What do you do for dentistry?

[Rolson77]

Just received a letter to say that my dentist is going private. There is not one NHS dentist taking on new patients in the whole city. I work full time but am on universal credit and my son and I haven't been to the dentist for a very long time. Even when we had an NHS dentist they weren't able to offer an appointment as all their NHS dentists left. I can't afford any treatments under denplan. A filling alone is £120+. So wonder what the point would be in even going on denplan. So, is that it? We just don't go to the dentist? I have considered travelling further afield, but just feel like it'll be expensive and a nightmare. The nearest dentist to me taking NHS patients is in London, and the train there would cost at least £80/90 for me and my son.

Feeling deflated. What does everyone do for dentistry?

I think you really need to take young children to the dentist. Register with the one in London and just get the train there once or twice a year. Are you sure you can’t get cheaper trains if you book ages in advance? Or get the coach which is always cheaper.

The private dentists I know of are very well off (fancy cars, houses, holidays) so I assume they make big bucks from private dentistry. It is a very mercenary industry.

Really good private
iO toothbrush
dental hygienist x 2

prevention is better than cure

What a load of smug nonsense. Everything from tooth decay to impacted wisdom teeth has a genetic component to a greater or lesser extent, and then there are environmental influences such as how many pregnancies a person has had. Obviously good dental hygiene is important but it's just not true to say that everyone with dental trouble has brought it on themselves.

I have a hideously expensive dentist who offers payment plans. He is very good but honestly I’ve had it with paying for my teeth. The next one that needs work is coming out!

My immunosuppressant medication begs to differ with you, actually. And ADHD teeth grinding.

Can't fix everything with an oral-b and a teepee brush.

DH was at the emergency dentist this morning (wasn't registered, just rang up and had an appointment within two hours).

He paid £100 for an extraction and x-rays. This was private, not NHS.

Don't suppose you're anywhere near a dental hospital or training practice? That might be worth you looking into.

If you can at least get your DS on some where absolutely you must

I haven't been to a dentist for I don't know, 3 or 4 years. I am still registered with an NHS dentist practice, but my dentist left and apparently they haven't been able to find a replacement.

I guess at some point I will give in and go private.

So let's get this straight:

If people want access to NHS dentistry, they must accept an increased burden which means to make them pay for, or at least subsidise the rent and utilities to allow the practice to operate and then be able to pay NHS dentists more.

This will make the cost of living crisis worse, as it will take more money away from people and force them to make further cutbacks in spending, ie no more foreign holidays, can't afford the repairs on the car etc.

This means less money being spent in the economy which means less money in the economy, so places can't afford to operate, so they either shutdown or they get the hell out of this country and set up shop in another, more profitable country. Interest rates can't go higher and they can't be lowered, so more money is printed and injected into the economy which pushes inflation up, that's then going to make rent and utilities go up further owing to diminished value of the currency, ie money printing. Don't forget our currency is not based on gold, it's based on debt, it's worthless funny money.

Sooooo.... raise taxes..... AGAIN. More struggle, more decay (excuse the pun) and more misery, but at least every person living in the UK recently born or near death can have lovely, shiny pearly whites without going private. Our glorious, world-beating NHS lives on.

Marvellous.

I'm beginning to think NHS dentistry isn't worth it.

Sorry. I'm very anti-taxation and I do get quite snarky when taxpayers are seen as bottomless pits of money.

Pay for it the same as everything else we need, I don't expect anyone else to pay for it, I'm an adult 🤷‍♀️

How did he find an emergency dentist? I tried (via 111) and was told I was not an emergency, so they would not help.

Access to dentist is basic healthcare. It is not just about having white teeth.. it is screening for cancer etc.

If the NHS goes private, would you be thinking the same when you find yourself having a heart attack at 2am, with no money in your bank account?

So it’s ok for other professions to be well remunerated for what can be a stressful job that takes 5-7 years basic training. Every uk dentist has to complete a minimum of 100hours CPD in a 5 year cycle in order to stay on the register. Indemnity costs 5k a year for GDPs, specialists such as orthodontists, implantologists and maxilla- facial surgeons pay much much more.

It is a highly skilled job which require high level of concentration and despite your comment, without a vocation many are unlikely to be successful or enjoy a long career.
The dentists who earn big bucks often work very long hours, six days a week and on top of all the clinical hours will also spend in excess of 10hours a week managing their practice.

