If you have no access to NHS dentistry, what do you do?

[applegatebanana]

I live in a region with no NHS dentistry. There's no waiting lists to sit on etc. no dental hospitals. No NHS input for children etc. there just isn't any NHS dentists any more - you can get emergency input if you fit the criteria but it's just a patch up job until you see a proper dentist. We were kicked off the books around a year ago as they went totally private and thats the general theme for all here.

I need some dental work doing. I'm just trying to figure out what non NHS folk do?

Prices are around:
Appointment - £100
Hygienist - £85
X-rays - £75
Extraction - £325
Crown - £850
Filling £150-250

How do you pay for it? Is there something I'm missing? Dental insurance doesn't seem to be much of a thing and paying in instalments relies on good credit as it's a finance agreement which isn't something to take on easily.

They have a monthly cost you can pay but that just covers the check up / hygienist and for the 4 of us is over £100 per month and we'd still have to pay for all treatments as needed.

What do you do for private dental input?

Also, those who have private dental care provided by work, dont you pay for it through extra taxation (benefits) at the end of the year? I used to have private healthcare but it cost me nearly two and a half grand in benefit in kind tax.

I've had a few done already, the worst cracked ones and it's saved my upper left back teeth which were the worst, my dentist has a device that shows up fine cracks. I also have 4 dental implants. I get them done some years ago at an expert implant centre. The Brighton Implant clinic in Hailsham, they charge 1500 for an implant and mine have lasted well over 10 years. That's where I go for treatment, their prices are the same as going abroad more or less. The long drive is worth it.

I live somewhere that doesn't have NHS and a little bit can be claimed back in tax. There was a time when I needed some complex dental work and DD needed braces, dh then had an emergency situation. We have private health insurance but it doesn't cover dental. We were paying 1000s, in one year alone it was the second largest living expense to our mortgage, greater than groceries or utility bills. Thankfully all resolved now. If we has less money we would have had to choose between my discomfort and potential long term jaw damage and DDs smile. We would have managed but it would have been awful.

I think these things need to be highlighted sometimes on MN in all the 'UK is so awful everywhere else is better' posts. Living in a country that provides free or partially funded dental care is a huge privilege.

Pay private but go somewhere that takes the kids on the NHS. It might not be an option. but It's worth asking round in case any do this. They are not likely to advertise the fact so would need to speak to them.I would prioritise dentist visits over any non essential spend but appreciate that I'm privileged to have any non essential spend at all.

I try to wait and see my dentist in barcelona, about 30% cheaper than the uk and better skills etc....also have had work done in turkey and colombia, again so much cheaper and the skills and technololgy is way ahead of the uk..I looked at all the uk insurance policies and all were a waste of money, its cheaper to just pay as they dont cover major work and those practices with the insurance are usually pricey. A new private dentist opened near me and her prices are good value and there are offers each month. I am having 4 zirconium crowns in turkey this year, £140 each, uk price is about £650....also had composite bondng done in turkey and was £40 a tooth...excellent work. The best densits i have even seen was in colombia, i speak spanish but he speaks english and trained in the usa, his crowns were £40 and lasting well and uk dentists have mentioned how good his work his. Poland and hungary are also good places to visit and get work done, many friends have been. Uk dentistry is miles behind the countries i have listed, they dont have the latest technology and are more used to doing basic work.

That’s interesting I have a silver filling in a top tooth towards the rear but not all the way back.

I've had it maybe 7-8 years and that tooth has cracked my NHS dentist advised I have it removed and replaced with a white composite filling at cost of £250 (privately)

I’m currently saving up for this, as it wasn’t urgent not causing pain etc

So this is something I’ve been told too.

I am very fortunate to have an NHS dentist but they frequently recommend private treatments not covered on the NHS eg I had a root canal using some kind of different technique which was over £350 it was the middle option with the top one being £650

I do go to the hygienist also at £90 a visit for mine!
because the NHS appointments don’t offer scale and polish anymore (or at least I think they only do it when absolutely clinically necessary)

My df is 83 and has perfect teeth, despite not brushing them as a child! I have rubbish teeth and have always brushed them. Thankfully 3 of my 4dc have inherited their gf's teeth.

Private, £40 a check up and I believe I can have 2 x rays and 2 polish/scales (not hygienist) a year with that. I go every 6 months so luckily I can afford the £80 a year, there are many other things I’d go without before I’d stop going to the dentist. The kids are registered with the same dentist but on the NHS, thankfully.

