To tell you all to take care over your dental hygiene!

[Cheapprimarkbra]

Folks... Please look after your teeth extra carefully over the next few months! Part of my molar randomly fell off this afternoon. Rang Dentaline (out of hours dentist) and no dentists are able to work in the lockdown, even for emergency treatment for the most severe pain! Totally understandable of course, but scary nonetheless. The lady on the phone literally quoted this: "You are either critically ill on a ventilator or you won't be seen". Very sobering and brings home again how much we take for granted. 🙏

It feels like nothing can properly start up again until we get an antibody test, and as you say you will also need a dental nurse who is willing to work with you.
I'm not suggesting this applies to dental nurses because I don't know what the pay is like but there are many professions who are at risk and will no longer be willing to work for minimum wage such as people on public transport, carers etc because of the very high risk to them!

@DishRanAwayWithTheSpoon I wish this message was being spread a bit more as a reality of covid. The health service will never go back to the way it was without a vaccine / antibody testing / some rapid test thing pre appointment to check negative status.

Loads of services are like this. ENT can't really practice apart from very obvious 2 week waits, but those more subtle findings of early cancer won't get picked up. Other endoscopy cancelled. Not all of these are for cancer but for debilitating conditions etc.

It's not just the current crisis that's stopping work across the NHS, it's the lack of PPE, the inability to do the job in the correct PPE, the lack of testing, the inability to prevent cross contamination etc. Even things like physio, OT, SLT can't work without all that. It could be months or years before normal service resumes.

I think people don’t realise how bad it is unless they are trying to get emergency treatment (old style emergency treatment I mean).

It’s going to get dangerous if the PPE isn’t supplied soon, people are going to get ill, some seriously as a result of this. I’m shitting myself and stressed out and I was pretty stressed out to begin with. Add a broken tooth, pain, inability to eat, indigestion from meds and it’s not great.

The inability to prevent cross contamination
surely government scenario planning would have flagged up all these issues and told them that the most important thing is to get TESTS available???
or maybe they thought about tests and thought 'nah it'd be much more interesting to flex our muscles and see what happens if we put everyone under house arrest'

It does seem bizarre that they made so many plans and yet omitted the glaringly obvious of removing basic emergency care for non COVID-19 emergencies due to their inability to get tests and PPE.
It’s almost like they didn’t give a shit, imagine 🙄

This isn't official advice, but a few dentists on one of the Covid19 FB pages have posted this as an example of a possible risk assessment in the future-

Gotta love TK @bettythedevilyouknow

I hate pointlessly complex flowcharts like that. There are literally only two outcomes. You can simplify it to “Does the patient know their COVID status and has immunity?” If yes, treat as normal. If not, use full protective gear.

The OP isn't scaremongering at all. I rang up to arrange a tooth extraction I was due to have. Only reason I had to ring back was because I was 39 weeks pregnant at check up and they wouldn't do it then. I had baby the following week and a few days after getting out of hospital, lockdown came in so I'm stuck. I asked my dentist 3 days ago what help is available, they said there is nothing, i asked what if I call 111 and they said i'm not allowed. No guidance given at all. They just booked me in for a potential appointment in June.
Half of what tooth was left has now gone and i now have an open nerve and it's very difficult and painful to eat. For those dentists on here, considering I was supposed to have the tooth removed, and the nerve is open, would that be classed as emergency treatment at all? I just want the tooth removed as planned.

You can fill in a form on 111. I did this 2 days ago and was seen at Kings College to have an emergency extraction (abscess) 111 were amazingly helpful and called me back within 20 mins.

Ticklemelmo sorry can’t tag properly! Keep phoning your practice for information it will be just they don’t have the centres up and running in your area every area/health board whatever will have an urgent covid centre set up in the next few days so there will be help soon if you need it. You should speak with a dentist, if your practice won’t Let you complain when this is all over and phone a different one now. Have you tried some temp dressing from the pharmacy, it does fall out but before you eat? You can even use cheese wax if your desperate, although that would only work while you eat. There are dentists and dental nurses up and down the country waiting to help as soon as they get PPE. The pandemic plans just didn’t predict something like this, for dentistry it’s the combination of the risk due to a massive aerosol being generated right at the dental team without anyway to know currently if the patient has corona and lack of PPE. I hope you can get sorted soon or at least manage things

Sorry I should have also said either you will need to be seen or the team will be able to reassure you that your current issue isn’t urgent. Obviously if a tooth was planned to be removed and hasn’t that’s not without risk but it doesn’t mean it needs to be done as an emergency

Oinkypig thankyou for replying. I've looked into getting some temp filling but I'm finding it impossible to find any! It's like the new toilet roll
I'll try again soon and play dumb and hope there's something set up in my area. I do understand to an extent the issues, but there should be help and it's so frustrating. I'm just out of hospital struggling to recover from my complications from my c section and im having to deal with this pain on top of my others. The painkillers don't touch it. I'm starting to get a horrible blood/metallic taste too, wonder if that's infection starting.

Ticklemelmo,
the guideline would be only referral to a hub if the basic; advice, pain relief and antibiotics fail to control your pain. It doesn't sound like you need antibiotics yet unless you are getting swelling. Warm, salty water is a good mouthwash, it's cheap and effective, use it after eating.
If you can't get temporary filling material rub sensitive toothpaste onto the broken area and chewing gum works pretty well to cover sharp corners temporarily. Your dentist may be able to supply you with temporary filling material if you can't source any by Tuesday.

If things start to worsen use the online 111 for triage. The hubs are starting to be up and running in most areas but they are really restricted in their services as they've very little PPE.

Everyone saying it’s scaremongering when In fact it isn’t
I’ve been in excruciating pain for 3 weeks now
Lost 9lb
3 weeks worth of antibiotics and no one will see me!
Did you no see the guy on bbc news had an abscess couldn’t stand it anymore and pulled his own tooth out!!!

Hour and half it took him