Dentists

Rroff · 11 Feb 2026 at 12:12

That Jekka Gal said:
Equivalent of £20 here for a checkup but dental is included on my Medicare.

For private dentists around the Castle Cary area you are talking £60-70 for a routine examination! unless you are on a plan and good luck getting in on the NHS - something like 9 month waiting list if you are lucky.

That Jekka Gal · 11 Feb 2026 at 12:30

Rroff said:
For private dentists around the Castle Cary area you are talking £60-70 for a routine examination! unless you are on a plan and good luck getting in on the NHS - something like 9 month waiting list if you are lucky.

I was on Denplan there - think the monthly fee had rocketed to £80 per month though.

mattyfez · 11 Feb 2026 at 13:42

Ammo1337 said:
Dental treatment is definitely going out of control. I have been quoted £35-45k for some complicated treatments (bone grafting, few implants, few crowns etc)

Going to India in 2027 for it instead, roughly 25% of the price and the dentists are just as good and if not better. Get to enjoy a nice little holiday as well

I'm in a similar position, been through a UK few private dentist and sacked them off as I really get the impression they think they are doing me a favour dspite a circa £40k treatment plan. Spain is about 50% less for example, but its warrany im concernedd about, what if the bit isnt quite right etc, you cant just jump in th car to have it looked at.

Ammo1337 · 13 Feb 2026 at 10:24

mattyfez said:
I'm in a similar position, been through a UK few private dentist and sacked them off as I really get the impression they think they are doing me a favour dspite a circa £40k treatment plan. Spain is about 50% less for example, but its warrany im concernedd about, what if the bit isnt quite right etc, you cant just jump in th car to have it looked at.

For me, I have family in India so travelling to get it all checked up every few years isn't an issue for me. Spain is definitely not too far however and sounds like a great option.
Always enquire about the brands of materials they use however - if you're going abroad I would suggest go for the best ones available as it'll be the same stuff just cheaper. For example, implant manufacturers price their materials according to the country's economy - a UK dentist might have to buy it for £600 but if you're a dentist in Poland it could be £200 for the same one.

Any dentist worth their salt will offer a consultation and answer all these questions honestly, so shop around and speak to multiple on the same treatments. There's multiple medical/dental tourism facebook groups out there for countries like turkey or even individual cities, it's worth joining and looking at testimonies. I was thinking turkey but just have seen too many horror stories from these groups as well.

HighlandeR · 13 Feb 2026 at 20:12

Still not sure if I trust dentist fully even after several fillings, crowns and what not. I do trust chocolate though

jpaul · 16 Feb 2026 at 13:33

Personally not yet three a day

Taking better care of your teeth and gums can cut the risk of developing more than 50 conditions and diseases including dementia and arthritis, a science conference has been told.

Experts recommended brushing your teeth up to three times a day to maintain oral hygiene and warned that those who do not exacerbate the risk of harmful conditions around the body, including in our brains and joints.

One expert claimed that British people had “third-world” levels of tooth and gum health because of our sugary, processed diets.

Bacteria from infected gums can spread around the body and may be able to cross the barrier between the blood and the brain, potentially increasing the risk of cognitive decline and dementia, said Alpdogan Kantarci, a professor of dentistry at the University of Minnesota, at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Phoenix, Arizona.

The proportion of adults with tooth decay fell from 46 per cent to 28 per cent between 1998 and 2009, according to the Oral Health Survey for England, but then climbed again, reaching 41 per cent in the most recent 2023 data. About 93 per cent of people had at least one sign of oral disease, such as inflammation or tartar build-up.

Nabinium · 16 Feb 2026 at 13:39

Three a day kind of sounds unnecessary to me. You're probably going to eat another meal or two between the second brush and the last brush of the day before bed, so I don't see much point in brushing 3 times.

413x · 16 Feb 2026 at 13:59

Rroff said:
For private dentists around the Castle Cary area you are talking £60-70 for a routine examination! unless you are on a plan and good luck getting in on the NHS - something like 9 month waiting list if you are lucky.

Pfft. 9 months? That's amazing. Here it's about 2 years. And if you can't drive? Suck it up

Uther · 16 Feb 2026 at 15:55

Nabinium said:
Three a day kind of sounds unnecessary to me. You're probably going to eat another meal or two between the second brush and the last brush of the day before bed, so I don't see much point in brushing 3 times.

