Do I need a new dentist?

[Victoria27]

I recently had terrible pain in a lower back tooth. When I went to see my new NHS dentist (I've just moved) she said there was infection and decay and I needed a root canal filling. She did the initial part of removing the nerve and cleaning the tooth out and packing it. She then made me an appointment to come back in a month's time to complete the root canal. I've had a couple of root canals in the past and after this first step was completed the pain was always gone. However this time the pain only grew worse and I went back a couple of days later in agony. She redid the tooth, cleaning it out again and sent me off with antibiotics. Well this was repeated several times over the next 3 weeks, her cleaning out the tooth only for the pain to keep returning a couple of days later. After having the tooth redone about 4 times (I lost count) I finally asked her to remove it which she did as I was so sick of the pain. When the tooth came out it was full of infection at the bottom which was what was obviously causing me the pain. Now I was wondering if this was normal for a dentist to miss so much infection in a tooth when they'd been deep into it several times and taken two x rays? Or is common that infection can be hard to find in a root? I need to go back for further treatment at the end of the month and am nervous in case this happens again. The surgery has overall good reviews online and it's very hard to find a good NHS dentist in my area so am reluctant to change but if this isn't normal then will make the effort. Thanks for any advice you can give!

 

[Busybee]

Firstly I am very sorry you lost your tooth. No it's not normal and you should always go to an endodontist for root canal therapy. Once the dentist could see that the root canal wasn't working out, she should have referred you to a specialist. Please find another dentist. I always go private because I have not had good experiences with NHS dentistry. It can cost you more than you save, particularly as you have lost something priceless.

 

[Victoria27]

Thanks for taking the time to comment Busybee. Unfortunately my financial situation is pretty dire and there's no way I can afford private dentistry. I called 3 private dentists and got quotes of £800 from all of them. I would never be able to pay this back, especially as I will be needing further treatment soon. I guess this is why poor people have bad teeth! I have had two root canals before with a regular NHS dentist which were both absolutely fine which is why I was so surprised that there were so many issues this time and was wondering if it was a problem with the dentist herself. Thanks again for your help.