View Full Version : Ouch!! I broke a tooth
cookie_365
18-08-2005, 18:46
.. and I've let my NHS registration slip :dunce: ... looks like tomorrow'll be spend wandering round town trying to find a dentist with a kind heart and a gap in their appointment book .... :Yikes:
Dave Stones
18-08-2005, 18:47
.. and I've let my NHS registration slip :dunce: ... looks like tomorrow'll be spend wandering round town trying to find a dentist with a kind heart and a gap in their appointment book .... :Yikes:
that's what you get for listening to disco music :p:
seriously though, i would just go to A&E and demand morphine ;)
.. and I've let my NHS registration slip :dunce: ... looks like tomorrow'll be spend wandering round town trying to find a dentist with a kind heart and a gap in their appointment book .... :Yikes:
Have you a NHS walk in center near you? Might be able to get some form of emergency treatment or the name of a dentist that can do it for you. Have you rang the NHS direct number in case they can advise you of any dentists in your area with space on their books?
http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/localisation/
dilli-theclaw
18-08-2005, 19:02
Have you a NHS walk in center near you? Might be able to get some form of emergency treatment or the name of a dentist that can do it for you. Have you rang the NHS direct number in case they can advise you of any dentists in your area with space on their books?
http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/localisation/
I'm with Paul on this one - look for a NHS Dental Access Centre.
That's where I went last time - because I'm not registered with any NHS dentist. As it happens they let me on their books after my treatment, so I am now.
If you DO have one. phone them the moment they open. They are usually very busy and it'll be the only way you'll get an appointment quickly.
cookie_365
18-08-2005, 19:10
that's what you get for listening to disco music :p:
seriously though, i would just go to A&E and demand morphine ;)
They told me to stop doing that ..... ;)
But my dentist will rebuild me :)
Cue funky discoey bionic man theme tune ..... Da na na ner, da na na ner, da na da ner ....... :)
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Have you a NHS walk in center near you? Might be able to get some form of emergency treatment or the name of a dentist that can do it for you. Have you rang the NHS direct number in case they can advise you of any dentists in your area with space on their books?
http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/localisation/
I'll try that - thanks :tu::)
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If you DO have one. phone them the moment they open. They are usually very busy and it'll be the only way you'll get an appointment quickly.
On a quickdial number already ;)
Chimaera
18-08-2005, 19:24
Good luck with that - getting getting to a dentist round here is a nightmare! I'm registered with the one at the end of my road (18 months ago) but when Paul moved here a year ago they weren't taking on any more NHS patients. I went on the NHS Direct website and phoned all the dentists within a 50 mile radius - none of them are taking new patients. So I rang the NHS Direct number and explained the problem - and they said they could give me a dentist for certain - then proceeded to go through all the numbers I'd just spent over 2 hours phoning!
If you go to A&E round here they just say 'it's a dental problem' and give you the out of hours number - and that's 'out of service' as their usual surgery is being rebuilt. :td:
cookie_365
18-08-2005, 22:07
Good luck with that - getting getting to a dentist round here is a nightmare! I'm registered with the one at the end of my road (18 months ago) but when Paul moved here a year ago they weren't taking on any more NHS patients. I went on the NHS Direct website and phoned all the dentists within a 50 mile radius - none of them are taking new patients. So I rang the NHS Direct number and explained the problem - and they said they could give me a dentist for certain - then proceeded to go through all the numbers I'd just spent over 2 hours phoning!
If you go to A&E round here they just say 'it's a dental problem' and give you the out of hours number - and that's 'out of service' as their usual surgery is being rebuilt. :td:
:erm:!
So I take it the 'bling' isn't in your teeth then ;)
If you got a dental hospital in your area turn up there.
homealone
18-08-2005, 22:38
last time I looked, there were no NHS registered dentists taking on new patients, in our area.
My dentist recently 'turned private' - I signed up, he is too good to lose, but he was gutted that he felt he had to do it, to offer a decent service :(
I have every sympathy with teeth related problems, I won't bore you with why ;)
cookie_365
19-08-2005, 10:17
Well, good news & bad news ;)
Good news: found a poor unsuspecting dentist to register me :)
Bad news; first slot for an appointment is end of September :(
Luckily (despite the thread title) it doesn't actually hurt, so I'll eat bananas for the next 5 weeks ..... if it gets worse in the meantime I've found a Dental Access Centre that'll squeeze me in if I'm in pain.
Must ask Gordon for a refund on all those National Insurance payments I've made over the years ..... :mad:
Lucky you :tu:
It's costing hubby £300 to get his emergency sorted (hygenist, filling and surgery) as there are no NHS dentist available in our area :grind:.
