root canal by nhs dentist - did it work?

[GentleSloth]

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

You are absolutely spot on with the varying levels of competence in the profession. Simple root treatments are well within the capabilities of a UK trained dentist but some countries do not teach specialities at undergraduate level. Dentists tend to specialise post grad. Even in the UK new graduates do far less specialist training than back in the 80s and 90s.
I work in a practice where we have 3 general practitioners, an orthodontist (postgrad qualified) an implantologist, an endodontist and we have just had an oral surgeon and a periodontist join us.
I tend to take on the cosmetic restorations ( modern composites) and dentures. I trained when most people over 50 had dentures so spent my early years in practice making hundreds of sets of dentures. Some new graduates may make one or two sets before they qualify and it is really an area where you need to have a lot of experience.

If truth be known the quality of work is ultimately down to the individual dentists ability and attention to detail. If I’m not happy with a restoration I will get the patient back to correct it. If a procedure is difficult ( due to patient having a strong gag reflex or limited opening ) I will schedule more time or run over.

It felt great within 24 hours. I'd been in a lot of pain so was definitely a relief

I asked my dentist success rates of a root canal they said any root canal has a 70-80% chance of success- with NHS you looking towards the lower of that scale and private the higher end.
Given NHS will cost £70 and private could be £700+ ive gone NHS

I had root canal on the NHS about 5 years ago and it was fine, no problem at all. The dentist was quite young and from Bulgaria or Romania and she done a great job!

I’ve had the first stage of a root canal 2.5 weeks ago and awaiting the second stage. It still is quite uncomfortable on my gums to eat - is this normal?

Bump

I have had 2 successful NHS root canals and had a crown on both . Lasted over 20 years so far - touch wood .

Yes , the tenderness is normal . Dentist told me that your jaw and all of the tooth ligaments have been really shaken about by the process and take a while to settle .

How long did yours take to settle @SparrowNest15 ?

It was a long time ago , but I remember it being far longer than I expected. At least 3or 4 weeks .

Yes I've had two.

One was successful (so far).

The other one was successful for about 20 years but then the tooth broke off (while eating a curly curly!) so I had to have a crown.

No problems after the root canal treatment itself.

@SparrowNest15 mines still burning in the gum and it’s nearly been 3 weeks 😔

Yes, I had one done on the NHS over 20 years ago. All fine.

Call the dentist and ask about it @GentleSloth