to be confused about the dentist...

[funnysmells]

I have a tax credits exemption certificate, and have always had my dental treatment from free because of that, which is great as because I am a diabetic I have gum disease and it's a constant battle to keep it under control and requires quite frequent treatment / scaling etc. to keep it at bay.

Having moved to London, I was told that although my dental treatment is free, to have the cleaning / scaling and sometimes root planing treatment that I need, i need to visit the hygenist - and that this person is not covered by my NHS exemption certificate.

This treatment is very expensive. Was £300 last week for root planing, that was medically necessary.

AIBU to think it's a bit out of order for the dentist to not perform this treatment for me? it's confusing.

I think if it was costing me £100s like it was you I'd be much more inclined to make a fuss. £35 I can live with- but I will still ask them why it's not being charged as band 1. (Although I lose the plot a bit at the dentist as I really hate it. I put so much energy into not having had a crying fit that my mind goes a bit blank. I made a total tit of myself when we were there earlier this week- I was holding my youngest on my hip and somehow forgot I was doing so and asked my other dc in a fit of panic where the baby was. That's how stupid I get because of the ridiculous extent to which dentists stress me out!)

I think that's part of the problem, that so many people are scared and nervous at the dentist already that you have to feel like you can trust them and are in safe hands.

I also get very stressed in the dentist which was why I accepted the £100 bill the first and second time they did it to me. I was totally preoccupied with worrying and felt completely safe in the hands of an NHS dentists where it didn't occur to me that I would not be told the truth as a patient.

I can perhaps overlook a wee bit of misleading or omitting the truth, but at the point where I stood there and confronted them and directly asked them if I could get gum disease treatment on the NHS and they continued to tell me it was impossible, I became angry.

They told me neither a basic scale and polish nor a deeper clean was available on the NHS.

They told me if I went to a dental hospital or was referred elsewhere that I would get charged "God knows how much more"

This isn't a slight omission or an innocent mistake or them thinking a hygenist was best for me - it was totally lying bare faced to me.

I am sure if you ask your dentist if you can have a clean on the NHS they will offer you your truthful options. My dentist does not have that policy.

Oh, that's fascinating. Well, it's not the first nor the last time I will have been wrong.

My apologies.