F*cking, c*nting NHS Dentists. What a waste of time and money.

[theSuburbanDryad]

Last year dh had a filling come out. We went to the emergency dentist who put a temporary filling in and told him to get it sorted within a month. We register with an NHS dentist (we knew it was an NHS dentist as it had a massive great banner saying "NHS Dentist!! 1000's of places available!!") who pokes around in his mouth (minus mask, gloves or apron! ) and then says, "Oh no, i couldn't do this work on the NHS as it costs too much." We complain to the PCT. We hear nothing.

Fast forward a year or so. We have registered with several NHS dentists, who all have waiting lists. Dh is now in horrific pain as the temporary filling has come out and we think the nerve may be exposed. So yesterday I made him an appointment with the emergency dentist in our new area. We went along this morning full of hope and joy that the problem was going to finally be solved - even if meant removing the tooth! They take one look at him and refuse to treat him as there's an infection and if they inject the gum it will spread the infection.

Now - I'm not a dentist, but it seems to me that if there's an infection there anyway, why not inject the gum, do the work and then give anti-biotics to combat the infection? Bearing in mind he'l
Hideous pain with no end or treatment in sight: Priceless.

For some things there's money. For everything else, there's the NHS.

Cocksuckers.

Also, we have complained about the unprofessional behaviour from both dentists, and got no feedback whatsoever from the PCT! Waste of time and money as well!

Lulu - he wasn't effing at the staff! And the reson the NHS have a zero tolerance policy to aggression is because they're incompetent and shite across the board that people get frustrated. I had a go at him for swearing, by the way, and i don't condone it in anyway. But rather than getting all prissy at us it would have been much better (and may have defused the situation somewhat) if she'd said something like, "I understand you're upset but I don't have to put up with language like that." But no, much easier to get aggressive back and escalate the situation!

why are you painting the entire NHS with the same brush>? you need to take a step back

your DH is in horrible, horrible pain.

you need to calm down and find a way to get it sorted.

either phone NHS direct or your out of hours GP

call or write to or email the PCT first thing tomorrow

and i consider swearing in front of the staff , even if not directly at them, aggressive.

but maybe i am old fashioned.

i do understand being in terrible pain can make you short tempered and miserable

i hope you get sorted

theSuburbanDryad, sorry, I [wrongly] assumed that it was an independant dental surgery that saw you, not the hospital. I am sure, you know, that they DO care...but you have to realise the strain they are under.

More & more people can't find dentists on the NHS, and those who can't, can't afford private treatment/dentists, therefore these guys are dealing with people that haven't seen a dentist for years & expect to be seen ASAP, sorted out in a flash [regardless of the problem] & when they aren't, they place the blame for that at the dentist's door.

You have to understand that you/your dh are not an isolated case & the thanks these guys get for helping you is next to nothing. In all fairness, attitude aside, he did the best he could for you. You read trouble18524's post, would you have been happier for your dh to end up like that?

All the patients that dentist saw yesturday could have had your attitude, I think after a while you would start to harden your exterior a little!

I seriously wouldn't bother with the PCT, but if that has to be the first port of call, and if you hear nothing, your next port of call should be these guys...

General Dental Council

And follow up any complaint you make...it is easy for any PCT to receive a complaint & then not act on it if they never hear from you again.

Wow you sound angry. I'm sorry to read that you've had such a bad experience.

I'm sad to see you sound off (with such foul language about a profession who are usually always trying to help patients. Yes there are rogues, but these are the exception.
The reason that a tooth is not normally taken out if there is severe local infection is because the local anaesthetic often doesn't work. The infection ideally should be drained, antibiotics are of limited/no use here, drainage is what will get rid of the pain.

You can mix private and NHS treatment on the same tooth, with patient's consent, it was in the old contract that you couldn't.

Masks and aprons are optional (research shows that masks become ineffective very quickly) byt gloves are a must and if you have concerns about hygeien control do raise a formal complaint. I don't know any dentists who don't wear gloves.

Sandcastles - thank you. You're absolutely right, and your last post has helped me get some perspective. Of course I wouldn't want him to end up like poor trouble (although we do have life insurance! ) and of course the dentist was doing the best she could.

I have worked in situations where i came up against abuse and aggressive behaviour on a regular basis and it's not fun at all. And as I said before I didn't condone dh's language at all, and in fact told him so in front of the receptionist! It was the "Especially in front of your little boy" bit that wound me up I think. I happen to agree that swearing in front of toddlers is not good behaviour but I don't need to be told that by a dental receptionist!! When we got out i said to dh "You made us look like right commoners, swearing like that in front of her!"

Thank you for the link as well - will check that out, although the incident with no gloves or mask thing was over a year ago and the NHS dentist who wasn't an NHS dentist was back in Feb (or possibly March, can't remember quite!). Would they still be interested? The PCT certainly aren't....

