need dentist information!!

shellyshoe

Hi everyone i need lots of information on dentists and treatment proceedures. I live in belfast and havent been to dentist for longer than i care to remember due to a irrational fear (bad childhood experiences of horrific dentist). Anyway i cant stand bad teeth anymore but havent a clue how to go about getting dental treatment.

I dont earn an awful lot and dont have any savings so will need to find NHS Dentist in south belfast (cant afford private treatment) - i have been recommended mcelholm on malone road? Do most dentists offer a payment plan if you need alot of treatment? is there a cap on the amount you have to pay if you have an NHS dentist?

sorry i am completely at a loss here but cant bare to stand bad teeth anymore so any information will be greatly appreciated

shelly!

Choco

Firstly you need to register with a Dentist who is NHS. You say you are on low income why not therefore complete a Health Cost form from SSA? It is based on your age, income and if you are responsible for Housing Costs. If you want to PM me your age, if you pay Housing costs (not to your parents)and details of your income after deductions I can work out if you would be entitled or not.
The most you are expected to pay a Dentist has been reduced to £198.00 but be careful that everything you need done is covered under NHS (Cosmetic is not). Also are you single, married , lone parent etc or receive DLA as these things are also taken into consideration when working out your detail.

You also have the choice of trying School of Dentistry @ Royal but your Doctor or Dentist has to refer you. I know I needed a bridge done and it was going to cost me over £2300. I enquired about School of Dentristry (its 5th yr student and it is very well supervised) and low and behold was told "Oh you can go there and its free". I had to wait a while but needless to say what I done.

lomb

The quality of NHS dentistry is poor in general.It shows mostly in advanced care so basic care is usually fine ie basic fillings etc. Advanced treatment like root canals on back teeth and crown and bridge are not really possible for the available funding. Ie dentist gets between zero and forty for a molar root canal whereas from a competent expert its 300-700. It cant be done for this. The funding is poor and money/time gets wasting ticking boxes for clinical governance. There is nothing left for the dentistry
ie an exam has to be documented in records to include a signed written medical history, social history, dental history, soft tissue screen, joint screen, oral hygiene and oral hygiene instruction ,smoking cessation advice, diet advice, any xrays need have about 10 boxes ticked to note why they were taken and quality of image location in mouth and radiation dose. Needless to say there are a lot fewer xrays being taken these days because of the above...
The dental school idea isnt too bad if you need advanced work doing. You could also go to an NHS dentist and see if you like them and see what they say.

rjh090384

choco i am sure the maximum fee in england is £198 but over here it is still £384.

if you get working family tax credit, income support, are pregnant or have a child under one or get pension credits , or are on jsa you can get free dental treatment.

shelly as for payment plans some pvt practices offer it but not so much in the nhs but they do operate a pay as you go service so you cna take it one filling at a time if that is all you can afford.

as for the school of dentistry the waiting list is huge and you would only be referred if the dentist thought they couldnt handle it.

lomb totally disagree with you about the quality of nhs dentistry - its the same in all professions you could pay £500 to get something done and it could be bad and you could pay £50 and it could be perfect and vice versa.

i work in a busy nhs practice and we always do our best for the patients clinically not whether it works out best for earnings. as for the radiation side - most modern practices use digital xrays now that give out less radiation than you would get going on an aeroplane so dont worry about that. if an xray is clinically necessary it will be taken.

if you ahve nay more questions message me
ps im not a dentist im a dental nurse

dmxdave

rjh090384 wrote: »

if you get working family tax credit, income support, are pregnant or have a child under one or get pension credits , or are on jsa you can get free dental treatment.

You will not get free treatment on JSA if you are on contribution based just income based.

INCOME SUPPORT or INCOME-BASED JOB SEEKERS ALLOWANCE
If you are registered for Health Service treatment and you or your partner are in receipt of Income Support, or income-based Job Seekers Allowance you do not have to pay for your NHS dental treatment.

rjh090384

thanks dave sorry!!

dmxdave

rjh090384 wrote: »

thanks dave sorry!!

No probs. The only reason I know is that it came to my attention lately!!