Is my dentist ripping me off? root canals

[maya28]

Hi there,

I'm sorry if I post this to an incorrect subforum or if it's been asked before.

Two weeks ago I went to a new dentist close to where I live to have my wisdom teeth checked. He proposed two follow up appointments to make the following repairs to my teeth:

1. Lower right wisdom tooth extraction (infected 3 times in the past), Lower right pre molar filling (due to decay), upper right pre molar filling (due to decay), Right side clean
2. Lower left wisdom tooth extraction (never been infected), lower left pre molar filling (due to decay also), Left side clean

I had the first appointment yesterday and ended up paying a little over £400 for the entire process. However, upon drilling into my upper right pre molar for the filling, the dentist noticed that the decay had reached 2mm away from the root of the tooth, so he filled it with a temporary filling. He told me that I might need a root canal for this in the next appointment I attend.

I'm really angry that he put the temporary filling in as I'm worried that the tooth would get infected or decayed further until I return for the next appointment. I also spent nearly all my savings on the consultation, scans, xrays and first appointment and really can't afford to splash out another £500 for the root canal & crown. So I asked my dentist to refer me to the NHS for the left side wisdom tooth as it has not been infected and I don't mind waiting if I get to save some money.

But what I really want to know is if the root canal is really the only option for my teeth, why couldn't I have had another filling? He mentioned something about an indirect composite or something (getting an impression made at a lab and inserting that in my teeth) but he never mentions anything about cost.

Could I not have gotten everything done at the NHS for a fraction of the price? How do I go about doing this? I don't currently have dental insurance, but my partner started a new job and has put me down on his dental plan, which starts in 3 months. Is it safe for me to wait that long for the rest of the procedures, and will the insurance company pay for it? How do I get a second opinion on the upper pre molar?

I'm only 23 and already have 4 fillings (not counting the one on appointment 2 or the temporary one), I've brushed my teeth twice daily since my first filling but I can't seem to stop my teeth decaying. I feel like everytime I go to the dentist my obsession about oral hygiene has been in vain and my dentist is ripping me off. I hate to go against the dentist's opinion as I trust he's doing the best he can for my teeth, but in a time of recession I don't think he cares much about my wallet.

Please advise...

Maya

[Matt]

Maya.. I am in a similar position. I'm currently facing a £950 bill for root canal work, nerve ending removal, in an attempt to save ONE tooth top right, about 2 in fron of the wisdom. I fail to see how this could have happened, and without dental cover it's hard to take the hit. I can't have it out and replaced with a screw in type, as its within 0.5mm of my nasal wall, which was pointed out to me on the xrays, so was able to see for myself. My nerve endings are twisted which m akes it a little more difficult, and are about £130 ea, amounting to £390 before the cap/crown..  is provided, taking the total bill to £950. Not happy, but what can you do? As far as i'm aware, NHS, although less, wouldn't be considerably cheaper either. Why can't dentists be on a fixed salary, and dental treatment free for all. I never go to the doctors, and thats free, so why not the dentist? Feel robbed.

[maya28]

Matt:

That really sucks. I was thinking of asking the dentist if I could pay in installments if worse came to worse, I'm not sure they even do something like that. Considering how expensive dental treatment is they really should.

Good luck with yours, it sounds painful too

[Matt]

thanks Maya.
And no.. installments aren't (not at mine anyway) accepted. They gave me a denplan form to fill out, which is ridiculous given that all dental plans have a 3 month wait till you can claim and doens't cover pre existing conditions. Surely it should.. as with car insurance!  - If you've a condition you pay a little more! £950.. still can't believe it. Credit crunch for sure... Hope you're goes well.

[bubbley]

Hi maya,
sorry if your questions have already been answered, and im repeating, but i thought id give you my opinion as it angers me what some dentists are prepared to charge!
im a dental nurse, not a dentist, but thought id give you some advice based on my own experiences working in a private practice...

firstly, £400 seems quite alot to me to have a straight forward wisdom tooth extracted, 2 fillings, and a clean, but charges do vary vastly between practices.

secondly, with regards to the upper right pre molar, ithink what my dentist would have done would be continue with the filling, put in an appropriate dressing
 to 'calm' the nerve in the tooth, and then wait and see if it gives you any symptoms before doing root canal treatment on the tooth, especially as you are already
spending alot of money! i sometimes think dentists forget that we arnt all earning six figure salaries!

maybe you could suggest at the next apointment that he does a normal filling in the upper right molar initially, then, should you get symptoms from the tooth (ie pain)
in the future, then you could go ahead and have the root canal work done then. again, like i said, im not a dentist, but i think this is what i would do.

with regards to getting an NHS dentist, i beleive you can find your nearest one by visiting NHS direct website, but im not sure as i have never worked in an NHS practice!

at your next appointment, push your dentist for advice on preventing tooth decay, rather than waiting until it happens then treating it, this is what dentists are for, to educate
people, not just do work then charge you a fortune!
i hope my message has helped you, not confused you further, and good luck!

[maya28]

bubbley:

Thanks for your reply.

The price is really confusing, I really should have asked for a proper breakdown before paying it, but he mentioned the root canal straight after the treatment I pretty much fainted at the sound of it. So I forgot about all the questions I wanted to ask and just wanted to get out of there. I called up yesterday to ask for the prices of the treatments I will be having at the next appointment, and he told me that the Amalgram (sp?) fillings only cost £65. So I don't see how he could have charged £270 on a wisdom tooth extraction and a clean...

He also intitally underestimated the price of the first appointment quoting £300 total, but luckily I added an extra £100 to my account for unforeseen costs. He also underestimated the cost of the root canal quoting £200-250, which I believe to be the practice's price for a root canal with 1 root, but I know that my upper pre-molar has 2 roots, and surely he knows that too.

I think the whole thing is outrageous especially as we're in a credit crunch!

With regards to the pre-molar itself, I haven't been experiencing any pain yet with the temporary filling in (though it's hard to tell because I'm taking Ibubrophen for the extraction) so I'm hoping a simple filling would be enough. Fingers Crossed!