I’m an NHS dentist…

I volunteer on a helpline for dentists .

The suicide and burnout rate is very high .

You are more likely to be sued in the U.K. than anywhere else in the world , the regulator the GDC is far harder on dentists than other professional regulators and dentists are terrified of the GDC.

UK dentistry is the most highly regulated in the world . A practice can be inspected by over 50 bodies.

You are doing microsurgery, on a conscious patient , whilst running a team of people and a business. You are contorting your body into difficult positions to do the job .

Anxious , nervous patients have a physical effect on dentists blood pressure and heart rate.

Most dentists cite pressure to run on time one of most stressful parts of job. You spend hours in a small room with no breaks . Particularly in NHS work the time pressure is intense and you see many patients in a day .

The financial pressures are immense , young graduates graduate with over £80,000 debt , then pay indemnity ,registration, CPD etc and particularly on the NHS will often struggle to make ends meet with student loans etc taking over half their pay.

The general public and media have a pathological hatred of dentists , there are very few good stories about the profession.

Many want to leave the profession or the country as dentistry in the U.K. is a particularly toxic place to be at the moment.

Can a person live happily / healthily for say 20-30 years without going to the dentist. Asking for a friend 👀

How do I explain to the dentist as a grown woman that the reason I’ve been avoiding the dentist is that I’m scared I’ll be told off for not going sooner? (A teeth broke and then further… kept breaking)

Apart from prescriptions, opticians, wigs etc…

The thing that baffles me about dentistry is everything else on the NHS is “charge? Nope, don’t be stupid” except “oh it’s your teeth? Nope, you’ll have to pay for that!”

This will very much depend on how tolerant your children are of dental treatment as braces will not be done if someone has difficulty tolerating treatment .

yes there are dentists who specialise in treating children with special needs but braces are done by orthodontists and unless a child can co operate with extractions and intensive treatment , impresssions etc over 18 month period brace work may not be appropriate.

I’m sorry to hear that, I can imagine it’s sadly a very thankless job. I’m an ICU nurse so I understand the idea of never meeting anyone on their best day but I at least get the thanks and gratitude in the end! My understanding is that dentist (and anaesthetists I believe) are the careers with the highest depression and suicide risk. Why do you think this is? I was discussing with a colleague (an anaesthetist) and they said they thought it was about accessibility of drugs and the mental toll of always delivering pain and fear to people. Does this ring true to you? Do you see this mental toll on your colleagues?

Thank you for what you do!

No. You get paid when you see them if they’re routine patients

It is completely impossible to get an NHS dentist where I live. When I was pregnant I wasn’t registered with a dentist, but my midwife told me I could get free NHS dentistry. I duly signed up to the waiting list of pretty much every dentist in my county, followed them all up repeatedly… and 5 years later gave in and paid for private for me and my two kids.

I stopped going to my NHS dentist because I felt their treatment options lacked transparency. I was made to feel like an imposition when I sat in the chair so I got up and left. My family see a private dentist near us now. I so far have not been back to see one private or otherwise. I am not sure I trust dentists.

Do you get paid for having NHS patients on your books?

My children technically have an NHS dentist but for the past two years every appointment that has been made has been cancelled.

Are they being paid for this?

If you need surgery then it is a problem with your undying jaw relationship. Thumb sucking/dummies might make it a bit worse but it would always have been a problem .

My NHS dentist is fantastic. I have been a patient there for 20+ years and I’m a very happy customer. The team there are friendly, flexible, helpful and genuinely a pleasure to deal with. They make the useless shambolic local GP practice look like amateurs.

The partners who set up the practice sold out to a corporate a few years ago, but the service is still excellent. Long may they prosper.

Yes you're quoting people, like this ☝️. You could also @ the poster you're replying to, that sends them a notification, quoting doesn't, quoting is just for showing anyone reading the thread which message you're replying to. So doing @Booyahh is also an option x

Where I am, non of the 15 dentists I could get to are taking on adult patients, some have put me on their waiting lists, but most won't even do that. I ring round ever 6 months or so but haven't been able to get on anyone's books since covid (my old one took me off their books because lock down, then big catch up waiting list meant it got to two years without seeing them, even though it wasn't through choice). Fortunately I did manage to get one to accept the DC.

I was registered with a NHS dentist but they decided to go private. I couldn't afford their fees.

I've not had a dentist for a couple of years now as nobody is taking on new NHS patients.

I have a small hole in a tooth where part of a filling fell out, but I can't afford to have the treatment to fix it.

If it helps I like going to the dentist, so much so I’m paying privately to have fixed braces next month at the grand old age of 41!

What options are there to support autistic children who have overcrowding and need braces (including some extractions)? I’ve been told this is likely treatment for two of my children in the next few years. Are there paediatric dentists who specialise in SEN?

Admittedly my dentist is private but sees the children as NHS patients. He’s also lovely and I’m perfectly happy to pop along and have a catch up with him every six months. It’s definitely not on my hate list.

No it means you have plaque, tartar , bleeding and some gum disease . Ask your dentist/hygienist how to improve your cleaning regime.

@Booyahh Thank you for starting this thread. Did my thumb sucking as a child cause my 1.5cm overjet as an adult?

I had twin block braces which corrected this when I was 11, but they slipped back and now I need surgery as an adult.

I think I stopped sucking my thumb when I was about six, and I can't stop blaming myself for causing this.

(My parents did stop me sucking my thumb by getting nail varnish that tasted horrible)

Most NHS treatments lose the practice money , in other words the dentist pays for your treatment . It’s the private side that subsidises the NHS which is why practices have to do more and more private work to keep the lights on . https://www.bda.org/media-centre/nhs-dentistry-treasury-now-no1-roadblock-to-saving-service/

It’s the only part of the NHS where the practitioners have to pay for patients treatment!