gum graft

zipwen1

can you have this done on the nhs or is it classed as cosmetic i had quite bad receeding gums when i was 13-17 front teeth only affected.
dentist said it was becouse i had "that sort of gums"
what he ment by this i dont know
anyway i hate the way my teeth look now as you can see the root so they look very long also i want four veneers for the top front teeth how much would this cost and can this be done on the nhs

Toothsmith

If it WAS done on the NHS, it would be worth 12 UDA to the dentist doing it. (A UDA is a point towards the dentists funding target).

The dentist has to get so many funding points in order to be awarded the same NHS money next year.

With the value of the annual NHS contract against the number of points the dentist has to get, it works out that each UDA has a nominal financial value of between £15 and £20.

So - what you are basically asking is:-

" Will I ever find a dentist who is prepared to do some quite intricate gum surgery and then make me 4 porcelain veneers (Which will cost the dentist £20 each for cheap ones up to £150 + for decent ones just to have made) for a reward equalling somewhere between £180 and £240?"

No - I don't think you will get this on the NHS!



When it comes down to it though, it IS a cosmetic thing. Your teeth are healthy, you just don't like the way they look.

To get the gum surgery done, you will need to be referred to a specialist periodontist (gum dentist) and that may well cost in the order of £5-600 to get done - assuming it works well first time, and it doesn't always. And assuming there aren't any complicating factors. Gum grafts are very tricky things.

Then for the veneers, for decent ones, you're probably looking at £300 each if it's a normal dental practice £600++ if it's a city centre swish 'cosmetic' dental practice.

Have a word with your own dentist about the perio referral, and then see what he thinks about the veneers.

Good luck.

P.S. If you smoke - forget about all of the above - You'd just be wasting your money.

zipwen1

when i mention stuff like this to my dentist he laffs and says i dont need it, like when i asked for a brace when i was 12.
is the £300 for the veneers for a non-NHS dentist
and the £600 for gum graft is that non-NHS too
also i know they probabley dont work, but i have seen things on the net that claim to grow your gums back do any of these work

Toothsmith

Yes - those are private prices.

The most you would ever pay for anything NHS is £189.

And No - The 'grow your gums back' stuff wouldn't work.

random456

i saw a programme a couple of years back saying scientists were in the first stages of developing a way of regrowing gums (first trials had worked very well) and that at some point (probably years!) it will be available in dentists surgeries..here's hoping