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Original poster

free dental care during pregnancy......did ANYONE manage to get it?

51 replies

moschops · 08/02/2005 10:06

i have been making enquiries locally to see if i can get registered anywhere for my free dental treatment.......no luck at all. the MIL asked her dentist who is also a good friend and he said i haven't got a hope in hell of getting anyone to take me on as an NHS patient. He is willing to fit me in as a private patient even though his books are 'full'.

i am absolutely FUMING.........if the dentists can find time in their appointment books to see me as a private patient why can't they use that time to see me as an NHS patient. i really object to paying for a service which i am entitled to for free.

has anyone out there managed to get registered with a dentist for their free treatment?
i am so annoyed about this that for the first time ever i am motivated to write to my local MP and rant at him about it!!!!

OP posts:
lockets · 08/02/2005 10:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
moschops · 08/02/2005 10:21

i'm in Lincolnshire.......having spoken to my mum she has informed me that there isn't a dentist in about a 35 mile radius that will fit me in (she phoned my auntie who is a dental nurse).

my midwife did say when she gave me the form that it would be a practical impossibility to find a dentist. my other problem is that due to lots of traumatic experiences in my youth at the hands of dentists, i REALLY don't like going anyway!! my MIL is happy to pay for my private treatment.....but its the principle of the thing that irritates me. i'm going to have a good moan at my midwife about it at my next appointment too.

as i don't drive it really isn't practical for me register with a dentist if it involves a long journey as i can't afford the travelling expenses either.

i did see on the news the other day that there is such a shortage in our area that the local health authority have been interviewing Spanish dentists to fill the gaps, but they have no idea when they will actually set up in practice.

OP posts:
Easy · 08/02/2005 10:29

But moschops why weren't you registered with a dentist anyway?

Don't you have regular checkups?

gscrym · 08/02/2005 10:32

Is there a dental clinic within the hospital you are registered with? Or possibly a dental hospital near where you are? I was a private patient with my dentist and when I got pregnant, he told me that all he would do is submit a request for treatment to the health authority but nothing would change as far as my care went. Anytime I needed anything done, he woudl write off, get the go-ahead then treat me.

motherinferior · 08/02/2005 10:35

Yes, I cunningly fitted in loads of appointments during both pregnancies and after the birth. I need a checkup now, as I've not been since DD2 turned one and she's now 19 months; but I reckon my teeth are Ok with an annual checkup.

Bozza · 08/02/2005 11:00

I think the problem is like Easy says that you are not already registered with a dentist. I have had absolutely no problem with dental treatment in either pregnancy because I was already registered with an NHS dentist. I have one more check-up to fit in before May when my exemption runs out. I have also registerd both children with the dentist.

Flossam · 08/02/2005 11:04

I've managed to get one where I am...but it was the first time in 6 years . I don't have any fillings though, and didn't need any this time. Didn't go for so long as couldn't afford the cost when I was a student. Applied for the free prescription service but was told I was only entitled to something like a wig!! Wahey!

Seriously though, this is a problem where my parents life. The MP down there (David Laws rings a bell) launched a campaign for their to be a NHS dentist and as a result I think a new practise was set up. Why don't you contact your MP and see if he/she is prepared to do something about it like his/her colleague did . Good luck!

Flossam · 08/02/2005 11:05

[blus] parents live

throckenholt · 08/02/2005 11:07

I had about a 3 year period to do that while I was pregnant - and never got round to it !! But I also have had bad experiences with dentists in the past so I am really wary about letting anyone touch my teeth unless they really hurt !

Dentistry seems in a bad way in this country - the standard of work seems very variable and itis almost impossible to get an NHS dentist. I think if you get a good dentist (or one you trust ) you hang on to them forever.

geekgrrl · 08/02/2005 11:14

i´m a private patient at my dentist but got free dental care during and after pregnancy, my children get free dental care there too. it was the same with the private dentist I was with before (Boots dental care)

Original poster
moschops · 08/02/2005 11:30

Easy, no i don't have regular check ups because for the last eight years i have been unable to get an NHS place with a dentist. when i left home i stayed with my dentist (even though he severely traumatised me!)just so i was registered. if you don't see the dentist every six months they automatically wipe you off their books. i tried several times to make an appointment and was told they were 'busy'. about three weeks after the six month cut off he removed me from his books.(even thought i was phoning every day to try and get an appt)

since then i have not been able to register as an NHS patient. there are four dental surgeries in my town, every single one of which will take me as a private patient only.

there is a number to ring if you can't get registered so i phoned it and was told for the forseeable future i could only get emergency treatment, i cannot register, and i may have to travel up to 50 miles to get the treatment.

it looks like i'm going to have to go private........which with a jiggle of finances i can probably afford (can't expect MIL to pay for it all!) but i know there are many people who aren't in such a fortunate position.......

