Reply to: I still don't get private dental

[SueEllen]

The quality of the normal amalgam fillings used for the NHS is the lowest possible and only lasts a year or two. NHS will give the absolute minimum of treatment and because they use outdated x-ray equipment they often overlook hard to find cavities.

Depends on your dentist.

The two amalgam fillings that are in my mouth have been there for years.

Mine does NHS and private work.

The practice tries to push people to private but my individual dentist tells you whether you should bother or not.

In my case it is not bother.

[d000hg]

It flared up again a few years later and the NHS guys I'm with now spotted that the private guy had left part of the drill lodged in the nerve canal which meant they didn't flush out the infection properly and it had slowly been rotting from the inside. I ended up having to have the whole tooth removed as there was no way to remove the broken drill bit without it getting very very expensive (1000's) with a specialist oral surgeon and still no guarantee it would save the tooth or stop the infection coming back.

That happened to my wife, who is very VERY scared of the dentist. After taking a long time to get the courage to have it done she started getting problems and an x-ray showed the same. I didn't realise just how truly tiny the files/drills were.

She opted (without much choice) to have it extracted during lockdown and has been traumatised about the dentist since - normally you can visit somewhere for sedation but this wasn't possible, and I couldn't even go in with her.

[DaveB]

Been with the same NHS dental practice for 20 odd years. Always been excellent. My teeth are crap due to neglect in my younger days and I've had a couple of extractions, crowns and root canals done as a result. The first root canal I had done privately before I came to this one. It got horribly infected and had to be re-done twice. It flared up again a few years later and the NHS guys I'm with now spotted that the private guy had left part of the drill lodged in the nerve canal which meant they didn't flush out the infection properly and it had slowly been rotting from the inside. I ended up having to have the whole tooth removed as there was no way to remove the broken drill bit without it getting very very expensive (1000's) with a specialist oral surgeon and still no guarantee it would save the tooth or stop the infection coming back.

Everything else I've had done there has been excellent, another root canal, 2 crowns and another extraction as well as regular checkups and the odd filling (mostly replacing old ones as they start to crumble.) and they are on the ball about using different techniques and procedures to do the best job.
They do private cosmetic stuff as well, whitening , straightening etc. but are not pushy and happy to advise on cost/benefit etc.

[Paddy]

I still have an NHS dentist and the differences at my practice are:

1. Treatment is in a box room rather than a spacious office.
2. You don't get to watch videos of reef fish.
3. The dentists appear to be young/newly qualified and therefore less experienced.

If you want fancy things like white fillings you're still paying private costs for it along with various other 'non-essential' work.

The quality of the normal amalgam fillings used for the NHS is the lowest possible and only lasts a year or two. NHS will give the absolute minimum of treatment and because they use outdated x-ray equipment they often overlook hard to find cavities.

[d000hg]

Too much of an open goal, love you really NLUK

[Smartie]

I still have an NHS dentist and the differences at my practice are:

1. Treatment is in a box room rather than a spacious office.
2. You don't get to watch videos of reef fish.
3. The dentists appear to be young/newly qualified and therefore less experienced.

If you want fancy things like white fillings you're still paying private costs for it along with various other 'non-essential' work.

[northernladuk]

Hands up who is surprised someone knocked NL's teeth out?

[d000hg]

I've had a lot of work due to some busted teeth

Hands up who is surprised someone knocked NL's teeth out?

[d000hg]

I've had two root canals. One on a front tooth done on the NHS in Sussex and that went fine (the nerve was dead so I actually had it done without any anaesthetic!). The second was with all the special equipment and needed some numbing but was far gentler than any filling I've ever had. The crown work was also really good.

I didn't get fancy tech but it was actually one of the less painful fillings, the problem was simply the fear. Getting an idea just how deep in he was going, and worrying that at any moment they might hit a nerve. The worst thing was the nasty hydroxide (IIRC)!

[northernladuk]

Not a chance of getting an NHS spot round here and the ones that do I wouldn't go to anyway. I might be different as I've had a lot of work due to some busted teeth from rugby and wouldn't have trusted the ones offering NHS.

Found a new local place with a young(ish) couple new set up with all the fandago technology. IMO the tech makes a massive difference when you are in there a lot so worth it for me.

[SueEllen]

It used to be the case that if you couldn't find an NHS dentist, the local health authority was obliged to find one for you. Is that still the case?

Seems not - https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dent...n-nhs-dentist/

If after contacting several dental surgeries you still cannot find a dentist accepting NHS patients, call NHS England's Customer Contact Centre on 0300 311 2233.

[NotAllThere]

It used to be the case that if you couldn't find an NHS dentist, the local health authority was obliged to find one for you. Is that still the case?

[Paddy]

I've never considered going overseas for any kind of medical treatment, how do you find and assess them? It would be fun to have a weekend break a couple of times a year to coincide with a check up or hygienist appointment.

I will PM you when I have a few minutes free

[ladymuck]

I had my first RC during lockdown and the chap actually asked if he wanted me to do it, or a referral to a specialist place (microscopes and all that). I was tempted but decided I preferred a known/safe environment as I was quite nervous - plus it was an hour away rather than 10min to drive afterwards
For stuff like that I'd go private assuming I can afford it, but for regular fillings it seems a bit pointless.

I've had two root canals. One on a front tooth done on the NHS in Sussex and that went fine (the nerve was dead so I actually had it done without any anaesthetic!). The second was with all the special equipment and needed some numbing but was far gentler than any filling I've ever had. The crown work was also really good.

When I was with the NHS butchers, they gave me loads of crowns and fillings and in the time since I moved to private all I get after a check up is "you should floss more". Now you could say the NHS had done all the hard work and there's nothing left for the private chaps to do but it seems odd to me that I moved from NHS in Sussex where I barely needed any treatment to NHS in London where suddenly lots of work was needed.

I would stick with the dentist you're comfortable with, even if that means going private. Especially if you're a bit of a nervous patient.

[d000hg]

I needed a root canal doing and decided to do my own research into dentists that offer that treatment as a speciality and ended up at a private practise an extra 10 minute walk away where they (a) don't push extra treatments on me, (b) treat me like a human being (the receptionists are lovely!), and (c) do a damn good job.

I had my first RC during lockdown and the chap actually asked if he wanted me to do it, or a referral to a specialist place (microscopes and all that). I was tempted but decided I preferred a known/safe environment as I was quite nervous - plus it was an hour away rather than 10min to drive afterwards
For stuff like that I'd go private assuming I can afford it, but for regular fillings it seems a bit pointless.