Dentist woes...any way of getting 3rd opinion FREE?

[Zatoichi.uK]

While this is theoretically the case they do have to have a 3 month gap to make it a second course of treatment, and if you're going back in three months with obviously needed work then it's clear they should have done the work before hand. My dentist is good in this respect, they did a load of work in one course of treatment, about 4 hour long appts. and then said to book the next course in in 3 months time.

Its actually 2 months but yes if you come back within this time you can have any work within this band or below and not be charged again.

One trick they use is to ask if you want an 'urgent' course which doesn't fall into this 2 month rule and they can still charge you.

This is the minority of dentists I'm sure but it does happen.

 

[Deadbeat]

Don't have the time to be checking for an opening in an dentist every week (They're pretty much all full round here, took ages to find one).
Don't have the money for a private dentist.

Some of us don't have enough spare time to mess about desperately trying to find a dentist.

Let me guess, another guy working 100+ hrs a week? What are you doing that's so important that you can't spare 20 mins to check your local area? I can understand having difficulty, but 4 years to find a dentist is a pretty crap show on your part. It's been a nightmare trying to get a dentist round my area, and the girls I got to know over at the Dentaline call centre were surprised it took me as long as 6 months - quite an extreme wait, under most conditions. If it's taking you longer, you're really not trying too hard, and if you're not bothering while your teeth are rotting away, you need to sort your priorities out.

 

[Abraham]

One trick they use is to ask if you want an 'urgent' course which doesn't fall into this 2 month rule and they can still charge you.

This is the minority of dentists I'm sure but it does happen.

They can only charge you the £16 charge though

 

[meghatronic]

"Need a filling" is subjective.

My private dentist, very openly admitted that there was "no urgency" in having a couple of fillings, but I had them done anyway. These are the same fillings my former NHS dentist was having a go about every 6 months demanding (almost?) I have fillings.

 

[benneh]

Go back to the private dentist, tell him/her that you had pain and went to see a local dentist out of hours, they told you you need a filling, but you're not convinced on account of the private dentist not having spotted it. He/she will x-ray the area, and there it is in black and white.