NHS, Wisdom tooth extraction, and free treatment - probably one for toothsmith

Toothsmith

Good luck with it!

whatatwit

anewman wrote: »

Thought I might revive my old thread. Filled in the Leeds Dental School website form but heard nothing back about that. Through the dentist-referral to hospital route, I am having two teeth removed on the 16th, so that's 11 months I've had to wait. Luckily it's only become infected again once during that time enough to require anti-biotic treatment.

As Toothsmith said, good luck with the appointment.

Also, thanks for updating the thread and advising what has happened.....will you post again after it's over and done with.
Did you manage to get an NHS dentist?

anewman

Yes. I phoned what I believe was called something like Leeds Dental Helpline, and they told me where there was a dentist accepting NHS patients in Leeds.

I was warned I may experience numbness of the lip after the extraction which concerns me slightly, and given the option of general anaesthetic or local - can't remember exactly how long the hospital dentist said she thought the procedure would be but I thought having them drilling into my jaw and laying there that long under local might not be fun so opted for general given the choice.

alison999

anewman wrote: »

I was warned I may experience numbness of the lip after the extraction which concerns me slightly.

ive had that warning too, badly need my lower wisdom teeth removed under ga but im way too scared! hurts like hell, and my head has been banging all week, and i work in a dentist! ha ha


i think it was said that id have more chance of winning the lottery though than having permanent numbness

anewman

Just had it done today. Had to delay due to having a bad cold/cough on the original date. Had an infection/swelling on my gum which was painful when pressed with tongue - went to dentist to get anti-biotics to try clear that up before to day but didn't seem to work. Probably shouldn't be on the internet after being on general anaesthetic Just need time for it to heal up now I guess

Toothsmith

Well done!

JoeBloggs80

Hi,

I went to the dentist today and he said my wisdom teeth are impacted and should be removed. He did an x ray that showed that the bone behind the teeth was wearing away and that even though they rarely cause me any pain at the moment, its for the best to have them taken out now as it will only be harder in the future as I get older (I'm 29)

The top 2 can come out easily, but he said the bottom two are more complicated and require surgery. The total cost of all 4 teeth would be £700 and it would take 2 hours for the procedure.

Would it be possible for me to get this done for free on the NHS? As there is no pain I wouldn't mind going on a waiting list for a while but then I'm wondering if its serious enough to warrant an NHS srugery as it seems to be largely a precautionary measure.

Any advice welcome, thanks.

Toothsmith

Yes it would.

Ask him to refer you to the oral surgery dept at your local hospital.

jugglebug

Toothsmith wrote: »

Yes it would.

Ask him to refer you to the oral surgery dept at your local hospital.

Max fax will only do it if it ticks all the NICE boxes
"rarely cause me any pain" isn't what they want to hear.
The tend to bounce patients back to me unless they hear the magic words, which are of course "recurrent infection"

JoeBloggs80

jugglebug wrote: »

Max fax will only do it if it ticks all the NICE boxes
"rarely cause me any pain" isn't what they want to hear.
The tend to bounce patients back to me unless they hear the magic words, which are of course "recurrent infection"

Ok thanks for the advice.

Obviously my dentist would rather do it himself and get the cash. Is he obligied to refer me to the hosiptal if I ask? I anticipate him to say it would be better if he did it and would recommend staying with him but can he refuse outright?