NHS Dentistry

crispybug2

Last night my little girl headbutted me, accidently I assure you, but this has resulted in two broken teeth at the back of my mouth. I have booked myself into my local NHS dentist to get it sorted.
Now basically my teeth are a bloody disgrace, I haven't been to a dentist for about fifteen years and I know I should be ashamed (I actually am).
My basic problem with dentists is needles, I'm fine with them going into my arms etc, but as soon as it passes the neckline I'm bloody petrified. The question I want to ask is are there any alternatives to using needles for anarthestic readily available on the NHS?

Also, as a general question, I think I will try and get as much work done as possible, I no longer play rugby so I'm not worrying about getting them knocked out again, so as sometimes who doesn't use the NHS much I would appreciate any advice to extract( pun intended!) the maximum value from the visit(s)


Thanks in advance.

verylonglegs

Cosmetically they won't do a thing. If you are pain free and functional then that is about as far as they go.

Nick@D

i do believe that there max charge is £198, thus if that 1 repair or 15 repairs

uneasyonwheels

In 15 years you may find that injections have become less of a problem. Dentists and/or equipment are better than they used to be. Cannot speak for England but I paid more than £200 for NHS work last year sometime.

Cleat Eastwood

I had a mate who was scared of needles and the dentist put a numbing gel on his gums so he wouldnt feel the ahem prick - and I guess you could close your eyes. google the gel though see if they still use it.

Smokin Joe

uneasyonwheels wrote:

In 15 years you may find that injections have become less of a problem. Dentists and/or equipment are better than they used to be. Cannot speak for England but I paid more than £200 for NHS work last year sometime.

I'll second that.

I used to hate the injections too, but now not only can you hardly feel them going in whatever they use is far more effective. It is quicker acting, more localised so the whole of your mouth doesn't go numb and you don't get that horrible fat lip feeling for half the day afterwards. And it works much better than it used to.

LeicesterLad

I had the top row (8 altogether) of my teeth filled down and crowned with procelain crowns all in one sitting. had 16 injections...Not one of them hurt that much, especially after the first one, and the work altogether cost me £3000 (had to get it done on finance).

keef66

Well I went for a check up yesterday and he found a cracked filling which he insisted on replacing. Barely felt the injection but half my face was anaesthatised for 5 hours. Couldn't eat my lunch till 3pm!

£47 for the checkup, clean / polish and the filling. Now my tongue is working again I think he's broken the back off the tooth so I'm going back tomorrow. He'd better not try to charge me again!

bompington

Diazepam + topical (surface) local anaesthetic = no worries.

Nick@D

i had a filling of a tooth last week, injection went into a nerve it felt like an electric shock & to top that off it took 5-6 hrs for the numbing to go, the down side was 60% of my left side of head was numb, face, ear, all the way up to the top of my head,ok, most that know my say my head is pretty numb anyway

CYCLESPORT1

I went to a NHS one a couple of years ago, yes it's about £199 max, I realy needed more doing but he said thats all I can have done under NHS

squeeler

verylonglegs wrote:

Cosmetically they won't do a thing. If you are pain free and functional then that is about as far as they go.

Would agree with this. I've been going to the same NHS dentist for the past 10 years, he's ok but you definitely have to make sure you request he does a proper job rather than a temporary patch. He has two price lists, one for NHS work and one for private work, if I need a filling it will come off the cheaper NHS list but when I needed to have a tooth filed down and capped (crowned?) it came off the private list.

cyco2

Why don't you have in mind a reward for going through this anguish a nice big sticky bun, chocolate cake or some sticky toffee to test the fillings.

upperoilcan

A check up last week and X-Ray £70:00,hygenist yesterday a further £48:00...

Still a fair price to keep one's teeth in order.......

timmyturbo

TOP TIP , take 2 codeine tablets or similar 45 mins before going to the dentist , even if you are not in pain .

A considerate Dentist would put a liquid type Novocaine cotton pad on the gum 2 mins before inserting the needle . this stops 95% of the feeling of the needle going in .

