Nhs Dental care is abysmal?

[pumpkinsweetie]

So here we are a family of 7, no vechile and cannot get an nhs dentist anywhere in our are.
We cannot afford to go private as it is extortion. So me and dh have what we think is an abscess each and we cannot get anyone in the area to accept new nhs patients and dentaline are always to busy to offer us an appointment

So tonight dh is screaming in agony and I phoned dentaline Again, only to be told they are too busy again, so I tried 111 who are basically useless as a chalk in a swimming pool, and tried to refer him back to dentaline, of course we explained no appointments were available, so half hour later a clinician phoned us back and again useless, cannot help him in any way, just the useless info of trying all the painkillers he has already tried and failed
as he has previously mentioned.
He asked whether the hospital would help him, apparently no he mustn't go there. He is now rocking back and forth and screaming and nothing is working.

When did our Nhs dentistry get so useless, that someone has to sit and suffer in extreme agony possibly with an abscess without any help??
Disgusting, aibu to be extremely peeved, and anyone any advice what to do with extreme dental pain? tia

Go to A and E

Crikey - what a terrible situation for you to be in. Very sorry I have no useful advice to offer except to say if it was me I'd go to A & E and the hell with being told not to. Hope you get sorted.

He has now gone up for a bath, hoping the hot water calms him. If he starts screaming again, then to hell with it, I'm calling him a taxi to A &E.

a&e without a doubt.

also, when me and ds moved to our location, we just turned up at a local dentist and asked for forms to be added to their books as nhs patients! they looked a little bit taken aback, but gave us the forms (I was pregnant at the time and I don't think they wanted to turn me away haha)
you could try that? just go into the nearest one and say you need nhs dental care. cheeky but it might work

Go to the Emergency Room. They can at least give him antibiotics and pain medication.

An untreated infection can be very dangerous, as well as being hideously painful - please insist your DH be seen, even if you have to turn up at A&E. I don't think I'm being overdramatic by trying to push the point that an infection in your head can be disastrous.

It's a shame you couldn't get to see a dentist, and even though it might not be the most appropriate first port of call for a dental issue in typical situations, as you have tried and genuinely can't get to a dentist, go to A&E anyway, to ensure that you get seen by someone.

Out of hours dentist stop at 10pm usually.What time did you call?

I phoned dentaline at 8pm. He has gone to A and E now as the pain is unbearable. I have told him to be polite, but explain that there is no dental care available so he has had no option.
Told him not to leave there until they have prescribed him antibiotics.

I was in the same situation this week OP. Decided to phone private dentists as really phobic about dentists & find NHS ones just too rough & rude with nervous patients.

Anyway, to the point, found a private one to take a look same day, dreading the bill at the end but came to £43.00 including the antibiotics.

Thought that was comparable to NHS dentistry prices & not too steep (though hopelessly out of touch with charging bands)

Might be worth comsidering to treat your own abscess?

Hope your DH gets sorted & out of agony quick!

Oh, one last thought, putting a piece of garlic & a couple of cloves around the affected tooth really helped me before i could get to dentist, garlic stings like hell & tastes worse like that but worked well.

Where I live A&E just give the dentaline number. They won't see you for dental issues at all. I really hope that won't happen in this case. Here there's no nhs dentist and dentaline appointments are nowhere near where I live so must pay private (and for the antibiotics too). I was able to get a loan last time, dread any problems again.

I hope it works out for him OP.

I found teabags on the area worked well (wierd I know but it helped!)

Can you go private and get cover with denplan? They give discounts for relatives
I think I pay £12 a month

I agree with A&E. No dental work can be performed until the infection is cleared, so at a minimum he can get antibiotics and pain relief in the interim.

I live in a country without any social dental care at all, having access to some sort, even sub-standard, is a pipe dream for us...

fgs, he comes home and no antibiotics, just morphine shot and sent home. So wtf are we supposed to do tomorrow?

Any dentist you can turn up at, any that offer OOH services? I know my dentist would never leave someone in pain, whether they were his patient or not

A+E are not dentists. I went to zero dental lectures at medical school and any GP or A+E doctor worth their salt will have nothing to do with teeth as they don't know what they are talking about.

Dentist is the only option.

There are emergency dentists, you need to give NHS choices or whatever it's now called a ring and ask them but if you have a NHS walk in centre that you can get to, that will sort it. Where about in the UK are you and I'll take a look? Other NHS dentists should see him as an emergency.

Not sure what dentaline is, is it different in different areas of the country?

Here in Yorkshire when DH had something similar, up all night rocking back and forth and whinging and crying in agony unable to sleep, quick call to emergency dentist and he got an appointment two days later. Granted, he had to travel to a hospital about 20 miles away by train but he wasn't bothered tbh! At that point I think he'd have walked to London to get the damn thing fixed.

Likewise when I wasn't with a dentist I had a tooth at the back snap in half, hurt so bad... Called emergency dentist and got an appointment with a dentist up the road within four days, pulled it out.

Is dentaline the same as emergency dentist?

So you both know you have dental problems and leave it until one of you is screaming in agony to seek help? And only realised you needed urgent care when it was already out of hours?

Oh, and once the pain is like that antibiotics won't touch it for 48 hours. You both need to see an actual dentist. Going to a&e is like going to a dentist when you've broken your leg.

Google local emergency dentist. There will be something open on a Saturday morning. Don't expect a freebie. The dentist will probably be coming in especially as will their nurse who they will have to pay overtime. Leaving their families for someone who has not even been a regular patient and could easily have sought care during office hours.

OP I Hope you Intend getting your tooth sorted properly before you end up in the state your DH is in.

I hope he gets help soon.

I wouldn't recommend turning up at a dentist as a way of definitely getting taken on as NHS patients.

If people turn up to us wanting to register we give the forms too..but only if we are accepting NHS patients, whether pregnant or not. If we aren't then we would say no.sorry.

Also not strictly true that no dental work can be performed until infection cleared.

Are you in the South East?

www.nhs.uk/Services/Trusts/Dentists/DefaultView.aspx?id=89770

What you could do is try to call one of these to see if there's one who will see him. Not all dentists are mean so there will be one. Good luck!