What do you do for dentistry?

I had a NHS dentist who was rubbish (not because he was NHS). I think that he really cut back on things like offering xrays. Told me that a painful tooth was due to plaque - which he then charged me to clean. Happy to have my teeth cleaned, plaque is not good but he missed the infection that a new dentist found at the first check -up. Think every treatment decision for the NHS dentist was based on cost. He was also quite rude (clearly realised he was the only game in town). New Dentist is private and I am lucky that I can find the money to pay. I know this is a small thing but I do feel happier because I was tired of thinking 'must make this work because he is the only dentist' OP it is a really bad state of affairs.

I misunderstood the thread title and wanted to reply I did a lot for NHS dentistry bashing the ever failing Nash for 15 years before going private!
I also teach dental students. There is a small amount of capacity as a living “phantom head” for dental students. It’s free.
Requirements to be accepted:
be over 18
be medically fit and well with no mental or physical impairments
not be dentally anxious
be available for long daytime appointments- I would want a commitment to attend at least once a fortnight for 6 months (depending on what treatment is needed) arrive for 9.15 or 1.30 and be comfortable staying in the chair for about 3 hours.
be happy to not attend and just go to 111 if you have pain when we’re not open which includes exam time and university holidays.
once you are dentally fit we discharge to find a dentist. We don’t do routine check ups.

I wouldn't be surprised if NHS dentists are leaving the NHS. Why wouldn't they? They'll go where the money is. Private work pays.

This is an issue with the public sector in general. The service runs poorly in part due to the knowledge there is always a constant stream of taxpayer money coming in, it's not much money, though, because once all the managers, directors and consultants have been paid their share, there's not much left for the actual dentists themselves. If it's not a constant stream then it's because it's coming directly from the patient, hence you then see the true cost of treatment.

There is a multitude of problems with the NHS, chief among which is the sheer size of the bloody thing. It's running at huge losses and it's continuing to grow bigger and bigger. It will eventually collapse and take out private practice with it and then there will be no healthcare. Ideally it needs modernisation and reform, but all the time people think that means to privatise it all, that will never happen.

We go private. Get our teeth scaled and polished every 3-4 months. This helps keep fillings mostly at bay. But yes we also put some money aside for the inevitable emergencies!

Nothing, is the depressing truth.

No NHS dentists where I live at all. I had an infection, and had to go private to have the tooth removed (cost £150, and was gifted that from a family member who was worried about my health). I posted a thread on MN about coming to terms with a prominent tooth being missing, and many posters told me they would judge me and assume I was a junkie. Dentist quoted £700 for a bridge, but I am not sure it would be suitable anyway because of the layout of my teeth.

I lost my NHS dentist during Covid. Took off list for not going, but they were not seeing anyone!

I absolutely understand why dentists are not wanting to do NHS work, but at the end of the day, it is the patients who are suffering.

Single parent here, two children.

I work full time plus two evenings a week so the extra I earn from that helps.
Poor experience of nhs dentist when DD was little (I say that with a 23 years career in the nhs)
So now I pay - Check up is £25.00, xrays between 25 - 50.
Haven't had to pay for fillings.. Hygienist £70
Crown was about 400 but better experience than nhs.

Because specsavers can make the money up on the cost of glasses.

vision express , years ago, opened dental surgeries hoping to repeat the opticians model , but quickly closed as dental expenses leave no room for the profit margins that an optician has.

A room in a dentist practice in a cheap area , doing NHS work, costs upwards of £140 an hour to run . The only money to cover all expenses is what the dentist earns by NHS piecework , which increasingly is not enough to cover expenses .

So a dentist has a choice , shut the surgery (BUPA closed 85 practice recently) , go bankrupt or go private .

The situation is getting worse as the cost of providing dentistry is going up by at least 10% year on year and fee increases are not even matching that . It would need a massive investment in dentistry even to stand still.

Actually no , for most dentists they will just get a few pennies or a couple of pounds on top of what a patient pays , some surgeries will get less than what a patient pays so , in effect , they pay the government back for every patient they see.

All practice expenses are paid out of what the dentist earns , there is no other subsidising or money coming in.

When a room in a NHS practice in a cheap area costs from £140 an hour to run you can see why so many dentists are leaving the NHS as dental inflation is running at 10% per year and what they earn , increasingly , is not even covering costs.

The problem with this is that in Suffolk it started out like this then just before covid they started dropping even children off their NHS lists and going fully private. Virtually all dentists are private around here now and they have said its difficult to attract new dentists into East Anglia
meaning no new NHS provision. They are trying, but we are now paying private for both children, a lot of people just can't afford it. 😕

Tavern Street, Dental Practice, Stowmarket have recently been advertising for NHS patients so give them a try.

