is it possible to get an nhs dentist these days?

chubsta

I am scared stiff of dentists due to the fact when i was 15 i had a tooth removed by a dentist who didn't bother to wait for the anaesthetic to kick in - he was a real butcher and even at 49 i am totally terrified of going to the dentist. I start shaking, have trouble breathing etc - i am not over exaggerating, i would rather anything than go to the dentist...

over the years i have had to go, albeit not regularly, usually when there is a problem and although my recent dentist has been great I still have the problems above. Unfortunately a few years back he went 'private only' and this is pretty expensive.

On Sunday night i bit down on some food and this has cracked one of my premolars, it is very painful and i am unable to eat, so i need it treated.

do i stand any chance at all of getting a surgery to take me on as an NHS patient or am i stuck going to the private one? I know i perhaps should have tried to sort this before but the idea of going in even for just a check-up is too much for me so i guess i just ignored it hoping i would never need a dentist again.

any tips or advice would be appreciated, the nearest emergency out of hours dentist is well over an hour away by car so is not really a viable option.

I just want the tooth fixed or if it is unfixable then removed - is my current dentist likely to be able to see me as an emergency, do they have an obligation like doctors etc to treat people, or could i end up phoning loads of different surgeries trying to find one who can help?

Owain_Moneysaver

Check your local health board online or phone their Primary Care team and they should be able to tell you if there are any NHS dentists near you accepting new patients.

Armchair23

http://www.nhs.uk/Pages/HomePage.aspx

Bung in your postcode and you can see which dentists or doctors in your area are accepting patients.

chubsta

cheers for the advice, all the ones anywhere even slightly near me - in other words a 30mile radius - all say they are only taking either fee-paying adults or fee-exempt adults - guess this means honest taxpayers such as myself get stung again...

chubsta

oh well, my dentist gave me an appointment straight away - the tooth had cracked down the middle so needed extracting. The side that had effectively split off came out ok but the other side has grown into the gum and is too embedded to remove and the dentist didn't want to try too hard as if it shattered it would cause too many problems for safe removal later.

end result, i now have half a tooth and am waiting for the anaesthetic to wear off to see how much it is going to hurt - my dentist said he has removed the nerve so it shouldn't hurt any more so hopefully that will be the case. I have been referred onto another practice for surgery and they will do this on Saturday morning.

On a very positive side I have not been charged at all for the emergency work this morning and will just have to pay for the operation on Saturday - as well as being a good dentist i guess mine is a decent one as well!

KARO

Stick with the decent dentist if you can. I have lost count of the number of dodgy ones I've encountered over the years!

chubsta

KARO wrote: »

Stick with the decent dentist if you can. I have lost count of the number of dodgy ones I've encountered over the years!

Sound advice i think - i guess we always try to save money where we can but you can't put a price on pain! Its just a shame you can't seem to get proper nhs treatment if you work for a living.

cte1111

chubsta wrote: »

cheers for the advice, all the ones anywhere even slightly near me - in other words a 30mile radius - all say they are only taking either fee-paying adults or fee-exempt adults - guess this means honest taxpayers such as myself get stung again...

From just having had a look at the website, I think if it says the dentist is currently accepting new fee paying adults and new fee exempt adults, then you can sign up there, whether you qualify for free NHS treatment, or if you pay a contribution towards NHS treatment.

I did a search (ticking the 'Accepting new patients only' box) and my NHS dentist does not appear on the list, as presumably they are full, but several other dentists nearby say they are accepting new patients. I'm glad the OP got their tooth sorted, but thought this might help other people who are using the search facility.
http://www.nhs.uk/Pages/HomePage.aspx

SeduLOUs

cte1111 wrote: »

From just having had a look at the website, I think if it says the dentist is currently accepting new fee paying adults and new fee exempt adults, then you can sign up there, whether you qualify for free NHS treatment, or if you pay a contribution towards NHS treatment.

Exactly this! 'Fee-paying adult' means an adult who pays the NHS standard fees for their treatment, it doesn't mean private fees...

welshdent

Fee paying adults ARE NHS. That doesnt mean private only, it means NHS.

chubsta

thanks for clearing that up, i just assumed it meant people who would have to pay the FULL i.e. private fees. will have another look at it, although i do like my dentist, i guess it just depends on how much it means to me to know i will be treat well by someone who knows just how scared i am, that may be worth paying for!