ferryann

My husband has been having root canal treatment on an infected tooth for the last couple of weeks. He has been to the dentist today and the infection is still there so the final filling cannot be done as yet. The dentist has given him powerful antibiotics to try and shift it and is seeing him next Tuesday. We are leaving for France next Friday 11 July for a 3 week trip. If he has trouble while are on holiday I wondered what the system of treatment is like? We will be staying near to Avignon in Provence in a small village called Sablet. We pay for our dental treatment privately at home in the UK so I expect costs wil be equivalent if we need emergency treatment. I wondered if anyone could shed any light on this. Thanks.

gracejoan3

Your personal dentist would be the best one to give you a referral name in France. He certainly has access to this information.He could also give you whatever records you should take with you.

I doubt if Sablet has what you need. Avignon, Aix or Marseille should have someone.

flanneruk

I don't know the precise answer.

But chums we were staying with in the Loire area last week described the following, utterly unEnglish, event:
- she gets throbbing toothache in France
- asks Syndicat d'Initiative for handiest dentist
- Bloke suggested is there. Will see her in 10 mins. Sparkling, bright surgery
- Finds messy filling. Bit of drilling, redoes filling.
- Presents bill. €25

It'd have cost her more to try to claim it back on her insurance.

flanneruk

PS: Population of the town concerned: 5,000

TuckH

Your closest big town is Orange. Vaison, a bit smaller, is nearby.

Carlux

As a fellow root canal sufferer, I can sympathize. We live in France, and go to a French dentist. Our experience is that the system is extremely good, and not expensive - dentists complain here that the price they are allowed to charge has not gone up in ... (fill in the blank) years.

I wouldn't worry - if there is a problem, ask for a referral from the local tourist office. Our British friends always say that visitors should never go home to have treatment - it's usually better and cheaper here(see flanneruk posting)

bon courage!

StCirq

I would personally WAIT until I got to France to go to a dentist. Much better treatment, and it will cost you about as much as a typical co-pay in the states. Sablet no doubt has a fine dentist somewhere in town, but if not the local pharmacist can steer you to the nearest one.

zeppole

France has the finest medical system in the world --

HOWEVER

You need to follow your doctor's and dentist's advice come next Tuesday about whether you should proceed with the trip and the infection is gone or poses no threat. Having been sick abroad and gotten terrific treatment in hospitals, I can still say that it is not worth it, no matter how cheap.

Tickets can be changed. France will still be there.

Health comes first.

djkbooks

I would agree that it's risky to travel before all work on the tooth has been completed. Usually, dentists recommend that the tooth be crowned following root canal therapy. Without the final filling and/or a crown, there is the possibility that the tooth will crack and/or shatter.

This happened to me. I went on a trip anyway after the filling but before the crown. The dentist who performed the root canal told me I should have the crown done within a few months. But, a couple of weeks later the tooth broke into pieces (thankfully at the gum line), so could not be "saved" and crowned but had to be extracted. (Though, I personally believe that the tooth was cracked during the root canal process.)

nytraveler

Does the dentist know about this trip? Traveling when you're in the middle of a root canal - esp an infected one - can be extremely painful - esp in the plane - when air pressure is lowered.

My dentist made me postpone air travel when I was in the middle of a root canal.

LoveItaly

Hello ferryann. Just my experience and one I hope I never have again. I woke up on morning with my first ever tooth ache. The dentist saw me that morning and sent me elsewhere for a root canal. The root canal was not nearly as bad as I had expected. I had a temporary crown put on. I too was given antibiotics as I had an infection. Two days later we flew from San Francisco to Florida. Ferryann, the pain from flying was beyond description. It was horrible. I would never again fly if I were in the middle of a dental procedure and/or had an infection from a tooth. I know this is not the question you asked but felt I should share my terrible experience as I wouldn't wish what I went through on an enemy. And I didn't feel good while in Florida and I had pain again when flying home. And yes, I had told both dentists about our trip plans but neither one even suggested that we postpone the trip. I always wondered about that as surely I am not the only one that had such a bad experience.

ferryann

Thank you for all your replies. We will have to see what the dentist says about the tooth on Tuesday and take advice about the best way forward.

hetismij

Since ferryann is in the UK they may well be driving, not flying to France.
Do you have insurance just in case the dentist says you shouldn't travel next week?
I had a root canal done a few months ago - no infection thank goodness, but it was all done and dusted in an hour. No crown needed with the modern filling materials they use.
I hope the antbiotics do the trick and the treatment can be completed next week. Even with a temporary filling if necessary. It sounds like French dentists are easy to find and are very good. I hope he doesn't need one though.
Hope you have a good trip!

ferryann

Yes we will be driving.

LoveItaly

My error! A car trip would no doubt be just fine ferryann. I of course was incorrectly thinking you and your husband were taking a flight. Best wishes to your husband and may his dental problems be over with as soon as possible.

bozama

I had a root canal done, but didn't get it crowned till six months later. It was fine, I think your dentist will be able to give best advise, and as you are not flying, I think you'll be fine.

I guess it all revolves around next tuesdays dentist appointment.

Hope infection gets under control and you are able to enjoy the trip with no need to find out about the no doubt great French medical system .

mpprh

I live in France, and am having the same treatment at present.

I have found the treatment to be better, and considerably cheaper, than in UK.

Others have had good emergency treatment whilst on holiday.

Peter

LaurenKahn1

I do remember a home exchange in Scotland where, on the day the flight was scheduled, I had a roaring toothache. I had a root canal in the morning and flew the Atlantic at night. No problems.

Now I just pull the tooth and get an implant. It is cheaper in the long run to just do one procedure rather than the short term root canal/crown fix and the implant later when the tooth eventually cracks.

cathies

I broke a tooth in Paris and was able to see a dentist the following day. The cost was 70 euros which is about the same as here in Sydney. No drilling!! it was all done with lazers. The only difficulty was that the dentist wanted me to pay in cash, which I hadn't given any thought to. I had just enough in my purse to be able to pay him.

LaurenKahn1

That story is similar to mine about a broken ankle in Bavaria (TWO hours into my trip!). That vacation was, well, different. I learned a lot of German words for body parts. After three appointments at the local hospital, the break was stabilized with a brace (as opposed to the boots used in the US). I got superb medical treatment. In fact the orthopedist was trained in the US. The first thing they said was, "Let us make you better. Then we will worry about payment." What a different attitude!

On the day of the last appointment I had looted my bank account of quite a bit of money at the ATM. The bill turned out to be $160 American. When the guy at the hospital said I could get reimbursed by my American insurer, I told him that it was so little that it would cost me more to have the German bill translated and I was going to forget about it (which I did). Could you imagine $160 for 3 ER visits including two sets of x-rays? Unbelievable!

The people at the hospital were, by the way, surprised that I paid. They said they have foreigners run out on such bills all the time. I said that doing that would give Americans a bad name and I was not about to do that to people who had been so kind to me.