To ask what's the situation with dentists where you are?

[TheVampiresWife]

I've just been told that the next available appointment is in October - it'll be two and a half years since my last scale and polish. I've had two teeth out since March 2020 during emergency appointments, both of which could have been saved if the dentist had been able to do fillings. I've another one which started grumbling over the weekend and I'm worried that it won't hold on until October. Even if it does, the receptionist told me they 'probably won't be able' to do anything which results in areosol spray (proper scale and polish/drilling) then anyway, so it'll be another extraction. She said I could get it all done this week if I went private with them.

Not having a go at dentists at all - they're just trying to make a living. It's the NHS dental provision in the UK that's shit. Even before the pandemic getting an appointment was a nightmare and it's something so fundamental to good health. DD needs a dentist desperately but nowhere local is accepting new NHS patients, presumably because of the covid backlog.

Anyway, rant aside, is it the same everywhere?

Ours is catching up on check-ups now, and is asking households to book appointments one after the other if possible, because then you can go in the waiting room and they don't have to "COVID clean" the room in between. I think you have to pay extra for PPE if you have fillings or anything aerosol-generating done.

I think they struggled a bit though, they're in an old building and there was no real way to make it one way or anything.

Last I heard - about 4 months ago - not one dentist in my entire health board area was taking on new NHS patients.

I had found an odd lump in my mouth. My GP wouldn't see me because it was a dentist's job (fair enough). Couldn't get a local NHS dentist to look at it because they weren't taking on new NHS patients (not cool). Couldn't afford to go private either. In the end a dentist who hadn't seen me for 10 years did it, but it did require a 100 mile round trip and they really didn't have to.

Thankfully the lump turned out to be benign.

Emergencies only here.

Does anyone know if there’s as much covid theatre for private patients as for NHS patients? I.E. do you get bossed about if you’re actually perceived as a private customer?

My practice check my temp on the way in, and I wear a mask up until the dentist looks in my mouth.

My boyfriend was allowed to come in with me to have my two teeth out, he just kept his mask on and sat in the corner of the room. My dad came with me for one of my emergency weekend appts as I felt awkward about just being me on my own in the empty practice with a solo dentist on a weekend so dad stayed in the waiting room nearby (his choice as squeamish).

Other than temp checking there’s been jo change, mask wearing and spaced out chairs in the waiting room there’s been no difference.

I saw my dentist last week. I saw her as an NHS patient (but use a mixture of NHS & private with her).

I had to wait about 3 weeks for the appointment, but was told to ring back if I started experiencing pain and they would get me in on the same day (I had a filling come away).

While waiting I heard someone booked in for the same day as an emergency.

While I was there the filling was done, a check up and a scape and polish.

No extra charges for PPE or anything.

Only real change was having to wait outside and ring a doorbell to be greeted and walked in, and sat in a different space to usual.

There are extended waits I believe for check up appointments, but they are booking in as many as possible. They are prioritising existing appointments, but will register new patience if appointments allow (according to signs up in the surgery).

I had a white filling replaced this morning and a scale and polish. I had my check up appointment moved from July 2020 until November 2020 and had to wait 7 months instead of 6 for my routine check up.

None of us have seen a dentist since December 2019
I’m worried that youngest dc may need a referral to orthodontics but every time I ring I’m told it’ll be 2 months before they start seeing children. I’ve been told that 3 times since January!

I'm at a private practise and things have been back to normal since around September last year.

I'm at a private practice and have been visiting since last June.

@Lockheart

I'm private with denplan, I pay £25 a month for my cover and for that I get 2 check-ups and up to 4 hygienist appts per year, plus of course any non-cosmetic treatment or emergency work covered (and if you do have to have any treatment e.g. fillings you get all the works including topical anaesthetic before they do the injection).

My dentist has been operating as usual for some time now.

If you can afford £25 / month it's very much worth the money IMO.

This is the same cost as ours, via Denplan, and because the DC are included too it really is value for money and we prioritise that £300 per year over other things, I suppose.

I’d much rather not pay but as I hate the dentist actually paying monthly is more effective in making sure I keep up with check-ups etc and having had some horrible emergency treatment in younger days I know prevention is better than cure.

It is terrible that dentistry is so poorly funded via NHS. The problem is it’s not really seen properly as part of its core services, I guess. It makes me worried for the future of medical NHS services as part-privatisation is slipped through - whilst we are fortunate we can pay for £25 a month we couldn’t then also pay extra for health insurance...

