NHS and white fillings

across

i have a broken front tooth at the bottom and they have always put white filling on for years on nhs but it is at the front where you can see it if it was silver. now i am left with no dentist wish i had nhs dentist!!!

smiley_2

:j hi across, i read in the newspaper that things are changing from april, which may encourage more nhs dentists, cant remember full details but I agree nhs dentists are like gold dust, I've changed 3 times as mine keep going private - so i do sympathise :j

across

we keep changing but now it has all come to a halt i phoned everywhere and they all say no not taking nhs on! anyway we are on a waiting list (at last) for a very nice little village practise so hopefully nhs here we come by end of year again!!! :j :j then we too will be smiling again! :rotfl:

sinizterguy

smiley wrote:

things are changing from april, which may encourage more nhs dentists

Real funny that one.

tanith

I cannot imagine how but my daughter was given a gold filling by her NHS dentist, I did say I didn't think was possible on the NHS , she was getting free treatment as she was on Maternity too at the time....

scope

I recently went to the dentist and was asked whether I wanted amalgan or composite (white), I chose amalgan because it was free on the NHS and also they last twice as long as composite. I have read that white is available if it is on front teeth.

Funny enough the dentist was trying to push white fillings, saying it was better, but the reports I have read suggest otherwise.. She wasnt trying to make more money, was she? :-)

Toothsmith

smiley wrote:

:rotfl: Just to clarify my son had a white filling on his back tooth and we didnt have to pay anything, maybe our dentist was feeling kind that day! :rotfl:

Very small white filings can be called 'Preventative resin restorations' for which there is an NHS code.

Baby teeth at the back are often filled with Glass Ionomer material, which is also white. this is approved on the NHS also.

Toothsmith

trinnylilac wrote:

Would you be able to answer my second question by any chance

Sorry!

A treatment plan started whilst you're exempt will be free so long as it is finished within a reasonable time. Normally that means within 3-6 months, although if you miss appointments and mess about it could be signed off sooner.

Toothsmith

smiley wrote:

:j hi across, i read in the newspaper that things are changing from april, which may encourage more nhs dentists, cant remember full details but I agree nhs dentists are like gold dust, I've changed 3 times as mine keep going private - so i do sympathise :j

That's the one where we're going to be paid a 'salary' of £80,000 with £90,000 towards practice expenses.

If that were really the case there'd be a queue of dentists longer than anything Scarborough ever saw for us all to sign up!

Look around. Do you see queues of dentists? Or queues of patients? There are even queues of patients waiting to sign up when practices go PRIVATE!

Do not believe DoH Spin. Dentistry is being privatised and it's government policy to encourage it. Read the NHS dentistry patient information thread, including the DoHs own patient information leaflet.

Toothsmith

across wrote:

anyway we are on a waiting list (at last) for a very nice little village practise so hopefully nhs here we come by end of year again!!! :j :j then we too will be smiling again! :rotfl:

You'll be told you only need to visit every 18 months. Check ups will cost you more than at the moment. A single small filling will cost £42 a single crown would cost you £189.

If you need a lot of fillings, it is likely that the dentist will refuse to take you on, as he will get no more points for doing a mouthfull of fillings as for doing one, and he will have a points target he has to reach by the end of the year otherwise his funding willbe cut.

Also, if you are exempt from paying patient charges, you are also likely to be refused, as some PCTs, panicing over their budgets, are writing in patient payment targets into the new contract as well - despite the fact that this really isn't allowed.

I think it is very unlikely that NHS dental patients will be smiling for very long, but then, that is the plan. All the Government want from NHS dentistry is a toothache service. Anything more costly will be forced into the private sector one way or another. That though will keep quiet the rather vocal section of the population that only want a cheap fix when they have a toothache. Only 50% of the population go to the dentist regularly, and most of them are private now anyway.

My advice to anyone who places any value at all on their own teeth is to find a decent prvate practice (Maybe one of the ones you left as you chased down the last remaining NHS practices) and get registered.

Within a year or two, if that, they will be full.