My story was the same as you , i have been in the chair for 3 hours over 3 months , and my Dentist was nearly totally Pain free . the Painkillers before going obviously helps as well .

cheers and good luck

mudcow007

so its not just me who hates needles in the gum then?

its the noise of the injection...you can feel it crack through the skin eugh i fecking hate it

i normally get them to put some of that kids pink paste (anaesthetic) thats tastes of bubblegum

im in that Denplan

seanoconn

If the dentist starts questioning you about your gums, ask why. My wife went to the dentist for a check up last week, the dentist asked her if she had any problems with her gums, if they bled etc. When she went to reception to pay, they tried to charge her 50 odd quid for gum treatment, for a few questions! She refused to pay and asked to see the dentist, the dentist said you've had the advice about gums, so pay. The dentist also said, count yourself lucky, it would cost you 3times as much if you were private!

beverick

The scale of charges (ie how much each procedures costs), and basis for charging (ie how the costs are accrued in a single episode of care) are available from the NHS (Directogov I think) via Google.

Re 'the crack' my old dentist told me that this is caused by the needle breaking into muscle.

Bob

alihisgreat

just close your eyes...

I pass out if I look at the needle when they are taking a blood sample/inserting a cannula in hospital... don't pass out if i don't look.

Don't know why i do it.. probably just the sight of the cannula sticking out of my arm! (before they put the dressing over it)

dilemna

To the OP sorry but no sympathy for you if you haven't seen a dentist for 15 years. Your teeth must be gross.

It really pisses me off as dentists train for many years and if you find a good one stick to them. IMHO £40, 50 or £80 a year to keep your teeth in good order is money well spent. People spend lots more than this in a night out. How much have you spent on cycling bling over the years? Loads I bet and zero on your teeth. How much did you spend on that flat screen plasma tv? I hope you have to have 6 crowns and several implants which will cost you ££££££. As I said no sympathy.

Also NHS is no longer free you have to pay a nominal amount. If you go NHS because you are a tight wad then the dentist only gets paid a fixed fee which equates to a fixed amount of time and matrerials to do work. If your teeth need more time they either do a rush job and badly or they do it for love. I am inclined to think they choose the first option unless ........... So if the work you need on your teeth is NOT straightforward you are far better finding a good private dentist who will do the job properly. I was told this by a good friend whose wife is a manager of a dental practice. She also got one of the dentists at her BUPA practice in Canary Wharf to check my teeth over for free as at the time I had just left the crappy NHS dentist who as I say had ruined a few big teeth and told me I needed this done and that done, my gums were fecked. So I was in need of urgent impartial advice. The Bupa dentist told me my teeth and gums were ok I just needed two crowns and to go private if I could as I would get a much better job done which has proved to be the case.

So I am now private, the last 14 years now with the same dentist. The couple of crowns which he did privately are still going strong. I keep my teeth in good condition, I don't eat sh1t, smoke, drink or generally put crap in my mouth. I pay £48 each year for a thorough check, xrays, clean, polish etc. My dentist is great. I look forward to going. IME people who expect something for nothing are generally tight wads who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

verylonglegs

dilemna wrote:

To the OP sorry but no sympathy for you if you haven't seen a dentist for 15 years. Your teeth must be gross.

It really pisses me off as dentists train for many years and if you find a good one stick to them. IMHO £40, 50 or £80 a year to keep your teeth in good order is money well spent. People spend lots more than this in a night out. How much have you spent on cycling bling over the years? Loads I bet and zero on your teeth. How much did you spend on that flat screen plasma tv? I hope you have to have 6 crowns and several implants which will cost you ££££££. As I said no sympathy.

Also NHS is no longer free you have to pay a nominal amount. If you go NHS because you are a tight wad then the dentist only gets paid a fixed fee which equates to a fixed amount of time and matrerials to do work. If your teeth need more time they either do a rush job and badly or they do it for love. I am inclined to think they choose the first option unless ........... So if the work you need on your teeth is NOT straightforward you are far better finding a good private dentist who will do the job properly. I was told this by a good friend whose wife is a manager of a dental practice. She also got one of the dentists at her BUPA practice in Canary Wharf to check my teeth over for free as at the time I had just left the crappy NHS dentist who as I say had ruined a few big teeth and told me I needed this done and that done, my gums were fecked. So I was in need of urgent impartial advice. The Bupa dentist told me my teeth and gums were ok I just needed two crowns and to go private if I could as I would get a much better job done which has proved to be the case.

