Calling Toothsmith

gerturdeanna

Advice needed and I hope you won't mind me asking you Toothsmith and other peps knowledgable in the dentistry area!!

Basically, my OH's mouth and teeth are a state!!! I would say approx 50% of his teeth are rotten and some have already fallen out!! We have lived in the UK for 6 years and I've been with him for 9 and he has never visited a dentist in all the time!!!!!!!!!!!

Will he be covered by the £189 all in traetment cost on the NHS dentist or is he best getting a dental plan through HSA for example and going private?

Thanks in advance!!

shameless-about-money

He will get all the dental work done that is needed for extractions, fillings, cleaning, etc, but not crowns, dentures or bridgework.

I asked toothsmith about this a couple of months ago, that is how I know! I wanted bridgework doing on the NHS.

blue_monkey_2

IF you can get the work done on the NHS!! I was told 6 months ago that I needed one extraction or Crown and I was told I could not have it done as there was no funding. Mum had to have a filling private as there was no NHS appointments left to do fillings. If you are lucky you'll get it done on the NHS but you'll have to be very lucky as dentists aren't too keen to do the complex work these days!! When I go for my 6 month check up they don't even bother cleaning the teeth, just count how many you have and if there is anything wrong with them. NHS dentistry is a shambles!!

klare_2

Hi there,
Hope you dont mind me piggy-backing this one..
I recently managed to get in with an NHS Dentist, my mouth is a complete state and I think I am looking at at least 3 extractions, plus some fillings, god knows what will happen with the gaps that are left once extracted, i dont knw what my opetions are but dentist has kindly informed me that bridges on NHS will cost more than this £180!

anyway, my first question is, on my first trip to this NHS dentist, obviously all this work required was identified, however I have been told that the most urgent thing which is the replacement of a filling which now needs an inlay and the filling making at the lab, is what i will get done for £180 and all the rest I am going to have to pay for seperate as we go along. I thought that I was going to get everything done that was identified on that trip but £180 for one filling!!!!

2nd, what is the rule about bridges and what can be done on the NHS? Dentist was very non commital about it all.

3rd Question .... Is there anywhere I can go to complain for actually being in this situation ...

I have never had fab teeth and have had a few root canal treatments in my time. 3 years ago fell pregnant with my second child and very quickly had fillings dropping out, crown fell out, bits of teeth breaking off. ( I dont do pregnancy very well and whole body just goes to a mess) .. anyway, I couldnt get into an NHS dentist, couldnt afford private and because I had previously had root canal treatment, couldnt get anyone to give me emergency treatment because I wasnt ' in any pain'.
so even though i was entitled to free dental treatment for the period of my PG and also a year after, i was unable to access anything and now am faced with constant pain and I am still going to struggle to find the money to pay the £180 to pay for just one big filling! and unless there is a windfall in the next few days am going to have to cancel it.

we do not qualify for any benefits or excemptions, we are just in the unfortunate position of having a stupidly high mortgage and ridiculous fuel bills because of our jobs - all checked out and surviving on the lowest amount of money we can.

I just cant believe that I am only 36 and prob going to end up with half my teeth missing!

Would appreciate any advice anyone can give.

klare_2

bump bump bumpety bump

Toothsmith

All these questions are fairly similar, so I will try and do one big answer.

THE MOST you will pay for one course of dental treatment on the NHS is £189.

Technically this should include everything that the dentist thinks is necessary to get you dentally fit, and if that means bridgework, then bridgework must also be provided all in with that £189 fee.

In truth, a removable denture is a perfectly good way to replace lost teeth, and is far more cost effective, so it is virtually impossible to argue for a bridge on the NHS.

Nonetheless, however much work is needed, an NHS dentist accepting NHS patients MUST provide everything on the NHS unless 'cosmetic' options are chosen, or the patient agrees to have some items provided privately. (But the dentist may not say that his private options are in any way superior to what he can do on the NHS - i.e.he is obliged to lie to you!!!).

He is also not allowed to split the treatment into several mini-treatments, and charge seperate NHS fees for each part. - Although if a treatment goes on for more than a few months, he may sign off one as 'incompleted' and start again - which is why it is vital for you not to miss appointments and cancel too many times.

The fee would only be £189 if it includes an element of lab-work. That is a denture, or a crown, or a gold filling. If it is just root fillings, extractions and ordinary fillings, nomatter how many, the NHS fee would be £42.40.

The ONLY NHS fees are £15.50, £42.40 and £189.

If you are quoted anything else, it is a private charge.

I think the local PCT will be very interested in what your 'NHS' dentist is telling his patients klare.

I would get in touch with them if I were you.

As for you Gertrudeanna, if you can get an NHS dentist to see your partner, then as I said, he should be sorted out for a maximum of £189.

