Would any dentists on here be able to help me help my phobic DH please?

[Clownwithafrown]

He had some fairly horrific dental experiences as a child and has been terrified and avoidant of dentists ever since. Late 40's now, ex smoker and his teeth are starting to cause him serious problems, he's in constant pain. We're also absolutely skint right now (very recent, unexpected change in circumstances and we're still trying to get back on our feet) so any sort of private treatment is out of the question.

He has managed to have treatment 3 times in the 20-odd years I've known him and he's had IV sedation each time, the last time was through an NHS sedation clinic and unfortunately it didn't work as well as the other two occasions (both with private dentists) and he's lost confidence in sedation now. He isn't registered with a dentist at all now so I have no idea where to even start to help him but I can't watch him in pain anymore.

I feel like what he really needs is a referral to the dental hospital (we're near Birmingham) and for them to put him under GA and do what work is necessary to get him out of pain but I don't know how to make that happen or whether it's even an option. Can anyone help, I can't stand seeing him in so much pain.

Would he see the GP to get the referral started (if they can do that)

Might be worth asking the GP about a referral for CBT therapy to help him get to a place where he can visit the dentist in future. Alongside asking GP for a referral to a specialist clinic or hospital. Or maybe get him to register with a dentist and explain the situation to them to see what they suggest? The dentist can probably refer to a specialist of some sort who will be able to help in this situation. Fingers crossed.

The best place for your husband to be seen would be in a community clinic. In most areas only dentists can refer to a community clinic and the wait may be anything from a few months to three years , possibly more if he wants GA .

This is the case for everyone as everyone on the waiting list will be in pain.

In other words the only way to progress his treatment is to see a dentist first to have his needs assessed. If he is in acute pain you can ring 111 for emergency dental treatment and some centres may be able to refer him on to community but most will not be able to do that. You need to book him a check up at a NHS dentist , you may need to travel some distance but keep ringing. The longer he waits the more likely he is to be in the worst of all worlds , ie have an emergency need that needs to be sorted with no possibility of sedation or GA. If he sees someone soon at least he will be on the pathway to to get his teeth sorted out.

The best option is for him to see a dentist, even if he is too nervous to let them in his mouth.

There will be an NHS community dental clinic for patients like him but generally they will only accept referrals from a dentist.

So he needs to see a normal dentist to get the ball rolling.

He needs to see a normal dentist first……even a private one…..they then assess as needing complex care due to his phobia and they can then refer to the community dentist which is nhs……in out area the community dentist has a 2 year waiting list ( unless it’s an under 16) …..a dental hospital would not be appropriate and you would not get a referral to one unless a dentist refers as needing surgical treatment /more complex dental care such as jaw surgery

Do try going to the GP, I did that for my dental phobia and got referred for CBT which really helped. Ultimately I needed to find a dentist who specialised in phobia but the CBT got me a long way and helped me understand the root of the phobia (also from childhood experiences but helped me narrow down the actual trigger), that's helped me explain to dentists what I need in place to be comfortable with treatment.

Thanks all, unfortunately it was the community dentist where he had the last lot of IV sedation and he says he felt everything so no chance of getting him back there which is why I wondered about the dental hospital. Will speak to him about CBT, thanks for that idea.

No dental hosptial is going to take on a person with a phobia….that’s not what they do….I have known our dental hospital lightly sedate patients and do a deep clean and polish and any work needed …,this was for people with severe learning disabilities who lacked capacity and whose mouths needed to be prised open as they were unable to open them themselves…..this decision was made by the mdt as a best interests decision……maybe try a private dentist….explain the situation first…….nothing to lose

Dental hospital will not accept a referral for nervous patients , it is not part of their remit , the community service are the service for that.

Community are the experts in sedation and GA and are the service whose remit dental phobic patients are.

The first port of call is a check up , the sooner the better as this will all take a lot of time to get through the system. Otherwise your husband may end up in an emergency situation where he has no control over how or where he is treated eg on holiday etc . Better to get started now whilst he can have some control over the process.

He’s already been under the community dentist….it didn’t work out

I understand this , but if private is out of the question , dental hospital will not accept the referral then community is the only option he has, particularly if he is adamant he will only accept a general anaesthetic as they are the only service that will provide it for nervous patients . The advantage is they will have a record of his difficult sedation in the past .

In some areas there is a tier two service for sedation ie some dental practices have funding to provide sedation , but this is to allow them to eg take out wisdom teeth, not to provide fillings etc .

If you had the funds for private options then it’s a different matter but if you are going NHS you have to use the only solution they provide.