Just got back from dentist.....want to cry!

patchwork_cat

Toothsmith want are the new charges and regs next april?

black-saturn

Sorry but I'd have to have it pulled out if it were me.

Petal_3

Black-saturn - it's one of my front teeth!! I can't go round looking like that!

Spendless

Toothsmith wrote:

I hope you'll be as happy after next April when the new regulations and charging system for NHS dentistry kicks in! That's the thing that's driving most established practices out of the NHS at the moment.

Exactly why I've just talked my nhs dentist into pulling my last remaining wisdom tooth out and only paid a tenner for the privilege. Thanks for the tip off Toothsmith:p

Toothsmith

patchwork_cat wrote:

Toothsmith want are the new charges and regs next april?

Have a hunt through some of my other posts. You'll see what's coming!

A recent thread in discussion time titled 'Dentists' is a good first stop.

Toothsmith

Petal wrote:

So, money saving head on......take their offer of 5% off, join their monthly dental plan (which actually saves around £10 pa) and get a £100 voucher against my treatment, get OH to join too and he can transfer his £100 to me and pay it off 0% over a year (I have a 5 yr loan finishing in 4 months and I was sooo looking forward to it ending so I could chuck the extra money at my cc debts....but I guess my teeth will have to come first). Last month I was hit with a £1200 bill for new clutch, service etc. I thought THAT was bad enough.....surely, there can't be anything else looming....can there? :eek:

Thanks all x

This seems sensible.

Some monthly plans have low/0% loans for dental care available as well - I know Denplan have a product called Enhance, which is a 0% loan for complex/cosmetic stuff available from denplan dentists.

I know I'm biased, but your teeth are important. If you just have problem ones out and replaced by dentures, then in 32 problems time, you've a mouth full of plastic. The more you have out, the more stress is put on the remaining ones, so the quicker they go.

We are living longer and longer now. The days when people had all their teeth out at 21 - to save problems later - have gone. These people didn't have too many problems with their dentures as they had low expectations from them, life was simpler, and they were often dead by 60 - still having quite a bit of jawbone left to hold the dentures onto.

Nowadays, we have a much higher standard of living, go out more, socialize more, are judged by our appearence more and more and more. Dentures just don't work well enough for the 21st century life.

Plus, as we live longer, the bone of our jaws would disappear before we were dead if there were no natural teeth there to preserve the bone. Who would fancy 10yrs of soup & mashed potatoes at the end of their life?

GOOD dental care should be a priority. If not for the parents, then save up to get it for your kids. Not the crap that will be served up as NHS in a few months time. You'll be told you only have to be seen once a year, or less. The charging structure will discourage anything complicated, both from your point of view paying for it, and the dentists in providing it. We'll be dragged back to 1947.

If you can get you kids on a truly preventative dental program, they should- with a bit of help from the parents not feeding them loads of sugar - get through childhood without a filling. Unfilled teeth will NEVER need a filling replacing! They are also very unlikely to break.

Save your kids a fortune in future years - invest in good dental care for them NOW!

Petal_3

Thanks again Toothsmith - makes perfect sense. I already take my 3yo with me to hygiene appts etc so that he can get used to seeing what they do. he cried his eyes out the first time (he was about 18 months at the time) when they put their masks on and kept asking what they were doing to me....bless. Now they put him on the chair and look in his mouth etc. and tell him what lovely teeth he has.

Whilst we're on the subject....should I be doing anything other than making sure he brushes regularly? Flouride?

Toothsmith

Petal wrote:

Whilst we're on the subject....should I be doing anything other than making sure he brushes regularly? Flouride?

To give advice, I'd need to see the patient.

From your posts though it sounds very much like you have a top notch dental practice.

Go with whatever they recommend.

The thing you should always do though is keep sugar to mealtimes only, and if anything has to be eaten/drunk in between, make sure it's sugar free.

Good dietary habits started from day one will be with them for life.