No NHS dentists. What are we supposed to do?

[sarahh96]

So, very very luckily I have an NHS dentist but most people don't.
My question is, if you need the dentist for any reason and can't afford it, what are you supposed to do?
I know they offer finance but what if you can't afford the repayments?
Bad oral health leads to all sorts of other health issues so are we going to end up in Victorian times? Pulling our own teeth etc.
I understand the reason why there is a lack of dentists but isn't this going to lead to long term declining health?

If you cant get an NHS dentist or afford to go private then im afraid its tough. Yes of course this is going to cause long term problems, especially in kids.

My private dentist has started charging before work is completed. Too many people booking in for stuff then afterwards they shrug and say “sorry I have no money, but I was in pain and I was desperate. You’ll have to take me to court”.

The dentist said he totally understands why they’re doing it and he doesn’t blame them, desperate people will do anything to make the pain stop. But at the same time he has a business to run so he has had to put a stop to it.

If it is an emergency, you can ring 111 who will get you an appointment with an NHS dentist but don't hold your breath for a quick response.

It's all down to money, dentists want more money for treating NHS than the NHS pay because the NHSA can't afford it but that same NHS has money for more management and diversity staff....

There are dental and teaching hospitals that do appointments -

its absolutely dire. Every appointment, I tell my NHS dentist thanks for staying.

The government have done fuck all to address this crisis and it’s getting worse.

You have to pay or be in pain.

If the government continue to underfund nursery places, the exact same thing will happen there.

This is what's likely to happen with healthcare if the NHS continues to be underfunded and dismantled beneath the surface.

If you've money great, if not tough.

A friends daughter is a trainee dentist. Apparently at the teaching hospital there are queues of people every day who need treatment but can’t access it any other way (it’s free at the hospital). She has said there’s usually more than can be treated, so some will have to come back the next day. They just have to wait and hope. Means taking a day off work, and apparently a lot of people have waited in the hope it would get better, to the point that a lot more extractions are required than if they’d had earlier treatment. So, ill health due to dental issues, and missing teeth. A bit like for poor people in the US.

I don’t think that’s the whole answer or completely fair to dentists!

My understanding is that the NHS contract which dentists can enter into caps the amount of work which they are able to do in each period. So the dentist is prevented by the commissioning group from taking on additional patients and from carrying out more work for those on their books during the period than has been contracted for.

The only option the dentist has once the cap has been exceeded for the period is to do the work free of charge (but the costs of running a dental surgery are huge so they can’t afford to do that) or providing the services on a privately paid basis.