DENTISTS... is there an easy way to find one

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Or do I have to trawl through the yellow pages ringing every single one to ask:

"do you do NHS?"
"do you have any vacancies?"
"where exactly are you?"

Isn't there a sort of dental advisory place that has a list, so they can tell you that a particular place is NHS and has vacances, so you can just ring and see if they'll have you?

here and it tells you if they are accepting patients and what kind of patient etc.

perrrrrrrfect

It's even given me a number to ring if I'm struggling to find what I am looking for.

Cheers

Pleasure my dear

Your local PCT will give you a list of dentists currently taking on patients.

They are obliged to have this information for you.

PCT?

Primary care trust.

how would I find out what my local one is?

Type in you postcode on the link Indith posted and it will come up with your local dentists. This will show you which PCT they are under and that will be your local one.

got it.

Thanks very much

(maybe I'll be able to smile like this in rl soon )

I had a similar problem, I found out that my local PCT held a waiting list for NHS dentists.

I wrote and asked to be put on the list and got a dentist around 4 weeks later.

we've lived here for five years and every year or so, I go through the yellow pages and see about getting a dentist.

Tis that time of year again and I thought oh fgs, there must be an easier way!!!

Have found a dentist who will see us if we have a problem, but I want one for check-ups and stuff. The littlies have never been to a dentist, and dd2 needs a brace.

Will let you know if I find one...

meant to say, btw... that they won't even put you on the waiting list, they just say they're all full.

I founb one using that site the other week. Not all those listed as taking patients are because they fill up so quickly but if you keep ringing you should find one. Ours is a bit of a drive out but worth having one!

Rang them - got no joy. One of them suggested ringing NHS direct, so I did, they gave me a load more (some of which I'd already rang) and eventually, I got one who said that they will put us on the list.

It will be 6 months before we actually get to see a dentist, but we will be on the list.

She asked me for our address, and when I gave it to her she said "oh, is that the house with the slides in the garden? you live next door to my granny and grandad!"

Unfortunately, being on chatting over the garden fence terms with her rellies doesn't get me preferential treatment, we still have to wait 6 months.

But we're 6 months nearer to seeing a dentist than we were this morning

Btw... I should stress that my town has none, neither does the next town, or the one next to that.

The surgery was 30 odd miles away.

Which is why living next door to her granny was a bit

Not bad really, you can keep trying every so often anyway and if you don't find anything sooner you are at least on a list.

yeah, the NHS direct bloke gave me the number of a dentist about 25 miles away, but in a really inaccessible village - probably about three or four bus rides away from me - and I wouldn't even know where to start if I was driving I asked if there was anything in a more accessible place - maybe in a town. He said "well, beggars can't be choosers" so I was a bit

Pants. I used to have a lovely dentist in Beverely before he went private. Have yet to see my shiny new dentist up here as will involve a family day out and Mr Indith has just been told by the physio he needs to go to ligament club at the hospital 2 mornings a week for 3-6 months so not sure work would look upon a dentist trip too kindly!