Dentist..are they going to be locked down

[teenagetantrums]

I have now waited 9 months. In June l booked my appointment for November. Earliest one they could they do. What does everyone think will dentist be closed now

My dd hasn't had her missed orthodontist appointment yet. None of us have had dental check ups yet

I'm worried about starting the treatment I need in case I can't see a dentist if there's problems. I need 2 large fillings, one of which may be a root canal and crown and another tooth needs to be either re-root canaled or removed, which may end up with surgery.

I've got the first appointment in January but I don't want to get halfway through and not be able to finish the treatment (although I'm sure my bank balance would be happy!)

My DS has had 3 orthodonist appts since they reopened in July. I really hope they don't close again but I doubt they will with all the measures they have in place now.

another one who was to have had a check up in March - keep ringing to be told "ring back in five weeks"
I think they are doing private treatment -when I mentioned last time my dd had had a check up the receptionist asked me if she went private! I contacted Healthwatch in my county to query this & apparently they have received several complaints & are concerned that the dentists are keeping up their NHS contract agreement
If you have Healthwatch in your county please complain!

I am hoping that the orthodontist will stay open. My other son had his braces removed in August and they had a lot of measures in place and it was always spotlessly clean anyway.

Dentist here, can I make it clear that NHS dentistry is still supposed to be limited to urgent and emergency care. Some dentists who have surgeries that have the room and spare surgeries are able to carry out treatments and are providing services, BUT the NHS contract is very rigid and carrying out routine check ups is not yet part of the Standard Operating Procedure. Breach of contract could close the practice down so we are all very wary of going beyond SOP.
We are doing NHS check ups but we are risk assessing and will cancel anyone where the risk of Covid outweighs the risk of dental disease. We also have to be careful about management of patients and staff within the practice. PHE can also close us down if we are not following the correct infection control measures.
If we prioritise check ups we then limit the time available for essential treatment and emergencies. I’m sure you would be happier if you didn’t have to wait a week in severe pain because we are booked up with check ups.
Please don’t complain to any outside agency/pressure group, instead contact your MP or Commissioning groups ( if you can find a telephone number - even dentists struggle with this one). The more you bother the bean counters the more likely they’ll get off their backsides and sort out the mess. If we break the rules we lose our business.

@Doryhunky

Our nhs dentist kept delaying our checkups. Now ds needs five fillings and two teeth removed for which I am going private. Shocking.

Yes it is shocking. What are you doing at home to support your child’s dental health? Not much by the sound of it.

Another one who hasn't had any info on them re-opening at all apart from emergencies! I had to pick up a prescription for antibiotics for a gum infection (diagnosed over the phone, mind) and they handed it out through a crack in the front door!

@Angrymum22 I can't imagine how tough it is. As an ex dentist, my heart goes out to you

I booked an appointment at my nhs dentist not realising they were only doing emergency appointments - but I did need a filling replacing . I took my DD too, and she had a check. It was only when I got there they said I should not really have been given an appointment!

@Angrymum22

Dentist here, can I make it clear that NHS dentistry is still supposed to be limited to urgent and emergency care. Some dentists who have surgeries that have the room and spare surgeries are able to carry out treatments and are providing services, BUT the NHS contract is very rigid and carrying out routine check ups is not yet part of the Standard Operating Procedure. Breach of contract could close the practice down so we are all very wary of going beyond SOP. We are doing NHS check ups but we are risk assessing and will cancel anyone where the risk of Covid outweighs the risk of dental disease. We also have to be careful about management of patients and staff within the practice. PHE can also close us down if we are not following the correct infection control measures. If we prioritise check ups we then limit the time available for essential treatment and emergencies. I’m sure you would be happier if you didn’t have to wait a week in severe pain because we are booked up with check ups. Please don’t complain to any outside agency/pressure group, instead contact your MP or Commissioning groups ( if you can find a telephone number - even dentists struggle with this one). The more you bother the bean counters the more likely they’ll get off their backsides and sort out the mess. If we break the rules we lose our business.

My check-up was in Feb, @Angrymum22.

What was then cancelled in March, June and August and never rescheduled was follow-up treatment I'd already paid for in advance.

Still waiting for contact from the dental surgery.

I genuinely don't know what to do.

God I hope not, I’ve got a root canal booked for next Saturday!!

My dentist has been open for emergencies since April and resumed normal service in July. I'm fairly sure they will continue to run as normal.

I have private cover but DH and the DC are NHS and have all had routine check ups since July.

@Dontlickthetrolley

We must be one of the lucky ones, we had an NHS appointment in March, just before lockdown and then had our 6 month check up just a few weeks ago. I'm due to go for the NHS equivalent of a hygienist appointment on Friday. Will see what text messages I get this week.

Totally off topic but what is the NHS equivalent of a hygienist apportionment? I've always (luckily) been an NHS patient but hygienist apportionments are always private expensive

Stupid autocorrect

I mean appointments of course

😩 root canal here too, was meant to be done in April, then got moved to this Friday!
Can't believe this is happening again!

How can it vary so much with people getting check up then others who require treatment like myself with my temporary filling job haven’t been seen for months and months .

We're still waiting for our dentist to get going again after the first lockdown 🙄

Funnily enough, they can offer private treatment...

@JamieLeeCurtains same here! Started treatment 2 weeks Pre lock down and paid in full for it, 7 months later I'd expect the dentist to finish the job, probably will risk losing my tooth if I'm not seen until the new year. Very frustrating as if I went private they'd see me 😩

My son had braces removed in July and retainers fitted with NHS orthodontist. We have all had NHS check ups in August and I had thorough (unpleasant) tooth clean. Served me right. Flossing more now!
Odd how so variable people's experiences are...

My dentist interestingly (just looked) is offering next-day private treatment appointments and next-day £45 hygienist appointments.

We had our check ups the day before lock down and the following check up last week, the dentist seemed mildly surprised but I'd checked and rearranged it with reception.

I’m really hoping that this won’t affect DD’s complex orthodontic treatment any further. But as we’re reliant on the maxillofacial consultant, orthodontic consultant and dentist all operating appointments, I’m not especially hopeful. Poor thing.

NHS dentistry doesn't pay enough to cover the overheads of a dental practice. That's why NHS work is so stressful for dentists as they have to do a lot of clinical work to meet quotas and earn any money at all. Now, they have to leave fallow time in which the chairs sit vacant after using a drill, which is important for a lot of their work. They can only stay open if they do a higher proportion of private work. Which is totally understandable. Because, y'know, nobody should work for free..