Is anyone else on a middlish income finding that dentistry is a real luxury?

[Pruni]

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Hiya
we haven't been for years. Eventually found an NHS dentist for my dds last year, but not for us. DH had an abcess a couple of months ago and he ended up being seen at a dental access clinic, where they puntured it (sorry tmi) and gave him a list of dentists to try. DDs both need orthodontic work. They quoted for dd1 last month and it would be nearly £3000 for the treatment privately or she could wait upto 18 months for treatment to start, guess what we're doing.

I have to save to have a private check up DDs are NHS.

Pruni I had the teeensiest little filling (no anaesthetic even) and it cost £45. This was on the NHS!

I think private dentistry is certainly a luxury, how could it be otherwise?

i need about 3 teeth out at the back and the front four capped (heriditary).
my friend had her front four done on the nhs a few years back and it cost her £2000 then.
also the injections dont work on me and i have to be put under to have work done. uber bucks.
they will all just fall out.

yes - dh and I don't go regularly and I'm ashamed to say that dd has only been once and ds has never been

It worries me a lot. Dh has dental cover through work and we pay extra for me to have it too. They did a benefits review in his company recently and it was one thing people really wanted to keep. Or at least, it was the one thing that the lowlier workers wanted to keep, because for many of us it was the difference between having dental care and not having it.

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some dental insurance schemes don't pay for much anyway

I remember my old work used to offer a scheme but when you worked out how much you had to pay every month and then looked at all their exclusions, it was hardly worth it

A lot of private dentists have those schemes, don't they, where you pay £12 or so a month and treatment is covered?

A new NHS dental practice has just opened up in my town and I know they are planning to set up a few practices - if one's to be in Fife I'll let you know! Their prices are MUCH cheaper than private.

Most of the dentists are French and German as apparently they earn more here than in their own countries.

We looked into the dental plans/schemes but before they take you on you have to pay for an assement ( would have been about £200 for all of us 2 adults two children ) any work that needs to be done you will have to pay for it, then they will take you on the dental plan.

A couple of yeras ago my DH got hit for a bill for about £500 for dental work just after Xmas , set us back for the whole bloody year.

We are middle earners, therefore dont get any benefits . Yes we find dental treatment a luxury .

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I can't afford it either

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Oh yes, I am supposed to need a £300+ crown. Yeah, right. I am seriously thinking of just having the tooth removed anyway. It's at the back. I may even get better cheekbones!

We've been going privately for about the last 10 years but this year it is really worrying us every time we have to go. Dh and I are both 50ish and over the last couple of years the fillings we had done as children are beginning to deteriorate/fall out etc. The cost of replacing them and a couple of root canal problems is horrendous!

if you ring nhs direct they will tell you of dentists who have nhs registers. Even if they are out of your area, its got to be cheaper to visit every six months than cough up for private or cough up your own teeth if you dont do anything

My quote was NHS. White crowns don't get done on the NHS.

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Oh Pruni

I do feel tight for moaning about my £45. It is grim for you, and a disgrace I agree.

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Am sick of being told dentistry is free while PG, only to find out it;s only free on the NHS!!

My dentist comes to my place of work. But earlier in the year said the government made her choose between being private or NHS. Because she cou;dnt survive being all NHS (she did both before) she went private. As a result loads of people stopped going and now as I am part-time I never catch her to make an appoitment, let alone attend one. So have today just gone to a local dentist. Prices are quite good - £20 for an examination, so registered DD as well. DH's dentist is about £35 for examination, so tomorrow he;s going to register as well.

So disguseted that the governemtn is not doing more about the problem. No wonder that in the States so much fun is poked at British peoples teeth!

I agree that looking after your teeth isn't really seen as part of healthcare any more. And it should be.