So I am now private, the last 14 years now with the same dentist. The couple of crowns which he did privately are still going strong. I keep my teeth in good condition, I don't eat sh1t, smoke, drink or generally put crap in my mouth. I pay £48 each year for a thorough check, xrays, clean, polish etc. My dentist is great. I look forward to going. IME people who expect something for nothing are generally tight wads who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

He didn't ask for your sympathy or your assumptions. Or how you love your dentist. Did you miss the statement about being uncomfortable with needles?

priory

seanoconn

I am a gp. It sounds to me like borderline fraud to charge someone a lot under nhs for a few questions and this should be reported to the PCT for your area so they can look into it.
At the very least the bureaucrats might frighten the practitioner into behaving himself.
Occasionally down the years there have been some remarkable things turned up, like charging people for a letter to take to a and e or for a doctor making a referral. these things are sometimes very wrong and should be stopped.

my nhs dentist is fine and has done fillings and a root canal and crown to my satisfaction; and he doesn't speak much english, so there's not too much conversation when my mouth is full of equipment.

PaulC7

crispybug2 wrote:

I haven't been to a dentist for about fifteen years

I hadnt been to a dentist myself for 5 years and decided it was time to get registered as i knew mine were bad.

I was unsure too about needles in my mouth but had no choice... and i have to say i dont know why i left it so long.

When the dentist is ready to give you the needle they will say you will feel a small scratch... and thats just what you feel its no worse than pricking your finger.

Dont worry about it too much.

seanoconn

priory wrote:

seanoconn

I am a gp. It sounds to me like borderline fraud to charge someone a lot under nhs for a few questions and this should be reported to the PCT for your area so they can look into it.
At the very least the bureaucrats might frighten the practitioner into behaving himself.
Occasionally down the years there have been some remarkable things turned up, like charging people for a letter to take to a and e or for a doctor making a referral. these things are sometimes very wrong and should be stopped.

my nhs dentist is fine and has done fillings and a root canal and crown to my satisfaction; and he doesn't speak much english, so there's not too much conversation when my mouth is full of equipment.

Thanks priory. We'll take your advice. I couldn't believe it as first, I said to the mrs, are you sure she (lady dentist) didn't do more than ask you questions? My wife said definitely just questions. It can't be legal to charge someone for treatment you've not asked for or had any warning about. I thought the definition of the word treatment means the application of something, giving advice doesn't seem to fall in the same category.

beverick

CYCLESPORT1 wrote:

I went to a NHS one a couple of years ago, yes it's about £199 max, I realy needed more doing but he said thats all I can have done under NHS

£204 since April 1911.

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSse ... ments.aspx

Bob

seanoconn

dilemna wrote:

To the OP sorry but no sympathy for you if you haven't seen a dentist for 15 years. Your teeth must be gross.

It really pisses me off as dentists train for many years and if you find a good one stick to them. IMHO £40, 50 or £80 a year to keep your teeth in good order is money well spent. People spend lots more than this in a night out. How much have you spent on cycling bling over the years? Loads I bet and zero on your teeth. How much did you spend on that flat screen plasma tv? I hope you have to have 6 crowns and several implants which will cost you ££££££. As I said no sympathy.

Also NHS is no longer free you have to pay a nominal amount. If you go NHS because you are a tight wad then the dentist only gets paid a fixed fee which equates to a fixed amount of time and matrerials to do work. If your teeth need more time they either do a rush job and badly or they do it for love. I am inclined to think they choose the first option unless ........... So if the work you need on your teeth is NOT straightforward you are far better finding a good private dentist who will do the job properly. I was told this by a good friend whose wife is a manager of a dental practice. She also got one of the dentists at her BUPA practice in Canary Wharf to check my teeth over for free as at the time I had just left the crappy NHS dentist who as I say had ruined a few big teeth and told me I needed this done and that done, my gums were fecked. So I was in need of urgent impartial advice. The Bupa dentist told me my teeth and gums were ok I just needed two crowns and to go private if I could as I would get a much better job done which has proved to be the case.

So I am now private, the last 14 years now with the same dentist. The couple of crowns which he did privately are still going strong. I keep my teeth in good condition, I don't eat sh1t, smoke, drink or generally put crap in my mouth. I pay £48 each year for a thorough check, xrays, clean, polish etc. My dentist is great. I look forward to going. IME people who expect something for nothing are generally tight wads who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

I've only been to the dentist once in 15years, I certainly feel no shame, my teeth are lovely and i'm slightly better off. I Brush twice a day with an ELECTRIC toothbrush.

If you have a good dentist and attending at regular intervals gives you peace of mind, then great. Not all dentist are marvellous however, no matter how much training they've had. Some will find fault with your teeth to make a extra profit.

I'm sorry but trying to be sensible with your money, saving where you can and "being a tight wad" are two different things mate. Also, the crappy NHS dentists you refer to, are often the same ones that treat the private patients.