How do you get emergency dental treatment?

[Peaceplants]

DP hasn't had a dentist since his NHS closed to NHS patients, mainly because he hasn't managed to find one.

He's had tooth ache on and off for months and has gone on the waiting list for all the dentists that treat NHS patients in the area, but has heard nothing.

He's now in a lot of pain. Not really able to function in daily life, pain killlers having a limited effect.

111 have said it's not their role to find him an appointment, only to signpost him to practices which take NHS patients when they have spaces (which seems contarary to their website). He's tried all of them.

So is that it? We're a third world country and you just live in agony unless you can pay, or is he approaching it all wrong/asking the wrong people?

But he can afford to spend the £120 - isn't it worth it to at least get a diagnosis and a potential idea of what's wrong and what it will cost to get it fixed?

Spending months in pain on some kind of weird principle is silly behaviour. We'd all love free dental treatment but unfortunately that's not the world we live in so we have to make the best of the systems we do have.

Yes, he pays his taxes, but unless he is a very high earner, he will be taking out much more than he is paying in.

And if he is a high earner than he should go to pay privately like all high earners do despite paying so much in taxes.

It is amazing how many people will pay for a holiday or for operations for their pets but won't pay for their own healthcare.

Based on your update, your DH is not acting in his own best interests. The NHS has not offered the best in available dental treatment for ages. You can't rely on the NHS for timely medical treatment of any kind anymore. Do you think patients wait in corridors on trolleys in EU countries routinely like in UK? No because it is a mixed system. We have a failed system which rations care by artificial waiting lists. It is not fit for purpose. Waiting for quality NHS dentistry to miraculously appear is an exercise in futility. Ask your husband whose tooth is it? Would it kill him to pay to save his own tooth or relieve his pain? Would he also like an NHS free barber who has a next available appointment in 3 years' time?

Clinics that were run by the NHS with paid dentists has already been tried.

In general practice the amount paid , including patient contribution, patient treated per year is £36 , around 15 years ago when dental access centres were set up the cost per course of treatment was around £420 and more recently a centre set up by an ex chief dental officer was closed as it was costing £540 per course of treatment.

In general practice dentists do a lot of admin, practice management , maintainance of buildings and equipment unpaid , out of clinical hours . Because they are self employed training, sickness, holiday costs etc are paid by themselves . In a paid centre that is not the case and the running costs are closer to the true cost of dentistry .

post graduate studies will increase student costs considerably , £30,000 minimum for most courses done part time whilst still working plus costs of equipment etc for post graduate course. The length of course and lack of time to work (longer days and shorter holidays ) means dentists have higher student loans than most courses . There is no compunction on vets or doctors to work indentured and their costs of courses is same or more .

75% of dentists will never own their own practice , student loans , indemnity , insurance , registration, sickness insurance, locum insurance costs make it impossible to earn enough to get a loan to buy a practice as this already takes around 50% of pay . Add another £200,000 onto their student loans and they will not be able to afford a car or rent a flat or , in some cases, eat as you are giving them the equivalent of another mortgage to pay as it already takes 30 to 40 years to pay off student loan and interest (which adds up to more than the loan) . Dentists are not employed , they are self employed so they have no employer to “share costs”.

But £120 won't fix the problem, he needs to pay that to find out how much it will actually cost. Surely there must be many (most?) people who can't throw unlimited/unknown amounts of money at it.

Of course there is, but you've made it clear several times that you can afford it, you just don't think you need to pay because "taxes".

Firstly, it's not me who would be paying.

Secondly, he can afford £120. He possibly can't afford the treatment required to fix the problem, and he's reluctant to start something he can't follow through, potentially spending £120 and still being in pain. That can't be that hard to follow.

Your DH should just choose a local private dentist, and book a new patient appointment. Tell the dentist he is having tooth pain when asked if he’s having any problems. They will do a full check up, and X-rays for the cost of the appointment, and also let him know how much it will cost to sort out his tooth pain. It’s possible that he just needs a filling rather than him having an abscess. If it is an abscess, the dentist will initially prescribe antibiotics, which may solve the problem without his tooth needing to be removed.

