Dentist in England but moved to Wales.

[pokemeinthemorning]

I'm in a bit of a muddle.

I moved to Wales nearly 2 years ago and it's been impossible to find a dentist here. I was given a list of those accepting NHS patients and they are all well over half an hour away ( I live in a city and these places are small towns/villages). I called most of these and most are not taking on and the others saying waiting lists are 2 years.

I am still registered with a dentist in England ( about 45 mins away) and have booked a check up but haven't told them yet I've moved. I've been having a lot of wisdom tooth problems and it most probably needs a referral to hospital like my others did.

Now I don't know what will happen or if the dentist in England will be able to refer me if I live in Wales.

Can anyone offer me any advice? I thought about going private but can't afford it at the moment and even if I did an insurance policy, they wouldn't pay out if it's an existing condition.

I lived in Wales, my dentist was England & I was referred to the Liverpool dental hospital with no issue.
That was several years ago but I can’t see why it would cause issues now when it didn’t then.

Thank you NotAnother, fingers crossed it will be ok. I'm worried they might deregister me if they know I live in Wales now.

They will still be able to see you even though you're living in Wales as there is no catchment for English NHS dentistry. What they won't know is where to refer you as you'll need referral to a Welsh Oral and Maxillofacial Department. If you can tell them your nearest one, the referral templates and criteria are normally on the Hospital website.

I'm now going to sound really grumpy becuase at the moment a fair few of our patient have moved but because NHS access for dentistry is awful, they can't find practices where they'e moved to so they are travelling back for care, sometimes hundreds of miles. It's seen as our problem they've got long round trips..."oh I can't do then as it'll take me 4 hours to get to you" my team are as accomodating as they can be but we're all worn out and hot and bothered in all our plastic and FFP3s.

MillyMolly, I can imagine. I'd actually prefer to stay with my English one than travel in Wales as I have family there and it's quicker on the motorway. I just hope they will keep me and will be very grateful if they do. I do feel sorry that all the doctors and dentists get the slack. Most of my family are/were in the NHS as doctors and nurses. Several have moved abroad to work.

I'd stick with the English one if possible. I moved to Wales last year and we've had to go private. We pay a small amount per month for 2 check ups and a hygiene app. Anything else is extra.