To think Dentists are greedy and disgrace

[Thisismynamenow]

I have a hole in my tooth (thanks pregnancy for the poor teeth!)

My nhs dentist has apparentpy cancelled their nhs contract to go private (without telling patients) and not a single dentist within 20 miles is willing to take on nhs, but everyone can offer same day private appointments.

I know the nhs is underfunded but it's disgusting dentists are allowed to be only private, they should be made to be half nhs!

My tooth is killing me, I can't afford the £400 I've been quoted for the filling (it's a tiny hole, literally a pin hole!) And the hopsitall will only pull it which I don't want. Its annoying me more as i currently have a maternity exemption which I can't use.

Aibu to think dentists are greedy, and that it shouldn't be allowed?

This is a fucking disgrace. I am DREADING this happening to our dentist. There is no sign of it happening, but it could happen. It could happen to ANY of them! We moved area some 10 years ago, and moved 35 miles away, and could not get onto a single NHS dentist's list. (There were 3 within 5 miles.) So we had to do 70 mile round trips to see our old dentist.

It was a nuisance if we had to go multiple times over 2-4 weeks, (for checkup and then fillings etc,) as we ended up using loads of petrol and wasting a lot of time. The bloody dentist was 35 to 45 minutes behind 80% of the time, and at least 20 minutes late the other 20%! But we couldn't go half hour late as knowing our luck, we'd miss the appointment. So we literally had to allow about 3.5 to 4 hours when we needed the dentist, to allow for travelling time, a minimum half hour wait, and the time in the actual dentist chair.

So after 4 years of this bollux, we FINALLY managed to get accepted by an NHS dentist, 4 miles from us. (6 years ago!) And they are never more than 5 minutes late. Well they haven't been so far! They are amazing, and we love them. I dread them going private, because many people won't be able to afford them.

They claim they don't get paid enough by the NHS (the dentists who leave and go private,) but they have been OK all these years/decades, and I agree, it's sheer bloody greed when they do this.

Caries is a preventable disease and pregnancy isn’t an excuse
Good job the medical profession doesn't have this attitude. Many conditions are avoidable but the patient still needs treatment.

My lovely NHS dentist says I am a victim of 1960s dentistry, as a child the work done on my teeth has left me with a lifetime of dental problems.

In Thailand hospitals basic dentistry is available to all for £1 a time by queuing in the morning - first come first served until all the slots go for the day. It would cost £800 million to restore NHS dentistry to the service it was a decade ago. An utter scandal that we the 7th richest country in the world can't do the same for it's citizens. Sorry to hear about your problem it would seem that money is the only cure at this time.

Have you not had a pay rise either in the last 10 years? It’s terrible isn’t it especially as the ARF, indemnity fees, wages for staff, cost of dental materials, lab fees, cost of courses let alone energy prices keeps increasing

I do wonder how long some of the private dentists will last because in many areas of the country private dental fees are too high for people to pay. My own dentist who have recently switched from NHS to private have seen their appointments fall dramatically.

I don’t know the answer to this dentistry shambles but I haven’t had an nhs dentist since 1992 and haven’t seen a dentist at all since retiring four years ago as I can’t afford the dental plan - it used to cost £30/month as my teeth aren’t that great with lots of crowns & fillings, which I cant afford in retirement. I don’t visit the hairdresser or get my nails done either. I dread a filling falling out or chipping off and if that happens I’m hoping to pay for a one off private treatment rather than joining another expensive plan. I would be shocked if it was to cost £400 a filling, each of my crowns wasn’t much more than that, ten years ago.

Honestly, try and get a credit card and get it fixed using that. I did this and I have acreidt card I use solely for the dentist. Actually helped improve my credit score too as I use it sensibly.

If the hole in your tooth was actually a “pin prick” it wouldn’t hurt 😂😂
the decay in your tooth is probably huge underneath the surface

So the fuck what?! Small area of caries or slightly larger area of caries, it's still only a bloody amalgam filling that's needed!

This. Sorry to say.

If you live near a Dental School and have the time sign up with them. The students are heavily supervised and do wonderful work albeit very slowly as they are learning. I've been to Guy's and St Thomas' for years and they are faultless and have done superb work. But I'm retired and have the time to spend. A filling could take two hours to do.

