Getting dental treatment

[729927luc]

AIBU here? I am in significant pain in one of my teeth. I know it needs to come out (my dentist said so herself when i saw her in pain 2 weeks ago but she wanted to try a temp filling first). The pain is affecting my sleep, ability to work and general enjoyment of life! I, however, am finding it literally impossible to get an appointment anywhere within the next month (both private and nhs). What are my options here? All the receptionists I've spoken to have just seemed to think it's OK for me to wait in significant pain for over a month and I'm just facing constant dead ends. I'm close to reaching for the pliers! Does anyone have any tips for how to get help as I'm desperate?

Try 111 to see if you can see an emergency dentist if in a lot of pain and getting nowhere with your own.

Dental hospital near you?

Why won’t the one who filled it see you ?
Tell then you are in terrible pain and it’s affecting your ability to work, that their treatment hasn’t worked.

It's shit, but the fact is there are thousands of people in the same position as you as there is a huge post-COVID backlog. Most dentists should operate emergency appointments but the issue is that basically as dentists are still operating under restrictions they cannot see nearly as many patients as they used to.

It might be worth trying 111 out of hours but emergency dentists are usually unwilling to do anything as drastic as extraction.

Is there a dental teaching hospital reasonably near you?

It'd be a last resort for me prior to pulling my own teeth out but the students do need to practice so they tend to have shorter wait lists if you're willing to be a patient for a supervised student.

Hope you can get it sorted soon.

Here in Scotland us dentists have a legal ( and moral) obligation to see our registered patients within 24 hours if they are in pain. Call your dentist up snd explain your discomfort

Thanks for your kind messages. The dental practice I'm registered at put emergency patients on a cancellations list so basically I'm relying on someone cancelling an appointment in order to be seen. But it's becoming clear that no one is cancelling as I'm still waiting. I mean, who's going to cancel in those ay and age when it's nigh on impossible to see a dentist. It just feels so backward when you ask for help you are made to feel like such a problem 😥

Can you write a formal letter ( not to complain exactly) but to raise a concern?

Can you search for other emergency dentists. I needed to be seen last week and called one locally and was seen within an hour. I know clinics in Manchester and Leeds if that’s any good.