NHS Dentists - is this ok?

Snuggles

My partner lives 50 miles from me but spends 2 to 3 days a week at my house.

He is in desperate need of an NHS dentist, but can't get one where he lives. There are NHS dentists taking new patients where I live.

Can he register with a dentist local to me, or is he likely to be turned away if they see he is not from this area?

Obviously we could put his address as my address to avoid this problem, but would we be doing anything wrong if we did so?

Thanks,
Snuggles

alison999

Its up to the dentist. Some dentists will see you no matter where you live, others will only see patients in that area. All you can do is ask.

To put him under your address would be unfair to other people in that area that also need a NHS dentist (that geuinely live there).

It would be wrong to give a different address, and it could easily backfire if/when the surgery try to contact him.

Toothsmith

Has he actually looked at the costs of some of his local private dentists - or is he just assuming it would cost thousands based on what the papers say about private dentistry??

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

My dentist was happy to accept boyfriend from 150 miles away when he couldn't find a dentist in his own area - and took on his PCT when they said they wouldn't fund bridgework to give him front teeth after having been mugged and had 5 knocked out with an iron bar. This was even when all NHS dentists were supposedly not accepting new patients because of the new contract. Boyfriend got his smile back.

His younger sister, btw, lives in the same area as me (and uses the same dentist) and our PCT only funded her for total extraction and false teeth - but she has lost all hers because she eats junk, drinks acidic drinks, smokes and never brushes them, so perhaps the fact he wasn't responsible for his tooth loss counted for something?

Mind you, the dentist has also seen every single one of her kids for extractions and fillings, one when he was only 4 years old lost all his milk teeth, the 13 year old has 10 fillings, the two in the middle have about 5 each and the smallest is 2 and already has rotten teeth. Boyfriend came with me and DDs - we all have Donny Osmond style grins and perfect teeth, so dentist knows us well.

Perhaps he just didn't try quite so hard for her!

Snuggles

Toothsmith wrote: »

Has he actually looked at the costs of some of his local private dentists - or is he just assuming it would cost thousands based on what the papers say about private dentistry??

Hi Toothsmith, I know where you're coming from, but yes he has looked into it and really wants the cheapest option because money is tight.

I know from experience that the service you get when you pay privately is a world away from the NHS as I had to go private when there was no NHS provision here. I have now been offered a place at an NHS practice but I think I'm going to stay with the private dentist as I have been so impressed with the service.

My partner however, is more concerned about his wallet than his teeth at the moment! It would be nice if everyone could afford private treatment, but for some, it's just not an option.

LondonDiva

If you live in England, you can go to any NHS dentist you wish.

Unlike GPs, which are tied into local district nursing, intermediate care, etc teams, a dentist is not permitted to refuse you on the grounds that you don't live in the local area. The only problem with being with a dentist some way away is if you had an emmergency.

if the dentist refuses to see you, ask if they have run out of UDAs, ask about their waiting list and if they can't respond contact the PCT's PALS team to have a word with them about how they are managing the contact.