NHS dentistry

[Frappuccinofan]

Hello,

I have been lucky enough to secure a routine appointment at my NHS dentist. I have a few concerns to discuss but in terms of treatment I only need a scale and polish, and possibly an x-ray. Just wondering if NHS dentists are even carrying out scale and polish services right now due to the aerosol risk? My dentist knows I’m only coming in for a routine check up.

Manual and ones I believe

In Scotland they are doing no aerosol generating procedures. Antibiotics and temporary fillings is it it seems. I’ve had to go private.

Ignore the and

Thank you both. I’m in England.

I did see the Scottish guidance online, I thought it may have been outdated as it seems pretty strict!

My H goes to an NHS dentist and they have the special machine which does whatever it does to the room plus room is left free for an hour so all procedures possible. I go to a private dentist and they would only hand scale. Went to get a wax and you have to have a protective sheet over your bits !

I cannot get an NHS dentist appointment but I desperately need one after I broke two of my teeth during lockdown

Basically no NHS dentistry in Scotland, but same dentist can do private.

I might be a cynic but it seems more like a money / privatisation thing than anything else.

My DS and DH have has an appointment cancelled this week, my son needs a fluoride varnish every 3 months and hasn’t been seen since February. I’m between dentists and they told me that they aren’t taking on NHS patients, but will fit me in if it’s a private checkup at £50!

I also think this is a scandal, preventative dentistry is so important.

I really think this is the beginning of alot of procedures only being available as private patients.

The reason a private dentist can do procedures that NHS don't currently allow for is because they are not governed by the same authority.

NHS are covering their backs for malpractice cases, so currently do not allow any aerosol generating procedures. They also do not have the funds for the surgery to be empty for the required time after the procedure, which is necessary to allow for those aerosols to settle before deep cleaning.

Private dentists get paid by the patient (obviously) so they have the funds to allow for the empty room. Alot seem to be working in two rooms, when finished in room 1, they change PPE and see their next patient in room 2... This allows for the first room to be cleaned without them loosing surgery time.

But I definitely think the government are using this pandemic to push some dental proceedures put of NHS remit. It'll just be too late to do anything by the time people realise.

Dental nurse here.
We've been doing AGP for a while. Scale and polish will be decided by your dentist if you need one and if they don't think you need one. You don't get one. A lot of people assume they need one because it's priced in the band 1 along with your check up so it would be included at no extra charge. Some people feel they are owed one. Chances are if you haven't been to the dentist in a year or more you need a scale anyway.

Our private hygiene appointments which is a better clean you either pay less for a manual clean or more if you want to use a sonic scaler (which is better).

@Starlightisthebestlight

My DS and DH have has an appointment cancelled this week, my son needs a fluoride varnish every 3 months and hasn’t been seen since February. I’m between dentists and they told me that they aren’t taking on NHS patients, but will fit me in if it’s a private checkup at £50!

I also think this is a scandal, preventative dentistry is so important.

Ask them to provide a low fluoride toothpaste? 1500pcm (depending on age).

@StarCat2020

I cannot get an NHS dentist appointment but I desperately need one after I broke two of my teeth during lockdown

Hey. They will extract your teeth if painful. Ive broke 4 in lockdown. 2 wisfom teeth so no problems then a front tooth and one next to it. My dentist is hopefully off quarantine so i can get a oartial denture measured .... so glad of face masks

I’m in local lockdown in Manchester. My NHS dentist has done a root extraction and an extended polish on my teeth. They are just alternating the rooms or something. Anyway, it was all fine,

In England (different in Scotland and Wales) we are expected to follow the English Chief Dental Officer's guidance so 1 hour fallow after every aerosol so any scaling will be hand scaling only and only if clinically necessary.
There was new guidance published on Friday but we're not allowed to follow it under the NHS as 2littlefishes says. So don't expect the NHS access to improve anytime soon.
After spending the last 4 months working this way my team are really frustrated as following the guidelines means we are limited in how many people we see per day and as we are a busy NHS practice we are only able to see about 30% of what we did see.
We are 6 months behind on check ups and we were only seeing our Dentally fit adults with low decay and healthy gums once a year already.