Aibu to ask when dentists might be back ?

[Nosenseofhumour]

Just that really. Broken a bit of a tooth, not in extreme pain, and I know it's emergency only and antibiotics for abscess etc, but it seems it still one of the more risky jobs from the aerosol effect, so could be months? But I really would rather not lose a tooth either. Guess no one knows yet?

I broke my tooth the day of lockdown. Still on the putty.

I'd love to know when we're back too.
We are all waiting for guidance and in the meantime offering advice, antibiotics if appropriate and referral to the hubs for those with severe pain or infections.
Even if we are allowed to open, we don't have full PPE, the dental supply companies have it on back order. Rightly priority was given to the hospitals and some of the Dental Hubs are still short of PPE.

BDA announcement on their web site today. No change to the current situation. That means Emergency treatment only to be provided by a dental hub. Not all toothaches are being classed as an emergency if they can be control with painkillers. The way things stand at the moment , routine dentistry is shut down. Some practices as calling patients and rebooking appointments for a few weeks ahead just to keep in touch. Chances are you will get the same call a few days before your next appointment if it’s in May or June.

This may surprise some of you but some dentists business will go under. Associate dentists earning 45% of nothing wont do very well. aslo knock on businesses like dental technicians ans ceramics

Ffs. I feel like they're treating dentistry like it's some 'nice to have'.

Like hairdressers. (Who I also sympathise with and am desperate to see) But clearly they are not essential.

Someone I know had swollen gums since early March, couldn't get to the dentist, tried 2 or 3 different types of antibiotic (presumably prescribed from the doctor - whether in person or by video I don't know) which didn't work. Last week she was diagnosed with Acute Myleoid Leukaemia and taken straight into hospital to start chemo. The survival rate isn't great for this disease, and the 6-8 week delay in diagnosing hasn't helped. I do wonder how many more like this there will be, when people are unable or unwilling to visit the dentist or doctor in the current climate :(

I heard it’ll be around 12 months. So factoring in the long wait times as EVERYONE will want to see a dentist, probably 18 months until you are actually able to see a dentist?

Where did you hear that Birdie? Absolutely nothing from the CDO England / GDC / BDA saying this. As it stands no one knows when practices will re open and what treatments can be completed. Other countries Just emerging from lockdown such as Norway are re opening with enhanced CPD but a ban on AGPs. So no high speed drills or ultra sonic scalers.

I believe in Australia they are now seeing people as long as no cough etc.

there was a program on radio 4 about emergency dental treatment a week or so ago - sounded horrific.
Dangerous because of all the water splashing about when they have those vacuum /waterspray things running.
good luck with the putty!

There's a dentist near me that is open with full PPE doing NHS and private

Really? I thought all dentists were meant to be closed just now.

A bit of my filling fell out at start of lockdown, I've been surviving on cocodamal and the putty stuff. Saturday night was the worst but I think putty must have fell out as I've used it again and pain has calmed down a bit. Dental hubs are no use because they are only seeing trauma and bleeding and severe infections, plus they will only extract tooth, I don't want to lose it.

If a dental practice is working in UK that is not a Hub they will have no indemnity. They are working against current guide lines and will likely end up in front of the GDC. Yes, there are practices opening in other parts of the world but with restricted treatments and enhanced CPD.

PPE not CPD.

I also broke a tooth - no pain, but concerned about it. There are going to be a lot of us hoping for treatment! Putty sold out in the two chemists near me unfortunately.

I lost a large filling and a bit of the tooth. It looks fixable now but doubt it will last a matter of months. There's a lot of us about it appears.

Especially if we keep moving in and out of lockdown phases.

It took me a house move to find an NHS dentist and nobody else was accepting new NHS patients. They’ll be even fewer NHS dentists left.

Someone on here really kindly posted me a link to some temp filling in ebay on a post I made last week about just this. Took a few days to arrive but its great and I'm so grateful to her. Hopefully they reopen soon. I'll try find it

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3898667-To-wish-I-was-married-to-a-dentist