Dentist and needing lots of work done

I went to my dentist in November, was told everything was fine and come back in 6 months for usual check up, come December I decided to join a dentist closer to me (old dentist in London, I now live in Surrey 40 min+drive each way) new dentist did x-ray and said I needed 2 fillings, I get free NHS care, who was right 🤷🏻‍♀️but I ended up getting 2 fillings

First emergency dental appointment in my city going private for severe pain and not being able to eat since Friday is not till late tomorrow afternoon.

The appointment is £100 in advance, the treatment (which is extra) probably twice as much. For one sodding 'drill & fill'.

Oh yes and I’ll also saddle up the unicorn in my back garden and fly there on it 😂😂

Scotland funds NHS differently.

You cannot push for treatment that isn't there.

In Cornwall & Devon, there are no NHS dentists taking on new patients.

My last conversation with a NHS dental practice went something like this:

"We haven't taken on new patients for about 5 years, no, the new dental plan announced by the Govt wont make any difference, i suggest you ring back in 3 or 4 years time and see if the situation has changed?"

My MP doesn't respond with anything more than "we will provide 700k extra emergency appointments"

so fucking what? emergency dentists down here will deal with only one issue and only use temporary fillings & then suggest you get a dentist.....

Its not the dentists fault, a single filling, examination and x ray could take 30 to 60mins, the practice will get £26.

There are no appointments in my large-ish city. I could probably get one 200+ miles away. There are no waiting lists. Practices simply don't accept NHS patients. They don't put you on a waiting list whether it is for a year or 10 years. Waiting lists simply don't exist no matter how hard you push it. At best, you are offered "affordable private treatment" which isn't really affordable if you need anything more than a simple filling or extraction.

You can switch NHS dentists, if you are registered with one practice you can move elsewhere. I don't believe there were no appointments for 10 years and you didn't once look to change practice.

Referring you for a 10yr follow up is ridiculous, But an OPG (the big xray) is good at looking at the jaw, and looking at wisdom teeth, and giving a general idea but it's not diagnostic for decay, and you would still need bitwings or a PA xray to look properly at the teeth. Doing an OPG to assess the plates is reasonable

How can people push for something that doesn’t exsist!? The nearest NHS dentist to me is 160 miles away. You’re very lucky that you managed to find one within walking distance, but just because you did doesn’t mean that is the case everywhere

@FiveTreeHill

I couldn't get an appointment, had appointments cancelled repeatedly, couldn't register with another NHS dentist as I was already registered...believe you me if I could have had an appointment I would have done!

An NHS exam and a private exam are the same. If there's decay it needs treating.

Your welcome to get a second opinion, you can ask the practice to see another dentist there, but if you want to go to another practice then you will have to pay for a new patient exam and xrays

Did they show you where you needed a filling? Did they say why? If there's decay them a filling is necessary

If you haven't seen an NHS dentist in 15 yrs you didn't fall off the list during covid

You can’t push for NHS dental treatment when there is none. Literally none within a hundred mile radius and probably not even then. It’s fine to tell everyone what they should be doing, but it just isn’t feasible.

You are very, very fortunate that you are able to access NHS dentistry. The rest of us have to pay or allow our teeth to rot.

I live about 5 miles from Glasgow. My previous NHS dentist retired a couple of months before the covid pandemic. I was offered treatment by a branch of a big dental company but I did not like that idea.
I simply emailed three or four dental practices within walking distance of my home and after waiting about a year was accepted as an NHS patient by one of them.

I am happy as it is a good practice and is on the ground floor so is good for my wife who uses a wheelchair.
I don't understand why people don't keep pushing for NHS treatment.

Is this some kind of joke?

I was lucky enough to find an NHS dentist a few months back. She said I'd possibly need some front teeth out (heart operation due soon). Yesterday I went and those teeth are OK but some back ones need to come out. She is referring me on for the extractions as my awkward roots may cause issues. I'm just happy not to be losing the front ones this week!

I haven't seen an NHS dentist in over 15 years - there are none taking on patients here. I fell off the list during covid but that's just tough apparently!

Recently paid for my daughter to see a dentist privately because she had an abscess, her face was swollen, she couldn't swallow and still her NHS dentist couldn't see her!

When your child is crying in pain (she's an adult, so definitely struggling badly) what else can you do?

I spent over 2 hours on hold with the dedicated emergency dental line through 111 and then got cut off during covid. I ended up calling my gp and begging them for antibiotics, said I'd sign a disclaimer (not supposed to prescribe for dental), sent pictures and they very kindly gave me a prescription.

NHS dentistry is dead in most of the UK, unfortunately the results will be horrendous - untreated infections spreading into bones etc, all of which will cost the NHS more when people are hospitalised as a result...

My private dentist is good - but not cheap.

NHS dentists around here don’t exist, and even when they did, weren't much good.🤷‍♀️

No you re not, you'd need to pay to go to another practice and that would be at least another £100 and registering with the new practice but in this case, the OP should change practice, thats the only way she'll get another opinion.

The idea that a pp or yourself think we have our teeth treated in the same way as anything else medical is laughable - 50% of adults in my county have not seen a dentist for 10 years, because they cannot afford 'private and NHS doesn't exist.

One reason why so many people have left the workforce & on long term sick.

I had a very similar experience with the private dentist, to be honest. For starters, she took 3 butterfly x-rays (at £12 a pop) and then decided that she wanted to look at my surgical screws (had maxfac surgery 10 years ago) and sent me to a big x-ray - and that's £50 and obviously renders butterfly x-rays obsolete. Quite why she didn't make this decision at the start of the appointment, we'll never know.
The next day she rang me to say she wants to refer me for post-surgery follow up (for 10-year-old surgery!) and to replace my 23 year old filling which is still in perfectly good condition. "Just in case", I assumed. I am not going back there.

Tell me you live in London without telling me you live in London...
There are NO NHS dentists in the vast majority of the country.

Ask for a copy of your xrays or to take a picture of them, you will have to request this in writing. You could always post a pic of them on here and see if a dentist can tell you where the decay is. If you feel they are lying then question it, don't allow a dentist to just drill away at your teeth, some are dodgy.

Most surgeries who have NHS patients are phasing them out and are certainly not taking on more.

NHS dentist aside (Would love to know where that is - we don’t have one within 120 miles)

I had the same problem as you massive dental phobia and then I broke a tooth. I saw one private dentist and she said I needed the tooth out (which I did) and the another £6k of work! That wasn’t happening. Anyway I didn’t particularly like her, she hit me 3 times in the head with her chair, that didn’t give me much confidence in her.

Went to a different dentist for a second opinion and he took the broken tooth out and had a look at my other teeth and said everything else was fine. Just needed a couple of hygienist visits.

I 100% recommend getting a second opinion.

Flipping heck! I thought the £55 I paid was a lot for that torture!

I'm a lucky person who still has an NHS dentist, only because I've refused to ever leave the one I was registered in as a child, despite not living in the area for 20 years! The cost of driving there is still cheaper than paying privately. The NHS dentist only does 1 day a week which means I have to book appointments about 6 months in advance and tbh no idea if I would get in if I needed any sort of emergency treatment or would have to pay privately, but sticking desperately with it for as long as I can anyway.

I don't understand why so many people are struggling with the COL, why don't they just go to the magic money tree and give it a shake

However OP would it be worth going as a private patient to a practice that also does NHS dentistry if you want that sort of exam? Rather than a purely private one. They might be a bit more realistic or at least better at prioritising which work is essential.