When will dentists reopen?

[Asiama]

Has anyone seen any information around when dentists are expected to reopen? DH is in pain, probably needs a small filling, but it sounds like his options are to wait it out or tooth extraction. Wondering how long he may need to wait it out for!

You can buy temporary filling stuff from chemists. If he's in pain and you think there is a possibility of infection then call your dentist and they will prescribe antibiotics.
I was told july at the earliest to reopen (my tooth broke a few weeks ago).

I reckon September, OP. At least I dare not hope for earlier. Dentists aren't important. And then there will be an awful backlog when they do open.

I'll ask at the chemist, too. thanks for that info.
My experience of temp fillings from dentist was they only lasted 3-8 days, though. Very very temporary. I bet chemist product is even shorter life.

Dentists aren't important.

Toothache can be excrutiatingly painful and dental abscesses can lead to serious consequences if left untreated.

Of course dentists are important. FFS.

I've been having zoom consultations with my orthodontist (adult braces) I'm not due to have my braces off for another 7 months and he's already trying to work out ways of getting it off without the procedures they would normally use and 'going old school' to use his words.

Apparently the full lot of one use PPE is over £100 and they will have to close the surgery for one hour to clean after every patient when they do eventually reopen (and this is private)

It's all very Unknown but this is the latest guidance info about how things might work I believe

m.youtube.com/watch?v=X7TZQf1X-oA&feature=youtu.be

I have recently had cause to buy a temporary filling kit and they are VERY hard to come by. Couldn't get one in a chemist anywhere locally so had to order one but this took over ten days to arrive. Order one ASAP if you need one and make sure you get the Dentek one as the others are pretty rubbish.

bda.org/advice/Coronavirus/Pages/latest-updates.aspx

This page will give you the latest info from the BDA

I'm praying for July!!

"Dentists aren't important" in the UK lockdown picture.
Didn't dentists stay open throughout lockdown in some other countries & US states -- but not in Britain.

In Britain, to British authorities, Dentists aren't an essential service.

But heck, all the public toilets were closed in most of UK even though public toilets were explicitly allowed to stay open. Local authorities declared that sanitation wasn't important. (eek)

We don’t know. The CDO for England hasn’t got out of bed this week.
Wales and Scotland have plans but normal routine care is a way off under those- September to January.
You don’t get toothache from needing a small filling! It means the nerve is involved if you have pain rather than sensitivity and should in normal times consider extraction or root canal.
At the moment root canal would be very difficult to get hold of so extraction. Ring 111 and hopefully he might be able to have it out at a hub this week.

Thank you all. So far I have not needed a filling so this is new territory for me. Dentists are very important and I hope they will reopen soon with the right safety precautions in place!

yorkshire

Ive got adult braces

Has your orthodontist mentioned how it will work moving forward payment wise?

So ive missed two appointments so it must be around about the 12 week mark...so no adjustments being made and im still being charged monthly

It was supposed to take 20 months so now I’m looking at at least 4 extra months

I’m obviously going to query it when i see them but thats still ages away!

Sorry asiama

Hope you get the answer soon!

Just watched the utube video yorkshire linked to. Ds is autistic and was meant to have his brace fitted last month. The whole experience is overwhelming for him, I'm not sure he would be able to go in the surgery alone.

DH spoke to his dentist and they have given him antibiotics, which won't help with the pain. He can't bear it and painkillers aren't helping, but they won't refer him to a dental hub. We are now looking at flying to Germany where dentists are open

Asia hope he gets it sorted. That sounds awful for him.

Private dentists with appropriate ppe are starting to open up so maybe go to one of them instead of flying to Germany
If he's in that much pain it's not a small filling he's needing.

I also suggest trying all the private dentists you can find. I was seen at one yesterday for pain, but not the "life or death" type emergency the nhs like to go on about.

My OH is a dentist and is beyond frustrated that all he can do is communicate over the phone with patients who clearly need to be seen but he can only prescribe anti biotics or suggest DIY stuff (such as babybel wax as a substitute filling ). His boss has been told by his insurance company (liability/indemnity thing - can't remember what exactly but without is he can't practice) that he is allowed to practice again but OHs insurance won't cover him unless the Chief Dental Officer/ Public Health England say OK - and the CDO has been MIA for weeks!

He is really hoping to start back late June and they've put loads of procedures in place. He will still end up 60-70% down on his income due to this lockdown and subsequent reduction in the number of patients he can see due to extra cleaning of surgeries etc.

I was undergoing root canal at the time of lockdown and the abscess came back two weeks into lockdown. After three sets of antibiotics I had the tooth extracted on Friday, the dentist said that he thought that the earliest time they would be back doing more complicated procedures is at the end of July and I couldn't take the pain until then.

@sunshinepasta would you be happy to share the dentist details with me via a private message? We have contacted private dentists in our area but they haven't been able to help

@Blobby10 that must be so frustrating! I really hope dentists can go back to work soon and that there is some financial support.

@werekitty sorry you have been suffering I don't understand how Germany can keep its dentists going and we can't.

@Asiama yes but I've never used private message before, don't know how it works if you message me I will
Reply. They just said that they had enough ppe and happy to open for emergencies, so
Not just anything but it wasn't as extreme as then nhs say it has to be, It's costing me an absolute fortune to have treatment but can't see any other option. I actually don't care!

My dentist (private) has updated on YouTube that they are expecting their PPE supplies by mid June and when they get the nod will start seeing patients that they know have had issues so hopefully then. A reduced service for those in pain etc.

@sunshinepasta I have sent you a message. I hope it works.

@vjg13 that's good to know. Thank you.

This is shocking OP, I’m so sorry.

I live in Holland and our dentists closed for a week or two (lockdown memory lapse, I can’t remember exactly).

They then opened for urgent work only. My checkup was therefore cancelled. I then lost a filling and they were able to see me and replace it.

There were many additional precautions (I held a solution in my mouth for one minute, for example), but the work was done.