Dentists - greedy or needy?

BigHandsOliverKahn

BigHandsOliverKahn

Well-known member
Having rung around many "NHS" dentists, none seem to be accepting new patients.

Well, none as NHS anyway. However, I am now finding out that the very same places do have places for people paying privately. In fact, some have so much spare capacity that they are even making half-price incentive offers.

Bit sickening that they say they won't take NHS patients but will take people who flash the cash.

Articles abound on how Brexit and the pandemic have caused a shortage of dentists and how central government funding has decreased but the reality is, many seemed to have jumped on the band wagon of privatisation to reap higher profits.
 
BigHandsOliverKahn said:
Having rung around many "NHS" dentists, none seem to be accepting new patients.

Well, none as NHS anyway. However, I am now finding out that the very same places do have places for people paying privately. In fact, some have so much spare capacity that they are even making half-price incentive offers.

Bit sickening that they say they won't take NHS patients but will take people who flash the cash.

Articles abound on how Brexit and the pandemic have caused a shortage of dentists and how central government funding has decreased but the reality is, many seemed to have jumped on the band wagon of privatisation to reap higher profits.
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Perhaps the second they pull out of NHS work they should repay the funding they were given to qualify? Cake and eat it springs to mind.
 
My NHS dentist of 24 years was diverted to Covid related patients at the start of the pandemic. After 2 years they told me I should look for a new dentist. Mrs C persisted in calling local practices to find a dentist accepting new NHS patients. I had given up on trying to find one. A year ago she called a clinic and was amazed to be told they were taking on new NHS patients.

The thing I would advise is to enquire if they will be accepting new NHS patients in the future. If so, you need to keep ringing them and may get lucky like Mrs C did.

If no dentists are planning to accept new NHS patients in the future, the only thing you can do is vote Labour next year 👍
 
In the last 20 years I've been kicked off dentists three times now fortunately me and the wife recently got on the books of the NHS only patients in Town centre.

Each time the dentist would start out as NHS build up their clientele then after a few years tell you their going private because the NHS is bad and doesn't pay them enough then thrust an expensive Insurance plan in your hand if you want to continue with them.

I'd say no get kicked off the practice then a few months later get accepted by a new dentist then rinse and repeat until my third time when I said enough is enough.

£40 a month they wanted to keep me on their books I hadn't spent £480 in over fiver years never mind one on my teeth.

Bunch of crooks the lot of them who put their back balances before care it wouldn't be so bad if they kept a % of NHS patients.
 
There’ll come a time when there are no nhs dentist, or at least very few. I wonder at what point the government would step in to make it mandatory for private dentists to have a percentage of nhs patients on their books
 
Both. Dentists are a somewhat pretentious bunch. They reckon they are equal to fully-qualified medical doctors and have taken to granting themselves the unofficial title of “Dr” on the basis of a 4-year degree.

On this basis they reckon they should be paid a lot. In fact, with their private fillings, most of them pull in twice or three times the salary of a 30-year old doctor working 12 hour shifts in A&E.
 
Our nhs dentist does not actually have a dentist from the nhs , they are having to use a private dentist - he is on his own and has over 600 patients to look after plus his own clients !!!
 
Before COVID, the daughter of a friend of ours had to stand in as Dental Practice Manager, when the incumbent went off sick.

She asked me for some financial guidance and help.

I can't go into the details, as they are confidential, but I was surprised at how money pinching the NHS contract was. Even when they were taking NHS patients, they were at best breaking even under the contract. I'm not surprised that from a financial point of view, they ended up having private patients only.

In medieval times when I was training, I signed an undertaking agreeing to repay all of my training costs if I moved on within 2 years. This applied to all trainees, and we just accepted it.

I don't know whether this applies with dentists, but if it doesn't it should.

The main blame must lie with the Tory Government, who have consistently cut back on every aspect of public sector funding.

If the Health Minister Steve Barclay needs any dental work, I'd happily remove all of his teeth free of charge. He's a former student of KES Lytham, and I know from a number of sources that he was despised there.

He doesn't seem to have improved since.
 
Ollygon said:
Before COVID, the daughter of a friend of ours had to stand in as Dental Practice Manager, when the incumbent went off sick.

She asked me for some financial guidance and help.

I can't go into the details, as they are confidential, but I was surprised at how money pinching the NHS contract was. Even when they were taking NHS patients, they were at best breaking even under the contract. I'm not surprised that from a financial point of view, they ended up having private patients only.

In medieval times when I was training, I signed an undertaking agreeing to repay all of my training costs if I moved on within 2 years. This applied to all trainees, and we just accepted it.

I don't know whether this applies with dentists, but if it doesn't it should.

The main blame must lie with the Tory Government, who have consistently cut back on every aspect of public sector funding.

If the Health Minister Steve Barclay needs any dental work, I'd happily remove all of his teeth free of charge. He's a former student of KES Lytham, and I know from a number of sources that he was despised there.

He doesn't seem to have improved since.
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I can have some sympathy with that. A fair few years ago, where we had Denplan as there were no NHS dentists available, our dentist had just come out of the NHS, ironically at Highcross. She said she was shoving patients through on 5 minute appointments for check ups, fillings in 10 minutes, and just felt she was giving rubbish care.
 
