Question for dentists

Legacy_user

My 17 yr old niece went to her dentist with toothache , it turns out she has a cracked tooth that opens every time she eats . Her dentist has told her to come back when she is 18 [in a few weeks] and he will cap it , until then don't eat on that side .


Is this normal practice ? seems odd that shes left in pain for weeks !

brook2jack

There is no advantage, financial or otherwise, to wait until someone is 18.
However the preparation time for a crown is long and in a busy NHS practice there may not be a long appointment available for several weeks.

System

brook2jack wrote: »

There is no advantage, financial or otherwise, to wait until someone is 18.
However the preparation time for a crown is long and in a busy NHS practice there may not be a long appointment available for several weeks.

Apparently this particular dentist isn't that busy , i could understand if that was the case and he gave an appointment in a few weeks but that hasn't happened .


She is a student so gets free dental care until she is 19 , i'm not sure if this includes crowns .


It just seems so wrong to leave someone in pain .

Toothsmith

I think she needs to clarify that with the practice. Just ask them why the 'advice' to wait until she is 18 was given.

As Brook said, there is no financial gain for the dentist to wait until she's 18. She should have been told at the appointment if it was to be provided on the NHS or privately, and being 18 or not wouldn't make a difference to that either.

She could see if she could get an earlier appointment.

brook2jack

CHRISSYG wrote: »

Apparently this particular dentist isn't that busy , i could understand if that was the case and he gave an appointment in a few weeks but that hasn't happened .


She is a student so gets free dental care until she is 19 , i'm not sure if this includes crowns .


It just seems so wrong to leave someone in pain .

Crowns are included on the NHS at whatever age you are.

However busy or not a dentist is if a patient needs an appointment at a particular time eg after 4pm it is much more difficult to find space for a long appointment than if they were , say , happy to come in at any time.

However your niece needs to clarify why she needs to wait , and if in pain to say that she can take a late notice cancellation.