Dental second opinion

Yes I did and it was well worth it!
As a child I had severe neglect resulting in me being used as a 'guinea pig' by a very good dentist. I had several gold crowns and inlays all done free of charge at the age of about 14!
60+ years later I still have the same crowns.
I had a lovely NHS dentist who went and retired!
A new young dentist took over and naturally wanted to x-ray to check all was well - I had no problem with that.
I went again 6m later to find the 'new' dentist had moved on and I had another new young dentist. She was adamant that she would have to remove all the gold crowns, check everything was ok and then replace them with porcelain.
She told me not to worry about it as I could pay by instalments!
Having had no problems at all for 6o+ years I firmly believe that 'if it aint broke don't fix it' so I went to a private dentist for a second opinion.
I explained that I wasn't badmouthing the other dentist but didn't want them interfered with if it was unnecessary. He x-rayed for his own peace of mind but no further action was needed.
Yes, it cost me for the second opinion but far less than I would have had to pay for the treatment. The gold is still in place!!! I have never gone back to the other dentist!

fourormore I also have many gold crowns which were fitted when I was in my 20's. My present young dentist luckily has the same attitude as myself, if it aint broke, dont fix it.

You could ring your local Healthwatch and ask their advice.

I see my dentist as a private patient these days and have done for at least a decade. He's not much more expensive than an NHS one but got sick of all the form filling. So I do as I please.

You are not tied to a dentist. You can change your dentist every visit,as if they were a hairdresser.

I have been going to the same dentist for 20 years, but would not hesitate to move to another if I lost confidence in her.

Sheena If you feel that you might be going behind your dentist’s back, and that makes you feel uncomfortable, another way would be to ask your dentist to refer you to someone for a second opinion.
This is a perfectly reasonable request since you have a problem which your dentist hasn’t been able to sort out.
She will either 1)renew her efforts to find out what the problem is, or 2) refer you.

From the second dentist's POV it’s much better to have a proper referral, setting out the first dentist’s opinion, the history of the tooth and what investigations etc have already been carried out, than for someone to just walk in for an opinion.
The second dentist will be able to give you a better informed opinion and it avoids any feeling of professional discourtesy - although strictly speaking you are not registered any more at NHS practices, patients are regarded as ‘patients of the practice’ and it’s still considered slightly unethical to see patients from another practice without a referral letter, or unless it’s an emergency.
Hope that helps.