To completely blame the Tories for the state of dentistry and think it’s a disgrace they’re doing nothing about it.

[N0addedsalt]

They’ve been in power for a long time. They’ve let the dire situation of dentistry develop and are doing absolutely nothing about it.

What a load of socialist nonsense ! 😂

I’m not paid ££££ to do anything about it. The government which has been in power for 13 years is. It needs to be sorted. They couldn’t give a shit and are not doing anything about it. Is there anything they have or can actually handle well?

I feel like I'm stuck in a monty python sketch

Maybe, but the Tories could have done something in their 13 years but haven’t.

It's a good industry to train in if teens are heading to uni soon.

My dentist has kept the children on the books but removed everyone that hadn't had a check up in 2 years.
Before covid our dentist cancelled/rearranged appointments 6(!!!!) times so we hadn't been since 2018 despite our best efforts, then covid happened, then they said only book if urgent. Gave it a good amount of time for them to get over covid backlog and rang to make our appointment and was informed no places private or NHS and they had just lost 2 more of their dentists.

The Torie don't give a shit about the health of the country. They pay for private. See also the state of education.

My dentist has been great over covid but it's mostly private now
I have denplan at about £20pm which covers my check ups, hygienist (both twice a year) and most work except lab fees
Cracked a wisdom tooth this weekend, got an appointment same day today and all done with no additional costs

The Tories DO NOT CARE about non rich people.

That is why.

You don't want a more prosperous country?

Well then how are you going to fund a functioning NHS?

If you just want to scream at the big bad Tories for everything wrong in Britain then go ahead, it's a common attitude of the far-left, but your post was:

"AIBU? To completely blame the Tories for the state of dentistry and think it’s a disgrace they’re doing nothing about it"

Clearly you are being unreasonable. It's clearly not completely the Tories fault even if they have mismanaged funds during covid for example. The bigger problem is much of society wants something for nothing, and it manifests in reduced public services for everyone.

I ‘keep’ 68% of my salary, the rest taken at source to pay for public services.

Galling that the last NHS dentist is closing. No option for adults or children to receive NHS dental treatment here at all.

Our MP is receiving lots of emails about it.

It shit like most services because the general consensus it it’s up to someone else to pay

it’s not rocket science most of us take out more than we put in

until people pay more it will not improve

I genuinely don't see the issue with it. Ove always paid private, never struggled to get an appointments and still don't.

Most dentists and dental nurses trsin hard at their own expense and get into debt doing so. Why would anyone in their right mind go through all that and not want to earn their full potential.

I value my teeth, and therefore pay to have them maintained. The same as I do for all.my health. It's my health, therefore my responsibility.

The fiscal irresposibilty, incompetence and cooruption of thisTory government hasn't helped.

@Gigantasaurus why should OP have all the answers. She's not in government and the best most educated richest biggliest people are.
Been in power 13 years and done nothing useful yet. They must have some ideas no ?
Awaits but but Corbyn but but Labour

What fucking Socialism?

Get a private one

@rwalker up for raising taxes then ? What if you don't earn enough to pay for private dentistry ? Are we just supposed to suck it up and put up with rotting teeth because we don't work hard enough ?

Disagree. Absolutely never had a problem getting my children’s teeth checked with NHS dentist when they were younger.
Finding a dentist for my Granddaughter has been impossible and have had to go private for her to have check ups .

@Reality25 ah yes
'The culture today is one where many net receivers feel entitled to more and more from the social pot.'
You mean pensioners or HR tax payers who know every tax avoiding tip in
the book ?
Those ones ?

You're not being unreasonable. The changes to the dental contracts that made it unprofitable for dentists to undertake NHS work started under Labour, but the second one brought in under Cameron's government was the true death knell to NHS dentistry. The Tories have been determined to run healthcare into the ground and privatise by stealth so they and their wealthy mates can profit. With the help of the pandemic to speed it up, they're accomplishing that task admirably.

My dentist is 40 miles away as my large town has none providing NHS dentistry currently to any new patients. It's a fucking disgrace and dental health is part of overall health - untreated gum disease can lead to heart problems, for example.

Not sure what the answer is. Many countries seem to see dentistry as an expensive optional extra to other healthcare - even countries like Canada that have similar NHS-type medical provision.

Labour government of the 2000s screwed up NHS dentistry. We were lucky. Had the same NHS dentist since 1996 when he opened his practice, newly qualified and still on the books now

I live in Spain. My dentist here came from abbey country that had been working in the uk for 20yrs. Brexit made him return to an su country. We have lots here and it's really inexpensive (Free state dentistry for basic treatment)

I tried up to 50 miles away for an NHS dentist but there are none. One dental surgery advertised NHS places but the phone number wouldn’t ring so I drove there. They said yes we advertised that we had a few places but we received thousands of calls so we had to unplug the phone.

Luckily I’ve managed to get a private dentist and have a credit card to cover the cost of any work needed. Recently they started asking patients to pay before receiving treatment. Apparently they’ve had people getting work done then when they’re asked to pay they say “I’m really sorry but I was in pain and I was desperate, I don’t have any money so you’ll have to take me to court”.

Very few countries in Europe have state care for dentistry including Spain , I quote

While most dental care in Spain isn’t covered by the state, there are two exceptions.
Children’s dental careIf you are a Spanish resident and have a child between 6 and 15, they are entitled to free dentistry in Spain with a medical card. Normally this covers twice-yearly check-ups, protective treatments, milk teeth extractions, and fillings in permanent teeth, although the services offered and age of entitlement can vary by region. Not all dentists offer these services, but you can check with the local health center which does.
You can read more in our guide to children’s healthcare in Spain.
Emergency dental careEmergency treatment is also covered by the state if you are registered, or have an EHIC card. If you need emergency treatment visit your nearest hospital or health center, which can be found through the Spanish Health Ministry.

No you have choices. You could plan ahead and take care of your teeth to not get rotting teeth in the first place.

Or you can of course use the desire to fix your teeth as motivation to earn more.

Or if that's not enough motivation then you can choose to put up with it.

Basically you can take some responsibility for your life.