Dentist - NHS or private?

[popapoppadum]

Reading this morning about the lack of NHS provision for dental treatment. I'm interested to see how many people are already going private and what your experience has been compared to NHS.

I had a great nhs dentist in London which I found pretty quickly, we moved back up north a few years ago and I couldn’t find an nhs one in the area ( or further away - I was willing to travel up to one hour!)
I ended up going private - luckily never needed much done, so can’t comment on the cost.

I’ve always liked how quickly I can get an appointment with private dentistry v nhs.

We have recently moved ( still up north) and have gone private again at a different practice - no nhs dentists at all within an hour away.
I need both my fillings replaced, it will cost just under £400. I’m getting one done next month and the other one will need to wait till the following month.

I’m pregnant and it would have been nice to get the free dental care generations before me had access to, but that’s just the way it is now.

I used to work on the NHS but now work privately.
The service and quality of care we provide privately is so much better, it’s like another world.
NHS I had to do exam, x rays and a clean in 15 minutes. Privately I have that for the exam and x rays and they see the hygienist for 30 minutes. More time to spend on the exam and communication with the patient, better scale and polish as more time spent.
I used to book 20-30 minutes for fillings, now I book 45 or more. Not a rush job and more time taken to achieve a good result.
For crowns my lab bill was £30. Now it is £200. Guess which crowns fit and look better.
You get what you pay for in life.
NHS dentistry is dead, Tony Blair dealt a blow in 2006 and Covid on top was too much.

Im an nhs patient however the surgery also has private patients too.
as an NHS patient I feel the treatment is probably the same as private but I can never get an emergency appointment as NHS they only let private patient have those.
I’ve been in the worst pain and really struggled to be seen despite have a dropped face and infection and considered going private just so I’m not in that agony in the future 😫
nhs patients are low down the priority at my surgery.

My dental practice went private about 15 or so years ago, we stayed with it and DS was able to stay as NHS patient until age 21. DH and I have dental plans for check ups and hygienist and get 20% off price for other treatment with the plan. My plan is about £22 a month for 2 check ups and 2 hygienist and X-rays if needed and I think DH's is about £15 a month as his teeth are much better and he doesn't need hygienist, dentist does a quick clean at his check up.

I was able to go to the dentist as normal through Covid apart from the short time between March and June 20 iirc when the government closed all dentist down apart from a few hubs.

I have always been able to get an emergency appointment if needed very quickly. The cost is not too high considering other things in life we have to pay for like getting the car fixed or people to do the house, why would I not want to pay my dentist yet pay for my cars service.

We are NHS. No difference to private really but can take longer. We are so lucky though. I guard it carefully and always make sure I go regularly to avoid being removed from the lists.

My actual dentist changes a lot though - I think they don't stay long there.

Yes, my dental costs are probably about the same as maintaining my car costs, £200-£300 a year for routine servicing and mot and if I am unlucky something else that may cost a lot of money, dentist costs about the same but people don't moan so much about having their car fixed.

I'm with Denplan and pay £22 a month...I get 2 dentist appointments a year and 4 hygienist appointments....I'm in my 60s and had some gum disease which is now under control.
Not had any treatment ie fillings crowns etc for over 25 years

I am with a private dentist practice. I did try to swap to a NHS one a few years ago but it wasnt any cheaper. But they do offer NHS for under 18.

A few years before that I was with a different private dentist practice who worked on his own and he retired but offered a membership to regular patients which was slightly cheaper, he however charged for under 18's.

I actually had an NHS dentist but voluntarily came off their books to go private.

I had the NHS dentist but saw a hygienist privately. I did the obligatory once a year check up with the dentist but he literally only counted my teeth then said "see you in 12 months" every time. Not exaggerating, but I was in the chair for five minutes each time.

So I eventually took myself and my kids off their books and signed up to the private dentist. The difference is ridiculous. I didn't know that I'd been grinding my teeth, for example, until I started paying for a proper service. Examination is now detailed and thorough 🙄🤔

Interesting you bring this up.

I had a check up with my NHS dentist yesterday. I've been with the surgery for years, and am lucky enough I managed to get my husband in and my kids as NHS patients.

Anyway, when I went to book my next appointment the receptionist told me my dentist is now fully private, do I want to go private or book with an NHS dentist?!

I have pretty good teeth as do the rest of the family and we all have check ups every 6 months, when treatment has been needed we have never waited more than a week or two.

@EthanJames13 not sure anyone in the UK is likely to travel to Ohio for dental care.

Yes, this goes without saying. You even get a cup of tea if you want 😁