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?

Absolutely. You go first - drop to part time and take a 50% pay cut so you can use half your days to volunteer for a good cause. Okay?

That's pretty rubbish that you have an exemption that you can't use. Do NHS dentists have a catchment area? Thinking it would be cheaper to travel to one of the NHS dentists 20 miles away than pay the £400 (not that you should have to!)?

It is bad. I'm not sure it's disgusting that they're allowed to be private though. The entire politics of it is seeking to make NHS practices unsustainable so they're either shit or go private. Tories Tories Tories.

My optician has done a similar thing. The amount they got paid for NHS eye tests was not enough to cover their running costs. They'd often do an eye test believing it met the criteria for NHS funding only to be told it didn't so they had basically done it entirely for free. I suspect dentistry has a similar thing happening. It's all being deliberately run into the ground.

Hope you get it sorted.

I lost a filling (which I also only had because of weak pregnancy teeth) my NHS dentist is so busy they had no appointments for months. They suggested I try a DIY kit to tide me over, which I did. Finally had it fixed properly last week, and my dentist was impressed. My tooth had taken no further damage. Might be worth a try OP, at least until you can get an appointment somewhere.

I used this one;

smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0062N5R8O?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_ypp_rep_k5_1_6&amp&crid=2U8YJLFJI6UJ7&amp&sprefix=dental

It’s a disgrace because we pay to train dentists through the NHS and they’re supposed to have the NHS contract in place.
yes, they’re greedy. Yes this is what happens when you let someone regulate themselves.

Oh, and ring the emergency NHS line - they’ll give you an appt.

YABU

It's not greedy to want to be paid properly for the work you do.

i agree
so frustrating here
i managed to find an nhs dentist which is a good half an hour drive away rather than a walk down the road
my local dentist has had a refit so that is a sign of having plenty of money from their Now private customers

YABVU.
Blame the goverment who have been underfunding Dentistry for many years. Dentists have been warning this would happen but the public have continually voted for the Tory’s, so you get what you vote for. Maybe use the money from all those tax cuts and all that money saved from leaving the EU to pay for your dentistry.

(I appreciate you may not have voted for the Tory’s but Tory governments are the reason why you cannot get an NHS dentist.)

I don’t get this attitude. Mine went private under the Major government. No more NHS dentists appeared in my area under either Blair/Brown.

YABVU.

Blame the goverment who have been underfunding Dentistry for many years. Dentists have been warning this would happen but the public have continually voted for the Tory’s, so you get what you vote for. Maybe use the money from all those tax cuts and all that money saved from leaving the EU to pay for your dentistry. Hmm

This

YANBU. I rang my nearest dentist to register, (takes private and NHS). Asked if they were accepting new NHS patients - yes, come down to register any time. Okay, I said, I'll come today, and I'll remember to bring my maternity exemption certificate (at the time).
"Oh, sorry, we're not taking new NHS patients just now , my mistake." 🙄

Next closest dentist took me on, I registered, kept quiet about my exemption and only brought my certificate along to my actual appointment so I could show it on arrival, minutes before the actual appointment to avoid any time for excuses - lesson learned!

You’ve posted this twice.
Think there’s a MN hiccup this am, quite a few double posts

I don’t get this attitude. Mine went private under the Major government. No more NHS dentists appeared in my area under either Blair/Brown.

It is a fact that over the past 12 years of The conservative government the number of NHS dentists has reduced much more significantly than under Labour governments. The Conservatives are now doing the same to the NHS and anyone who will not acknowledge that is deluded.

OK, but what did Labour do about it? They had, what, 14 years and did nothing about this issue.

Do you know how difficult it is to train to be a dentist? To even get accepted onto the degree which is one of the most competitive University courses there is?
And do you know how much they get paid? Nowhere near as much as they deserve. Maybe if they were paid a better wage through the NHS there wouldn't be this problem.

YABVU, a lot of the NHS contracts were negotiated in 2006. In that time our indemnities, ARF, cost of materials, energy prices, wages for staff etc have gone up but the same amount of money is still being paid into the practice.
Dentists have been warning that there would be a dental crisis since Tony Blair introduced the new contracts
dentistry.co.uk/2022/09/07/one-million-pregnant-patients-miss-out-on-free-access-to-nhs-dentistry/?utm_source=FMC+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=6f5ea0c152-Newsletter+%2826%2F2%2F2021%29_COPY_176&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_257c998ba7-6f5ea0c152-73914646

They are all private with a voluntary NHS contract. The contract simply needs to reimburse them at a higher and fairer rate. Personally I think the worst thing about the whole set up is that it’s so arbitrary and unfair that some can access nhs and some can’t. There’s no political will to change anything though.
if your tooth really does just need a small filling you need to shop around it will be less than £100. I suspect if you’ve been quoted that much it might need a root canal or other more extensive work

Labour introduced the stupid system in the first place

What you mean is "it's a disgrace that the NHS is so poorly funded that dental practices have to cancel contracts and can't offer NHS provision".

How will you "make" dentists be half and half? Who is paying for the NHS half? If the NHS won't fund it, the practices can't offer it.

It's not the dentists fault. They gotta do what they gotta do.
Sorry about your tooth though..hope you get it sorted.

Opticians are private with voluntary nhs contract too. They’re not being subbed by the nhs for training, it’s the same as going to see a lawyer or an accountant

This.

You need to blame the government who are not prepared to pay enough to cover costs, let alone make a living when treating on NHS. As a result, dentists have no option other than to treat privately in order to stay open.

I had to go private but fillings are only £150 each. Think you might be getting ripped off there OP. Try another private quote. I know it’s not the same as NHS but £400 is steep even for private work. I paid £360 for a porcelain crown.

Boots sell kits for £5 where you can put your own filling in, there is enough for 12 applications.