What do you do if you can't afford private dentist care?

[Avelandra]

Just that really. I recently broke a tooth. It's not causing me any pain, but I need to get it sorted sooner rather than later so it doesn't get any worse. I also have a couple of other bits that need doing, like getting a bridge that I never got round to having a few years ago. My old practice has closed down so I am unable to go there.

I have contacted 18 local dentists, all of which have said they aren't taking on NHS patients but I am welcome to join them privately. If I go for private, I imagine it's going to cost me over £1k in total which I just can't afford. I tried the Dental Access line but wasn't eligible for help from them as I didn't fit the criteria

Sounds like you're going to have to find coping strategies til you can get to the top of a list of an NHS dentist. I lived with a broken tooth for a long long while before it started hurting, through phobia and the fact it wasn't bothering me for ages (I got lucky with an NHS dentist when it did start hurting thankfully) so my top tips although pretty obvious would be:

Try not to use that tooth for anything challenging to eat. Although my teeth are worn unevenly now so maybe not the best advice in that sense. Treat it like a sensitive tooth just to give it some help.

Colgate cavity prevention toothpaste may or may not have helped keep the broken bit slightly more robust.
If you do get occasional pain with it the nurofens that melt on your tongue can be pressed against the offending gum and took pain away for me better than a tablet. I didn't get on with the tooth pain creams that you can buy but they are another option.
I am not a dentist and have no skill in this area but these are the things I did to manage until I got the push to get my dodgy tooth sorted.

Might there be other dentists you could try? Could you ask on a local Facebook group?

We had one in Leeds that always accepted nhs patients, I think it tended to get new dentists doing a couple of years and then moving on. Anyway. It was the other side of the city to us, so I wouldn’t have thought to contact them, but a friend mentioned them.

They are not cheap to buy but I find that the waterpik is a good investment, I use it three times a day with salt water and I feel my gums and teeth are a lot healthier as a result
I have this one
www.waterpikukonline.co.uk/countertop-units/6-nano-water-flosser-wp-250.html

@PlanDeRaccordement

Honestly, it’s something you should budget for. Many dentists have dental plans where you pay a set amount each month and that covers the check ups, x rays and cleanings. Then there is usually a % discount off dental work like fillings, extractions, crowns, etc. In addition, they usually have plans for this additional work where you can pay it off interest free. You’d have to be on very low income, low enough for free care under NHS to not be able to “afford” it. I was a student in my twenties earning only £350/mo, paying £135 in rent, £55 in bus fares, £50 in bills, and £50 in food and I still managed to save up the money to have my wisdom teeth extracted.

Most people just don’t think about setting aside a £35-50 a month for dental savings.

We used to save for health costs but I’ve now had virtually no income for a year (excluded for government support ) so we are down to bare minimum of everything yet not entitled to help with Health costs because my husbands job is enough for us to live off (apparently).

When we moved all the dentists were full. We found one about a half an hour drive away and go there now. Annoying as there are several walkable from ours but they are all full.

[quote Avelandra]@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut I don't know if the dentist will know that I've lied about being in pain? It's just the surface currently, so no exposed root or anything and isn't causing pain yet[/quote]
I’m in a similar position. At 42 my wisdom teeth have decided to grow and are starting to be uncomfortable. We can’t afford any more dental care as the last two are already filling my credit card (dd2 root canal and dh fillings).

As @SpiderinaWingMirror said. We had a very unfair dental system now that only the reasonably well off can afford. My DD has been on the NHS waiting list for 3 years now for a brace and she is high category for needing one. I've had to drip into our savings to the tune of £3,500 for her braces as we have been told she will have to wait another 12 months at least on the NHS.
A good friend had work done and they allowed her to pay in monthly installments, which made it affordable for her, but if you don't have the spare cash then there is nothing to be done. Honestly its crap.

Putting aside money each month for a dental plan if you could afford it and if it covered the cost of treatment, would seem, on the face of it, to be a good idea. However, the dental plan covers two check ups and two hygienist appointments per year. Treatment usually has something like a ten percent reduction in cost, but that’s it.

It isn’t helpful to tell the OP she should put aside money she doesn’t have each month. I do t have any answers I’m afraid. Last year, I had a loose crown and a broken tooth, which ended up with many visits to a private dentist and an extraction, two crowns and a side plate. I put it on a credit card, so will be paying for ages. Like you, OP, I wasn’t in pain, so was told it wasn’t an emergency, but because both sides of the mouth were affected, I couldn’t eat, apart from soup.

I feel for you OP, but don’t have any wise words I’m afraid.