Dontshoot - thank you. We'll check out possibly mixing private and NHS treatment, we'll have to see what we can afford! I need root canal doing, but can't even afford the NHS treatment and we're not entitled to further help (from an HC1 form, for example).

I'm so glad i have MN to rant at! Thanks for listening - must take ds to the park and let dh sleep off his painkillers!

Oh and lulu - to answer your question further down "Why are you tarring the entire NHS with the same brush?"

Well, the appalling treatment I received during my labour with ds, the awful PN "care" i had, the countless NHS mw's and hv's who give out duff advice, the blood tests i had to have done to check my thyroid which i'm STILL waiting for the results of, my father's botched quadruple heart bypass and the lack of care afterwards which nearly resulted in him dying, the time my mother broke her arm and the A&E staff didn't realise that she'd also broken her thumb, resulting in her possibly never being able to straighten the thumb again.

In fact - apart from my lovely community mw (who still gave out duff bf-ing advice!) i'm struggling to think of a positive experience that i (or anybody i know) have had on the NHS! Which is why i'm tarring them all with the same brush!

i

theSuburbanDryad, no worries...

It is hard, I know. I have watched the decline in NHS dentistry & it is sad that there are just SO many people who are effected by it. I am convinced that in years to come, there will be NO NHS dentistry!

I do understand your anger & frustration, not only because men are pains when in pain, but when you think it will all be resolved, only to find out it isn't as simple as that, is frustrating!

You can certainly contact the GDC, see what they say. It is my experience that they are usually fairly good, but not sure wrt the time factor.

Also, try clove oil on a cotton swap, on the tooth [try & avoid exposed area] that sometimes helps.

I do hope he gets it sorted soon...

Wanted to add

for my lovely new nhs dentist.

Told her straight away I was terrified of dentists and she replied "well so am I so you are in good company". I'm sure she's not of course, but, she really put me at ease.

Gave me an injection the other day for a filling and i can honestly say that I didnt even feel the needle going in. Good dentists? they are out there. No fears about going back to her

misdee - i know you do, and they were fantastic with Peter, and actually i know they have been fantastic in a couple of cases where transplants or a terminal illness have been involved.

But i just don't understand how they can be - certainly in such a large proportion of cases - so, so bad! Maybe i'm just unlucky and all around me are people getting fantastic care from the NHS while me and my immediate family are coughing and spluttering our way through life!

sandcastles - i wanted to leave dh at the hospital and let the farking receptionist deal with him! He's a grouchy sod at the best of times and he's 100000000x worse when he's even slightly ill, never mind the crippling pain he's in right now!

trouble - i had a fantastic dentist back home. trouble was, he was private but i had all my dental bills paid for me by my work health insurance!

where about are you TSD

trouble18524, there are dentists who are scared of dentists!

I used to work with the biggest dento-phobe known! We had to knock him out just to do a small filling!

theSuburbanDryad, you should have! I want to leave dh in random places often & he isn't in pain.....yet!

UD, i know there are some areas in the NHS where they are failing, which is why i refusing to give birth to dc#4 at the local hospital and am trvelling 10miles to get to the lister in stevenage. we have been failed by them many times.

i hope the anti biotics work well on your dh infection and he can get the tooth problem sorted soon. peter had root canal treatment done privatly as we were on the nhs waiting list but needed to get sone asap and it was very painful for him. he has to take laods of anti biotics before each procedure as well to cut down risk of infection.

trouble - we are in South Bucks, went to Aylesbury this morning, which is a 40 mile round trip, which is obviously not improving my mood! although i have calmed down a lot now thanks to you lot!

sandcastles - at least he's gone to bed now rather than lolling around feeling sorry for himself and getting under my feet! i really should go to the park and leave him in peace but i can't seem to pry myself off MN! Must...go....

Sandcastles how often do people who have had the injection (for fillings etc) end up lopsided for about 12 hrs?

Never encountered this personally until about 12yrs ago and now it happens every time. Have to say the 1st time it happened I was terrified as it looked as tho i'd had a stroke and it lasted 24hrs that time.

Enjoy your trip to the park....

Hope your dh is feeling better soon!

Wow, that is a long time! I would suggest you tell your dentist next time you see her, as a local should only last a few hours at most.

It could be that you take longer to break it down, or it could be that you need a different local.

Thanks, that was the first time, now it lasts about 6hrs (did the other day). Just that preious to 12yrs ago I had the obvious numbing/dribbling drinks etc, but, if i looked in the mirror there were no obvious signs. Now there always is that prominent droop.

I'll mention it to her tho next time, thanks for that.

There is a local anaesthetic called Articaine that they may be using-known for deep effect and long lasting effects. Wasn't used 12 years ago. Used a lot in the US. I would tell the dentist, and they can check their records to see what they used.