Your expectations

What you should expect 

You should expect a full list of the options available for treating your particular dental problem and an input in deciding which solution to adopt. You should expect the level fees and payment schedule to have been explained in advance with any variations that may occur. 

You should expect to be seen at the appointment time given. 

You should expect the dentist and dental team to exercise a proper level of skill in performing the treatment, and the use of proper materials and techniques. 

Not everything works as expected in any branch of medicine. Your dentist cannot fully predict every outcome. 

Where the result does not meet expectations it may be necessary to review the treatment and carry out additional or different procedures. This is particularly so where root canal treatment is indicated, as only about 95% of cases resolve without additional work becoming necessary, and an unsuccessful root filling can cause acute pain. 

Root canal treatment is indicated to save a dying tooth and avoid more expensive and complex treatment. However, the need is usually because of a dead, dying or infected tooth, all of which can cause severe pain. 

A root filled tooth becomes very brittle and will nearly always require a reinforcing post and crown to fully restore it. 

Timing of the stages of such treatment is important and if commenced and left incomplete (usually because the patient thinks that if the pain has gone away, so has the problem.) the pain is likely to recur, be more severe and much more difficult to resolve. 

What are the benefits? 

The higher the cost, the greater the expectation, however, some types of treatment carry a limited prognosis and a decision has to be made as to the risk/benefit ratio. 

In particular, root canal treatment is invaluable in saving dead and infected teeth. However, the longer the infection has been present, and the more roots the tooth has, the higher the possibility of the technique being unsuccessful, however skilled the dentist. The dentist cannot predict accurately which will succeed and which will fail, just give a statistical risk. The decision must therefore always be the patient’s in the final analysis, as the patient has to pay the fees. With cosmetic dentistry improvements are subjective and it is therefore important that both the dentist and the patient (and the dental technician) have the same outcome in mind if the treatment is to be successful.

Communication is everything,  if you’re not sure, ask - before the treatment appointment, not when you are already in the chair for the treatment to be carried out.