Plan I pay NI and am in Westfield chs top tier, still can't afford the work I need doing that's caused and exacerbated by a health condition.
Should I be saving on top of the two savings?
tit

I really feel for you OP, I had to get private treatment a few years ago after falling over in the snow and breaking a front tooth. Even the payment plan was eye watering and lots of it went on a credit card which I'm still paying off as I couldn't afford it but needed doing. I managed to get registered with a private dentist under NHS care but have no had a check up or appointment with them so worried that I've fallen off the register again, now pregnant and will need to register my child once they're here and I don't think this dentist is accepting new NHS patients so it's causing a lot of anxiety.

It really comes from a place of privilege to say 'just set money aside' when you're on the bones of your arse and one big bill can literally see you homeless, it must be lovely to have never been in a position like that. I only assume Plan would never have been in that position as anyone who had been would show some empathy and understanding towards OPs situation, and would never be so offensive and tone deaf on a thread.

I'm unsure if anyone else has linked to this but if you've contacted all your local dentists and no luck then contact NHS customer contact. They will be able to advise

www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/how-to-find-an-nhs-dentist/

Would you consider a private extraction and then getting a bridge at a later date?
I m on maternity at the moment but it was impossible to get an NHS dentist place so stuck with my usual one and got them to take it out before the pain got even worse.

What about a chain like my Dentist? Can pay monthly.

They won't know whether you're in pain or not and it's better to be sorting this before it hurts than when you're in agony.

@1990shopefulftm I want to try an avoid an extraction if possible. It's currently at the stage of only needing a filling, but obviously I need to try and sort it soon before it gets any worse

@Rover83 that's really helpful, thank you. I will contact them later

@IndecentFeminist paying monthly doesn't help if you can't afford the monthly payments

Write to your MP.

Nothing to lose.

Such an awful situation to be in.

Private is your only option in many parts of the country. As people have said the costs vary hugely, look for an area that is ‘poorer’ and the private costs tend to be more reasonable. Often they will also prioritise treatment for you, so that you only do what is essential. If you’ve lived without the bridge is it essential or could you save up? If it’s not painful the broken tooth might only need a small filling. Dental pain is so awful that I’d prioritise the dentist over practically everything else

My private dentist was cheaper than the NHS one my kids went to - she was seeing me privately with the promise of going on her NHS list in about six months until she told me I needed about five fillings at a cost of something like £850!
I went back to my old private dentist who doesn't do NHS at all and he told me I only needed two fillings at a cost of about £150 for the white ones. He couldn't understand how the other dentist was justifying five.
Is it possible to get a second opinion about how much work you need doing?
I feel for you, it's so poor that the government doesn't fund it properly. Everyone should be able to access proper NHS dental care in their local area.

@PlanDeRaccordement

Honestly, it’s something you should budget for. Many dentists have dental plans where you pay a set amount each month and that covers the check ups, x rays and cleanings. Then there is usually a % discount off dental work like fillings, extractions, crowns, etc. In addition, they usually have plans for this additional work where you can pay it off interest free. You’d have to be on very low income, low enough for free care under NHS to not be able to “afford” it. I was a student in my twenties earning only £350/mo, paying £135 in rent, £55 in bus fares, £50 in bills, and £50 in food and I still managed to save up the money to have my wisdom teeth extracted.

Most people just don’t think about setting aside a £35-50 a month for dental savings.

The ignorant if this is just staggering. I know very few people - especially right now - who can afford to save £50 a month per adult for dental treatment, or anything else for that matter. Your sneery post helps nobody.

I live on an island. There have been no dentists taking on NHS patients for many years now, sucks.

I paid monthly for private dental care for years. I then moved house and joined a new practice. They told me that there were problems with my teeth - £1500 worth of problems. I’d been paying around £30 a month for dental care up to then and going for 6 monthly appointments where I was told my teeth were fine. I’m now on long term sick so can’t afford private or NHS - the system is so broken...

IME either you find some magic money or you don't get the work done in areas where they don't have enough NHS provision, there is no preventative work or anything so either it doesn't get worse and eventually you have the money to have it fixed or get to the top of a NHS waiting list, or it does get worse and you have an emergency extraction. Lots of people I know have had to have emergency extractions which could have been fillings, root canals, crowns etc. But no nhs dentist means they had to wait until it had got much more serious

I’m an nhs patient and my treatment for broken teeth, a cap, teeth rebuilt etc has cost me a pretty Penny since I’ve been with the practice these last 4 or 5 years.

I don’t qualify for free treatment

I don't really have any advise either but we're in the same position! No NHS dentists taking adults here, not even waiting lists. I had to have an extraction yesterday which was the result of an emergency appointment covered by my maternity (thankfully) it was over in seconds but very uncomfortable and I know I need other work doing but I'll probably end up enduring the same thing in a few years.

I contacted several dentists and Healthwatch as you're directed to do via NHS Website but they couldn't help either. They just said they're aware it's a local and national problem. They did find one dentist taking on children but fortunately I found one for them a while ago. It's a proper plop situation 😒