Dentist and needing lots of work done

[Ragdollmother]

Hello, a bit of a long winded one sorry! I do have a dental phobia to start off with.
Went to the dentist in June last year, private practice local to me, been with them a few years but often see a different dentist each time.
In June young dentist said all looks ok but one filling might be needed in a lower wisdom tooth in 6 months time.
Went back at Christmas expecting him to say let’s fill that tooth, but he told me I now needed 5 fillings and 2 fissure sealants, costing just shy of £1400. He took an X-ray after telling me this , and said the X-ray ‘didn’t look too bad’ but still gave me the form to say i needed the work doing.
I went away pretty shocked and upset.
As I left I was fairly coerced into making my first treatment appointment by the receptionist. I ended up going back a couple of weeks later and asked if I could just have the most urgent filling done, expecting it to be the one mentioned in June last year.
At the appointment the dentist said all the teeth needing work were pretty much at the same stage, so he filled a different tooth on the list needing work instead.
I had awful problems with this filling for a few weeks afterwards and have not been back for any further work since. I just feel upset and unsure if I can trust them.
I know I need a second opinion, it’s now been 5 months since that Christmas appointment so time is ticking if all these teeth really do need work.
I just wanted to ask if anyone has experienced similar , and what I should be looking for in a new dentist ? I just want an honest opinion, I’m less bothered about perfect teeth, In a way I’d like an ‘NHS style’ exam if that’s possible ?

Why do you not go to an NHS dentist? I use an NHS dentist and always see the same dentist and treatment is cheap or free.

I rang around several NHS dentists in my area, and none are taking new patients. I even asked if I could be seen as a private patient at an NHS dentist but they said they are at capacity at every one I called.

Because they are as rare as hen's teeth with long waiting lists

AFAIK you are allowed to get a second opinion on the dental work you need, just as you can with any other medical diagnosis.

I would expect a dentist to pull up current X-rays and point out every tooth that needs work, showing you exactly where the problems are so you can see them. Talk through how the work will be carried out and the cost. Not just 'the X-ray doesn't look too bad' then a substantial increase in fillings!

I don't like the sound of the dentist you saw, something definitely seems off about that treatment.

There are currently none in my city. Only private dentists have capacity, often in NHS dental practices iyswim.

I would ask to see one of the more experienced dentists at the same practice initially - ask if there is someone who is particularly good with nervous patients.

If this cannot be facilitated, I would see if there is a private practice in the local area who have a good reputation with nervous patients. They should do a fairly thorough new patient exam, if they’re anything like the practices I’ve been to.

Hollow laughter!

If you can find an NHS dentist anywhere within 50 miles of here, you’ve reached the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. There simply aren’t any. At all.

It pains me to spend so much money to keep my teeth and have pain inflicted at the same time. A hygienist appointment here is £84.

I don't understand why so many people are struggling with the COL, why don't they just go to the magic money tree and give it a shake

However OP would it be worth going as a private patient to a practice that also does NHS dentistry if you want that sort of exam? Rather than a purely private one. They might be a bit more realistic or at least better at prioritising which work is essential.

Flipping heck! I thought the £55 I paid was a lot for that torture!

I'm a lucky person who still has an NHS dentist, only because I've refused to ever leave the one I was registered in as a child, despite not living in the area for 20 years! The cost of driving there is still cheaper than paying privately. The NHS dentist only does 1 day a week which means I have to book appointments about 6 months in advance and tbh no idea if I would get in if I needed any sort of emergency treatment or would have to pay privately, but sticking desperately with it for as long as I can anyway.

NHS dentist aside (Would love to know where that is - we don’t have one within 120 miles)

I had the same problem as you massive dental phobia and then I broke a tooth. I saw one private dentist and she said I needed the tooth out (which I did) and the another £6k of work! That wasn’t happening. Anyway I didn’t particularly like her, she hit me 3 times in the head with her chair, that didn’t give me much confidence in her.

Went to a different dentist for a second opinion and he took the broken tooth out and had a look at my other teeth and said everything else was fine. Just needed a couple of hygienist visits.

