Free dental as new mum - how much?

[MuslinSuit]

So as a new mum I get free dental care for a year. I'm really scared of dentists and hence haven't been for years and years. I have a mouth full of rotted and broken teeth

So I think I'm looking at implants, crowns, veneers etc to get my mouth looking shipshape. Will literally everything be free? I suspect it won't. What's considered cosmetic? On the left side, I have three teeth then nothing until one lonely tooth halfway back which is half rotted.

I'm scared, but figure if I can grow a baby then I can do this! My HV recommended a good dentist who specialises in nervous patients, and I can be referred by them to the sedation clinic if they think it's necessary. Another question - how much work can they do in each trip? The HV said that if I am sedated then DH will need to stay home and look after babe that day and the next too.

any dentists out there!

I have had tooth extractions, fillings, crowns and a denture for free. I don't think implants are available, but one type of bridge is.

I hate making appointments for and meeting new dentists, but I have a lovley one now and I even pay to see him now my free year is up. Just remember you are doing this for your little one, be brave and get over your fear before you have to take them along too.

Dont know about cost and how much they can do free but I have a major phobia of dentists and am in a total state if I have to even go for a look around so I know how you feel.
After years of being refered to different MH teams and "Special Dentists" I now go to a community dentists thats based in a primary care trust and there fab! It dosent change how scared i am but i can have happy gas or an IV sedation with temazapan for the few days before (otherwise i cant keep any food down or sleep at all) and more important they understand and go really slow.
They will do as much as you feel you can take - i had 3 weeks of each week just going getting the happy air set up and getting used to it then I got numbed up the week after then had a filling the next week. (I told you I had a problem :) )
If you have happy gas then I would say you could look after baby but anything more then yes help will be needed. Dont underestimate how the worry and stress will effect you too im always wiped out for the rest of the day so you may wish to consider that too.
I wish you luck!! any questions just ask

To be honest, half the problem is how scared I am and the other half is how awful my smile looks

I used to have a lovely smile, my best feature - I have a really wide face-creasing smile, and my teeth (what's left of them) are white and very even. They are also very weak and seem to rot and break if I even look at a smoothie.

LoubyLou - how much can you have done at once under IV sedation? I would love to be able to go under, and have as much as possible done straight away.

If I don't have implants, I will be left with massive gaps!

I am only 32

I don't understand what crowns, bridges, dentures are I thought implants were the best option for many of my horrible gaps if the teeth are (as many of them are) unsalvageable?

On the NHS you are entitled to treatment that will secure your dental health. If you have a gap, a denture is a perfectly reasonable option to fill the gap. An implant isn't necessary. It might be nice but it's not essential. If you want treatment like that you will have to pay privately.

Even a dental hospital with trainee dentists won't provide implants if they are required due to preventable dental disease (gum disease & decay). Cancer patients and those who have had severe trauma may be eligible.

It's the tesco value of dentistry i.e it does the job but there is better

i think you will find that they will only do treatment that is totally necessary.

i have had 2 teeth out on the NHS and neither time have I been given anything to fill the gap.
as I understand it they will only do a denture or whatever if it's one of the front teeth and can be seen.

If I were you I would find a n ice local NHS dentist and explain that you are very, very nervous and that you would like to come in to talk about what needs doing and what would be covered.
that way you can find out a whole lot more than we can tell you...

Hi,
depends on what your dentist is like but mine would do as much as they could so with an IV in they would prob book you in for all morning and sort say all of the fillings and if you need crowns they do the prep for that. Then go back a few weeks later and finish it all off again.
IV sedation is a canular in the back of your hand and trust me I dont remember anything untill its home time!
Im no dentist but a crown is a ceramic copy of your tooth shape so they file your tooth into a peg so the crown fits over the top and looks normal. They do this for large fillings, broken teeth or after a root canal to protect it. A bridge is sililar to a crown but they use the 2 teeth either side to bridge/suport the middle crown if theres really very little there.
They may do implants but mine will only do bridge work so that would sort the gaps out without having to put a metal post in your jaw for the implant to fix onto. (major yak!)
Go and get it sorted while its free then youll have your lovley smile back!!

Obviously I'm typing in invisible ink. You're more likely to get mugged by lord Lucan than you are to get implants on the NHS. HTH.

Well ill look forward to being mugged then as I have had two implants done totally on the NHS. It is posible but yes not likley hence why I said MAY.