At least you are now on someones books, where did you find a dentist with space? Was it through NHS Direct as that can be a bit hit and miss sometimes?
Don't even get me started on dentists! Ours has just gone private and now charges an average of £180 an hour!!! Guess who is looking for a new dentist :(
The last I heard the government are spending millions of pounds getting dentists from overseas to cover the NHS work. We recently had one open in Mansfield market place, it's a proper NHS dentist, he's good and he doesn't cause you any pain. Not bad for a NHS guy.
Why can't it be part of the thing that if you train as a dentist then you have to work for the NHS for at least 5 years after qualifying? At least then they are giving some thing back for the training that they have had
welwynrose
19-08-2005, 13:48
don't get on to me about dentist - I've just been to one to see about having implants and to have the full works, implants, bleaching venners etc and to get a "holywood" smile I've been given a quote for £25,000 :Yikes:
I take it you wont be having it done than ;)
welwynrose
19-08-2005, 13:59
I take it you wont be having it done than ;)
nope going for the "cheaper" option which will only ;) cost £1500
Why can't it be part of the thing that if you train as a dentist then you have to work for the NHS for at least 5 years after qualifying? At least then they are giving some thing back for the training that they have had
Because the NHS doesn't pay for the training!
The students (or their families) pay for it, and graduate with debts well over £20k. Dentists then have to do 1-2 years post-qualification in supervised NHS posts in order to get the contract number which allows them to see patients themselves.
After that many do work in the NHS, but increasing government bureaucracy and practice costs force them to leave. It costs more to run a single surgery (by that I mean just the room in which treatment takes place) for a year than most of the population earn in a year. This is still nothing compared to the costs of purchasing and equipping premises in the first place, not to mention staffing costs. Dentistry is a business like any other, overheads must be covered, and an income derived for the business owner.
I recently renewed my NHS contract as I had bought in as a partner in my practice - the document was 46 pages long, with 5 sets of appendices, and I had to obtain legal advice on large sections of the wording!
It is also fair to point out that there are nowhere near enough dentists in the country to treat even half the population. For this you can thank the Tories who decided to close 8 dental schools in the late 80's/early 90's on the advice of a Professor who determined that by now there would be virtually no demand for our services. This idiot, AFAIK, is STILL a government advisor! :mad:
And don't get me started on the proposed changes to NHS dentistry due next April - if the Dept of Health get what they propose, many NHS practices will go private and those that stay NHS will have waiting lists of months. Those of you who are currently registered will not be after April as the DoH want access, not continued care. You'll have to join the queue with everyone else.
Incidentally, Doctors only work in the NHS because it's the only pathway available - first jobs are to complete the theory training by treating patients, these jobs are in hospitals, the NHS owns the hospitals, ergo they must work in the NHS.
Oh well if that is all why not :eek: lol
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nope going for the "cheaper" option which will only ;) cost £1500
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But Cilonen how can dentists justify charging £180 an hour ???
Theodoric
19-08-2005, 14:57
Not constantly feeling a broken tooth with your tongue is like not thinking about elephants when you're told not to think about elephants. :)
Oh well if that is all why not :eek: lol
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But Cilonen how can dentists justify charging £180 an hour ???
I can't comment on individual practices, so cannot say how the £180 breaks down.
However, the majority of practices have overheads in the region of £90 - £135 per hour, including staff wages, rates, gas, leccy, water, phone, insurance, consumables, waste disposal (special regs apply to dentists), etc.
Factor in an allowance for unforseen costs such as repairs/replacement equipment, agency costs to cover staff illness, covering income shortfalls when the patient doesn't pay their bill or the NHS is late in making its payments, and allowing the dentist to actually take home a cheque at the end of the month and you get your total hourly rate.
This rate also compensates the dentist somewhat for the time spent during eves & w'ends dealing with the paperwork generated by the business. Ask any small business owner if they spend their "free" time doing paperwork and the answer will certainly be YES.
Simple fact - during the working day you can either work or do paperwork, but not both. Paperwork drags on into your home life and has an impact on its quality. More bureaucracy = more paperwork = less free time = more stress.
This is a contributing factor to the fact that dentists have one of the highest suicide rates in the UK. We are consistently in the top 3 (currently no.2 behind vets IIRC) above pharmacists, farmers, doctors, police, solicitors, small business owners, bankers & insurance agents.
cookie_365
19-08-2005, 19:52
At least you are now on someones books, where did you find a dentist with space? Was it through NHS Direct as that can be a bit hit and miss sometimes?
Got the list from NHS Direct - just rang around in order; eventually got one that a) answered the phone, and b) actually did register new clients.
(That surprised me a bit so I had to take a second to remember what I was going to say after that ;))
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... insights snipped for space reasons ...
