Asked for Dental NHS Scale and Polish.Told "Go to Hygienist at £25 extra"

boozercruiser

Apollonia wrote: »

Are you even reading ANY of the replies that the dentists have been giving over and over and over again? Or is it a comprehension problem?

A dentist can REFUSE* to clean teeth when it is NOT CLINICALLY NECESSARY FOR HEALTH. If a patient would like to have their teeth cleaned but it IS NOT CLINICALLY NECESSARY, then private treatment is the only option. And private treatment in most cases will be cheaper with a hygienist than with a dentist.

*Not only can, but HAS TO REFUSE because under NHS guidelines it would be defrauding the NHS to carry out unnecessary treatment.

Why is it so hard for you to understand this basic point that has been repeated constantly since you started this thread?

You seem to me to be totally blinkered against any information that does not fit your own case and your own prejudices.


Oh, sorry - forgot to add - "with the greatest respect" and "in my opinion", "M8" - because apparently these phrases render any rudeness/sarcasm/ignorance null and void.

YES everyone, you can see my problem here . On the one hand you have the vested interest crowd here who don't properly read my posts. Angry with me because they think I am a know all no blink all, and attack pretty well everything I have to say, and are sarcastic with it.:p

Talk about prejudices.....give me a break:eek:

brook2jack

BC can you not see that you have completely clouded what may be some peoples perfectly reasonable complaint about periodontal treatment on the NHS by your posts which even though you may not mean to come across as aggressive,rude, and derogatory.

Anyone reading this thread will have long given up if they wanted useful information which is a disservice to those that might need its help.

You personally have issues over what you feel is your many previous recent dentists failings. That is sad but so is your crusade to undermine peoples faith in their own dentists.

Please accept that you do not know very much about the diagnosis , treatment and consequences of periodontal disease and reply on the issues you know a bit about with grace . That way the people who would , on the surface at least, appear to have been dealt with wrongly would be well informed as to what their next step should be.

Apollonia

boozercruiser wrote: »

Look love, it is simple....if you have been told that you have gum disease, then THAT DENTIST should be treating you for it inside his NHS Bands for which he is ALREADY being paid for.

Wow - you really are a patronising so-and-so aren't you?
"Look love... etc"

And once again, it is not that simple. If the signs of gum disease are only areas of plaque retention due to inadequate brushing & flossing then appropriate 'treatment' is education and advice. The dentist may well have provided that at the initial appointment eg "spend more time brushing the lower left molars and use floss every day, not once a week".

Now, for more comprehensive preventive 'treatment' a dentist can (and the GDC says should) offer a referral to a hygienist because preventive treatment is not available on the NHS. Same goes for adult orthodontics, cosmetic treatments such as bleaching - in the end the final decision to go ahead or refuse treatment options lies with the individual patient.
Just like travel vaccinations (preventive medicines) are not available on the NHS - these are options that the individual chooses to buy if they require them.

boozercruiser

coldstreamalways wrote: »

Boozer, does your consultant make you sit in his office to ensure you don't die from an allergic reaction to your antibiotic prescription? Afterall, that is far more likely than you having any issues with the transient bacteraemia that may be caused by dental treatment but is almost certainly created when you brush your teeth or eat. Both of which I assume you do under antibiotic prophylaxis?

Instead of trying to 'blind me with science' do you think that you could comment on the fact that my Dentist did not give me any advice, treatment or medication for Gum Disease inside my NHS Band 2 which I am currently paying for?

And please, please, please don't say "The advice was to go to the Hygienist M8".

jugglebug

boozercruiser wrote: »

Now then, the Dentist knows that I have a Bovine (Silly Moo!) Pericardial Heart Valve. I do of course know that Dental Care for me is important and Gum Disease should be avoided at all costs.

My Dentist didn't offer me any advice on Dental Care or any Medication of which there are some out there that can help. Another sign that this particular Dentist is lacking? But then, what do I know? Sometimes my opinions here are turned into me giving medical advice.....when in my humble opinion...I am not.

I even had to request a prescription for Amoxicillin Penicillin which at a recent consultation with my Heart Consultant said I should take both before and after Dental Treatment. O.K. I know that Nice say that in most cases this is not a requirement now....but if my Consultant says I should have it...then I will. And he has put a letter into my VERY GOOD Doctor to that effect.

.

Wow
Even in the days where antibiotic cover was felt to be needed (never evidence based, just a hunch, hence why the various guidelines were so varied across the world, eg USA 2g Amox, here 3g Amox) before and after was never really recommended by the authorities except for specific conditions and even then they were usually treated with IV antibiotics in this country (another quirk, iv was never part of USA guidance and if that litigious society didn't do it wonder why we did).
To be honest though the medicolegal guidance we are given is that it doesn't matter if your consultant writes to us in letters of blood we are under no compulsion to prescribe it, and if we do and a reaction occurs, which is far more likely than the condition we are prescribing to prevent, then it is us that end up in the brown stuff not your consultant, and his letter is of no value. I suspect your GP doesn't realise this and they historically have advised blanket cover with little understanding of the dentistry involved (but that isnt a criticism, I dont know how to be a GP )

edit
just reread. IIRC NICE dont say "most cases unnecessary" but I believe never necessary for heart conditions, valves etc.
We used to cover hip replacements etc and dont anymore as the science became clear, same goes for the tickers imho

boozercruiser

"just reread. IIRC NICE dont say "most cases unnecessary" but I believe never necessary for heart conditions, valves etc.
We used to cover hip replacements etc and dont anymore as the science became clear, same goes for the tickers imho"

No disrespect to you of course, but if I have a choice of following my Cardiologists advice or my Dentists advice or that useless organisation called NICE (the organisation that refuses Cancer, Senile Dementia and other medication from sufferers) advice ....then I will follow my Cardiologist advice every time thank you very much.

Also, some other vested interest person mentioned that I supposedly have......

"your crusade to undermine peoples faith in their own dentists".

Quite frankly, I take offence at such a stupid remark!

If I have a so called 'Crusade' it is to try and have Dental Patients who are being directed to a Hygienist at extra cost, when actually in reality the Dentist should in many cases be carrying out a Scale, Polish and similar treatment as per NHS Contract......

(a) non-surgical periodontal treatment including root-planing, deep scaling, irrigation of periodontal pockets and subgingival curettage and all necessary scaling and polishing

It is Dentists who do this who are undermining the faith a Patient should have in them...........NOT ME!

I should also add that my guess is that these particular Dentists are likely in the minority in any case. UNLESS they work for the Denticare organisations of this world, where I believe that the contract Dentist is being advised by the company to do it.

In any case, people have posted here who are not fleeced in this way by the Dentist.

t0rt0ise

I used to see a private dentist and for the cost of £40 I'd get a check up and a scale and polish. Then I moved to London and saw a dentist offering NHS treatment to new patients so I signed up and got a check up. He said that although I needed a scale and polish he didn't do it any more so I had to pay £49 to his hygeinist. So I'd gone from £40 private care to £65.50 for NHS care. I'm not best pleased with this.

I'm also fed up because I can't seem to find a dentist who understands and respects my particular bleeding disorder but there lies another story.

brook2jack

Thrombocytopaenia?

t0rt0ise

brook2jack wrote: »

Thrombocytopaenia?

Yes, in particular Immune Thrombocytopenia.. ITP.

brook2jack

I think you posted on another forum about this? If so there have been a couple of answers posted there.