Dentists

I was in the most horrendous pain a few years ago and scrambling around for a dentist on Christmas eve. All had shut early and ended up at a random 24/7 dentist at around 9pm.
Didn't ask the price as at the time was prepared to pay anything!
Within seconds of starting and the local anaesthetic kicking in, it was worth every penny of the £450 (drilling out an infected root and put in a temporary filling). Needed a full root canal in the end which was another £1k
 
imtoooldforthis said:
Why not get a basic checkup on the NHS and save private dentistry for when you actually need work done ?

It's only £27 for a checkup at an NHS dentist and the covid backlog seems to have cleared a long time ago making it pretty easy to get an appointment, granted this is in London...

Most private dentists in my area (south west London) charge £70-80 for a checkup, £190 is an absolute mugging. Is there only one dentist for the entire town or something ?
Click to expand...
You find me an NHS dentist taking on adults around here and I'll pay you the £190 as a finders fee.
 
tom_e said:
The worst bit is as painful as the bill was it's not going to bankrupt me, but there's plenty of people that just simply couldn't afford that and finding an NHS dentist is for all intents and purposes basically impossible.
Click to expand...
Hence all those stories of people pulling their own teeth etc.
 
tom_e said:
You find me an NHS dentist taking on adults around here and I'll pay you the £190 as a finders fee.
Click to expand...

Yeah i saw your later post about not being able to find one in your area, that sucks. I presume you've used this ?

Find a dentist - NHS

Find a dentist near you on the NHS website. Check your local dentist's opening times, services, facilities, reviews and ratings.
www.nhs.uk www.nhs.uk

It tells you if each dentist in your area is taking on new NHS patients or not.
 
Last edited:
tom_e said:
I'm posting this thread purely to make me feel better about my visit to mine this afternoon.

£190... For a checkup and a polish. £190! £190!

Nothing wrong with my teeth so that's literally the best it was ever going to be.

£190 flipping quid!
Click to expand...
Sounds like you just can't handle the tooth.
 
mid_gen said:
I just make sure I brush after every meal
Click to expand...
How come after every meal? Isn't that too over the top?

To be honest, as long as you're brushing properly twice a day and flossing properly, avoiding sugary crap before bed and reduce it in general, etc. then in most cases, your teeth should generally be OK. I've noticed how much better my teeth are when I figured out how to properly floss. Prevention is better than cure after all.

But £190 for a checkup and polish is very steep. I'm fortunate that I've got dental care covered as an add-on to my private health insurance through work, but they cap it to £100 per plan year, so that doesn't cover the 2 checkups and cleans that the dentists recommend. My local private costs me about £95 for a hygienist to do a clean, so just one trip uses up that £100... And that doesn't even include a check up, so I'm already over the £100 in a single trip.
 
imtoooldforthis said:
Yeah i saw your later post about not being able to find one in your area, that sucks. I presume you've used this ?

Find a dentist - NHS

Find a dentist near you on the NHS website. Check your local dentist's opening times, services, facilities, reviews and ratings.
www.nhs.uk www.nhs.uk

It tells you if each dentist in your area is taking on new NHS patients or not.
Click to expand...
I've tried it in the past and unfortunately it's completely out of date at least around here
 
Could be worse. Years of neglecting mine meant I had an initial examination, 2 periodontal treatments, each one only catering to one side of the mouth. A broken tooth which needed to be pulled. In total and a span of around 2-3 months, I spent about £750.

Although I feel much better about myself now and look after myself way better.
 
I usually pay £25 for my hair cut. Was in Richmond for work, and there was a next to us that was empty so went in, he gave me the 25 odd minute simple cut and charged me nearly £60 for it! Couldn't believe it. And he was telling me about how cheap they are, and if I want to book a home visit it's only £100. F off.
 
I lost my NHS dentist during covid, they didn't even inform me they'd done it. Shame as they were a well reviewed practice. They've since gone fully private so I guess it was planned.

Having not been to a dentist since pre-covid I was hoping I'd be able to find another NHS dentist but no. So I ended up having to go private to get several fillings / chips sorted out. The new dentist is very highly rated and their prices are in-line if not slightly cheaper than others in the area, but it still cost about £2.5k over a few visits :(

At least their regular checkup are only £59..
 
you get 50% off the prices if you are in the NHS club (as I learned from other thread) ... so you've only spent an additional 95.

personally had a couple of low tier fillings over this year 160 * 2 : in the loving care of my french employers mutuelle it would have all been covered along with a pair of glasses a year.
 
tom_e said:
I'm posting this thread purely to make me feel better about my visit to mine this afternoon.

£190... For a checkup and a polish. £190! £190!

Nothing wrong with my teeth so that's literally the best it was ever going to be.

£190 flipping quid!
Click to expand...
I thought mine at £90 was pricey!
 
I’ve always been NHS until I moved from the South East to Yorkshire and then had to have a checked up, 2 root canals and 2 fillings privately. This year I’ve spent circa £2.5k.
 
Nabinium said:
How come after every meal? Isn't that too over the top?

To be honest, as long as you're brushing properly twice a day and flossing properly, avoiding sugary crap before bed and reduce it in general, etc. then in most cases, your teeth should generally be OK. I've noticed how much better my teeth are when I figured out how to properly floss. Prevention is better than cure after all.
Click to expand...

Anytime you eat/drink you'll have stuff on your teeth after that bacteria will start feeding on and forming plaque. I WFH mostly so brushing after lunch isn't a hassle but tbh even when I am in the office I have a travel toothbrush and have a quick brush after lunch too.

Not a hassle and keeps your teeth in good nick. I didn't need a filling until my 40s, so it pays to look after yourself! Wish my joints were in as good nick as my teeth :P
 
Unless you actually have any dental hygiene issues I don't think it's worth having those appointments more frequently than once a year or so anymore.
 
I have my family on this dental plan thing so it comes out monthly and makes sure I bloody use it. You get two checkups and 2 hygeinist runs a year each. Very good dentists, but sadly did not cover the crown that set me back a grand earlier this year. BRUTAL. Brush those teeth and floss for the love of god
 
Dentists are a **** take. They have become like the US health system.

Don't really care about patient health, just want money. You have to be careful with some of them too as they will ignore obvious issues in the early stages, so they can fester and earn them more money later. Once it needs work.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom