Best London dentist? Are private dentist more thorough than NHS?

[AbsentmindedWoman]

Went for a check up today at my dentist and was seen by a different dentist to the one I've seen before, who was nice enough but I'm not confident in the surgery on the whole. I've gone in several times saying I have some pain in a back tooth and it was xrayed every six months and said to be fine, now they've suddenly said it needs a deep filling and I just don't feel I'm in good hands.

It may need a root canal which would mean more xrays. Does that mean they're just doing very basic xraying at the moment? Would a private dentist do more comprehensive imaging as part of prevention and monitoring?

Who would you recommend in London?

Dentists completely overwhelm me, I'm very nervous and tearful thinking of having a deep filling beside the nerve, I find dealing with it all so hard.

I just want to feel safe, and confident that the dentist is doing the best job possible to keep me pain free. Obviously I'm quite aware I could still lose the tooth.

Also - if I've had three xrays in four appointments within the last year - is it still safe to have more xrays if I go to a new surgery? Is there a limit to how many you can have?

I go to a branch of Malmin dentists in London - they are amazing, have looked after my teeth impeccably, and are so far removed from the various nhs disasters I grew up with before that they could be from different planets.

I'm not in London but I recommend that you consult other dentists if you are not comfortable with your dentist. My dentist is lovely.
Some work I have had has been NHS and some private because it wasn't available as NHS.

My dentist does NHS and private treatment, but doesn’t have any funding for more NHS patients. I go there because the NHS dentist we found when we moved here was rubbish.

I probably need crowns replacing and other stuff, but I cannot spend several thousand pounds, so I have to just go for the maintenance stuff.

If you still need a recommendation, I would definitely recommend my (private, expensive but) fantastic Central London one. Also in the City like a PP. Drop me a PM if you want her actual name, but the practice is BUPA DENTAL at Bank.

As others have said, often dentists will do both NHS and private work. So you do get the same skill set. NHS work does come with pressure on the dentist that private work doesn't so this ultimately does impact the treatment you are offered, although it shouldn't.

However, once a dentist graduates from university they are free to practise. The NHS doesn't accept that newly qualified dentists are completely ready and so to work for the NHS dentists must complete an additional 12 months training in a practise setting. So it could be argued that the NHS has a higher set of standards.

As others have said, often dentists will do both NHS and private work. So you do get the same skill set.

This is a huge oversimplification. Dentistry is highly dependent on equipment and products for quality. Private dentists use far better equipment and products. Think of it like being a chef: however great a chef you are, if you a restricted to a limited range of cheap ingredients in an ill equipped kitchen, you won’t be able to cook a great meal.

Op re your question about painkillers, my experience is they don’t prescribe them and tell you that ibroprofen and paracetamol will work. Which is not necessarily the case - I was left in agony.