My dodgy dentist

geri1965_2

Pennylane wrote: »

He's also the dentist who told me I should have a scale & polish but said I had to pay £45 to see the hygienist privately.

Mine does that too. I think it is pretty common.

Toothsmith

It is indeed.

It depends on if the clean is 'necessary' or just to polish off staining & superficial tartar.

If the dentist says it's 'necessary' then it should be included on the NHS and in the NHS charge. If it's suggested that you 'might like to' book a hygienist appointment, then it's optional.

brook2jack

Pennylane wrote: »

At the bottom of Toothsmith's posts he has a footnote "How to find a Dentist" with 4 pointers.

No 1 is "Recommendations". Well since the practice had just opened and was brand new I wasn't able to get recommendations from anybody.

I therefore went to No 2 "Visit." I did this, the place was sparkling new, the receptionist was polite but didn't say "oh do come and meet our lovely new dentists" so that's as much as a new patient can do really.

No 3 "assess helpfulness - well, the only member of staff I met was reasonably helpful.

No 4 "Only book initial appt when you find a place you're happy with" etc. As far as I could judge the place seemed OK and we're in a rural area and there aren't that many dentists in a reasonable travelling distance.

These pointers always seemed to me eminently sensible and a better suggestion than look at the most impressive website or adverts or internet as people are only too happy to share their dental experiences.


Our practice has never advertised and 90% of new patients come from personal recommendation. Likewise many new patients come from a particularpractice because people have not been happy and have told all and sundry.

Not all tips will be helpful to everyone in all circumstances but giving people practical advice they may be able to follow on a topic that is often discussed is more helpful to most people than not.


As discussed before most dentists have particular interests or strengths and a dentist that suits one person wont necessarily suit another. Some dentists ar particularly skilled in treating children or nervous patients, others ar good at full dentures or root treatments. Some surgeries may be set up specially for those with special needs. Some will be NHS others private, some may be easy to get to others more difficult. You have to choose what factors are important to you and depending on what those are then yes choice may be restricted.

Pennylane

Brookjack - I can't remember whether you are NHS or Private but it does strike me that you're a little out of touch with what goes on.

Thank you for replying and on the face of it what you say sounds reasonable enough but I was talking about a NEW practice, which I couldn't get any advice/recommendations on.

I see what you're saying about different dentists specialising in different areas of their work but I can only ever remember seeing adverts saying so & so specialises in helping nervous patients. Never more than that. I told the receptionist at ours that I was nervous and I put it on the forms and told them I had had a very bad experience elsewhere some years earlier. She said "that's fine, Mr X is great at everything." (or words to that effect). When you think about it no practice is going to say "oh no, we don't like nervous people here or we're really not much cop at crowns."

brook2jack

Sorry Pennylane but as a dentist who works Nhs children and over 65s, privately all others, is involved in training newly qualified NHS dentists but also runs a private practitioners group , post graduate study group and sits on numerous committees both NHS and private I thought i was fairly well informed on dental matters in the Uk as a whole both NHS and private. I have worked in one practice for over twenty years but have worked as a locum in several other practices over the years so have experience in rural and inner city practices, as well as having done clinical assistantships in various hospitals in various specialities.

I also have experience every year as foundation year dentists leave of the practices they move onto.

However that is just what I am saying on an internet forum and the usual caveats apply as I could just as easily be a bored teenager from Nebraska with an interest in dentistry and an interesting vocabulary.

welshdent

ljonski wrote: »

After going up the wall with toothache all weekend, i rang up my own dentist (in Hull also)on Monday, was seen 4 hours later . i spent 2 hours there as the anaesthetic wasn't working properly. The dentist and his assistant gave up their lunch break to eventually extract it.:T
The only complaint that i have is that you have to listen to that dammed Radio 2-something that makes me want to pull my own teeth out.
Say Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh !

I sympathise with the radio 2 comment! I work at my dads practice once a week and he has banned me from changing the station because he can't change it back. Radio 2 it is!

Pennylane

Nile wrote: »

Dodgy dentists eh?

I can top your £26,000 fraud..........by my ex NHS dentist's £600,000 fraud!!!!!!!:eek::

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/5317720.stm

When I was his patient I had no idea that he was robbing the NHS blind. The first I heard about it was an official letter landing on my doormat, telling me that I was going to be helped to find another NHS dentist.

Weeks later I watched the news coverage with shock and disbelief.

Nile - until yesterday you were winning .... then this was in the news today!!:rotfl::rotfl: Over to you .... beat 1.4 MILLION if you can:D

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2163295/Dentist-stole-1-4million-NHS-pretending-fitted-dentures-dead-patients.html

Toothsmith

Pennylane wrote: »

Nile - until yesterday you were winning .... then this was in the news today!!:rotfl::rotfl: Over to you .... beat 1.4 MILLION if you can:D

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2163295/Dentist-stole-1-4million-NHS-pretending-fitted-dentures-dead-patients.html

I am struggling to understand just how such a fraud is possible on the current NHS contract!

The contract is capped - so it's simply not possible to just keep banging in fraudulent claims, and getting paid unlimited amounts of money. Once your NHS quota is reached, that's it.

If a PCT has unused UDA (the points system on which the funding is based), then they can offer them out to tender, but an extra £1.4 m in unused UDA is unusual! And to give the extra points to someone who's being closely looked at???

I can see how someone facing a shortfall of points can be tempted to 'make claims up' to avoid a clawback of funds. But to claim an extra £1.4m is beyond me.

Obviously something has happened here to bring this to court - but I find it very hard to understand on the basis of that report.

welshdent

obviously the fraud intention was to do their UDAs quickly and early allowing a long holiday afterwards!!!

Toothsmith

Ahhhhh - makes more sense!