My lovely cleaner was in agony with her teeth and was quoted £3k for dental work. Was cheaper for her to fly back home to Brazil and have the work done there.

The NHS waiting list here is approx 12 years and we ended up going private about 2 or 3 years ago. It’s ridiculous and both DH and I have taken loans out to cover some extensive dentistry work.

@Rolson77 literally just scrolled to end to say the same as above poster, have seen on local fb that Tavern Street in Stowmarket are currently accepting NHS patients

@Rolson77
Tavern Street in Stow

Is there a dental school in near-ish location to you OP? The students need people to practise on. I have no idea if this is still a thing but might be worth a look. I've put off the dentist for a year but have just booked me and the DC in for our first appt at a new practice. No NHS for miles around. It's a disgrace as even specsavers has NHS capabilities for eye testing and hearing I think? Why is there no dental provision anywhere on the high Street? Sorry to derail the topic, but it's all very unfair.

It's ridiculous isn't it.
I was registered at my parents house with an NHS dentist, then they went private and when my husband got a bill for over £1000 for some treatment we actually realised it would be cheaper to fly to his home country and have it done there!
We were visiting his family later that year anyway and now get checkups/cleanings/treatment done there as long as its not urgent. Has saved us so much money but the timing fluctuates between 6 months to over 2 years.
My husband did have to have a wisdom tooth pulled in the UK as couldn't wait for our next trip but our local dentist were great and did that without us actually being a patient there. It wasn't a super expensive treatment though and obviously we're budgeted for private treatment for dentistry just at a significantly lower cost as its in a cheaper country.
I tried to get on every NHS wait list when I was pregnant and then again when my daughter was born but still nearly 3 years later haven't got a space and that was with quite a wide net.

The WI are campaigning about it:

www.thewi.org.uk/campaigns/news-and-events/the-resolution-selection-results-are-in

There are some horrific stories.

You’ll have to pay private like everyone else does. That’s the way it is. There’s lots of people in your predicament. Get your teeth sorted this time around - borrow money from a friend or family member if you have to - and just practice good oral hygiene from then on. Watch a youtube tutorial on how to floss and brush. There’s tons of them out there. Think about what you could do with the £80-90 you save from not having to go to London to visit the dentist. Eighty percent of dental problems are preventable. That’s the truth of it.

Same here. I do have dental cover via work if needed as well.

If I don't have the work cover and couldn't get NHS I would go private for any issues and save up for a check up every 2-3 years instead of the every 6 months I currently do.

I have no advice to give, although I can see why you'd think it appears to be a money-making process. It's really not, though. NHS healthcare is free to the point of service because every taxpayer pays into it. You get a checkup and pay what, £60? Then you get treatment, if necessary. If it's an NHS dentist, you pay a capped amount, and then the rest is subsidised by the taxpayer, so you never see the cost of the treatment the taxpayer is footing. I know going private is expensive, but it is what it is. Nothing is free and if you don't pay for it, someone else will. And frankly, we have far too many people, but wishing death on them as someone said upthread is not the answer.

I travel to a different town for my dentist NHS found them by chance.
I sat down and rang every dentist in my own town and the next and so on.
But i did find one.
Have you tried stowmarket in suffolk and ipswich just ring them all. I know a few up that way have a waiting list might as well as get on one but keep looking as well.
I think one had spaces for nhs the other week dont know about now.

Everyone needs to factor in dentistry into their monthly bills now, same as any utility or phone bill unfortunately, there is no way around it. I would advise any 18 year olds that this is the first thing they do when entering the working world is to start Denplan or similar.

If people just brush their teeth and gums regularly and lay off the sweets, chocolates, fizzy drinks and other such crap, then there really wouldn’t be a dentist shortage in the first place. You really don’t need to go see a dentist very often if you practice good oral hygiene. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

It's a bit all over the place here, I am an NHS patient but we have to pay privately for my husband and the kids at the same practice. We recently had to pay £3000 for my husband to have dental surgery under sedation as he had an extra 2 wisdom teeth deep that needed sorting as they were growing sideways towards his healthy teeth, so expensive! We keep meaning to put him on a monthly plan to include check ups etc but haven't sorted it yet.

I pay privately too.

I was taken off my usual NHS dentist list as I hadn't been for a few years and the nearest dentist was private. I live in a different town now so it's a bit out of the way but they have you over a barrel don't they!

I pay "Practice Plan" monthly; initially it was about £15/month but my teeth & gums were so bad I pay a bit more to have more hygienist sessions - every 3 months instead of every 6. £5/month extra to cover a £39 hygiene fee is definitely worth it.
The payment covers 2 check-ups and hygiene sessions, plus the additional hygiene sessions, and I get 10-15% off any private work.