Dentistry has one of the highest suicide rates, at least four colleagues I was at uni with have ended their lives. All successful practitioners, but struggled with the overwhelming stress that running practice often brings. Most are related to being sued or investigated by the GDC, often with no case to answer.
I was sued, it took 5 years for the legal team representing the patient to convince them that the case would fail if it went to court. It was a complicated case but had nothing to do with my care and everything to do with the patient travelling without insurance and refusing treatment /advice while on holiday.
Anyway it was five years of my life that caused more than a few sleepless nights. Even when you are 100% certain you have done nothing wrong, the doubt creeps in and you really do wonder if it’s worth carrying on.
Another colleague had a case hanging over her for 15yrs. In hindsight it was a case she should have refused, but it was a family friend and she felt obliged to help her. It ended her career because she became so disillusioned by the whole system so took early retirement.

Like professional sports people one bad decision can end your career. Often you have no idea that it was a bad decision until a letter drops into your doormat.

I am glad I’m in my twilight years professionally. Working privately so I can take my time and avoid the mistakes that high turnover NHS work often leads to. I work in a practice with plenty of specialists who I can refer patients to if they need something done outside of my comfort zone. I can reciprocate by seeing some of the more complex denture and cosmetic work.

Peoples expectations are off the scale currently, they expect high end work for NHS prices. Good luck with that.

A chunk of tooth fell out today. I have no idea what to do. I can't get an NHS dentist and am so broke I can't afford even a check up at a private one never mind any work done.

I tried to get insurance a few years ago but they wouldn't pay out as I have so many pre existing conditions. I'm just going to pray it doesn't start hurting.

Sorry to see this

See, this sort of stuff is the real issue. People suffering.

Any other health problem, you can book a GP appointment, or go to urgent care/A&E.

Tooth/oral stuff... no dentist and no money... you are fucked.

@HumanRightsAreHumanRights That’s horrific what that dentist did to you. He was probably doing the same to lots of other people. I hope he was eventually caught and struck off. I hope you get your dental needs sorted. However, I stand by what I said. A lot of dental issues are preventative and can be attributed to poor dental hygiene. If you brush, floss (use a water flosser — they’re a great modern invention) and book a couple of dental hygienist appointments a year to identify any issues before they snowball out of hand, you’ll never get to the stage where you have to spend hundreds or thousands on dental care in one go. Yes, the hygienist appointments will probably have to be booked privately because NHS dental is in dire straits: but that’s the situation at the moment. So many people are willing to pay for things like botox, fillers, hair appointments, eating out, holidays, etc, etc., yet they baulk at having to pay £80 once or twice a year for a dental hygienist appointment. A poster above mentioned her colleague who booked a £4000 holiday to Turkey, but was complaining that she couldn’t get subsidised NHS dental care. This woman is not an anomaly. Lots of people have poor oral hygiene and prioritise other things over paying for basic dental care.

Same situation here. I haven't seen a dentist for 4 years but have seen a private hygienist twice.

Same. £70 return journey on the train, two hours each way but still cheaper than going private.

I thought this was the norm now? Even my parents as pensioners have to pay a monthly plan. Do people still get free dental treatment? I suppose if on benefits assume the few NHS dentists are for this reason, to be able to provide the service needed so are you able to find one in your area? Doesn't it come under the NHS as a service anymore? These dental plans don't seem worth their money, 2 checkups a year and a bit of hygiene plus paying the extra tooth care, doesn't seem worth it but have to pay it. Xx

I'm in Somerset. There is not one NHS dentist in the whole county. It's awful. We're not set up for private. In countries where you pay, many employers offer health and dental insurance as a benefit. We can't just pay, we've already paid through taxes.

I am on benefits, and am meant to get NHS dental treatment free... but there are no NHS dentists where I am. And I can't afford to go private.

My teeth are a mess and my dentist went private so I had to get a dental plan and just pay that every month. Some Fillings and X-rays are included in the plan.if I needed anything more than that then I wouldn’t be able to afford it even at nhs prices so it wouldn’t make any difference. At least with the dental plan my teeth are getting better quality preventative care so I’m hopefully less likely to need any major work!

I’m on a low income but I have no other choice and don’t spend money on myself for nice clothes or going out so I kind of feel like I can justify the £40 a month to stop my teeth falling out. My kids are still registered as nhs patients at another practice but will only get seen once every 12 months now under the new nhs system!

Might be worthwhile just getting pregnant.

Family of 4 with 4 different dentists. I'm private with denplan as I had issues which couldn't wait and couldnt get a nhs dentist, dc1 is with a SEN dentist thank fuck, dc2 is at a private dentist but on nhs as he's young the squeezed him in, dh is on nhs at a dentist a town over. Dh dentist was miracle, he'd actually been scheduling appointments in his home country before I got him in. Around here the local groups announce when someone finds nhs open spots amd we all fight for the space 😬