Quick dental services for an awkward job

[jago25_98]

My job essentially has me on call all year apart from holidays.

What do I do to see a dentist?

I hoped I could just walk in, pay for a premium private service and get an appointment in a few days. Unfortunately the least wait I've found is 2 weeks. This is too long because my boss only gives 1 week we try not to call you time after a long job away.

I don't want to bother my boss about this. I wonder if there is a different department I can speak to and how to do it.


I haven't seen a dentist in about 10 years. Because I move about so much I find it hard to fit in with the system. Doctors are also a problem. It's that age old cultural everything-is-tied-to-address-so-moving-is-stressful thing.

In time I will move to somewhere aboard and be able to turn up and get treatment on the spot for a premium but until then I would like to find a compromise of doing the same here.

Locations where I am in order of frequency:

1) Bridgend - so Cardiff as well. This would be best.
2) Norwich
3) Bournemouth
4) Plymouth

What about France or Portugal?

edit: I view insurance as another bit of red tape. I prefer the economy of old fashioned pay as you go. However, could this help me through the jungle and get a quicker service?

[angel]

Surely you should talk to you boss about this, your health shouldn't be a bother to them. What would happen if you needed a hospital appointment? It'd be a lot more inconvenient for them if your teeth detioriated to such a point that you had to have time off sick. It seems hard to believe. You certainly shouldn't be considering going abroad just to not bother the boss.

[jago25_98]

Well he gets enough stress as it is.

I find if I know the system to a company and things are so much easier.


Also, I would like to find a quick dentist anyway

[Toothsmith]

Why not arrange an appointment when you're 'on call' for a time in the future when you're not. You must have some idea of your timetable?

Wales is a bit dodgy for dentists at the moment, even privately. The other places shouldn't be a problem.

Has your boss heard of the EU working time directive?

[jago25_98]

Better explain myself. This isn't an average job.

To be honest, I lost my job twice in a row (cuts and contract end). After this I decided to stay unemployed for 6 months in order to find a more secure job! To begin with I held out for better companies (got seriously messed around) but ended up with this one that everyone starts with. As a result I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to these sorts of issues.

It's not something I can change without leaving.

I wouldn't put up with this if I felt it wasn't worth it in the long run. They have given me the opportunity that I am grateful for and otherwise I've come to like the job. I might even stay long term if employee package becomes intelligently addressed at director level.
The almost complete lack of timetable that causes the low staff retention resulted in this opportunity.

Well, I didn't really want to get into specifics. I work offshore.
The setup is that I am contracted for 180 days offshore. When I come back ashore from a job I will then be asked to use the weekends off in a row. In the words of a supervisor `You don't control me, I control you`. I usually get a week off but this is framed as a lean-ency. Sometimes it's straight onto the next job. It means that anything planned must be done using holiday time and this is a minimum of 5 days in a row. So if I want to visit the dentist I lose 5 days of annual holiday. Remember this is for a checkup, not emergency surgery.

I know it sounds bad but all good things come to wait. I am working hard doing my innings.

Hence why I would like to find out how to get services on demand.

Hope this has been enlightening.

[Toothsmith]

What you basically want then, is a dentist with a gap in his appointment book just at the time you need it.

I doubt very much that you will find such a thing on a regular basis, with the same dentist.

Really, you will just have to ring round on the day you are free, and see if you get lucky.

What if at the check-up, you were told you needed a couple of fillings, and the dentist didn't have time to do them there and then?

That would be an even bigger problem, as the chances of getting an appointment with the same dentist on the same ad-hoc basis are probably non-existant, unless he was a really cr£p, unpopular dentist! And a different dentist would want to do his own check up first, and not just take your word for it that you needed 2 fillings.

The sort of service you require is not conducive to decent dentistry. I think you need to have another look at your lifestyle and see if some compromise can be found somewhere.