NHS vs private dental plan

[ThanksAntsThants23]

Before I start I will admit I’m a reluctant dental patient and not always fully understanding of how the system works probably because I avoid going as much as possible so sorry if I’m asking something really silly.

Anyway I live in scotland and have an nhs dentist who also does private dentistry, I’m a single parent and my income while I was doing my recent degree was low enough that I qualified for more free treatments, but I’m now over the threshold for free dental care.

At my last dental check up my dentist, who I think is also the owner of the practice, told me that there is absolutely no point having nhs dentistry if you are in anyway able to pay for private, he said the standard of care between private and nhs patients is massively different and because I have the beginnings of gum disease I would really regret staying an NHS patient and not setting up a dental plan instead. He actually told me that my teeth would basically be saved if I went private but the standard of nhs dentistry isn’t good enough to stop the gum disease from progressing. I told him I could probably afford a dental plan but not to pay for any large costs like crowns privately and he said I wouldn’t need any major dental treatments if I went private because the standard of preventative treatment is so much higher.

to be honest it felt like a hard sell (and a pointless one because I would probably move to a practice closer to home if I was going to go private!), if also seems quite irresponsible of him to encourage me to give up my NHS space knowing I am on a fairly low income and would struggle to get another one if I did need major treatment.

What are other people’s experiences of nhs vs private dental plan? Are there any dentists that can confirm what he said is true?

There’s another thread running where someone who had an nhs check up was fine but several months later, now the dentist has gone private, they suddenly need work that runs to thousands!
I do have an nhs dentist, he always says he’s never going to make any money out of me. I have also -stupidly- seen a private dentist for cosmetic work, thinking private =better care. I’ve spent thousands and have been left with pain in two teeth, and an ugly smile. I regret my choices so much. I wish I had never gone private.

I’ve been trying to find an NHS dentist for ages. I’m now pregnant and entitled to free dental care and still can’t find any that are taking on. Really, really frustrating. Everyone will have to pay private sooner or later.

I constantly went on the NHS find a dentist site for my adult son and it took about 5 months until one came up and he joined them last week. Good luck

Depends what you need done. He's right about the standard of care though. NHS treatment is stuck in the dark ages. When I had an NHS dentist I was able to switch between the two. So if I needed something like a root canal I'd go private. For emergencies or checkups etc, I was NHS. Also, pretty sure that early gum disease is totally reversible & treatable at home. It's usually just down to improving your dental hygiene.