Is anything being done about NHS dentistry?

Jeremy535897

mrkat said:

Jeremy535897 said:

mrkat said:

[DELETED USER] said:

If it is causing you pain then call 101 and explain you can't find an NHS dentist. They will get one to call you back for an emergency appointment.

Unfortunately that's the only way to get NHS dental treatment in many areas. They weren't joking when they said the Tories were privatising the NHS.

When I first contacted the dentist in April, they said only emergency appointments were available and even in those, they wouldn't do anything but pull the tooth out. With the health problems that come with missing teeth, I'd like to avoid that as much as I can. It is painful as the fractured tooth is sharp and I've had to eat only on one side of my mouth but it's bearable so I think I'll just have to wait until if/when the pain gets too much.

I don't want to sound alarmist, but I have been registered with a NHS dentist for 17 years. They were going to fit a new crown on 30 March, and I am still waiting.

Oh wow. Can I ask what it's like at the moment? Have you had a tiny bit of tooth for 17 years? I had an implant put in (when I had more money!) so I've had a tiny nubbin poking out my jaw but now the gum has receeded quite a lot and I'm worried it's going to be too far gone soon to put a crown on top.

No. I've been registered with the dentist for 17 years, but the old crown only broke off in February this year. Although I went to the dentist the next day, the preparatory work took longer than it should have done, because they have too many patients for the practice, pushing the fitting back to 30 March... and the rest is history. It is not painful, but no doubt there will be some cutting back of the gum to fit the new crown. Requests to get the job done have met with no success to date.

Dentists spend far too much time on oral hygiene. Properly using an electric toothbrush for at least 2 minutes first thing and before sleep, using mouthwash and brushing gums as well as teeth, and not drinking sugary drinks like soda or fruit juice, cuts the need for dentists doing plaque removal dramatically. Having a scale and polish too often prevents the good bacteria in your mouth from growing.

ripplyuk

mrkat said:

[DELETED USER] said:

If it is causing you pain then call 101 and explain you can't find an NHS dentist. They will get one to call you back for an emergency appointment.

Unfortunately that's the only way to get NHS dental treatment in many areas. They weren't joking when they said the Tories were privatising the NHS.

When I first contacted the dentist in April, they said only emergency appointments were available and even in those, they wouldn't do anything but pull the tooth out. With the health problems that come with missing teeth, I'd like to avoid that as much as I can. It is painful as the fractured tooth is sharp and I've had to eat only on one side of my mouth but it's bearable so I think I'll just have to wait until if/when the pain gets too much.

That’s probably all an NHS dentist will offer anyway. Maybe some areas of the U.K. are better but where I live, getting a crown from an NHS dentist is extremely difficult. The dentist has to put in a request for funding to the local health trust and they generally refuse but even if they say yes, it can be up to an 18 month wait. 

warwicktate

mrkat said:

[DELETED USER] said:

If it is causing you pain then call 101 and explain you can't find an NHS dentist. They will get one to call you back for an emergency appointment.

Unfortunately that's the only way to get NHS dental treatment in many areas. They weren't joking when they said the Tories were privatising the NHS.

When I first contacted the dentist in April, they said only emergency appointments were available and even in those, they wouldn't do anything but pull the tooth out. With the health problems that come with missing teeth, I'd like to avoid that as much as I can. It is painful as the fractured tooth is sharp and I've had to eat only on one side of my mouth but it's bearable so I think I'll just have to wait until if/when the pain gets too much.

Unfortunately this is the situation at the moment. You can either claim its an emergency, and have the tooth removed (like you already know), or you can prefer to wait for other treatment, and just keep searching for a dentist to take you on. It probably will be a very slow process tho, and at some point you might find the pain becomes too much and it will become an emergency, and so the tooth will come out anyway. 

I know you say there are health problems with removing teeth, but I had 4 teeth removed, and have had no ill effects whatsoever. My wisdom teeth had impacted my rear molars, and so they all had to come out. And it was my dentist that did it, not the hospitals odontology department (so it was a regular 'numb the gum and pull, pull, pull!!!). So, I do have a bit of a gap, but with regular mouthwash swilling, I've never had an issue. 

Good luck with finding a dentist, one will become available. Eventually. 

strawb_shortcake

I did wonder what health problems there are with having teeth removed, I opted to have one removed due to significant pain, I'd been grinding teeth in my sleep and a filling had aggravated the nerve. I could have had a root canal but as the dentist in question in well known for not giving anaesthetic I opted to have it pulled. 
I always see a different dentist as the one above petrified me and I cry as soon as I sit in his chair, but as she was out and the hospital wouldn't see me I felt I had no choice.

But back to topic, I've been waiting for a filling since March, the dentist is meant to be calling me to discuss, but other patients are already being told not to call for routine appointments until Jan/Feb.
If you want urgent treatment then you might have to exaggerate just how painful your tooth is

HannahL77

My partner phoned his dentist about a month ago and was told they would only see an nhs patient if they were in pain and said they thought they would be back to taking nhs patients at the end of this month but I'm not sure if this is all dentists or if ours are just making up their own rules.

RyanHello

Someone in my family has been waiting month after month for another scheduled operation. The way the NHS is run is truly shocking. How can you have Drs working from home? It's unbelievable this service keeps getting praise. Very poorly run.

Thrugelmir

RyanHello said:

Someone in my family has been waiting month after month for another scheduled operation. The way the NHS is run is truly shocking. How can you have Drs working from home? It's unbelievable this service keeps getting praise. Very poorly run.

Unless you've an answer to Covid. It's just another thing that we've got to learn to adapt too. This is the new norm. Not anybody's fault. 

RyanHello

Thrugelmir said:

RyanHello said:

Someone in my family has been waiting month after month for another scheduled operation. The way the NHS is run is truly shocking. How can you have Drs working from home? It's unbelievable this service keeps getting praise. Very poorly run.

Unless you've an answer to Covid. It's just another thing that we've got to learn to adapt too. This is the new norm. Not anybody's fault. 

Tell that to the cancer patients who are having their treatment delayed because of this. As well as GP appointments by phone. How can GPs do this? We do not need to adapt at all. All this what they're doing is much, much worse than Covid. It's been one huge over reaction

Takmon

RyanHello said:

Someone in my family has been waiting month after month for another scheduled operation. The way the NHS is run is truly shocking. How can you have Drs working from home? It's unbelievable this service keeps getting praise. Very poorly run.

I had an online consultation for tonsillitis and answered all the questions then got an email prescribing the correct antibiotics. It all worked much better and more effecient that me wasting time getting an appointment and travelling to the doctors and i hope this system is the standard from now on. 

ripplyuk

Thrugelmir said:

RyanHello said:

Someone in my family has been waiting month after month for another scheduled operation. The way the NHS is run is truly shocking. How can you have Drs working from home? It's unbelievable this service keeps getting praise. Very poorly run.

Unless you've an answer to Covid. It's just another thing that we've got to learn to adapt too. This is the new norm. Not anybody's fault. 

It’s poor management, imo. It is not better to die from cancer than COVID. The same applies to any other serious illness. The two doctors and one nurse in my family are not busy. In fact, they say work has never been quieter. My neurologist was on the phone a few days ago and told me if I want another (private) appointment, he can see me straight away. He is an NHS consultant and normally he is so busy that even a private appointment is about a 3 mth wait but he explained that since the NHS waiting lists have been put on hold, he has plenty of time for private patients now. He thought this was as unfair as I did but like he said, it’s not his decision.