NHS Dentistry takes the piss

[gobbin]

AIBU to wonder why the Receptionist at my dental surgery gets pissy when I haven’t been for 2.5 years (because my teeth aren’t giving me any bother, I just thought I’d have a check up) and arsily suggests that ‘I’ll have to ask the dentist if he’s prepared to put you back on his books’.

Fuck me, my hospital consultant only sees me once a year for my well-managed, life-threatening chronic illness, my tits and fanny get seen every 3 years...what the fuck is so different about teeth that the dentist NEEDS to see a patient every six months. Apart from the kerching they get from the NHS, that is. Christ, if we all went to the GP every six months for a check up the system would be beyond breaking point.

I completely agree! Kerching!!!!!

I thought going for a 6 month check up was pretty much the norm

Shes probably having to check because in some areas getting put on a NHS dentists books is almost impossible. He might be full.

As I understand it, six monthly check ups are the norm because preventative measures (e.g., scale and polish, plaque removal, varnishing, brushing advice, etc) are far simple, cheap, and resolve most issues before they reach the point of requiring more complex treatments like extraction, root canal, and so on.

The problem is most dentists are now private as that's where the money is. NHS ones are very few and far between in contrast to GP surgeries.

Oh I know but, seriously, think yourself lucky you’ve still got an NHS Dentist. Ours has recently contacted every adult on his books and off-rolled us unless we want to see him as Private clients. His Child clients have been a years notice of off-rolling. Can’t find another NHS Dentist within ten miles. 😬 (that’s me showing my nice teeth off before they rot.....)

That depends on where you live, our three nearest surgeries are all taking on new NHS patients and have been for some time.

Blimey, you should be glad you have an NHS dentist, they're like gold dust in some places.

At a guess, the dentist will receive the same amount of money from the government for each patient. I guess there's likely to be less work to do for this same money on a patient who gets seen every 6 month, rather than 2,5 years. If the dentist has a long waiting list, and can pick and choose his patients, then it follows that they would prefer to take the likelihood of less work. Like any business would.

Plus, look after your teeth. You will never regret going every 6 months but you might regret not doing so.

Plus, look after your teeth. You will never regret going every 6 months but you might regret not doing so.

Amen. I might l literally just got home from having a crown, and I'm going on Monday to start work on another one, And I still need a root canal.

It's not the individual dentist, the NHS automatically deregister people who have not been for something like 14 months.

l moved to Yorkshire (originally York) from the North East six and a half years ago. The first time l was able to find a dentist near me (okay, 8 miles away) who was taking on new NHS patients was last year. Before that l was still going to my dentist in Northumberland.
Even the dental surgery at my GPs surgery five minutes from my home wouldn't take me on their books.
To be fair l'm just grateful to have an NHS dentist. l know a lot of people don't have that luxury.

But on the same basis, surely I should be having mammograms and smears every six months, yeah?

Come on, they dig 500 year old skeletons up that still have some teeth.

Kerching!

You just can't please some people.

It's about £20 isn't it? For at least ten minutes work, quite possibly more. If you need certain extra things, more likely if you don't go often, that's included. A dentist to pay for the duration, a nurse for the duration, a receptionist, a cleaner, a practise manager, the equipment, the overheads (rent plus bills) in the surgery. I don't think it's exactly 'kerching' territory. You sound very bitter.

I am so, so grateful to have an NHS dentist. I went through a period of clenching my teeth due to extreme stress, and caused all sorts of problems - she has been amazing, and referred me on to a private specialist when I needed complicated root canal work. If I hadn’t been a religious six month attender for checkup and scale and polish, it could have been so much worse as the issues would have gone un-noticed. I am quite an anxious patient, and the thought of her leaving (my last dentist went on maternity leave and never came back!) and having to start seeing someone new is awful.

I go to a private dentist and they advise that I go every 12 months but call if there are any issues... its completely personal dependent on your teeth & gum health, your oral hygiene etc

I think it's normal for them to take you off the register if you don't go for a checkup every 6 months.
I've managed to get dd an appointment for half term and she was past the 6 month, luckily ours are ok under a year.

Standard practice for NHS dentists. They rarely have spaces come up and always lots of people who want to register so usually if you don't use the space for a certain length of time, you will be taken off the books to free up the space for somebody else. This is the case at the practice I am registered at, but they were very clear about that when I signed up. Perhaps your practice needs to be clearer.

Come on, they dig 500 year old skeletons up that still have some teeth.

One of the few advantages of being dead is that you no longer have to worry about tooth rot or gum disease!

You are lucky to have one. I list my dentist through having some private work done and thus not seeing them for a year. Kicked off the list and now I am on a waiting list with approx 9000 other people. The really stupid thing is that you can only pick 2 local areas to join a list even if you are happy to travel within a wide radius and they won't suggest which might be the best areas to go for. Anyway OP I think 6 months is a bit too frequent.

If you dont go to the dentist for 18 months (I think) the NHS deregister you, so it's not the receptionist's fault. Most good NHS dentists have waiting lists, so you space could have been filled.
Dentists get paid for the number of registered patients, so it saves the NHS money to deregister folk who have no interest in the recommended 6 monthly checks.
By the time you notice a problem, it can be too late to prevent, maybe that 6 month check would save a filling...

You don't need a mammogram and smear every year though.
If there's anything wrong with the test they ask you back.
If there's something wrong with your teeth they ask you back.
Dentists want you to have an appointment every 6 months, surely you've known this from being a child. Did you not go as a child?

Its your gums, rather than your teeth that need looking at regularly. They can scale, fill, coat, polish and bleech teeth (plus extract if necessary) but if your gums recede or bleed then youre in trouble as its very hard to come back from that. Plus they check for things like cancer and tonsil stones so its not just your teeth.

It's about £20 isn't it? For at least ten minutes work, quite possibly more. I don't think it's exactly 'kerching' territory. You sound very bitter.

They're experienced qualified professionals, so they obviously earn their money fairly. It's just that, from the patient's POV, if money's very tight and you're having to count the pennies, it feels like such an extravagant (or at least non-urgent) use of a precious £20-odd to get something that isn't noticeably causing you any trouble checked over - knowing that the result is likely to be that there's nothing wrong (in which case it could easily have waited longer) or that you need further treatment, which could bump it up to £50-odd (or even £200-odd) that you especially don't have. Yes, anything diagnosed will be work that needs doing, but that doesn't make it any easier to afford if you just don't have the money.

All this on top of the fact that many people are frightened of going to the dentist; even if you aren't, it's never a particularly pleasant experience.