OP posts:
Gobbledigook · 08/02/2005 11:31

No I didn't because I've got a private dentist - don't most people now? YOu can't find an NHS one round here for love nor money!

franch · 08/02/2005 11:46

I get free dental treatment at Whitecross - I think they're a chain?

Original poster
moschops · 08/02/2005 11:52

ok i've just been to the NHS website.......you can do a dentist search based on your postcode.

i live just near Skegness, the nearest dentist to me taking patients is apparently 17 odd miles away (i'm not sure, it's in Norfolk which seems a bit further) but anyway they are only taking patients local to them. then there is a list of Peterborough dentists.

most of the dentists local to me are only taking children 0-18 years for NHS treatment and some of them restrict that to the children of patients already NHS registered.

so it looks like if i want/need dental treatment i am going to HAVE to pay for it.

am definitely writing a long rant to my local MP!!!!!!

OP posts:
Easy · 08/02/2005 11:52

But if you register with a private dentist you may get free treatment while you're pregnant anyway (see below).

It seems a bit rich to not get a checkup or anything for years, then expect it all for free when you're pg, if you don't mind me saying.

We have been registered with an NHS dentist for ages, but they are turning private now. Good dentists tho so we'll stay. They will still treat children free on NHS tho'.

Blu · 08/02/2005 12:09

But Moschops, like many other people, has found it impossibel to FIND an NHS dentsit within reach for years and years!
It is a national scandal - my dentist went 'private only' and I've stayed because I have had so many didgy dentists that I daren't change again. And the NHS subsidy is only 25% of the cost anyway, unless you are on benefits, pg etc - so it's still expensive.

Remember that you can get free dental treatment for a year after birth.

batters · 08/02/2005 12:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Blu · 08/02/2005 12:52

"Didgy dentists, Digimon dentists..."

morningpaper · 08/02/2005 12:53

The trick is definitely to stay registered - if another dentist has tossed you off their books then you are probably going to find it harder for a dentist to accept you.

TBH if you haven't had treatment for 8 years why are you bothering now?

morningpaper · 08/02/2005 12:54

I think maybe most of us are so tight that we have done ANYTHING to stay on a Dentist's books..

Original poster
moschops · 08/02/2005 13:19

i'm bothering now because this has been the motivational kick up the backside i've long needed to sort it out............i really ought to be in a position to set a good example to my (future) children about dental hygiene.

in the past, having failed miserably to get an NHS place i have been totally unable to afford private care.

i can't really afford it now but if i don't just dig deep and cough up i will never find a dentist.

OP posts:
Pamina3 · 08/02/2005 13:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

chocfreeclary · 08/02/2005 14:03

I'm sure I'm a private patient at my fab dentist, and I didn't pay; in fact I timed my kids so well that I didn't pay for about 6 yrs, every time i went back I was "oh, I'm pg again!".
No white fillings tho, and last yr (before DS2 was 1) I had to have an infill on a back tooth, could choose from gold for free or porcelain for £280. went for the gold....
Have to pay now still I guess it wasn't worth continuing the pregnancies just for the free treatement...
not sure why it was free if I was private, maybe because as Easy says I was already with them?

Cuppatea · 08/02/2005 14:12

We moved towns when I was 7 months pregnant and I spent weeks trying to find an NHS dentist who would see us. In the end, by a massive stroke of luck my ante-natal class teacher mentioned her husband was a dentist and he agreed to see us. It was pure fluke though, and I'm sure we would have had to go private!!! It's a total nightmare, so know exactly how you feel Moschops! Good luck!

Davros · 08/02/2005 19:52

Yes I got it and for the year following pregnancy but I had been registered with my dentist for some years and just continued normal treatment.

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