Dentist only in 2 days a week - root canal

Bloblik

After some pain and a visit to the dentist  last year, I was advised that a back tooth needed Root Canal surgery, and at that time some remedial work was done, and I went away, and only had minor niggles, including 2x checkups, until last week.

This weekend I suffered debilitating pain - out of 10, it was a 10 !, I could not put anything in my mouth, including food and water, I was unable to see any dentist at my surgery for 2 days, (I do not take pain killers for various reasons) I finally got in to see a temporary dentist, who has prescribed 15x Amoxicillin 500mg Capsules, this is a 5 days course, this dentist now has me booked in for a 'review' with my actual (NHS) dentist next week, which is 7 days away.
Will the Amoxicillin continure to work after the 5 day course finishes ??

Apparently my Dentist is only available 2x days a week (they are contracted to work elsewhere other times), yet the surgery is open 6 days, originally the receptionist wanted to give me a date several weeks away, which I refused, and he made a fuss, but then found me a date for the 'review' with a weeks waiting time, I suspect I will have to wait another length of time after that for actual work to be done.

Two days after seeing the emergency dentist a lump has grown on the side of my cheek.

If I presented at A&E with an injury I would get it seen to in hours, I have an infection in my mouth that needs dealing with like now, not in weeks, is my dentist providing the best care and treatment for my condition ?? I dont see why I should not expect to get prompt treatment, not be made to wait days and weeks.

I have been going to the same surgery since childhood, and back in thise days it was very different, no delays, you saw a dentist no probelm, but since then it has been bought out, become part of a chain of practices, they moved to new premises with fancy fish tanks and waiting areas a number of years ago, with table menus for all number of cosmetic procedures dotted around.
Trying to get an appointment - excuse the pun, is like pulling teeth.
I was always seen every 6 months, but that was switched to 12 months.
I have to pay to see a 'hygenist', which was never the case.
I once complained about the 'billing', where I was convinced they had been taking my advance 'deposit' - there printed statement was intelligable, and I am experienced in accounts and book keeping. There book keeper talked all pover me when I complained, They sent me a letter - and complained about me, saying I had been rude.

Are there published service levels that an NHS Dental Patient should receive.

Keep_pedalling

It will work if it has actually overcome the infection, if not you may need a different antibiotic. 

brook2jack2

Unfortunately NHS dental services are very,very,very stretched. In many areas around me it will be a 6 to 8 week wait in between appointments. 

Everyone is frustrated with this dentist ,staff and patient , but because of the huge amount of patients it is inevitable. 

This time of year is also very difficult as it is coming up to the time when surgeries have to meet their targets. If they do not then money is clawed back from the, (this will happen to around 80% of practices anyway). As a result of this the books are crammed to the gunnels with as many people as possible to hit targets. 

As a consequence of this , and because root treatment appointments take so long , you are very unlikely to get a cancellation appointment to get treatment sooner. 

In NHS practice every second counts , there are patients booked in for every minute of the day so there is not room to book people in quickly for extensive treatment. It is a factor of the way that NHS dental contracts have been set up and why so many dentists are quitting NHS practice because the pressures are just too much. 

Ayr_Rage

Why did they not do the root canal last year ?

If you have an infection that has to be cleared before anything else is attempted, A&E won't do anything for you whilst you are on antibiotics, apart from advising to take pain killers.

You could also call your nearest dental hospital and see if they could treat you on an emergency basis.

Bloblik

Thank you for your comments, feels like our NHS is letting patients down in this area, I presume practices have caught up post Covid.
Is this how NHS services work as a private sector provisioned service - provided by 2 tier providers.

Umm Leaves a bad taste in my mouth, as well as a swelling, and infection ...

mda99das

Many NHS practices are at capacity and there are a shortage of dentists willing to work in a system that is not fit for purpose. Imagine if you were paid the same whether you complete 1 job or 10 jobs, would you accept that? Dentists are self employed and free to work in whatever system they wish. Another issue is technically registration no longer exists, and once you have finished your course of treatment the dentist is under no obligation to see you on the NHS, however it is important to know what system you will be treated under. Practices will usually keep their regular patients providing they attend for their examinations and don't miss or late cancel. The system is broken. 

In your case you may wish to ring around other practices to see you on the NHS, or you may opt to go privately . The decision is yours.

Emmia

Part of your issue is having been advised of the treatment you needed, you went away and didn't get the treatment booked in, and done.

3+ months later (but likely much more, as you had 2 check ups) the situation has become critical - so you now understandably want to address it immediately, but your dentist isn't free now to do it.

Dentists are probably the main group of heath professionals that gets a really raw deal (aside from the NHS funding issues) people don't see it as essential (it costs money for even a basic checkup) don't follow the advice given (whether that is to floss, or have root canal treatment), and frequently only turn up as an emergency, when they're in pain (no one is at their most charming when they're in agony), or something major has happened...

I think your best hope is ringing round other NHS practices (presuming you can find one with space) to see if they can treat you more quickly, or going private (which will no doubt be a 10/10 on the wallet pain scale).

Ibrahim5

Realistically your only hope is to pay privately. If you can't afford it you won't have a dentist. That's the future. The rich will have all sorts of implants and veneers and whitening procedures and braces and the poor will have no dental care.

MalMonroe

There's a shortage of dentists in the UK, and few people are wanting to train to be one apparently. I don't blame them, it's not a job I'd like. 

I'm not too keen on my own dentist now my lovely one has retired. The new one has decided not to accept any more NHS patients - fortunately he is still willing to treat those of us who are NHS patients - but once we've gone I think he'll just be seeing private patients. 

Trying to find a new dentist is a nightmare. So many are no longer taking NHS patients. And that's a laugh anyway because the idea of the NHS initially was that it was a free for all service. We all have to pay. Those who can't afford to will suffer, as per usual. It's going back to Dickensian times. And like living in the US.

And dentists are leaving the NHS - see this link - 

https://bda.org/news-centre/press-releases/Pages/nearly-half-of-dentists-severing-ties-with-nhs.aspx

There's some info here from the government -

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-to-improve-access-to-dental-care

And if you want to complain, there's info in this link - 

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/how-do-i-complain-about-my-dental-treatment/

I guess if we want any kind of dental treatment, we are all going to have to suck it up and take what we can. Nobody can afford to be picky or choosy nowadays.

But as others have said, if you knew about the treatment that was necessary last year, why didn't you book then to have it done?

Your NHS dentist should offer emergency appointments though. If we want to see our dentist as an emergency we have to phone first thing in the morning and they will fit us in at some point during the day.BUT the criteria are that we have to either be in pain or suffering from uncontrollable bleeding. Otherwise, we have to wait. 

Nobody wants to learn how to treat our teeth just as nobody wants to train to be a GP. . . we are on the verge of stepping into very trying times. Just when we thought things couldn't get much scarier.

My own thoughts and opinions of course - but I do know that there is a shortage of NHS dentists in this country and we need to nurture the ones we have.

35har1old

Bloblik said:

Thank you for your comments, feels like our NHS is letting patients down in this area, I presume practices have caught up post Covid.
Is this how NHS services work as a private sector provisioned service - provided by 2 tier providers.

Umm Leaves a bad taste in my mouth, as well as a swelling, and infection ...

Even having dental insurance there is no guarantee that the dentist that you have had for years will carry out a root canal. They may refer you to a specialist which you then have to pay