Q. Hi, I wonder if you could clarify something for me. I went to my NHS dentist with an upper molar toothache and he advised tht I had an infection which required root treatment. He advised that he was only a general dentist and would probably only be 65% successful with this treatment due to my having 30-40% bone loss, he advised that referral to a specialist would take 5 months on the NHS. He advised me to go privately to a specialist who would have 80 – 85% success, at a cost of 400-600 pounds, then if that was successful he would then put me a crown on the tooth at another cost of £300. I am resigned to the fact that I don’t want to lose my tooth as I am only 40 years of age but I just wanted a second opinion as to whether this was logical as im going to have to travel 60 miles for this referral. I asked him about an implant but he said it was always better to save a healthy tooth which is what he says I have before I start considering an implant. Your advise would be appreciated.