What do you do for dental care (NHS or Private)

[FnG]magnolia;22326654 said:
I'm a terrible patient but have never had any issues with the 'sonic thing' or any of the other torture devices they use. Have you asked around for recommendations?

I'm getting massive deja vu. Have we had this conversation before?
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I don't know. I most likely whined about it on here 3 months ago when I last endured it.

Sometimes I ask questions and if I don't get a definitive answer I forget I asked and end up asking again some time later. 3 months ago I was loaded to the eyes with painkillers, I don't have a perfect memory of it.

I do remember asking the dentist about it 3 months ago, now that you mention it, and his reply has come back to me. He says it's down to sensitivity rather than abrasion, and there's nothing that can be done about that. Which probably explains why I switched to sensitive toothpaste.
 
Peoples reactions to ultrasonic scaling of their teeth varies greatly.
Simply put, some teeth are more sensitive than others.
If you floss, use tepe brushes and brush you teeth thrice daily it will minimise the tartar buildups. This will minimise the amount of tartar to be removed and should limit sensitivities, but the scaler can also remove staining, and if thats abundant then a cleaning might take longer.

Some scalers are better than others, and tend to cause less annoyance. Mostly the bleeding is due to inflamation already present in the gums, basically the tartar retains bugs, they while stuck to the tooth are in constant contatc with the gum,s this irritaes the gums, which react with inflammation causing bleeding. Tends to be more noticable when the teeth are cleaned and brushed correctly, but should reverse swiftly if you keep things nice and clean after a good scale.

The English and Scottish NHS systems and fee paying scales are now utterly different. The English system is banded, in Scotland you still pay item of service, so a scaling is 10.20 etc.

As for the OP. If you have a dentist you like, you find is good, and your oral health hasn't changed (the one filling in 24 years) then I'd stay with him. Nipping down your local NHS in England appears to be a complete rolling of the dice business, if you have a recommendation, you could follow it but I wouldn't go anywhere without one. Might end up in a cutting shop.
 
Hikari Kisugi said:
snip.
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Thanks for that, and thanks to everyone else for their input so far.

We have a dentist at the student union here, to which I bet they are quiet(er) now all the undergraduates have gone home for the summer.

I may aswell try the NHS dentists, because if all fails I know I have a nice dentist back home. The issue is that whilst I go back home a lot, I have night time duties as I do a wardening job which restricts when I am able to go home in term time.

I am just struggling to udnerstand £42 for a 5 minute checkup. I need to go and open a private dental surgery!
 
Is it really just the check for £42?
No radiographs, no scaling?
Seems like nice profit making.

Sometimes practices have an initial assessment fee, which includes radiographs and treatment planning etc for a first visit (or first visit in a longtime), and these appointments can take longer.
I would think for £42 you'd be looking at least 15 minutes of the dentists time, but maybe thats not how they work in England.
 
Hikari Kisugi said:
Peoples reactions to ultrasonic scaling of their teeth varies greatly.
Simply put, some teeth are more sensitive than others.
If you floss, use tepe brushes and brush you teeth thrice daily it will minimise the tartar buildups. This will minimise the amount of tartar to be removed and should limit sensitivities, but the scaler can also remove staining, and if thats abundant then a cleaning might take longer.

Some scalers are better than others, and tend to cause less annoyance. Mostly the bleeding is due to inflamation already present in the gums, basically the tartar retains bugs, they while stuck to the tooth are in constant contatc with the gum,s this irritaes the gums, which react with inflammation causing bleeding. Tends to be more noticable when the teeth are cleaned and brushed correctly, but should reverse swiftly if you keep things nice and clean after a good scale.
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Thanks for that explanation. It also confirms what I thought - my teeth are getting better and I'm getting a shade less pain each time I go.

There's no inflammation, just a little bit of blood and I can never tell where it comes from, it's just in my spit. My bottom teeth build up tartar fast, they told me it was smoking but 2 years after I gave up it's still happening. I told them it must be the tea I drink (I drink lots) and they tell me I'm wrong.
 
been with the same dental practice since '85. it's in a tudor building. now on my 3rd dentist, the first hanged himself (in the dental room from an oak beam), the second ran off with the receptionist. my teeth are pretty good though.
 
I had a little run with gum disease, and my NHS dentist was suprisngly incompetent regarding the basic treatments, and with their only advice to me was to use clorhexaidine mouthwash every time (like that did any good). I had a severe reaction to clorhexidine, with the topmost layer of gum peeling off and since then, have been going to a private clinic down Putney, takes around 2 hours door to door to get there but its tremendous service. So far it has cost me around £300 for one of the main treatments, £400 for some cosmetic work and around £50 for each bog standard check up. Teeth are in excellent shape now. Oh and tepe brushes are the business!
 
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I pay £17ish for a check up which should include a scale and polish, however I really hate my dentist as I have only recently got my first polish after 4 years of paying for it

I needed a wisdom tooth out a few weeks ago, so I went to the local dental hospital. Initial assessment was done by a 4th year dentistry student, radiography done by another student, tooth out by a trained dentist, cost was £0, but it took 4 hours, but I was lost in the queue, so I say it was an hour or two overtime. I was in no pain however when I had the tooth out, compared to the pain I had when paying for a previous wisdom tooth to come out.
 
how strange, I have my first dentist appointment friday since 2005! :O :O

I knew I needed to go a while back as I can see a couple of holes that need filling. But my main concern was that in the past 6 months or so I've seen some stain build up between my teeth which can only be attributable to my considerable increase in coffee intake. So principally I need to see the hygienist mainly as the stains bug me more than anything.

I'm under the NHS and apparently a normal check up is £17.50 inc x-rays, but fillings etc bump that up to £48. My mum is under the same surgery and has confirmed for me that if I want the white enamel coloured fillings as opposed to the metal ones then I simply have to pay the extra which I will more than happily do so for those on my bottom set of teeth.

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/dentists/Pages/nhs-dental-charges.aspx
 
J-FRO said:
how strange, I have my first dentist appointment friday since 2005! :O :O

I knew I needed to go a while back as I can see a couple of holes that need filling. But my main concern was that in the past 6 months or so I've seen some stain build up between my teeth which can only be attributable to my considerable increase in coffee intake. So principally I need to see the hygienist mainly as the stains bug me more than anything.

I'm under the NHS and apparently a normal check up is £17.50 inc x-rays, but fillings etc bump that up to £48. My mum is under the same surgery and has confirmed for me that if I want the white enamel coloured fillings as opposed to the metal ones then I simply have to pay the extra which I will more than happily do so for those on my bottom set of teeth.

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/dentists/Pages/nhs-dental-charges.aspx
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Odd, my filling last week was enamel coloured and I paid the NHS rate...
 
I was always under the impression that you were only entitled to dental care on the NHS if you were unemployed or earning under a certain amount. Is that correct?

I've been paying for dental care since I turned 18 however my dentist is a butcher and is completely apathetic. I have a wisdom tooth at the back of my mouth growing out forwards and pushing all my other teeth together. He says it isn't and he's full of ****. Time to find another!
 
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