In pain - Need Dentist - Cannot afford treatment

theatretony

How can I get round this....

I have had severe toothache for over 2 weeks, one of my teeth has gone a shade of grey!! And another tooth has a filling missing. Taking painkillers everyday to cope, but I really need it sorting.. Those are the problems I know aboout.... Now for the main problem...

I have a fear of dentists (once had a root canal with an injection which hurt A LOT), not been to dentist for years because of it, therefore, I am not actually registered with any dentist...the last time i was in 'the chair' I was drip white with fear....

Plus, I cannot afford £198 (going NHS) for the the amount of work needed. Could scrape the money together over a few months, but not straight away. Thinking of joining the Leeds Hospital Fund but would not be able to claim on that straight away...

Anyone know the best course of action to help me and maybe remove my phobia of dentists at the same time.....

Thanks for anyones help....

tony

mandi

speak to NHS direct http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/contact.aspx, they will be able to help.

Sorry your in pain , toothache is awful . Good Luck.

shop-to-drop

I'm sorry I not going to be much help but I think it's likely as you haven't been to the dentist for years that you may have trouble finding an NHS dentist. Have you checked this out?

hamstercheeks_2

well first of all you need to get rid of the pain I know what that's like I had terrible time years ago

is there a dental hospital that you can go to in your area? can you phone NHS24 or a local dentist and find out? if there is a dental hospital go there first thing in the morning - any treatment at the dentalhospital is urgent and therefore free;)

once the pain is away go and register at a dentist and discuss your anxiety and see what he can offer you to ease your fear
this site may help

http://www.dentalfearcentral.org/

hamstercheeks_2

also here

http://www.cosmeticdentistryguide.co.uk/anxious.html

hamstercheeks_2

http://www.leedsdentists.org.uk/

VfM4meplse

Don't go to your GP in the hope they will be able to offer a dentistry service foc. Most GPs will not thank you for it.

You are not going to be able to avoid the dentist so get yourself registered asap. How do you know it will cost you £198 on the NHS? Even of it did, private fees would be much higher. This is one of the few occasions I would advocate borowing / stick it on the cc with the intention of paying off gradually because it's not going to get better unattended.

McKneff

You may only need a couple of fillings which cost somewhere in the region of £47. Please pluck up the courage. You can make yourself even more ill by not going. There are a couple of dentists read the boards so i'm sure one of them will be along for reassurance.
HC are you a walking website encyclopedia or what;)

hamstercheeks_2

theatretony wrote: »

How can I get round this....

I have had severe toothache for over 2 weeks, one of my teeth has gone a shade of grey!! And another tooth has a filling missing. Taking painkillers everyday to cope, but I really need it sorting.. Those are the problems I know aboout.... Now for the main problem...

I have a fear of dentists (once had a root canal with an injection which hurt A LOT), not been to dentist for years because of it, therefore, I am not actually registered with any dentist...the last time i was in 'the chair' I was drip white with fear....

Plus, I cannot afford £198 (going NHS) for the the amount of work needed. Could scrape the money together over a few months, but not straight away. Thinking of joining the Leeds Hospital Fund but would not be able to claim on that straight away...

Anyone know the best course of action to help me and maybe remove my phobia of dentists at the same time.....

Thanks for anyones help....

tony

you'll be able to pay it up in instalmentsanyway:cool:

Louise03

You really need to get to a dentist. The pain will only get worse and end up more expensive in the long run. Like a previous poster said put it on a CC.
I had a filling today and it cost £80 but the way I look at it I would rather spend 30mins in the dentist chair than hours and hours of agony with toothache

bundance

You can see a community dentist, but you need a referral from a GP.
These dentists are the NHS and deal with nervous patients.

Like you, I never went for years, due to a dental fear, and like you again, I had a toothache that just wouldn't budge. I was using painkillers but eventually the agony forced me to come online for support.

I got the community dentists number of the NHS helpline, but I am sure your local one will be online.
I was referred to them by my care co-ordinator, and am just awaiting the appointment to come through.
Apparently it takes a month.
In the meantime, if you need a tooth seeing to, there will be a local dental access centre, who deal with NHS patients, who are not registered with a dentist, but have urgent treatment.

As my tooth flared up, I went to the dental access centre, but it took me some doing, as I can be a big wimp.
Mine flared up on a sunday, so I had to go to the minor injuries unit out of hours, and got prescribed amoxycillin.
They didnt clear up the infection fully, and still being scared of a dentist, but knowing I needed more pills, I went to my GP who gave me augmentin, but warned me that I needed to arrange a dentist urgently.

The augmentin didnt fully clear up the infection, so I was forced to visit the access centre.
Very luckily, the dentist there had a lovely chair side manner.
She gave me metronidazole (better for dental infections due to acting on anaerobic bacteria), bacteria that lives without oxygen.
These didn't fully clear up the infection, so I have been back today.
She has put a dressing in two sites,in the teeth, which tastes of creosote (but its better than the body arching agony I was in) as apparently there are two infections (lucky me), and I have to go back on Wednesday if there is still pain.
I still have one days metronidazole to take, so they may clear it up.

The dentalfearcentral site is great, but I must admit, I only had the guts to read it after I had been to a dentist.

Ultimately, the worst pain I have had, is the pain I was suffering before I got antibiotics, and when I was unaware of the access centres, or the community dentist, as I too, had bad experiences with NHS dentists.

It's not that they are bad, the NHS dentists, but you get a good one, then next time you go, they have changed.

I would say, go down the route I have gone down, you'll feel so much better, and an infection in the mouth, with no antibiotics can get worse.

Hope this helps