If, having seen him on the nHS, the dentist is not prepared to do all the work on the NHS, then again, a word with the local PCT would be in order.

If finding an NHS dentist is a problem, or if he would like to have some proper patient-centred quality dentistry without all the b*llocks that goes with a target driven NHS system, then yes, something like HSA may be a very good way to get some help with the cost.

Toothsmith

blue_monkey wrote: »

IF you can get the work done on the NHS!! I was told 6 months ago that I needed one extraction or Crown and I was told I could not have it done as there was no funding. Mum had to have a filling private as there was no NHS appointments left to do fillings. If you are lucky you'll get it done on the NHS but you'll have to be very lucky as dentists aren't too keen to do the complex work these days!! When I go for my 6 month check up they don't even bother cleaning the teeth, just count how many you have and if there is anything wrong with them. NHS dentistry is a shambles!!

Completely agree which is why I now strongly disagree with the notion that people are 'lucky' to have an NHS dentist.

Time has come for people to ask themselves how much their teeth are really worth to them.

If you want to keep as many of them for as long as you can - private dental cover is not a luxury any more but a necessity.

If not for you, then get it for your kids.

Toothsmith

shameless-about-money wrote: »

He will get all the dental work done that is needed for extractions, fillings, cleaning, etc, but not crowns, dentures or bridgework.

I asked toothsmith about this a couple of months ago, that is how I know! I wanted bridgework doing on the NHS.

I think you misunderstood me.

Crowns and dentures are certainly available on the NHS.

Bridgework would be too if it could be shown to be necessary.

The problem with bridgework is that a denture would do the same job (Fill the gaps) and is loads cheaper to provide, hence it is very difficult to argue that a bridge is the 'necessary' thing rather than just the 'preferred option'.

Tomthumb

Toothy, can I also butt in on this convo instead of creating a new one - it's along the same lines. My front tooth fell out last week (a crown on a root canaled front left) There is no post left so it's not a case of fixing it back on, the tooth next to it is also a crown, but on a solid root (the other was damaged as a toddler) - what are the options, bridge, plate, super glue?
I have had an appointment cancelled by the emergency NHS dentist and have to ring again tomorrow to reschedule, the reason I don't have a regular dentist is because I have agoraphobia so this is stressing me out big style!!
TIA for any advice, Jen xx

Toothsmith

If the tooth has broken level with the gum (Which is what I think you're describing) then it's for one of 2 reasons.

1. The bit of tooth which the crown was stuck to has fractured off.

2. The metal post that held the crown has broken.

Now - if you see an NHS dentist, the treatment plan will probably be the same regardless - Extraction of the tooth, and a single tooth denture provided.

He might offer to do you a bridge privately if you want something 'more cosmetic' after the socket has healed well in a few months time.

As you suggested, the crowned tooth next to the broken one might make a good support providing it is checked well, and shown to be healthy.


If it were being done privately anyway, then there may be a few more options.

If it is just the tooth that has broken, then it might be possible to root fill the tooth and make a post into it to support a new crown.

The post may be a metal one, or even carbon fibre or ceramic if you want really flashy options that should last a good long time.

If it was scenario 2. and it's a broken post we're dealing with, it might be possible to remove the post, but this can be very difficult, depending on the state of the root.

You might be OK, but it's likely that the tooth will have to come out.

If the next door tooth is healthy, then it may well be possible to remove the crown, and initially make a temporary bridge whilst the gum heals up (You could still have the cheaper option of the single tooth denture for this healing phase too).

After about 6 months, a permanent bridge could then be made.

If it is found that the health of the crowned tooth is suspect, then adding a bridge to it could speed up it's failure as well.

If this is the case, then replacing the original tooth with an implant is probably your best option.

Implants are dear options, but they replace a lost tooth without damaging anything else around them. From that point of view, they are probably the 'cheapest' option in terms of damage to the rest of the dentition.

Either way, in an ideal world, all the options should be fully discussed and costed. You should then form a treatment plan with your dentist and be aware of the costs and options should it be found at any stage, that a different approach is necessary.







EDIT Sorry, I din't read the bit about the tooth being root filled already!!!! I shall beat myself soundly with a rolled up copy of the BDJ!!!

If it's been root filled already, then it's not too hard to provide a post crown either on the nHS or privately, so long as the root filling is sound and there are no traces of infection at the end of the root.

If there are traces of infection, then it would probably be removed if it were NHS an replaced by a denture.

Someone with more time (Or rather who's time you were paying for!!) may have a go at re-root filling it before making a post and crown. I would suggest that having a temporary crown on it for a little while may be a benefit though, just to make sure that the re-root filling had worked before going on to spend the extra for the post and crown.

gerturdeanna

Thanks Toothsmith!! I'll phone the dentist tomorrow!! Do you know also if you have to pay upfront or is it pay as you go?

Thanks again