I 100% recommend getting a second opinion.

Most surgeries who have NHS patients are phasing them out and are certainly not taking on more.

Ask for a copy of your xrays or to take a picture of them, you will have to request this in writing. You could always post a pic of them on here and see if a dentist can tell you where the decay is. If you feel they are lying then question it, don't allow a dentist to just drill away at your teeth, some are dodgy.

Tell me you live in London without telling me you live in London...
There are NO NHS dentists in the vast majority of the country.

I had a very similar experience with the private dentist, to be honest. For starters, she took 3 butterfly x-rays (at £12 a pop) and then decided that she wanted to look at my surgical screws (had maxfac surgery 10 years ago) and sent me to a big x-ray - and that's £50 and obviously renders butterfly x-rays obsolete. Quite why she didn't make this decision at the start of the appointment, we'll never know.
The next day she rang me to say she wants to refer me for post-surgery follow up (for 10-year-old surgery!) and to replace my 23 year old filling which is still in perfectly good condition. "Just in case", I assumed. I am not going back there.

No you re not, you'd need to pay to go to another practice and that would be at least another £100 and registering with the new practice but in this case, the OP should change practice, thats the only way she'll get another opinion.

The idea that a pp or yourself think we have our teeth treated in the same way as anything else medical is laughable - 50% of adults in my county have not seen a dentist for 10 years, because they cannot afford 'private and NHS doesn't exist.

One reason why so many people have left the workforce & on long term sick.

My private dentist is good - but not cheap.

NHS dentists around here don’t exist, and even when they did, weren't much good.🤷‍♀️

I haven't seen an NHS dentist in over 15 years - there are none taking on patients here. I fell off the list during covid but that's just tough apparently!

Recently paid for my daughter to see a dentist privately because she had an abscess, her face was swollen, she couldn't swallow and still her NHS dentist couldn't see her!

When your child is crying in pain (she's an adult, so definitely struggling badly) what else can you do?

I spent over 2 hours on hold with the dedicated emergency dental line through 111 and then got cut off during covid. I ended up calling my gp and begging them for antibiotics, said I'd sign a disclaimer (not supposed to prescribe for dental), sent pictures and they very kindly gave me a prescription.

NHS dentistry is dead in most of the UK, unfortunately the results will be horrendous - untreated infections spreading into bones etc, all of which will cost the NHS more when people are hospitalised as a result...

I was lucky enough to find an NHS dentist a few months back. She said I'd possibly need some front teeth out (heart operation due soon). Yesterday I went and those teeth are OK but some back ones need to come out. She is referring me on for the extractions as my awkward roots may cause issues. I'm just happy not to be losing the front ones this week!

Is this some kind of joke?

I live about 5 miles from Glasgow. My previous NHS dentist retired a couple of months before the covid pandemic. I was offered treatment by a branch of a big dental company but I did not like that idea.
I simply emailed three or four dental practices within walking distance of my home and after waiting about a year was accepted as an NHS patient by one of them.

I am happy as it is a good practice and is on the ground floor so is good for my wife who uses a wheelchair.
I don't understand why people don't keep pushing for NHS treatment.

You can’t push for NHS dental treatment when there is none. Literally none within a hundred mile radius and probably not even then. It’s fine to tell everyone what they should be doing, but it just isn’t feasible.

You are very, very fortunate that you are able to access NHS dentistry. The rest of us have to pay or allow our teeth to rot.

If you haven't seen an NHS dentist in 15 yrs you didn't fall off the list during covid

An NHS exam and a private exam are the same. If there's decay it needs treating.

Your welcome to get a second opinion, you can ask the practice to see another dentist there, but if you want to go to another practice then you will have to pay for a new patient exam and xrays

Did they show you where you needed a filling? Did they say why? If there's decay them a filling is necessary

@FiveTreeHill

I couldn't get an appointment, had appointments cancelled repeatedly, couldn't register with another NHS dentist as I was already registered...believe you me if I could have had an appointment I would have done!