To phone the emergency NHS dental line after seeing private dentist?

[StopTheEarthIWantToGetOff]

My NHS dentist went private in December. I was due a yearly check up in February and would have qualified for free treatment as I've just had a baby.
I decided to go private for a check up as I have a history of bad teeth due to not being taught to look after them when I was young. I started looking after them mid twenties when the penny finally dropped for me but I think it may be a case of too little too late.

Anyway, this dentist has said I need 6 fillings as 4 of my existing fillings from about 20 years ago have decay behind them.

This is going to cost me £1300.

I can't afford it. I am a carer for my special needs son so don't have a good income. I can't work due to caring for him full time.

This is just the start of my treatment costs as one of the teeth that needs a filling replacing actually is badly damaged so the dentist said it should really have a crown placed. So another £800.

And then there's the issue of an xray showing a shadow that points to a failed root canal.. I didn't even ask what the cost would be regarding that as I was already about to cry.

I don't know what to do. If I don't treat the decay I'm going to lose my teeth. I'm only in my 30s and don't want to be toothless.

But I honestly don't know how I can pay this.

I didn't know if I'd be able to ring the emergency dental line and say what's going on and seeing if I could get the fillings done by an emergency dentist. Probably not possible though.

@Ratw21 I hate to sound silly but I was looking on the nah pages earlier and there were those dentists who were listed as not accepting new patients, those accepting under 17s (we got our kids in at one ) and those with no info but I wasn't sure if it was just a case of phoning them all to check if availability ?

One of my sons has recently moved to Leeds. The NHS dentist he contacted had a 5 year waiting list!!! FIVE YEARS!! It is truly crazy.

I couldn't even get an emergency dentist when it was an emergency and I rang 111 so I don't think you'll have much luck!

Not silly at all! I phoned the top few that said they were accepting patients but they all had 2-5 year waitlists! Then just did a lot of googling and phoned round. I think I may have been incredibly lucky though. It’s a complete disgrace how the government just ignores this problem like teeth aren’t part of your general health. It infuriates me!
in previous years I’ve visited private dentists on holiday as it’s just more affordable which is a ridiculous situation really.

@Firstgear Could I ask, the dentist I saw will only use composite to replace my fillings which are currently amalgam. He said composite will last between 5-8 years before they need replacing.
I can't afford this now, let alone afford the cost again in 5-8 years. Would composite really need replacing in that time frame or if it was looked after well could it last longer?

If your not in pain I would leave it and find a nhs dentist. You can ring 111 for dentists on your areas.

None of what the private dentist suggested sounds urgent to me, and as you're not in any pain there's no need to panic about costs and being able to afford treatment.

Get yourself booked in with an NHS dentist, explain what's happened and go from there.

@lifeispainauchocolat I'd love to get booked in with an NHS dentist but I'm in the South West and there are basically no NHS dentists left. The closest one that is taking on now is 120 miles away in Southampton.

Then I would get booked in - yes, it's a pain but you can't afford private and you need some kind of dental care.

I would have a conversation with your dentist about it. Not all of that work needs doing right now if you're not in pain. Ask him/her which ones are needed right now vs ones that are preventative/could wait. Maybe agree to just do one every 6 months, or whatever seems more affordable to you. Find out what they offer in terms of payment plans - I've yet to find a dentist that doesn't offer them in some way.

I sympathise with not being able to find an NHS dentist. We moved a couple of years ago and have only recently got ourselves a new dentist because of the waiting lists. It's still a 45 minute away.

I would get your name down on waiting lists as soon as you can. Check the NHS dentist search tool on the NHS website. I'd phone them all anyway, even if it says they aren't taking on. Just in case something's changed very recently. I'd also ask if any are taking on NHS adults if you register a child with them. Don't think it's too common but there were a few in my area that would register the adults too if you were also registering someone under the age of 17.

In the meantime I'd be looking at a trip to Southampton. Probably easier said than done but if the alternative is private care you can't afford you may need to do everything possible to make it work.