Don’t vote Tory.

@Lockheart

I'm private with denplan, I pay £25 a month for my cover and for that I get 2 check-ups and up to 4 hygienist appts per year, plus of course any non-cosmetic treatment or emergency work covered (and if you do have to have any treatment e.g. fillings you get all the works including topical anaesthetic before they do the injection).

My dentist has been operating as usual for some time now.

If you can afford £25 / month it's very much worth the money IMO.

Interesting - I'm in the US and I think we pay about double that for a family of 5.

Private here (kids get seen as NHS at the same practice) and back to normal since September last year - kids have had two check ups since then, and I've had a check up and seen the hygienist a couple of times. The hygienist appointments are more expensive than they were as they have to book the room out for longer, but it's not actually costing me any more as I've changed hygienist and this one only wants to see me every 6 months, whereas my old one was every 4 months.

Eldest DC had initial (NHS) orthodontic consultation a few weeks back and needed a couple of extractions before braces are fitted and they've slotted her in no problems before her next orthodontist appointment.

All back to normal for our NHS dentist since March. We had to wait a bit longer for routine check-up appointments - think it was about 3 weeks, but DH has had an abscess treated twice and was seen immediately, and then an old filling fell out and he had to wait 3 days to be seen. I’ve seen the hygienist and waited about 2 weeks, and the price of that has risen from £44 to £47.

We have to wait outside on the pavement, have to put coats etc all into one bag, can’t use the toilet, and wear a mask.

I've clearly been lucky with mine. I have an NHS dentist and he's been open throughout. I had a check in in Feb 2020, a few weeks early because I was a bit worried about how things were developing with Covid. Then a check up and hygienist's appointment Aug 21 when things were opening up again, a check up in Feb this year (which felt like a proper day out, given we were otherwise locked down) and a hygienists appt with scale and polish earlier this month. So some places have been seeing patients. It must depend on the practice.

My dentist is open for emergencies. I’m midway through treatment, awaiting a crown. Treatment started in April and will be finished in July. But I think the long wait is a combination of covid regulations and my dentist is now on holiday.

I’m mostly a private patient but even if I had went private for my current treatment, it wouldn’t have got me treated faster. (I asked)
My practice isn’t doing routine check ups I think on the NHS but I think they are privately.

My brother was told at his practice in a different area, he wasn’t allowed a check up or his child’s braces cleaned unless they went private.

I’m an NHS patient who was due to have a crown replaced in March 2020, just as COVID-19 hit. My practice opened up again by August and I had the crown replaced then. I had a hygienist appointment also in August but that was cancelled (I think it was to fit in Denplan patients) and was then rescheduled for October.

NHS patient Now running as normal( obviously reduced capacity)
Waited a week for check up then two further appointments booked for crown on broken tooth

@TheVampiresWife

It's an out and out scandal that dental provision in the UK is so shit. Why isn't there more of a deal made out of it?

It's not shit if you pay for it.

And it's not free in other countries, is it?

It's not in Germany, Spain, France, etc. In some you will get partially state-funded treatment, but in France for example the rate the dentist gets is so low that they're allowed to charge extra on top of the 30% that the patient already pays.

So it's something like: state pays 70% of €20 for a filling and so you have to pay €6. But then the dentist won't actually do a filling for €20 so you'll be charged €50 or whatever on top at full whack. Effectively you get a small discount.

I have ongoing gum disease. Had two half hour appointments this month for local anaesthetic and a deep clean. All available on request without quibbling.
£23.

[quote SofiaMichelle]@TheVampiresWife

It's an out and out scandal that dental provision in the UK is so shit. Why isn't there more of a deal made out of it?

It's not shit if you pay for it.

And it's not free in other countries, is it?

It's not in Germany, Spain, France, etc. In some you will get partially state-funded treatment, but in France for example the rate the dentist gets is so low that they're allowed to charge extra on top of the 30% that the patient already pays.

So it's something like: state pays 70% of €20 for a filling and so you have to pay €6. But then the dentist won't actually do a filling for €20 so you'll be charged €50 or whatever on top at full whack. Effectively you get a small discount.[/quote]
NHS patients do pay for dental treatment, though.

And we all pay for the NHS, too!

Where we live everyone has to go private or have registered with a local nhs dentist about 6 yrs ago, or drive about 40 mins to one. Don’t know what nhs wait times are like but my private dentist had a 1 month wait for check uo and is notnyet doing all treatments.