Root Canal or get tooth pulled?

[Clamshell]

Where abouts in the country are you OP?

Always try root filling first before extraction. Extraction is so final and with a good dentist, your root filling should have a great chance of success.

[mollybogle]

If the dentist has already started the root canal to get you out of pain, then you have had the worst of it done. Not all root canals are the same, some work some don’t usually down to how much infection was there to start with. £1k plus for that and the crown is a ridiculous price and still not guarantee, I would go for the nhs price and if you decide further down the line you want a white crown you can. You should really get about a 90% chance of success if all goes to plan. Root canal treatment is just like having a deep filling that takes longer to do

[Megandllsmum]

I had failed root canal work on a tooth a good few years back, tooth ended up having to come out after that and because it had weakened the tooth broke during extraction and had to be cut out... If I had to go through that again I'd just opt for it being pulled... Luckily mines towards back of my mouth so not noticable

[ILoveDaveLamb]

Thanks for all your experiences, folks. We are in Bristol. A friend who is a newly retired dentist said to go private. She rated NHS success rates at 60% and private (specialist) treatment at 80%+. I was concerned an extraction might destabilise the rest of my teeth. She and my NHS dentist said not. If I was still working, I would have swallowed the £1k bill more easily, but don’t want to waste money at present. I could have a new pair of specs and a couple of good weekends away with the change from nhs treatment.

Extraction appeals in that it would be swifter and cheaper and a done deal. But it was not my first instinct...

The way I felt over the weekend I would have paid £10k for the pain to stop. It’s a worthy profession. Couldn’t do it myself, but God bless our dentists. X

[Clamshell]

Originally Posted by ILoveDaveLamb

Thanks for all your experiences, folks. We are in Bristol. A friend who is a newly retired dentist said to go private. She rated NHS success rates at 60% and private (specialist) treatment at 80%+. I was concerned an extraction might destabilise the rest of my teeth. She and my NHS dentist said not. If I was still working, I would have swallowed the £1k bill more easily, but don’t want to waste money at present. I could have a new pair of specs and a couple of good weekends away with the change from nhs treatment.

Extraction appeals in that it would be swifter and cheaper and a done deal. But it was not my first instinct...

The way I felt over the weekend I would have paid £10k for the pain to stop. It’s a worthy profession. Couldn’t do it myself, but God bless our dentists. X

See more...

If you can afford it - get in touch with the Taunton dental practice. David langham specialises in root canals. He is so unbelievably nice and was highly recommended to me.

[mollybogle]

Well you won’t get pain from that tooth if it’s not there, a dentist I knew years ago used to say if unsure what to do “if in doubt take it out” because he thought if your not sure then your not that bothered about missing it

[Mollysue]

Had root canal still lots of pain eventually had tooth taken out if it is a back tooth not noticeable hope you don't have too Much pain 😑

[ILoveDaveLamb]

Originally Posted by Mollysue

Had root canal still lots of pain eventually had tooth taken out if it is a back tooth not noticeable hope you don't have too Much pain 😑

See more...

Thank you x

[shona]

My dentist told me root canals only work 50% of the time, I have had them twice and whilst the procedure was ok I couldn’t get rid of the infection and had both teeth out and a bridge put in but had no choice as it was at the front. Give the root canal a chance first

[WendyWilson]

I've had a root canal on a back tooth. I was in two minds about whether to have it taken out or whether to have the treatment. In the end I thought I'd try to save the tooth and see how it went. I've had no problems with it tbh and I'm glad I didn't have the extraction. Don't get me wrong, it was very sensitive for about 2 months afterwards but it's absolutely fine now. You can always have the root canal and if it doesn't work out then get it extracted. Btw, I absolutely hate going to the dentist, I'm such a chicken but if treatments needs doing then I get it over and done with asap