Interesting points there Cilonen.
£180 ph still seems a little high. In comparison, some legal aid lawyers get as little as £70 ph and although they don't have the equipment costs that dentists do they still have to run a business, pay substantial indemnity insurance, grapple with beaurocracy, etc.
Perhaps the NHS should move to employing dentists 'in house' ??
I have a front tooth which was chipped years ago, it is useful for when a friends steak is like rubber and I can cut through it and make out it was nice, when I could bounce it off the floor.
Do you think that could be fixed?
cookie_365
19-08-2005, 20:51
I have a front tooth which was chipped years ago, it is useful for when a friends steak is like rubber and I can cut through it and make out it was nice, when I could bounce it off the floor.
Do you think that could be fixed?
Personally, I'd be a bit more concerned about that think sticking out of the side of your head that glows in the dark ...... ;)
Got the list from NHS Direct - just rang around in order; eventually got one that a) answered the phone, and b) actually did register new clients.
(That surprised me a bit so I had to take a second to remember what I was going to say after that ;))
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Interesting points there Cilonen.
£180 ph still seems a little high. In comparison, some legal aid lawyers get as little as £70 ph and although they don't have the equipment costs that dentists do they still have to run a business, pay substantial indemnity insurance, grapple with beaurocracy, etc.
Perhaps the NHS should move to employing dentists 'in house' ??
But most solicitors firms charge in the region of £150-£185 per hour.
The NHS has some dentists "in house" as you put it - in the access centres. These are a total waste of money as the cost per patient visit is in the region of £140, whereas the average cost per course of treatment at an NHS practice is just £37. This shows the level of wastage the NHS produces when left to its own management, compared to the management skills of dentists who put their own money on the line for their businesses.
homealone
19-08-2005, 23:42
But most solicitors firms charge in the region of £150-£185 per hour.
The NHS has some dentists "in house" as you put it - in the access centres. These are a total waste of money as the cost per patient visit is in the region of £140, whereas the average cost per course of treatment at an NHS practice is just £37. This shows the level of wastage the NHS produces when left to its own management, compared to the management skills of dentists who put their own money on the line for their businesses.
well said, I deplore the situation NHS dentistry is in, but don't blame the dentists, one bit.
I feel I have got to know mine fairly well, after 15 years of him looking after my teeth - when he told me he was going private, because he felt it was the only way to give a proper service to his patients, I believed him, and still do.
Now, when he diagnoses treatment I can get a follow up appointment in days/weeks rather than weeks/months.
It shouldn't be like that - but I feel my teeth are important enough to me to make budgeting say £30 a month towards dental care, worth while - we pay into HSA, for example, which also gets costs for glasses covered (sorry another thread ;) ) :)
To see a consultant surgeon at the top of his field in Leeds is £125 for how ever long the consultation takes so there is no way I will ever believe that a dentist charging £180 an hour can be justified....sorry :(
To see a consultant surgeon at the top of his field in Leeds is £125 for how ever long the consultation takes so there is no way I will ever believe that a dentist charging £180 an hour can be justified....sorry :(
The consultant has little or no overheads to worry about. Only rent for the consulting rooms, but if he sees you in a hospital (private or NHS) he gets use of the room for free. Only equipment most have is pen, paper, couple of scopes (which would be theirs anyway), maybe a PC/lappy, and an x-ray viewer.
And nursing staff and clerical staff and certain instruments :eek: I am sure there over heads are the same as for dentists if not more
I know how annoying that must be.
My uncle broke his tooth and had to wait ages to have it sorted out. Seemed like ever and was very annoying. Hope it gets sorted out quickly for you.
PS: Send me your cookies as I am sure you cant eat many in the condition you are in right now. ;)
cookie_365
22-08-2005, 21:41
I know how annoying that must be.
My uncle broke his tooth and had to wait ages to have it sorted out. Seemed like ever and was very annoying. Hope it gets sorted out quickly for you.
PS: Send me your cookies as I am sure you cant eat many in the condition you are in right now. ;)
Someone else has eaten them already - check out my avatar :erm: !!
Worse still, I'm going to have to cut down on sugar - so no chocolate for a MONTH :bigcry:
cookie_365
08-12-2005, 19:44
Well, I see I started this thread on August the 18th. It's about 4 months on, and guess what - just got back from the dentists (after a previous checkup and a bit of work on another tooth) with this one full of lead. :)
Gives you some idea of the current NHS dentistry provision in Brighton. :(
No complaints about the dentist himself - he's great, and at least he's still (for the moment) doing NHS work. And I know I could've got it done far far quicker if it was giving me pain, but the government really needs to address this before dentists end up like opticians with virtually no NHS provision at all :td:
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