Toothache but no dentisit....

shays_mum

Go to your local hospital, they usually have a walk in clinic operating, if not call nhs direct i'm sure they can advise.

Bossyboots

Our local hospital no longer has a walk in dental clinic and they would not see the OP in these circumstances anyway as treatment has been started and it would no longer be considered an emergency.

My colleague came into work a few weeks ago, in complete agony. I rang all the local dentists listed as still taking NHS patients but none of them would see her as an emergency but they were all prepared to see her immediately if she paid. Even one that was listed as offering emergency treatment to NHS patients and had a two page spread in the local paper a while back for that very reason, said they would only see her privately. In the end, she too had to be driven several miles away to a dental centre that agreed to see her as an emergency NHS patient. They did a temporary fix for her and then she had to go back a couple of weeks later to have it done properly.

She could actually have registered with any of them as an NHS patient by the way but they said that the first appointment would be a consultation only and she would have to go back for treatment.

Mattjimf

Thankfully due to the major shortage of NHS dentists in Aberdeen, we have a pretty good emergency dentist system. I have had to use them, phoned up got an appointment for later on that hour, went in got tooth removed for the NHS price of 19 quid and got info about getting on a list.

tattooed_lady

It's ridiculous that you can't get to be seen! The local dentist round here is always open to exempt nhs patients, I used them while on Maternity exemption.

Toothsmith

Go to the health board and read through the dental threads there. Most points raised here have been brought up there.

blue_monkey_2

I just wanted to add that Guys hospital in London has a walk in centre as well.

I saw my dentist the first time while pregnant just over 3 years ago even though I was not registered, they saw me the next day and have been there ever since and he has since taken on my husband and 2 kids - all on NHS. Make sure you keep up your 6 month checks though else you get thrown off the list. I guess those of us out there who can get a dentist do not really realise how bleak the situation is.

A few years back I had to have a root canal, got into a local dentist near where I was working and had it done on NHS. A few months later my husband had the same problem, called the same dentist and got an appointment. He came home telling me that they told him that they do not do root canal on the NHS and was quoting him over £300 for the work to be done - he had said that he would get back to them. I called up and went balistic, they told me that it could not be done on NHS, I said 'well, you did mine a few weeks back'. There was silence and they asked for my name. I told them to check their records and told them to stuff it as we had found another dentist willing to do the work on the NHS and they should be lucky that we did not report them. A few days later my husbands £20 for the inital consultation was sent back to us though the post!! I bet they all try it on in this way. I was shocked. If you find a good dentist stick with it but always try and push for NHS treatment if you can (easier said than done I know but ring around as you may be surprised, even if you have to travel a little way it is worth it)

BFG_2

When you ask people if the want NHS or private a lot of people say NHS. However a lot of them don't really mean it; what they really mean is 'I want private quality work in a private quality environment, but I only want to pay NHS prices'.

No one really WANTED NHS glasses (Joe 90 and all that), what they really wanted were the fancy designer ones...

You get what you pay for....NHS - quick, no customer service, cheapest materials possible, worst looking job, gets you by; private...the opposite should be true.

Toothsmith

blue_monkey wrote:

There was silence and they asked for my name. I told them to check their records and told them to stuff it as we had found another dentist willing to do the work on the NHS and they should be lucky that we did not report them. A few days later my husbands £20 for the inital consultation was sent back to us though the post!! I bet they all try it on in this way.

Obviously real hardened con artists!

Despite the fact they'd done an initial consultation, and therefore were entitled to keep the fee for it, and despite, as far as I can tell, you didn't ask for it back, they still sent back the money!

Strikes me they were as happy to be rid of you as you were to go!

Of couse NHS is the thing to go for, just as every tyre should be a remould as they are far superior, and the highest quality supermarket in the country is Netto.

It all depends on how much value you put on having your own teeth.

bethscott1970

I'd settle for being able to find a local dentist who will make my husband a set of false teeth without expecting us to get a second morgage to pay for it. He has a severe dental phobia and recently had the last of his top teeth removed at the maxio-facial dept at the hospital. It took a lot of persuation and sedation to get him to stay so my challenge to find a patient dentist (who will give him the support he needs to even get in the chair) is an impossible one. I know it's illegal for someone to make dentures without having a dentist fit them but whats my alternative?

mah_jong

BFG wrote:

When you ask people if the want NHS or private a lot of people say NHS. However a lot of them don't really mean it; what they really mean is 'I want private quality work in a private quality environment, but I only want to pay NHS prices'.

No one really WANTED NHS glasses (Joe 90 and all that), what they really wanted were the fancy designer ones...

You get what you pay for....NHS - quick, no customer service, cheapest materials possible, worst looking job, gets you by; private...the opposite should be true.

But for many of us there is no choice....even if we are happy with NHS no frills service and/or qualify for free treatment. I had to go private after finding out the nearest NHS dentist was around 40 miles away, no idea if there were spaces in his list I could not get there! And at the time I was elegible for free treatment!!

I have always looked after my teeth but they are not particulary strong.