I’m not in your situation as thankfully our dentist does offer NHS treatment as well as private.
Could you look further afield? I’d rather travel anything up to 1.5 hours away rather than pay private. Of course depending what you need NHS can be costly too x

Children up to the age of 18 are entitled to free NHS dental treatment! Therefore your dentist is taking the piss charging you for your teens!

We go abroad. We visit family once a year so we do all doctor appointments, checkups, blood tests etc there. It’s so much cheaper. We don’t have NHS dentists in our area and the GP doesn’t do routine overall health checkups, so we do it all abroad.

They do but only for about 3-4 teeth.

It's due to it not being cost effective for them to do it on NHS rates.

I should add I have an NHS dentist but have to travel 40 mins to see them. Even then apart from the most basic things everything else is private otherwise they won't do it.

They try to sign up people who need lots of treatment to their plan. Luckily I only need to go yearly and was given exact instructions by one of their previous receptionists not to get kicked off the books. The dentists in my own area regularly change to all private practices.

Xylitol. Put it in your coffee, chew gum, put it on fruit, give your kids xylitol lollies to suck. It helps to prevent dental issues and keeps existing ones at bay. Really helps with any gum swelling, I find.

Just keep it away from dogs.

Id also like to point out that even those with an NHS dentist, are not getting the treatment and are often referred to private. Because it seems they have a limited amount of nhs funding, they aren't doing anything that's not deemed as necessary.

I pay private for myself and my DC, and just have to suck it up. Luckily I've not had any major problems thus far.

I have to travel quite far for my nearest nhs dentist. It's in an awful and scary part of a town about 45 mins away. Luckily the dentist surgery itself is very clean, efficient and caring. But you wouldn't know that sort of thing could exist there while walking through the area. Before I managed to find it I went 7 years without seeing a dentist. 3/4 of one of my teeth even fell out but I couldn't get an appointment...

Check ups have been free in Scotland for years. Maybe your dentist isn't actually NHS. Do they do xrays or a scale and polish at the checkup? These would be chargeable but the actual check up not.

I have private dental through work, I sacrifice £36 of salary a month to cover both me and my DH, so definitely works out cheaper than paying private.

Our dental treatment is capped to £5k a year each, and our policy covers the full cost of treatments at our dentist.

I had lots of work done last year (root canal, crown, fillings) likewise my partner is prioritising getting work done this year to make the most of the benefit. So it definitely works out cheaper for us.

Private medical insurance is provided for separately, and I've used it so many times to get drs appointments, physios appointments, and most importantly for me, they cover IVF treatment!

I try and use a xylitol mouthwash after eating at home, and chew gum when I am out.

We had to go private in the end as our NHS dentist just had no dentists and after 3 years we didn’t want to wait any longer.
I spent hours researching the costs of every private dentist in my town and the next one and found one I’m happy with. Took the children as NHS patients and it’s £36 for a routine appointment and £68 for hygienist. Not paying a payment plan, just when we go which is annually. Prices differed massively, but the time spent searching through all of them has paid off.

I've started using that recently and swapped my toothpaste to biomin f which has massively helped sensitivity

For the pps who said they're considering going yo Turkey, I've a friend who's a dentist and she said she's done a lot of work fixing mistakes made by Turkish dentists, it's a really big risk to get work done out there.

If you want to go abroad, would you consider Hungary, Lithuania or other Eastern European country which is a member of the EU? Much better outcomes, still a lot cheaper.

If you have any tooth pain or broken teeth you can contact NHS111 and get an emergency nhs appointment through them, they rang me within a couple of hours and got me an appointment next day, it cost £73.50 for consultation, xrays and 4 tooth extractions

That is the thing.. the only treatment you are going to get is extraction if you go that route.
If you have a painful tooth in your smile line, then they will still pull it out and leave you to deal with the gap.

And yet I can’t get a local dentist to stop ringing and hassling me using various different numbers, texting, trying to get me to book an appointment for my two children who haven’t been since before Covid! (We all moved to a different NHS surgery to be in one place. )

I heard a rumour there was a local dentist taking on NHS and dropped everything to go over and sign up! Sorry, not answering your questions, but it’s absolutely ridiculous and will only get worse!

We probably live in the same area, OP.

I’ve been walking around with a broken tooth for a year. I have finally managed to register with an NHS dentist about 300 miles away (one of the closest accepting new patients). I am now eligible for free dental care (because I have cancer), so I’m hoping that when I feel well enough with my treatment to travel, I’ll take the train up and start getting my tooth fixed.