NHS Dentist Said They Don't Polish Teeth Anymore?

brook2jack

If you have gum disease you are entitled to treatment .... that may include a scale and polish.

You are not entitled to a polish to remove stains to cosmetically improve the appearence of your teeth.

People who have thin enamel due to eg eating alot of citrus fruit, drinking fizzy drinks , being sick alot , using whitening or abrasive toothpastes should not have their teeth polished as polish is highly abrasive and may end up removing enamel as well as stain.

Aye_Up_2

Just rang my dentist to arrange an appointment with the hygienist.

The receptionist said, that a dentist can do a scale & polish of their own and it wasn't necessary to see the hygienist unless I had been referred.

I advised her what the dentist had told me the last time I went for a check up e.g. 'that they don't do that anymore..it's bad for teeth, etc' so now both the receptionist and myself are confused.

The receptionist said she would need to speak to my dentist and find out who would polish my teeth then call me back.

This is ridiculous.

brook2jack

Receptionist isn't a dentist. If a scale and polish is not clinically necessary eg to remove cosmetic staining then the dentist should not do it as a NHS treatment. If you had gum disease then the dentist should treat this under the nhs. At NHS funding levels it will almost always be a dentist doing the scaling rather than a hygienist.

For cosmetic removal of staining private treatment is appropriate and this is normally cheaper for the hygienist to do this privately than the dentist.

The receptionist is probably under the misapprehension you needed a scale and polish for health reasons (nhs ,dentist will provide) rather than cosmetic reasons (private and mostly hygienist provided).

melbury

This explains a lot. My dentist always used to polish my teeth, but a few years ago this stopped without any explanation at all, so I bought an electric toothbrush, which I guess is pretty similar to what they use;)

welshdent

you may find some dentists will do it as a gesture of good will and not say anything. I usually do if generally someone is clearly looking after their teeth well and just needs some "tarting up". Its easier for me to just do it rather than explain why I can not. BUT I do as a gesture of good will because I choose to not because "the NHS provides for it" ... it doesnt. I do.

brook2jack

Welshdent you are doing other dentists a disservice by not explaining it is a "goodwill gesture". OP was asking about making a complaint about service they received because they thought they were entitled to cosmetic cleaning on the nhs.

You know how stressful it is to have a complaint and how corrosive a lack of trust is between dentist and patient. You also know how difficult it is to practice in the nhs. Talk to your patients and explain so they and their friends don't think the nhs pays for what you (and your boss) have provided for free. How much do you calculate the cost not only in time but in brush ,cup, bib (all disposable) , sterilising and lubricating the hand piece and prophy paste will cost? And if your patients don't realise /appreciate you are doing this free of charge they don't appreciate it is goodwill on your part and will round on the next dentist who legitimately won't do it for free.

welshdent

sorry brook I dont really think that. I usually say well I am not meant to but dont tell anyone and smile. I Think my patients have appreciated that and has gained me more good feeling than bad from patients. It doesnt take me a few seconds to rub a polishing brush over one or 2 teeth and its not like I make a habit of it.

welshdent

the ones doing a disservice are the ones telling patients perio treatment is not available on the health service, see a hygienist privately or go without which appears to result in arrest-able conditions going untreated or a lot of bad feeling as many posters here seem to have indicated.

brook2jack

Totally agree but OP was asking about making a complaint because the dentist would, legitimately, not remove coffee and tea staining. Moreover the practice appears to be quite willing to provide periodontal (gum ) treatment on the NHS as the receptionist told the OP on the phone when they rang up the dentist would provide a scale and polish!

My reading of many of the posts was most peoples experience would be scaling is done if necessary but cosmetic polishing has been discontinued. Which is as it should be.

Aye_Up_2

I'd like to thank the legitimately helpful responses but don't appreciate the ones (naming no names) clearly looking to start an argument. This isn't the House of Commons, it's just a forum so get a grip.

Lot's of friends and colleagues get their teeth scaled and polished by their NHS dentist as part of a routine check up. Just to remove the odd bit of staining nothing more.

Confusion has arisen because I myself used to get this done in the past but my 'latest' NHS dentist potentially told me a lot of nonsense about them not doing it anymore because it is harmful to teeth as it "boils them".

The grounds of any complaint will possibly be if the dentist has intentionally told me false information as an excuse not to perform the polishing. The dentist could just have easily explained they don't do it anymore.

However, today, the receptionist compounded matters by telling me my NHS dentist would be able to do this and could not offer any explanation as to why the dentist wouldn't. She also said I did not have to see the hygienist unless I'd been referred.

I've looked after my teeth for years and have always paid for my treatment.

I am frustrated because all I want is my teeth polished and nobody at my dental practice is helping me accomplish this. At no point has either the NHS dentist or the receptionist advised polishing would have to be done privately or differentiated between cosmetic or treatment.