On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 14:48:26 -0000, "IMM" wrote:


"Neil Jones" wrote in message
...

"Mike Mitchell" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 19 Feb 2004 20:53:39 -0000, "IMM" wrote:


"Owain" wrote in message
...
"Andy Hall" wrote
| Today the big story is NHS dentistry, or rather, the lack
| of it for vast numbers of the population and their need
| to go private. Do you know how much private dentistry costs?
| It is exhorbitant beyond all measure.

| Nope. It is the true cost of providing
| quality treatment.

Quality? Total "rip off" treatment. It is extortion.

I can vouch for that! Here there is no NHS dentist. There is only a
private dentist. Last year I paid £320 for root canal work on ONE
tooth! Last week I had an esitmate for the repair of one filling (not
the same tooth) in a 30-minute appointment: £60! Sixty quid just to
*repair* a filling! The dentist now has a price list on the wall, and
some of the prices would frighten off most people from ever going
anywhere near a dentist again. Oh, the hygenist costs £40 for a
descaling, i.e. about 20 minutes' work.

Rip-off, extortion, thoroughly unsupportable in the so-called
fourth-richest nation. Utterly ludicrous. Unlike that brave old Lady
from Devon however, we cannot refuse to pay when our teeth hurt.
Usurious private dentistry is taking advantage of pain. There is a
word for that, I believe.

MM

So what would a fair price have been, in your opinion?

Not £360 for one tooth.

For what is involved in doing a root canal treatment, especially if it
is towards the back of the mouth, this is not an unreasonable price at
all.

To get it right, the dentist has to remove all of the soft tissue
leading into the far tips of the root and do so without leaving any
behind or without pushing the extremely fine tools used through the
end of the root. This involves working to tolerances of a fraction
of a millimetre and very carefully done sterilisation procedures to
avoid later infection, weakening of the bone support for the tooth and
its subsequent loss. Then there is the restorative work to make
sure it's sound and possibly a gold crown afterwards.

Done carefully and properly, a greater than 90% success rate can be
achieved by a good dentist. Done without taking the time and trouble,
it is around a 50% success rate.

In the context of that, £360 is inexpensive indeed.

The alternative, of course, is to simply have the tooth extracted.
That is a lot less expensive and faster. One can choose.




..andy

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