Matesrates said:
There’ll come a time when there are no nhs dentist, or at least very few. I wonder at what point the government would step in to make it mandatory for private dentists to have a percentage of nhs patients on their books
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If the Tories get in again, dentistry will be the first arm of the NHS to be fully privatised.

Slippery slope. Remember that when you vote, along with Boris being happy for old folk to die.
 
I have to have a small op near my shoulder (obvs not dentistry!!).

Similar situation to the lack of resource for dentists. Was told it would be around 9 months to see the consultant and realistically between 18 months to 2 years for the small op.

However and no surprise, I got in to see the surgeon privately within 3 days (he actually could have done the next day) and set the op date 11 days from my nhs gp meeting. We are rapidly becoming USA.
 
BigHandsOliverKahn said:
Having rung around many "NHS" dentists, none seem to be accepting new patients.

Well, none as NHS anyway. However, I am now finding out that the very same places do have places for people paying privately. In fact, some have so much spare capacity that they are even making half-price incentive offers.

Bit sickening that they say they won't take NHS patients but will take people who flash the cash.

Articles abound on how Brexit and the pandemic have caused a shortage of dentists and how central government funding has decreased but the reality is, many seemed to have jumped on the band wagon of privatisation to reap higher profits.
Click to expand...
Yes, some of them have. However, the Government should have acted to ensure (a) decent NHS fees for dentists and (b) that every dentist, whether medical or cosmetic, had to have a percentage of NHS patients on their books.
 
Wizaard said:
If the Tories get in again, dentistry will be the first arm of the NHS to be fully privatised.

Slippery slope. Remember that when you vote, along with Boris being happy for old folk to die.
Click to expand...

Yep, won’t be long until we’re like America with people walking around with horrendous health issues due to not being able to afford health care. What a step forward for the country 👍
 
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I'm an NHS patient at what is essentially a private practice.

Regularly go for my check up and pay my £30 or whatever.

Every single time, when there is no work necessary, there's the upselling.

"You ever heard of gum disease Mr TSSeasider?"

"Only since the age of 6"

"I recommend 4 courses of treatment with the hygienist at £80 for 20 minutes so you don't get any."

"I bet you do. Tell you what, I'll use bicarbonate of soda at 80p for a week or so cheers."

Crooks.
 
I paid £25.80 for a 5 minute checkup, thats over £300 an hour, and that was NHS!

Good to know I was paying towards the e-Porsche on the forecourt
 
The big thing with seeing the dentist is not your teeth, but they inspect for mouth cancer when they do their check-up.

On a personal note, I was with an NHS dentist, and I was suffering from toothache on a recurring basis. The NHS dentist suggested that
I would need all my wisdom teeth removed, I was a little dubious of this advice as the pain was not really coming for this area. So I
got a couple of quotes from private dentists, and both of them came back with a comprehensive list of what needed to be done, and what they both specified was exactly the same and no mention of wisdom teeth. I had all the work done privately by the dentist, and since then my
teeth have been pain-free for the last five years.

I do remember as a child receiving a lot of fillings from an NHS dentist and I am sure that a lot were unnecessary but just easy money
for them to earn. At the end of the day, the solution to dental charges is easy, the more dentists there are the more competition and
the cheaper the cost.
 
My dental practice, where I had been an NHS patient for over 60 years, shut down earlier this year without notice - I found out when I phoned them for an emergency appointment and was diverted to another practice who advised me to try the emergency dental service on Whitegate Drive. Apparently, they could not find a dentist to take on their NHS contract. No problem getting onto the private list of a local dentist of course. £1400 later, the tooth is just about right. Utter shambles.
 
Pay for my dentist as can afford it and leave the NHS to those who can’t Have BUPA who have great on line Doctors and so never bother the NHS ones. More with the means to do it should do the same.
 
southshore said:
I paid £25.80 for a 5 minute checkup, thats over £300 an hour, and that was NHS!

Good to know I was paying towards the e-Porsche on the forecourt
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Last time we went we paid £23.60 for a 2 minute check.
Due again soon I think.
What's the betting that it's gone UP again?
And 'Yes' most of my teeth are my own.
Got a top denture with 4 teeth on it. No lower denture. (However, a couple of spaces. 😕)
 
Macseasider said:
I need a filling. Not got a dentist for a few years. Just gonna buy a kit online and do it myself.
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I’ve done that in the past. It can be a bit hit & miss. They are only a glass ionomer cement so nowhere near as tough or long lasting as amalgam. Waste of time if it’s upper. There’s the emergency dentist in town. Private you’re looking at £150 ish
 
tangerine_neil said:
I’ve done that in the past. It can be a bit hit & miss. They are only a glass ionomer cement so nowhere near as tough or long lasting as amalgam. Waste of time if it’s upper. There’s the emergency dentist in town. Private you’re looking at £150 ish
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Did you use a small drill bit on a cordless to get all decayed tooth out or an old hand drill. Someone could set up a pop up dentist and earn a fortune using these methods.
 
todayistheday said:
Did you use a small drill bit on a cordless to get all decayed tooth out or an old hand drill. Someone could set up a pop up dentist and earn a fortune using these methods.
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Cleaned area. