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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want a same day-dental appointment when I need it?

78 replies

VioletMar · 30/08/2023 11:11

I’ve been suffering on and off with a wisdom tooth on my bottom left-side of my jaw that has only managed to grow partially through the gum. So it’s pretty much mostly hidden under my gum/cheek. At my last dentist appointment 6 months ago, I asked if the tooth should be removed and was advised that the teeth are only removed in extreme circumstances. So the tooth was left.
However this morning I’ve noticed parts of the tooth that I can see look like they are turning grey/black?
I’ve had constant pain for the last week. The pain radiates across my jaw, down my neck and is giving me an ear ache. But try as I might , I can not get a dentist appointment.
Usually I would pay private. But the cost of living/mortgage rate increase and my pending divorce means I just don’t have the surplus that I used to have. And so for the first time ever, I tried to get an NHS appointment But failed miserably.

I called my local dentist at 8am. It took 25 minutes to get through and all same day NHS appointments were gone.(( But I expect if I could pay the usual fees, they have squeezed me in!!) so I rang three other dentists listed on the NHS website in my local area and none were accepting new patients. I then 111 and held for 36 minutes, just to be given a number to call. which I duly rang. I held for 58 minutes, only to be told they had no appointments today (I should have called at 8am to bag one…) but if I call back tomorrow at 8am I might get an appointment , 30 minutes drive away. I wasn’t able to to pre-book the appointment at all. so back to 111 and now im waiting for a telephone appointment. Ive now been on the phone for over two hours , whilst trying to get kids sorted for the back to school and while trying to work from home myself. (Which won’t go unnoticed). All while dealing with this constant ache!

I’ve just looked at the cost of private practises. The cost of an appointment, possible xray, extraction etc quickly adds up to £300. I just can’t cover it. It’s about all I’ve got in the bank to cover food and petrol until my next pay day on the 25th. I’m so fed up. I can literally count on one hand the number of medical / dentist appointments I’ve been able to get within the last five years. But the deductions from my salary are always upwards of £275 monthly. Meaning I’ve paid approx £16000 plus in NHS contributions during that time but have had almost nothing in return.

I’m so incredibly fed up.

Any advice would be so appreciated.

OP posts:
mycoffeecup · 30/08/2023 11:13

You get what you pay for. Sounds like you were offered an NHS appt, just not that day, which is appropriate for a problem that has been going on for a while.

Original poster
VioletMar · 30/08/2023 11:13

Sorry for spelling errors. My fingers are far too fat for my phone and auto correct just isn’t correcting properly. Hopefully it all makes sense tho!

OP posts:
Original poster
VioletMar · 30/08/2023 11:14

I wasn’t offered the appointment. I was told to call back tomorrow at 8am and there may be an appointment at a different clinic over 30 minutes away.
Which isn’t a given.
And would end up being more costly with the cost of travel on top of the appointment.

OP posts:
VeridicalVagabond · 30/08/2023 11:15

It's appalling isn't it? I ended up in hospital with an abscessed wisdom tooth because I couldn't get an NHS appointment and couldn't afford private and I ended up needing IV antibiotics for a week and with bone loss in my jaw it was so bad. I'm still going through procedures now, five years later, to correct it.

My dentist then had the audacity to tell me I should have "made it clear" how much of an emergency it was when I tried to book. As if me bawling down the phone at the receptionist wasn't clue enough!

caerdydd12 · 30/08/2023 11:18

It's crazy, around 1 in 5 Britons don't have an NHS dentist and I'd wager a large proportion of those just don't have anywhere local taking on NHS patients. It's been slowly getting worse and worse.

I also sympathise, wisdom tooth pain or awful and it radiates round your whole head. Do you have any out of hours clinics?

My only option when waiting for a referral to have mine out was baby bonjela, I used it to numb the area as much as possible and then the pharmacist at Boots gave me something with Benzocaine in that I rubbed on the area too. I'd try that in the mean time!

Trez1510 · 30/08/2023 11:23

Depends on the ages of your Children and the costs of your pregnancies to the NHS and the costs of their educations/healthcare as to whether £16k over the years is good value for money.
That aside it's been an ongoing problem which you must have known was worsening and you didn't act. So I think you are being unreasonable to expect immediate attention when you decide. As for your 'expectation' you'd have secured a paid-for appointment that's merely speculation.

Luana1 · 30/08/2023 11:27

It’s not great, but where have you been for the past 15 years or so to not realise that NHS dentistry isn’t to be relied on?? I actually don’t know anyone who even has a NHS dentist anymore, we all have to suck it up and pay privately. I’m not saying this is right but it’s not a new thing at all..It’s probably not life threatening so you are unreasonable to expect people to rearrange their appointments schedule to see you. However if you are worried about potential sepsis, you need to go to A&E.

ThinWomansBrain · 30/08/2023 11:28

I get a same day NHS appointment with my own dentist in an emergency.
Other dentists will have a wait list, and I wouldn't expect same day with my own dentist if not an emergency.
You say it's been hurting for a week or so; why is it an emergency today because you've decided to do something about it?
Take some painkillers, get some mouth gel and be on the phone at 8am tomorrow.

Is the £275 purely NI or your total deductions?
Even if that's the NI element alone, NI is used to pay for the NHS, benefits, sickness and disability allowances, and the state pension - not just the NHS, and surprise surprise, you don't create your own little pot to draw down for your personal appointments.

LadyVictoriaSponge · 30/08/2023 11:35

As much as it shouldn’t be the case I think everyone must now make provisions for dental treatment, it’s only going to get worse, unfortunately it needs to be treated like a utility bill or a subscription and monthly payments set up via something like Denplan, any young person in particular just starting out would be very wise to do this.

Silverdogblue · 30/08/2023 11:38

Trez1510 · 30/08/2023 11:23

Depends on the ages of your Children and the costs of your pregnancies to the NHS and the costs of their educations/healthcare as to whether £16k over the years is good value for money.
That aside it's been an ongoing problem which you must have known was worsening and you didn't act. So I think you are being unreasonable to expect immediate attention when you decide. As for your 'expectation' you'd have secured a paid-for appointment that's merely speculation.

Yes, I do suspect that with two children, you are not a net contributor to the NHS so YABU for saying you’ve had “nothing back” from the system.

EggOverEasy · 30/08/2023 11:57

Dental pain is the worst and NHS dentistry is not fit for purpose. Have you tried calling 111 for an emergency appointment? YMMV but locally they will book in appointments for emergencies.

Akire · 30/08/2023 12:12

Mine is the same it’s NHS but they don’t keep emergency apt. So they will offer you one in 2 weeks but you have to wait until someone cancels. It’s like they don’t ant risk losing a non paying slot so booking them full everyday.

MarathonBarbie · 30/08/2023 12:34

YANBU in being frustrated with the dreadful state of dentistry in this country.

I wouldn’t assume though that if you were a private patient you’d have got an appointment. We couldn’t get an NHS dentist when ours closed down so went private, it’s even difficult to get a private place round here and I struggled to get same/next day appointments when I had issues recently.

SpringboksSocks · 30/08/2023 12:40

At my dentist I’ve been offered a cancellation slot before.. could you ask for this if a space comes up? Obviously it’s not a given either. Hope you can get on top of the pain in the meantime.

Strawberrypicnic · 30/08/2023 12:44

If it's any consolation it is not that easy to get a private appointment any more either. My very nice private dentist used to have lots of choice of appointments. Now it's a two month ish wait and you get offered one time slot within a certain day, you can either accept it or wait even longer for the next one. I guess this is as more people have moved over to private.

ArcticLingered · 30/08/2023 12:49

ThinWomansBrain · 30/08/2023 11:28

I get a same day NHS appointment with my own dentist in an emergency.
Other dentists will have a wait list, and I wouldn't expect same day with my own dentist if not an emergency.
You say it's been hurting for a week or so; why is it an emergency today because you've decided to do something about it?
Take some painkillers, get some mouth gel and be on the phone at 8am tomorrow.

Is the £275 purely NI or your total deductions?
Even if that's the NI element alone, NI is used to pay for the NHS, benefits, sickness and disability allowances, and the state pension - not just the NHS, and surprise surprise, you don't create your own little pot to draw down for your personal appointments.

NI does not pay for NHS / benefits etc. It's just a form of taxation. There is no ring fencing at all of any tax for specific things for the Government to spend it on. See also "road tax" (i.e. vehicle excise duty) and pot holes.

NI is also a regressive tax in that lower earners pay proportionately more.

littlemousebigcheese · 30/08/2023 13:00

Husband needed a dentist appointment, tried nhs and 111, on hold for hours at a time. Eventually had to go private as just couldn't stand pain. Cost £450 but worth it!

Nopenott0day · 30/08/2023 13:21

My wisdom tooth was removed privately (sounds similar to yours under the gun) and cost £100.

May be worth ringing around a few.

plumtreebroke · 30/08/2023 13:31

I was referred to the hospital for wisdom tooth removal, a lot of dentists won't do it in case of complications, particularly if it's still pretty buried in the gum and jaw. Mind you the dentist in the hospital was a butcher, took forever to break it out in pieces cut the inside of my cheek and had to put stitches in that. Needed antibiotics and looked like a black and blue hamster for a couple of weeks.

CornishGem1975 · 30/08/2023 13:34

I have an NHS dentist and I get same day even when it's not strictly an emergency. He'll try and squeeze me in where he can. I need a complicated tooth extraction and from seeing my dentist to referral to a specialist dental surgery was 2 weeks.

lemonyaid · 30/08/2023 13:35

Why would you want to "get your moneys worth" as it were? Do you want to end up in hospital just coz you paid for it?

Nopenott0day · 30/08/2023 13:41

As an aside public spending per person per year costs the tax payer just under £12K.

So you're already having more out of the system then paying into it if you want to be like that.

Nopenopenopenopenopenope · 30/08/2023 13:45

Should you be able to? Yes. But there is a national shortage of dentists so it's unlikely. Keep trying and take whatever appointment is offered you. I, and many people where I live and elsewhere across the country, have absolutely no access to NHS dentistry. None. Not even within two hours drive. I was recommended to try to visit somewhere in the country that has an NHS dentist accepting new patients.

Of course I can get an emergency appointment at the hospital but the bar for an emergency is high, doesn't even matter if you're in agony.

Tumbleweed101 · 30/08/2023 13:49

I hope you manage to get it sorted. I'm fortunate that I got my nhs dentist when I first moved to the area - mainly because I had young children at that time and I make sure I don't miss any routine appointments as I don't want to risk being taken off their books. My brother however moved to the area within the last 8 years and can't get an NHS dentist. He had a lot of need for one as he had lost a couple of crowns that need replacing and he can't afford private treatment. It really is crazy how such an essential health care need isn't being met.

cocksstrideintheevening · 30/08/2023 14:04

It's been like this and getting worse
For years. I'm 45, haven't been able to get an nhs dentist since I was chucked off the list at 18. My kids are nhs but only if I stay on the private list. Orthodontics are a joke. We are going private for both as the wait times are now 5 years +. Their issues aren't just cosmetic, one has a severe overbuy which is causing pain and the is massively overcrowded and also has pain.

Hope you get sorted soon.