Dentists

Ithink everywhere is the same ,I broke a front crown in February,circumstances meant I couldn't get to the dentist and then lockdown happened.When I called I was told if its not causing a lot of pain leave it until things are more "normal".Our dentist does private work too but he's not doing them either .

DH broke a tooth and was seen by our own dentist within 2 weeks of calling. The cost was £245 as the surgery has to be closed down for an hour after each invasive procedure.

I was in a lot of pain and it was a case of fitting me in. The day I was supposed to see the dentist she rang me to say she was unwell so I was given another date for nearly 2 weeks. I left it a day and rang the surgery because the painkillers did zilch and the tooth needed to be extracted. I was seen the next day. I was charged £22 the usual amount for a couple of Xrays, extraction and a filling.

That was the easy bit- I have a root fracture and need max/fax surgery. The waiting list to be seen NHS is over a year.

I'm in a bad mood with my dentist at the moment! I have an appointment coming up soon, and I've been sent two lots of forms that I apparently have to complete.

The first one is information that they've had for yonks (medical history etc), the second one is to do with Covid. However, my biggest moan is that the forms (6 pages in all) cannot be completed online, which means that I have to print them and fill them in, but my printer isn't working, and even if it was, the forms are full of big bold text, the flipping practice's logo looming large in colour, all the fields for completion are framed in a colour block and I am b*ggered if I am going to waste my cartridge on all that unnecessary stuff.

Do the people that design the forms not know to keep it simple. Gr.

My daughter has broken her tooth, she has a phone appointment next week!

Think I've been very lucky with my dentist. My half yearly dental hygienists appointment was kept to its original booking and during that consultation, she said that she thought she could see a problem with an old crown. She promised to speak to my dentist about it and within less than a week, the surgery called me with a time and date and I was seen the next day. Just waiting for a call back now as to when the treatment will begin but have been assured it will be before the end of this month.

You can have my appointment. I'm on a course of antibiotics to clear up an abscess, it's been an ongoing problem. My dentist has found that a wisdom tooth is the cause and it's got to come out.

I haven't had a filling or repair in over fifty years thanks to quitting smoking at the age of 22, similarly no sugar in hot drinks and probably the effect of fluoride in the water. A tooth out, agh! I'm such a wuss!

So sorry for your predicament, it is as you say though, my dental practice is private, appointments are easy.

The crown I had removed had been in for over 52 years- amazing. It was very wobbly so it came out so easily- no LA required- 10 seconds max.

Funnily enough I had a wisdom tooth out today. It had grown in squint so cut my cheek when chewing. I was dreading it. I felt quite ill at the prospect. However, the young man did a great job quickly and easily. I was impressed.
I was phoned 24 hours before the procedure to answer a Covid questionnaire. On arrival I had to wait outside until it was time. On going in I had temp taken, sanitiser applied, handbag put in a closed box and jacket hung up in entrance hall.
There wasn't any aerosol type procedure required for the extraction. Dentist was in scrubs and with surgical mask.
I'm on Denplan and pay £11 a month which covers all treatment plus 2 checkups and dental hygienist appointments. It's always seemed a bargain to me.
Sitting here I can hardly believe it's over. Its been hanging over me for ages.

DH is with NHS and I go private. Different practices.

We've both had our check ups! DH's appointment in July was made back in January at his last check up. Mine should have been in April,. It was postponed but they rang me in mid July and I went in the week after. Saw the hygienist later that week.

Private care can be very expensive as some like Denplan it depends on what work you've already had done. I had a quote from them 15 years ago and it was £44 a month to cover all treatment, 2 check ups and 2 hygienist appointments!

I found another company called Practice Plan. I currently pay £17 per month: 2 checks and 2 hygienist appointments + 20% off all treatment. Good value for me as I have nearly all my mouth either bridges, crowns and one implant.

melp1 You don't say when your or your husband's check ups are or even if you have one. A good dentist would give you the next 6 month check up date after the last one,

If there are other NHS dentists in your county ring round them. It's worth a ring to a few private dentists too,

Good luck

I'm also on a private dental plan and pay £11.95 per month for 2 hygienists appointments, 1 dental check up appointment, all x rays and 15% off any dental treatment, per year. It also means I get to see the dentist I've been with for over 40 years and, as I still blub tears of fear and misery every time I go, it's not as bad as it would be if I saw someone different each time.

I rang my dentist yesterday to ask if the hygienist was seeing patients as I'm with Denplan and pay £27 a month which includes 4 hygienist sessions. I was told they are still not doing these as it takes too long to clean the surgery down afterwards and as they only have one surgery working they need to fit other patients in who are having problems. She did say I could cancel my Denplan and restart it when they are working properly again but then told me as we're moving out of the area and dentists are not taking on new patients at the moment if I say I'm with Denplan I will be taken on! They did make me an appointment for a check up in a fortnight though so I'm quite relieved.

I’ve been very lucky as I had a check up at my NHS dentists about 6 weeks ago (it should have been in April, but postponed) and had a filling last week. It all felt very safe with many precautions taken. My husband is with a different dentist in the same city as mine and he’s heard absolutely nothing from them regarding rearranging his check up appointment. He only has 8 teeth left and wears dentures filling in for the missing molars, but is well overdue for a check up. He will probably give them a call to see what’s happening

Dentists do seem to have been one of the hardest hit by the virus. I can understand it. Close proximity.
A front crown came off in March and I can't get an appt. to have it re-cemented on. I don't want to DIY as if it comes off again and I lose it that will be costly.
At least my mask covers it in public.

We went with Denplan. We had NHS dentist for years and then they said they wont do it any more.

We needed the peace of mind, I think most dentists are going down this route as NHS dentistry just isn't profitable.

Dentists moving to private practice isn't just about profits Starblaze. Other positive reasons for a dentist to move some of his patients to private care are:
Choosing to reduce their reliance on the NHS and ultimately change their business model
More time to complete a filling’ or spend time on patient examinations than the NHS allows per patient
Some are looking to expand their clinical skills or to specialise in a particular section of dentistry i.e cosmetic dentistry or maxiofacial dentistry
Reduction on the costs of onerous NHS administration burdens are also greatly reduced.

Private dentistry can provide a way to reduce professional concerns without potentially compromising on the standard of patient care they wish to provide. It even reduces the worry of inadvertently breaking a rule or a contractual clause in an increasingly complex NHS contract system.

Many dental practices, including my own, have a mix of both private and NHS patients so that no one is left out of receiving dental treatment.

dentisis have just been instructed not to do any aerosol precedures again because the covid risk factor is over 3. It is back to emergencies and that could potentially be for another 6 months

I have an appointment coming up on Tuesday - I guess I had better see if they are still doing it - only a check up.

Oh dear! That’s not good news craftyone.

My dental practice is only seeing people like myself who were in agony but because of the demand, I had to wait for days for the first appointment. This was NHS.

check ups are ok to be done

no it isn`t good news and believe me, dentists are also very upset, fillings being done yesterday and they cannot today, except in very rare cases