To think that adults are supposed to go to the dentist too?

Ask your dentist for which painkiller is best , but in general if you take a painkiller with an antiflammatory action around two hours before the proceedure and the dentist uses a local called articaine with a vasoconstrictor and leaves time for it to work even people who have difficulty numbing up will be numb.

We were lucky that we got accepted onto a new NHS list as when our dentist decided to go private, they gave us a discounted price of £120 per child for a check up!
And for myself they asked for £150! No way I could afford that! Just absolutely pure greed!!

@Lollygagglewhile you’re here, any numbing tips?! I’m a redhead and really struggled at the dentist this week, they just can’t seem to numb me enough. I had 4 injections and nothing and the filling was a replacement that was v shallow so I ended up telling them to do it even though I wasn’t numb
they asked if my lip felt different and nope

Why wouldn't they be serious about taking their own teeth out due to the lack of affordability of dental care? My FIL has done this several times and I know of several others who have done the same thing. If your only option is severe pain or doing it yourself, what would choose?

This often happens, the early work “loosens” the tooth so when someone else comes in out it pops . I have been both the person coming in and the person who had someone come in . It will have happened to most dentists.

The other dentists and it was a different one on each booking, who came in as I said dosed him up and teeth were out within 5 minutes this particular dentist does just seem rather lacking.

Luckily in our area hospital referral for dental work does see to only be a couple of months.

I have known several peopel to pull their own teeth out with pliers. They were that desperate.

I had a tooth out. Was very loose, and I could have pulled it out if it were not for the pain. The tooth was healthy, but my bone was not. My tooth had twisted out of position and was sticking out of my mouth. I was not eligible to have it removed as an emergency under the NHS because I was not in pain or had a severe infection. I had to go private and pay £180 for the privilege.

I'm not in the UK and we have to pay to visit a dentist. So yes, while we should be going to the dentist regularly, many don't due to the cost and it seems that is the situation for some in the UK also.

It stops ‘mattering’ so much because many people simply cannot afford it.

The lack of NHS dentistry is a national crisis - lots of people are finding their lovely NHS dentists are retiring and are then told they simply no longer have a dentist. So you join a 5 year long waiting list for a new NHS dentist. In the meantime - no dentist.

Meanwhile, you have ever rising costs of living on wages that are not increasing and most people find that no, they can’t afford £100 - each - just for a check up once every 6 months.

The problem with a rotten tooth , it’s not the rotten part that causes the problem , it’s the root and leaving it behind normally causes problems when it’s a diy job because of the trauma caused .

Your child’s experience goes to show that you can’t always predict what teeth will be easy or what will be a problem. In general the teeth you remove for braces, in a young person are normally very easy .

Also referring to hospital normally means a wait of months to years . Sometimes no matter how experienced you are teeth will take you by surprise.

Not been to the dentist since our NHS dentist went private during covid. Managed to get ds in an nhs one in a town 30 mins drive away but they were only accepting children for new patients.

Heathy teeth hard to pull but one half rotten though I think most could manage though likely to leave the root.

My oldest is petrified of his dentist after she tried for over 30 minutes per tooth to remove some for braces and having to get another dentist in. Then she managed to damage his braces at a routine check up. I feel he will be an adult that doesn’t go till it’s half rotten due to experience like this. I also in a way wouldn’t blame him because four teeth being pulled at each for such a long time and then her failing every single one has taught him there are clearly unskilled dentists. He should
of been referred to hospital
or just had a more experienced dentist after her first two fails. The second dentists were giving out numbing injections like candy because she had been rooting around so long and hard.

I can't afford to go to a private one just for the hell.of it and ditto for the hygienist.

It's because its expensive. When kids were little and I had free NHS dental care, I went religiously. Teeth were wonderful. My kids got to adulthood without needing any treatment, only check ups. I then started work and am over any help threshold. I can not afford to go unless its crucial. Ludicrous situation for a country that has 'free' healthcare at point of delivery..except dental.

@Lollygaggle as a child I watched my dad pull one by dropping a weight over the door. It was half rotten though, so you're probably right.

Unless your teeth are so loose a cough would bring them out , believe me you cannot pull your own tooth out .

Unfortunately over the years I have seen some horrific consequences where people have attempted to take their own teeth out, mostly due to fear of the dentist.

Despite being a dentist for many decades , having all the equipment , training and ability to numb people up really effectively , there have still been teeth that are more of a struggle than you would anticipate.

I haven't been to the dentist since I was about 13 (over twenty years ago). Haven't needed anything doing since then (knock on wood). As pp said, I can pull my own teeth if it comes down to it.

I go every 6 months because I am very very lucky to have an nhs dentist. But most adults i know who don't go it isn't through choice we have a serious lack of dentists where I live and nhs dentists are like gold dust.

Hygienist cleaning doesn’t prevent fillings , that’s down to diet.

What cleanings do is
a get rid of tartar
b show you how to clean effectively

if you clean effectively you will no longer need cleanings/hygiene visits .
If you keep the number of times a day you eat or drink sugar/starch then you won’t need fillings.

I used to go to the dentist years ago, they made me see the hygienist every time and my teeth felt more and more sensitive every time I went so I ended up stopping going.

I haven't been in 30 years now apart from once when I was pregnant, but then I had to travel over an hour to see an NHS dentist.

I don't know why i needed my teeth cleaning every time when I've managed to go 30 years without a filling. I think often it's all just a rip off tbh which is why I'm not bothered on going.

I thought the same about my area, but a couple of months ago I found that one practice was taking on a limited number of NHS patients and got lucky.

It was very timely, as I developed toothache around 10 days ago and need some root canal work done.

She gives them a polish every visit and a through clean every 2-3 depending on need. Only ever had 1 filling and I’m nearly 40 so I guess they are fine. I don’t ever remember seeing the dentist through school but mum took me every 6m- 1year from the time I was a pre schooler. My 3 year old goes every 6m.

I think it’s important to know that , historically, for many decades no more than 50% of the U.K. population visited the dentist , even when it was easy to obtain a NHS dentist .

As a previous poster pointed out non attendance has many factors and for a substantial proportion of the population they have never, regularly , attended a dentist.

£120 if everything is fine.
Some people are pulling their own teeth out because they can't access a dentist. They could be paying into the £Ks to save those teeth if they went private.

I think the problem is that people know there will be work needed that they cannot afford at which point you’re wasting £27 when you cannot afford the £300 tooth being pulled or the root canal.