Can anyone tell me why dentists are being so protected?

[Carrotcakeforbreakfast]

So my tooth cracked yesterday crown to root.
Called dentist and they said call back tomorrow.

Last night half of said tooth broke off but roots are still in the gum.
Im in absolute agony.
Called up and they said buy a temporary filling kit and gargle with saltwater as we are not doing any face to face.

I'm an ahp frontline too
I have to carry on

Face to face with suspected
Face to face with ventilated confirmed.

Why can't dentists do emergency only witn the ppe we are being told to wear?

On a practical note any advice on what I can do for the pain? I have clove oil and it hasn't done much

Co-codomal hasn't done anything
I'm meant to be back at work tomorrow too. They really need me but I cannot think straight for the pain.

A dental practice I spoke to this morning told me to take myself to a&e!
I said I really don't think that is a good idea at the moment.

Someone hand me the pliers.

They aren’t protecting them, they are commandeering them and the ppe they use for more urgent needs. Dentists are being redeployed at hospitals to boost the numbers of medical staff. 1st year medical school is the same regardless of what speciality you pursue plus much of their knowledge is transferable so they have significant medical expertise which can be used in the field.

They have no choice. They can only give telephone advice or prescribe antibiotics (which they still aren’t allowed to do electronically despite years of lobbying).

Nope, we’re private. No commandeering here and no redeploying. We have been told to shut if we don’t have PPE. The normal masks work are NOT correct PPE. If it end just putting them to work in hospitals, all private dentistry would be open as normal.

I have a friend who is a dentist who is being redeployed to wards/a&e. I think this is the case for lots of allied health professionals.

And it’s patients they are protecting - if a dentist gets infected, they will spread it

Redeployment is only if you are nhs. So that is not part of the decision tree for private dentistry

A dental practice I spoke to this morning told me to take myself to a&e
I said I really don't think that is a good idea at the moment

Do you have a dental department in your hospital. It might be worth asking them for help under these extremely unusual circumstances.

We do actually.

I thought I am due back in tomorrow and if I feel no better I might go and ask for help.

I've no advice OP but lots and lots and lots of sympathy. Toothache can be horrendous.
💊💊💊
I thought I'd send some virtual drugs rather than the usual bunch of flowers.

And it’s patients they are protecting - if a dentist gets infected, they will spread it

Totally. I can also imagine the GDC taking a dim view of a dentist infecting multiple patients because of lack of proper PPE or a lowering of cross infection procedures because of supply issues.

I've worked in hospitals and in general dental practice and there is definitely an expectation of a higher standard of cross infection in GDP. Perhaps this is why it is now difficult for dentists to carry on because the regulations are so strict.

Solphadine plus soluble is your friend.
When my partner had tooth abscess only this was keeping him sane.

Is the lack of PPE for dentist the same in the private sector as in the NHS sector?

I've lost my front crown and look like a mad old hag...I've just accepted it. Of course they can't fix it...it's cosmetic. My filling can also wait.

Orajel is incredibly numbing. If you can't get that, Anbesol liquid or gel.

UYScuti - yes it is. Believe me if we could open we would. Tearing our hair out here with zero income and high running costs.

Yes this is going to be a bit of an issue although totally understand why and feel for the dentists on here who have lost their livelihoods.

DH was booked to have a wisdom tooth out as he's got a big infection underneath, that was cancelled. With the best will in the world I don't think I can get a wisdom tooth out with pliers so at a bit of a loss what to do.

My private dentist has just changed the notice on their website to say they’re not doing any face to face appointments - a change from yesterday , when they were only doing emergency. They are willing to provide pain relief and antibiotics.

They aren’t just a general dentist - about half of their work is referrals for their specialist practice.

I have a relatively new implant that I am taking particularly good care of now

Sadly it’s going to be an issue for a long time to come. The BDA has described the lack of support for all dentists (both private and nhs) as catastrophic. Private make up more than half of the sector. Lots on both sides will not reopen after this.

This is terrible and I suppose the roots of it (sorry for the pun) are in separating off dentistry so that it was not part of healthcare and we start to think of it as a kind of 'luxury' or cosmetic thing.
The truth is more that most of us require intervention from a dentist in order to have healthy functioning teeth, our teeth are in many ways just not up to the job of dealing with modern Life ☹️
www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-we-have-so-many-problems-with-our-teeth/
'Dental problems such as crowding and cavities are common in people today. But other species tend not to have such afflictions, nor did our fossil forebears.
Our teeth have evolved over hundreds of millions of years to be incredibly strong and to align precisely for efficient chewing. They developed these characteristics to function in a specific oral environment.
Our dental disorders largely stem from a shift in the oral environment caused by the introduction of softer, more sugary foods than the ones our ancestors typically ate.'

The government have been shitty to NHS dentists for decades - it's a 'Cinderella Service'. I know people think that dentists are rich buggers who have it easy, but it's not like that, especially if you're an NHS dentist. It's a coalface slog with high expectation and remuneration which is so low compared to the risk of litigation and what a procedure actually costs.
And now, there's no support on this front either. NHS dentists should tell the government where to shove it after this because long term this service is totally unsustainable.

My dentist is doing emergency work but no routine work. If it's not contraindicated for pre-existing conditions then possibly try an anti-inflammatory on top of the cocodamol (ibuprofen/naproxen if prescribed) which might help with the pain, OP, until you can be treated? Good luck and hope you feel better soon.

Our Health authority has set up dental hubs all over the area. If you cannot manage the pain with OTC painkiller then they will see you. You get triaged through your own dentist.

All the details for our area are online - have you googled to se if you have similar where you live? Dentists here are sending in their PPE, gloves, masks, wipes, surgical kit , visor shields, hand sanitiser etc to the hubs.

Lots of staff are also volunteering to work there too - I mean staff from general dental practices who are not NHS employees .

The nhs we know are already handing back contracts. Private work subsidies nhs work. We are a normal 2 income family, both working full time to provide for our family. Camping holidays here.

Well we haven’t been told where the hub is for our area .....