I'm brushing after every meal now, with no snacking either.

RetiredGreyFox · 19 Feb 2026 at 10:37

For anybody who lives in Stoke and that's my bill for checkup and clean

tlrBeta · 19 Feb 2026 at 12:08

RetiredGreyFox said:
For anybody who lives in Stoke and that's my bill for checkup and clean

Very cheap

I think my check-up is c£70, clean is £65 (private)

Blackjack Davy · 19 Feb 2026 at 17:04

RetiredGreyFox said:
For anybody who lives in Stoke and that's my bill for checkup and clean

£27.40 is exactly what I paid for a recent visit to the dentist checkup too. Hygienist was a separate visit

jpaul · 19 Feb 2026 at 17:29

Uther said:
I'm brushing after every meal now, with no snacking either.

can't brush too soon after a meal if you've had something acidic , which softens enamel - like fruit juice or grapefruit or apples,
so have to wait for saliva to fix that.
... to wit. coca-cola is great for removing rust from metal, and some people drink it too.

biggest change I msade to brushing in last 30years is not rinsing mouth after brushing.

Uther · 19 Feb 2026 at 17:31

jpaul said:
can't brush too soon after a meal if you've had something acidic , which softens enamel - like fruit juice or grapefruit or apples,
so have to wait for saliva to fix that.
... to wit. coca-cola is great for removing rust from metal, and some people drink it too.

biggest change I msade to brushing in last 30years is not rinsing mouth after brushing.

I eat/drink none of that, and have aligners in, so yes, brushing after every meal.

RetiredGreyFox · 19 Feb 2026 at 18:19

jpaul said:
biggest change I msade to brushing in last 30years is not rinsing mouth after brushing

I only learnt that about 3 years ago, probably on here.

CaptainRAVE · 19 Feb 2026 at 18:24

jpaul said:
biggest change I msade to brushing in last 30years is not rinsing mouth after brushing.

This. It’s frustrating having grown up thinking your dental care will be better than your parents, only to discover that rinsing is terrible (makes sense) and for motorised brushes not to be the norm earlier on. It one of those things you wish you could hammer home to your younger self that you only get one set of teeth and that they can only be repaired so many times!

I have one tooth that I’d be shocked if it lasts my lifetime and if it goes ill definitely need an implant. I try to look after them as best I can though.

Rroff · 19 Feb 2026 at 19:10

Yeah - to be fair it was conventional wisdom at the time but my mum was a dental nurse and what she taught us as kids has not stood the test of time as good advice. While my teeth aren't too bad I wish I could go back and make changes knowing what I do now. Albeit part of that is regular use of repair and protect toothpaste, which didn't exist back then, which while in reality it can't do much to repair legacy damage has mostly stalled its progress and helps to protect going forward.

HighlandeR · 19 Feb 2026 at 19:49

After 20+ fillings, multiple crowns, gum disease.......

-Smear pea sized toothpaste on back molars and teeth and then go to sleep, Sensodyne toothpaste taste the best
-floss after eating your big meals, remember flossing is 40% of your brushing process, 60% is your brush
-salt gargles daily
-mouth wash (non alcoholic) every 2-3 days
-water flosser as an aid, but never use it to replace flossing
-soft toothbrush only, medium or hard can damage enamel or teeth.

Can someone email me this list to myself 20 years in the past, this way id still have teeth to eat chocolate. Thanks.

moon man · 20 Feb 2026 at 07:54

Just can't get to see my NHS dentist, they actually had no dentists employed when I phoned ! Given my self a filling after a very thorough clean , used a mouth guard to let it set solid .
Using a salt mouthwash as my expensive one was giving me a very dry mouth, mouth guard every night as I chomp like a horse.
Red wine is tricky to drink and not stain my teeth , maybe start using a straw

UTmaniac · 24 Feb 2026 at 12:28

Just received the letter from my dentist of ~15 years, saying they are ditching NHS patients like me in April, boooo!

Expecting the topic of do I want my chipped molar crowned to come up in routine checkup, would be my fist crown, which they might just be able to get done before NHS finishing... An eye watering ~£325 band 3!!! :eek:

Edit: False alarm regarding my dentist practice ditching NHS, it's only the senior dentist, phew!