This right here was what I was going to say. Be angry at the people who underfunded the NHS in the first place not the people who work for it. Also if there's a dentistry school near you, you can get treatment there at a reduced cost might be worth exploring. When I moved house I had to get a new dentist I waited 3 months to get an initial appointment.

It’s just another poor tax really. I understand that dentists spend many years in education and leave with massive debt however the whole point of a welfare state is cradle to grave. Gum disease can affect many things In our bodies and the lack of medical care when it comes to the mouth is terrifying.

I don’t blame the dentist - it’s the system that’s wrong.

YANBU. Since Covid, my dentist will no longer do a scale and polish. But lo and behold, the Practice hygienist who is way more expensive does.

^^ This.

A great dentist is worth every single penny.

This. ^

Also agree about the dodgy fucking dentists of not only the 1960s but also the 1970s. Most people born between the early 1960s and the early 1970s have a mouth full of fillings. In addition, I strongly believe a lot of people (aged 50+) would have much healthier teeth if they had never been to a dentist!

The dental scandal of the 1960s and 1970s is an outrage - drilling and filling for £££. There should really be some kind of compensation scheme/fund where people can claim for their fucked-up teeth, but it's proving it. We know it happened. Proving it is another matter..

@Bzzz

YABVU - people will happily frequently pay £100 for a hairdresser to dye/cut hair, yet complain at £400 for a dentist. One takes a year of college training and limited debt whilst the other takes 7 years and significant amounts of debt. This isn't a dig at hairdressers but puts things into context.

YABU. Don't assume everyone will pay 3 figures for a bloody hair cut and dye.

Also, where do we draw the line? Shall we all just be made to pay for our own medical treatment now if we spend money on ANYTHING deemed as a luxury? Do you need an operation??? Well if you have a holiday for a week in Florida, or a family holiday in Spain, you can afford to pay for your own operation and drugs! Spent on a conservatory, or new kitchen? Got a car registered after 2015? Fuck that, you can fund your own medical treatment, and all the drugs and aftercare needed, AND pay for the hospital room!

To say if people can afford to spend on a haircut, then they can afford to pay multiple 100s of pounds - or even potentially 1000s of pounds in dental fees, is a ridiculous analogy, and is a VERY slippery slope. Be careful what you wish for!

YANBU to be pissed off and to not be able to use your maternity exemption. My dentist emailed last week to say they were going private and i still have months left on my maternity exemption which i have only been able to get an appointment once in the whole time of pregnancy and post partum as they kept cancelling my appointments despite pregnancy causing some nasty dental issues.

Another thing is people pay N.I. stamp and are entitled to NHS dental treatment. No-one in the UK should be having to pay extortionate private dental fees. EVERYONE should have access to an NHS dentist, and it's a disgrace that many are being denied it.

How many nhs patients a dental practice can treat completely depends oh how much nhs funding thru received each April.

pretty much all dentists who treat nhs patients do so at a loss as the funding never meets the demand, this is why so many dentists are switching to private or semi private care.

if you can’t afford the who bill up front call around and find somewhere who will do a payment plan or take out dental insurance as a way to spread the cost.

Everyone absolutely should have access to an NHS dentist.
but the issue is 99% of dental issues can be prevented with good oral hygiene,
There has to be an element of of responsibility in it all, it’s as serious as any other kind of healthcare, but the key difference is problems are very preventable.

write to your MP about this, and consider who you vote for.
You are entirely incorrect blaming the dentists themselves

'99% of dental issues can be prevented with good oral hygiene.'

Come off it. Only in cloud cuckoo land is that true.

The dental scandal of the 1960s and 1970s is an outrage - drilling and filling for £££. There should really be some kind of compensation scheme/fund where people can claim for their fucked-up teeth, but it's proving it. We know it happened. Proving it is another matter.

See-this sums up the problem with some unscrupulous dentists. Pay them for every filling they do = suddenly every patient needs 20 fillings. So to avoid dentists doing unnecessary work the rules were changed- a fixed amount per course of treatment. Nope, that's no good either, suddenly they don't want to do ANY treatment at all and are all going private

Dentists are PRIVATE clinics. They shouldn’t be forced to do anything. £400 is ridiculous I paid for my last filling due to it being a different type and not covered by the NHS (it’s an adhesive one to prevent extra drilling). It cost £80, my old expensive private dentist charged £160 including x-Ray and check up.