Why is it so hard to get a dental appt?

welshdent

Oh such happy judgemental souls on a forum eh?

I am going to swan off in my ferrari now to my helipad. Skiing in the alps you see. Add any more tabloid stereotypes you like

welshdent

sneezyboots wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I wasn't expecting to be seen before christmas, just asap. To those who said register and wait or call nhs direct, that's the problem. I have only been told "we aren't registering until february/etc" or a blank "we aren't registering". Nhs direct said as I am not in pain to use cement from boots to fill it myself and wait until a dentist does start registering.

So to all the dentists out there- is this cement stuff any good for now until I can find one to see me or should I just try and keep the hole open and as clean as possible? Looking on the boots website it seems to be about £7 which I don't mind paying but would rather not waste if it is just going to fall out tomorrow. Plus, if I use the cement and have even a speck of food in the hole I can't see, will that not cause more damage?

Are dentists more willing to register if you are willing to go private? and then do you think I would get an appointment before jan 4th?

there technically is no NHS registration anymore so you could ONLY register privately. That said we operate an unofficial list giving priority to established patients. Beyond this it comes down to capacity on the day/week/month.

If there is space in the practice then they will find a spot for you. If there isnt then with the best will in the world they cant. Unlike GPs we actually treat too and as you can imagine different treatments take differing lengths of time. What one individual may think is a "quick 5 minute job" invariably is a good 20 minutes maybe even longer if a crown or an inlay is needed. When we have a lot of people in lots of pain desperate to get in thats why its important not to tell a white lie because you probably wont get the full filling done, just a temporisation of someting which probably wont degrade in the additional few days you would have to wait for a non urgent appointment.
The cement stuff is usually a similar material to the temp we would place anyway but I cant really comment on how suitable it is for you as I can not see it. Its just a bad time of year really! Especially this week.

coldstreamalways

We're eating Inuit for Christmas here, eaten off Gold plates held by members of the Man Utd squad.

Emergency clinic on Sunday was manic, OP if you're not in pain then I would just leave it, if you are in pain then call NHS direct back and arrange an emergency appointment.

Where in the UK are you? My PCT holds a list of dentists who are registering patients currently (they are also running an emergency clinic on Christmas day!). Otherwise just sit out and wait I'm afraid. It is always really busy this time of year but normally quiet in January so if you find somewhere you think you would like to be seen, you can always ask nicely to be put on the waiting list & if you can go in at short notice, you may well find yourself filling an appointment someone else cancels at short notice.

Bitemebankers, if you're so hacked off by all of us dentists then I humbly suggest you ignore us, perhaps that's not your style as it would lead one to infer you have a level of maturity you may not yet possess.

welshdent

p.s. if you were desperate to get in before Jan 4th then your best bet would be a fully private practice. We see a few private patients that we have picked up over the years but that doesnt change the fact we are still very busy and paying privately sadly doesnt magic up more room. A fully private practice however would normally have less patients that they are responsible for and as such more room in the day. How much they charge varies from practice to practice

Toothsmith

4th of Jan is only 7 working days off now! For a non-urgent new patient appointment, thet wouldn't be bad at any time of the year.

I'm fully private, and whilst I have slots open should my 'regulars' have trouble, I wouldn't be seeing new patients until the middle of Jan now.

Just make sure when you do get in, that you then carry on going regularly so that you have a 'regular' dentist you can call on should you find yourself needing urgent attention in the future.

Toothsmith

bitemebankers wrote: »

Yep, this thread does sound like a stuck record.

The OP was after some constructive advice, not a bunch of dentists whinging about their jobs, as if anyone really cares. Most people in this country are very happy simply to have a job right now. You chaps want to live in the real world for a while.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Somebody's been ignored under the mistletoe again!

bitemebankers

I am going to swan off in my ferrari now to my helipad. Skiing in the alps you see.

"Toothsmith" can certainly afford it with his/her "fully private" practice.

Bitemebankers, if you're so hacked off by all of us dentists then I humbly suggest you ignore us, perhaps that's not your style as it would lead one to infer you have a level of maturity you may not yet possess

A lecture on maturity from someone who signs all their posts with smileys. That's a new one!

jlj_2

bitemebankers wrote: »

jlj - Couldn't even manage to read the whole of the first post ehh?

Sorry, I apologise,I didn't read it properly.

coldstreamalways

How do I put someone on my ignore list?
The "ignore facility" is a useful tool that means if you don't like the way someone posts you can opt not to read what they write. To add someone to your ignore list click on their username then view profile. You'll see they've posted but won't be able to view the content unless you choose to. If you feel their posts are disrupting the forum then report them to the Forum Team.

Please feel free, Toothsmith's existence here is exceptionally useful and I can't understand where he (and brook and welshdent) get the patience from to deal with the numerous questions on here which crop up time and time again.

Please remember that we may be generally thought of as well paid but we also pay tax. I have never received a benefit in my life and I certainly won't be expecting mine, or my husbands debts to be discharged because either of us can't manage our finances. Fingers crossed you don't need a dentist because there are enough government professionals who have set out to make our lives difficult without creatures like you who resent people who have worked exceptionally hard to be where they are.

plainsie

I was extremely lucky. I went to a Dentists surgery yesterday to ask if I could register but before I went in a patient was coming out and I asked her if she was happy and she said she was very happy with them. So I went inside and the receptionists were very nice and I have an appointment tomorrow. I certainly wasn't expecting to get apt so quickly.