To think a 3 week wait for emergency dental treatment is unacceptable?

[TheMerryWindow]

Please forgive me, but I'm in severe pain and need to vent my frustration.

Toothache began on Monday, but it was mild so I thought I'd wait and see if it settled down. By Tuesday morning it was quite bad, so I went through the NHS list online, trying to find a dentist accepting patients. None in my area, so I rang 111, which has a line dedicated to dental queries. Spoke to a lovely lady who said she would refer me for emergency treatment to a dentist about 4 miles away. She said to wait 10 minutes and then ring them, saying it's a 111 referral. When I rang, the receptionist said there weren't any NHS appointments, she'd ring me back when one became available but couldn't give any idea of when that might be. She was very snooty and dismissive.

This morning the pain was even worse, so I rang Ms Snooty again. She said there were still no NHS appointments and, when pressed, said it would be 3 weeks or longer before I could expect an emergency appointment! At this point, I rang 111 again and spoke to another lovely lady, who gave me a list of other dentists to try. There was only one on the list who could give me an emergency appointment before next week - 53 miles away! So I'm going tomorrow, but fuming about having to travel such a long way, not to mention being left in pain for so long.

I know the NHS is under huge pressure, but surely I'm not being unreasonable to think this is unacceptable?

Yanbu, in Ireland but similar with my friend recently- an emergency, they asked was it keeping her awake, she said she can’t stop crying over the pain- given an appointment for ten days later! Hope you feel better soon op

@stayathomer
That's terrible. Your poor friend. I hope she gets some relief soon. At least I'm not crying with the pain - just kicking the furniture.

That's outrageous.

Not sure if you're just unlucky or if I'm very lucky. I phoned for an emergency appointment recently & was seen within the hour.

3 weeks is completely inappropriate for an emergency appointment. Do you have a dental hospital anywhere near you

Sadly virtually all dental work is now private. It’s changed dramatically over the past two years. There are zero nhs dentists around my area.

@Redglitter
I don't know if there's a dental hospital in my area, but will have a look. Thanks for suggestion.

This system sounds crap. In my area there's a 7 year waiting list for NHS dentists, so there's a funded contract for an emergency dental service in extremis, which will normally see anyone without a dentist who is in severe pain, within a day or two. However they don't try to save a tooth, just pull them out. The whole thing is utterly broken.

Would recommend getting a permanent dentist OP, for preventative care going forwards, either NHS waiting list or Denplan.

This happened to me. I was in agony. I went to A&E and they told me to go to my dentist...

In the end I went and I stayed in the waiting room. Quietly! Not in a ranting way. I just said I was going to wait and see if there was going to be anyone who didn't show up and eventually I got to see a dentist.

I’ve been waiting 3 years to have a tooth extracted, still waiting. Not been able to eat on that side of my mouth for 3 years! Dental services are awful.

It’s been really bad for a good few years now , nearly impossible to get nhs appointments

i agree it’s not good enough, but less and less dentists take nhs . It’s no problem getting an appointment if you are private.

as a family of four, all of us are at different places,( kids have to travel 15 miles, hubby 29 and me 6 ) because I couldn’t get somewhere that would take on all of us . Our local nhs dentist closed down five years ago, and re opened as private.

my only advice is to go on everyone’s waiting list- even if they say it could be months . We got lucky and got an appointment in two weeks at one point so it’s worth a try. And if you have to travel far - I think it’s just going to be something that you have to try accommodate, even if just for this appointment.

while you are waiting, it’s worth popping to the pharmacy- they can give you clove oil that helps tooth ache , and I even think they do a temp filling type thing you can buy over the counter too put you on

I've been with the same dental practice since I was a child and can no longer book an NHS appointment with them. I'm still a patient but only have the option to book a private appointment at the moment because they just don't have an NHS dentist working there.

Yep it's crap. There is no such thing as nhs dentists in my area anymore. I feel sorry for people who can't afford to pay for even the basic care. Lots of people are going to suffer decay and pain. Children will be the worst affected. I heard on the news children born now will never see an nhs dentist in their childhood if they wait on the waiting lists.

If I was you I'd scape together any money or borrow from family to get seen privately. Some dentists do payment plans. Be warned though I had a filling today and it was £450.

Its shit isn’t it - I am very fortunate to have an nhs dentist but not everything is covered. I need a root canal but there is no nhs provision for them in my area so I’m facing a £850 bill - I’m not sure what I’m going to do.

Some awful experiences on here. So sorry for everyone who's suffered or suffering still. Thank you for all the advice😊

Going to bed now, hope to get some sleep.

I rang Ms Snooty again.

I feel sorry for her, you calling her those kind of names.

I suggest you get onto your local MP and get him to do something about it.....

Lots of English are known for their dreadful teeth.

Thank the Tories.

It's changed so much since I was a child. You didn't have to think about it until relatively recently, it was an nhs service.

So remuneration for dentists was set at unacceptable rates for them and they would rather work privately?

Sorry you're going through this @TheMerryWindow

I dont know where you are in the country but here in NI, if we are signed for a course of treatment on the NHS and follow up with the 6/9/12 monthly appointment s, we are still NHS patients with our Dentist. Miss an appoinment , forget to cancel and reschedule, then you are off the books - wait for an NHS opening or go private

I have a problem now ( being treated with antibiotics atm ) I first felt pain mid week, rang on Friday morning, got told to come in and sit and wait, would be slotted in. Got the antibiotic and an appointment 7 days later - cost to me - £4.08 pence . I never ever miss a dental appointment when we have it this good

Yes suki1964 I think that’s the thing - never ever miss an appointment. My daughter moaned when she had to get three buses to hers for a filling (well she could have walked the last mile or so and it been a bus less to be fair !) because both parents were at work , but she has no idea how bloody lucky she is really that it only cost a bit of bus fair - because there is no way we could afford for her to go private. Honestly, if both the kids were in pain and needed a few hundred pounds worth of dental treatments , we would have to either put it on the credit card, pay in instalments if allowed- next option would be selling the car.

it’s more worrying that our doctors could go a similar route

Crikey. Who p*** on your chips today! 😂😂

I had an NHS dentist a few years ago but I actually deregistered and went private because the NHS service was rudimentary.

I pay privately to get a thorough check up rather than the dentist just counting my teeth then telling me to come back in 12 months

If I couldn't afford it I think I would do what someone up thread suggested and put it on a credit card (a 0% purchases one) because nothing is more important than your health

It’s bonkers. 3 weeks is not emergency. Within the next week should expect. What has happened to our dental care?! 😔

That is bonkers. Twice I’ve needed emergency dental work, same bloody tooth, all my other teeth are perfect. Phoned 111 and managed to get an early morning appointment next day. They only patch stuff up and you need to see a regular dentist but it’s enough to get you through till you can get an appointment.

Tbh I don’t find my private dentist any more expensive than the NHS.

Would GP prescribe painkillers/antibiotics?

This is my experience too.

However for someone just going private from NHS they tend to lump you with a £150-£200 new patient consultation

(I only know this as my mum is sick of having shite NHS dental treatment which leads to needing more dental treatment so she’s saving up to go private!)

NHS dentistry for adults is practically a thing of the past these days. Ideally, you should have some kind of plan in place with a private dentist and go for regular checkups.

By the time you've wasted time and money travelling 53 miles you might just as well have gone private!

I paid over £300 to have a tooth removed. Google tells me NHS charge is £73.50. We used to be on Denplan but new people took over our practice and switched us to a different one - Practice Plan which doesn’t seem to cover as much.