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.

Can you send me the link for where you find that info? We haven’t been told where to send patients who need treatment

It’s for my local Health authority so it won’t help you unless you live in the same area.

You need to contact your own health authority.

Thanks - we tried that all day yesterday. Our area is denying all knowledge

Thanks anyway - seems some are better organised than others!

Are you saying there’s no community dental service in your area ? I can’t understand that.

GDPs here have almost daily updates by email and online, with info on protocols for triage by dentist and orthodontists, how to refer to PDS special care hubs , guidelines on antibiotic prescription for paediatric patients, info about PPE and supplies.

The pathways for emergency dental care of patients are so far working well, although there is a lot of demand.

There’s one hub set up for ? Covid patients.

Over 500 practice staff In our area have volunteered to help in the PDS hubs, support non dental community medical / nursing services or be redeployed into Acute Medical Services.

They are establishing a covid response team which is doing practice runs this weekend and should be good to go in a few days.

I don’t want MNers to think that all dental staff in the country are sitting on their hands, they are certainly not where I live.

We are fully private. Have had zero information - no emails nothing. Have been piecing it all together from the BDA. I called the community dental team in our area - they did call me back to be fair but said they were not a hub. Have left emails and messages everywhere trying to find out. My husband is not doing nothing either - he’s busy talking to emergencies and postponing the next three weeks of patients. We’ve had to furlough staff so it’s just him doing it.

But our friends who are nhs in our area have also had zero input, I don’t think it’s just us.

We are fully private

Ah well that might explain it. I’m guessing that they are prioritising NHS patients, NHS staff and NHS contractors at the moment.

I might be wrong of course and it’s just that they are not so organised in your area. However it must be frustrating for you if you are trying to offer help and don’t know who to contact.

I know they want donations of PPE etc and also for staff to volunteer - perhaps you, your husband and some of your colleagues could help?

They need

Nitrile gloves
Face masks Type ll and type llr
FFP1, FFP2 and FFP3
Surgical/ implant gowns / kits
Alcohol wipes
Detergent wipes
Visor shields
Hand sanitiser

Sadly husband having to look for paid work as he isn’t entitled to anything under the self employment scheme. He would have been very happy to otherwise but it’s been made clear that there will be no help for us and we have our own bills to pay. Sadly sure lots will be in the same position which seems such a waste of clinical skills. Nhs I believe are being asked to do such redeployment in exchange for keeping full nhs payments so presumably the same considerations don’t apply. And no FFP3 here sadly, - I thought dentists weren’t permitted to buy it as it was prioritised for medics.

Sadly I think it’s our area and not the nhs/private divide as non of our friends who are nhs know either. Very much hoping there is some clarity on Monday,

Yes I hope you get some clarification soon.

And for any patients awaiting emergency treatment.

Anyone in Hereford, Worcestershire & Arden we have had nothing from the Local Area team yet. They are not known for their organisational skills nor have they communicated with dentists locally apart from a simple form asking us to volunteer.
There are some massive issues around the late notification from the Chief Dental Officer regarding whether we should be seeing patients face to face. And have yet to have any FFP3 masks or training. Supply of gloves, alcohol gel and gowns dried up 3 weeks ago when the whole world was panic buying so once stocks ran out we had to down tools.
The NHS basically forgot about dentists so now along with Covid-19 you will have to suffer tooth ache.
It is estimated that there are in the region of 20000 dental emergencies a day. Currently more dental emergencies than covid cases. Very few are being seen so in a short time A&E will be clogged up with more dental emergencies than covid cases.
If you can’t get to see a dentist please ring the Local Area Teams ( who are all working from home). The more of the general public who yell at them the more likely they are going to speed up their response.
We are not sitting on ours hands we are firmly secured in traight jackets.

Gosh willdoutinaminute - more dental emergencies than covid 19.

You’d think they’d want to help the dental profession help them, not leave us terrified financially and worried re patient care. A sobering statistic. Luckily our patients are well maintained so not too many emergencies for us yet, but it’s going to get worse. Feeling and sharing your pain x

How are you getting on OP? Canceled a dentist appointment a few weeks ago as had to go into school with DD. Now I'm pretty sure I'm going to regret that. Hope the antibiotics kick in and they manage to arrange some sort of safe emergency dental work for people like you who are suffering.
Ive had dental abcesses as a teenager. Would rather give birth anyway of the week!

Reading all of this now, and very sad and worries for our profession.
Just a bit of a mini rant just now. I've been in work all morning manning phones, listening sympathetically to a lot of very anxious people in a lot of pain. It genuinely breaks my heart than we can't do much to help.
One thing ( this is the rant!) that struck me today was the amount of folk phoning complaining of pain from teeth that had outstanding treatment required on them already.
So for example someone complaining of pain from a wisdom tooth. Had been scheduled to come in to get tooth out in 2018, but failed the appointment.
Another complaining of pain from a tooth with a hole in it. Their dentist had noticed the hole 8 months ago, but the patient never bothered making an appointment. Now the shot has hit the fan and they are anxious, worried and angry and taking it out on us.
In future, if I still have a career left after this, I will be emphatically promoting good oral hygiene, preventive measures and early intervention.
This period in time will go down I history for many reasons.

I'm sure they're regretting those decisions now bettythedevikyouknow I know I am kicking myself massively that I rearranged my dentist appointment.
Hope the OP managed to get sorted

No one could have predicted this. It's all just so crazy

Maybe the only good thing about this is that patients will actually prioritise routine care - not just say I’ll only call you when I have a problem. Every dentist I know has always been passionate about routine preventative care, but it has often historically not been well received. Those whose mouths are well maintained may still have emergencies but I suspect a much smaller percentage than those who have not been in for routine care.