Dentists

[BoxitUp]

To think that it's overdoing it to compel NHS patients to go for 6 monthly check ups (no poor dental history)?

Why won't a yearly check-up suffice?

I get a yearly check-up with my NHS dentist- my teeth are good condition and low risk, he said, so no need for it to be sooner for now.

Be grateful, I can't get a dentist!

I have impeccable oral hygiene

I’m more than happy to get a scale and polish every 6 months. Having said that though - I rarely get build up on my teeth and in the past, my dentist did not give me a scale and polish as I didn’t need one, but I still had to pay for the appointment

Other times he’s given me a polish only though, which is still nice to have every 6 months.

Another one saying be thankful. I haven't seen a dentist in over 18 months because of covid and neither have my children. Still emergency treatment only apparently

Sorry my unedited post was posted!

I wanted to add that I get where you’re coming from as there’s been times that I have visited the dentist and literally not needed anything from them so it was a bit of a pointless visit.

However it’s still good to get regular gum checks, x rays, enamel treatment if necessary etc. Can prevent further issues

How was it a pointless visit? They checked your teeth and it turned out there weren't any problems to fix. So how was it pointless to check?

Caries (decay) can progress quickly. 6 months can be the difference between missing it and ending up needing costly root canal treatment, or catching it in time to fix with a simpler filling.

Oh, and mouth cancer can advance to more serious stages in the space of a few months. Dental check-ups are essential as this is where dentists can look for earlier signs of this.

I've just realised as well that they did a check up and treatment plan in Jan and charged me for a check up. Went for the work today (filling) and they charged me for the work, which I was expecting but also for another check-up. Hmmm...

I've just rang them and they have now agreed to refund for the extraneous check up. It may well have been a genuine mistake but doesn't fill me with confidence, especially when it took the assistant 2 seconds to bring up my record and what I'd already paid. It was only afterwards that I thought that the assistant who took my payment today for a check up, looked a little sheepish (and hence me checking when I got home what I'd paid for on the last visit).

It will- depending on your risk factors.
Low caries rate or no previous caries experience ie few or no fillings, last previous x rays clear, no gum problems, low risk of oral cancer and minimal tooth wear would be a yearly check up with me.
If you have had quite a few fillings in the past or needed new fillings within the last 5 years, signs of gum disease, signs of tooth wear, smoker/ heavy drinker - every 3-6 months due to risk factors.
HTH.

Its not 6 monthly recalls. Its dependent on your risk factors, some people get yearly recalls if they are low risk. You needed a filling, so your caries risk is medium at the lowest.

Its normally 3 months between courses of treatment. So if you leave it 3 months from your initial check up to treatment that would usually involve closing the initial course of treatment. Its just been a while since your check up.

I honestly don't understand why people use a service they clearly distrust so much. The dentist has carried out a treatment on you that will in the long run prevent pain and infection, why are you so desperate to find fault?

My old NHS dentist would ley you go 9 months between if there were no problems.

I had to go Private when I had a problem over lockdown 1 and I've stayed with them now.

The thread title 'AIBU dentists' was quite funny.

If we had a local competent NHS dentist who spoke understandable English I would happily go there every six months rather than pay 5 times as much to go private.

I go to a private dentist, and he still only asks me to go once a year!

I've found that there's dentists, and dentists... the one I went to from a chain was the one that overcharged me, couldn't get a filling to stay in, and also tried to charge me for being late for an appointment, when actually, they were the ones running late, and asked me to come back in 15 mins!

These days I find a long-established practise to go to by preference.

I’ve gone to the same dentist since I was born and it’s always been six monthly check ups, even when at 18 it switched from NHS to private.

My nhs dentist only has me in every ten months

I ended up sporadically in private dentistry when systems changed a few years ago, but back with an NHS one for about the last 4 years. Working thru lockdown - emergencies and NHS checks, getting appointments has probably been easier/faster over the last few months.

Why are there so many threads about dentists lately?

@HeyDemonsItsYaGirl

Why are there so many threads about dentists lately?

I thought the same! It's dentist central on here lately.