Can a NHS dentist just remove me from their list!?

welshdent

For the record folks there is no "registration fee" for new patients on the NHS in England and Wales ... nor anywhere else for that matter. Registration was scrapped in England and Wales by the last labour government so there really is no obligation to keep anyone on the books so to speak and yes we can terminate a course of treatment if there is a break down in dentist patient relationship. Why would you want to see a dentist you had no faith in anyway?

Regards the contrast, I doubt it would make any difference to be honest. All it does is lighten and darken things to make decay etc easier to see. I change it all the time to assist diagnosis. I obviously can not see your images but if it is the contrast you refer to than the simplest explanation is they printed off the last saved state of the image which they may well have been playing with the levels to gain some more clarity of what that object was then saved it automatically as they close the image down (we get an auto prompt). Not trying to pull the wool over your eyes but trying to help figure out what was happening. It doesnt sound like anything shifty at all to me because you can not just simply make things disappear by playing with contrast levels. Furthermore if you opened their software up you can re set to the original image anyway! Nothing to be gained.

Also reporting to the GDC will NOT give you any of the answers you seek. Thats not what they are there for. They regulate the profession so would investigate the dentist for the complaint and make their life hell for a year or so then decide to a) do nothing b) give conditions c) suspend or d) strike off. I know of patients who have taken a dentist to the GDC for exapmple hoping for compensation but that doesnt happen. They dont have that power nor can they independently examine you x rays and give an opinion. I suspect you would not get the answers you are looking for and would be left frustrated by them.

brook2jack

Welsh dent is referring to digital x rays and one of the advantages of them is you can adjust contrast to get a better diagnostic picture. A paper copy therefore is only a rough guide to what the x ray is capable of showing.

The normal sort of foreign body someone might look for is a broken endodontic file used in root treatment. This is quite a common scenario as these instruments are tiny and fairly easily broken and are a common complication of root treatment.As they measure fractions of a millimetre across and look very similar to root filling then shifts in contrast might be used to try to identify them.. The problem is an x ray is only a 2d representation of a 3d structure which is why digital x rays have all sorts of clever software to enhance the image.

brook2jack

This is an excellent example of how a change in contrast can help diagnosis. The second image shows much clearer a crack going down the middle of the tooth. This is the same x ray but with the contrast adjusted http://christianberdy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/DEXIS-digital-x-ray-comparison.jpg

JasonBat

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I presume this consultant was one that the NHS sent you to and paid for?

Yes, it was meant to be the most senior NHS oral surgeon in my area who had previously allegedly removed a foreign body or bodies whilst I was under a general anaesthetic.

JasonBat

brook2jack/welshdent,

Seems you have answered the question perfectly whilst you are not even my dentist and have no duty of care in this regard.

All I asked was why there was a difference in the x-rays as the previous one showed something and the later did not.

It further appears to me that no x-ray, MRI or CT is 100% reliable and is only somewhat of an aid.

In return, I got a letter through the post saying I had allegedly lost confidence in this dentist and he was not going to be seeing me again. A bit cowardly, dismissive and inappropriate I would think?

With regards to the contrast or gamma, the difference was a lot more noteworthy than the example you refer to.

I am inclined to ask for a digital copy though judging from the reaction I have just received from the dentist in question I am hugely reluctant.

brook2jack

If you want a digital copy you are entitled to that , although there will probably be a charge for the copying. Bear in mind interpretation of x rays is a very specialist skill and as you have said x rays have their limitations. It is very easy to get "artifacts" ie areas on x rays that look like something but are actually structures superimposed as it is only a 2d representation.

JasonBat

brook2jack wrote: »

If you want a digital copy you are entitled to that , although there will probably be a charge for the copying.

Thanks.

A fee for e-mailing it me you mean?

brook2jack

They are unlikely to e mail it to you as there are confidentiality problems if the e mail gets sent to the wrong person if eg the e mail address is typed wrongly. The medical protection societies advise not to use private email addresses for this reason . There would be a charge for a hard copy eg disc or onto a USB stick .

JasonBat

brook2jack wrote: »

Bear in mind interpretation of x rays is a very specialist skill and as you have said x rays have their limitations. It is very easy to get "artifacts" ie areas on x rays that look like something but are actually structures superimposed as it is only a 2d representation.

Thanks again for the additional info. Not too reliable it would seem these x-rays are.

JasonBat

brook2jack wrote: »

They are unlikely to e mail it to you as there are confidentiality problems if the e mail gets sent to the wrong person if eg the e mail address is typed wrongly. The medical protection societies advise not to use private email addresses for this reason . There would be a charge for a hard copy eg disc or onto a USB stick .

Okay. I might enquire as soon as I can muster up the guts after the last bit of drama.