As PP’s have said, paying for dental appointments is just part of life now.

Considering he doesn't know what the problem is yet, how can he possibly know he can't afford the treatment?

I'm not the one whose posts are hard to follow

If he just wants/needs an extraction, that is one of the cheapest procedures so he is just making excuses.

Also, if my DP was in pain and couldn't afford dental treatment but I could, there is no way I could sit back and let him suffer!

So do you go on holidays or have any pets or anything like that?

Do you literally have no money at all to spare for dental treatment?

Do you have Netflix or do you buy lots of clothes? Is there literally nothing you can cut back on to pay for the dental treatment?

I don't see he has a choice OP in all reality. I've always had the DC and myself at a private dental surgery as the NHS Dentist options offered locally was so poor. And honestly, if you go regularly, preventative care is far cheaper than complex fillings/treatment.

OP has said she can afford it but weirdly she doesn't seem to want to pay for her DP to be relieved of pain.

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/how-to-find-an-nhs-dentist-in-an-emergency/

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/how-much-nhs-dental-treatment-costs/

111 to get an emergency appointment (or Google for emergency dentists in your area). The cost depends on the work that needs doing ... A simple filling cost less than £30.

I had a tooth out at the end of last year, (albeit it was a baby tooth at 40) but it was £7! £7 is nothing. He could just need a simple extraction. If it was me I'd find the £120 and know exactly where I'm at. The chances are if it's that bad, it could be removed quite cheaply. I had 1 filling and 1 extraction. It was £150 for a white one and £70 for a metal one I think. I live somewhere that nhs dentists are easier to get though. Which is why I make sure we all go every 6 months. It sucks when we it should be free, I get it, but needs must

He just gets it pulled. No faffing around with treatment when he doesn't have a regular dentist

Its horrible to have a tooth out when it might be able to be saved, crowned, filled etc. I ‘d try to save a tooth at all costs.

The Ops husband doesn't agree. He's rather suffer and wait for a cheaper dentist. Which still costs unless he's on UC

It has to be said it maybe that OPs husband is frightened or worried about dental treatment . The fact that they have a problem that has been going on for some time without it being sorted and they haven’t got a regular dentist may mean it’s not just financial reasons for not getting treatment .

Many people are avoidant using a variety of ways to avoid treatment . The problem is dental problems don’t go away by themselves and only get worse leaving more extreme treatment with a dentist they don’t know when they are in pain , which is not an ideal way to get dental treatment.

You don’t have to be in a catchment area for a dentist you can travel anywhere so even if there are no NHS dentists in your area you can travel elsewhere for treatment .

With the recent updates front @Peaceplants, this had crossed my mind, too. However, you, as a dentist know far better than I that he is going to be in a lot more more pain and the cost of his treatment will be far higher the longer he puts it off. All I can say is that most of us do not relish the idea of dental treatment but the alternative is far worse. I am 61 and have always had regular dental checkups with the result that l mostly have good teeth with not many fillings. However, the unforeseen toothache l experienced last November was the first time I have ever had such pain. It was horrendous and I am still very grateful for the emergency dentist who treated me so promptly and in such a caring manner. Yes, it was very expensive as it was a private dental surgery and on a Sunday but worth every penny. My usual dentist is also very kind and l am happy to visit her. I think far too many people think that the dentist is judging them but the sooner they realise that the dentist is on their side and wants to help them achieve the best possible results, the better the outcome will be all round.

l'm sure everyone will be delighted to hear that he now has an NHS appontment this week, after working through the long list of possibles from the NHS website. Most said no, or a long waiting list but one has said they can see him on Thursday.

I'm glad he has something. If the tooth needs to come out try and get an extraction in that appointment, no point getting antibiotics just for the infection to come back, but that's probably what they'll do. Some dentists can be reluctant to extract same day due to limited time/only being able to charge emergency fee (lower than normal extraction fee, totally illogical but that's one of the reasons NHS dentistry is crap for dentists).

If he needs multiple teeth out try and get a referral on the oral surgery pathway so you just pay NHS band 2.

Also if he has problems with his teeth try and get some prescription toothpaste (duraphat 5000).

good luck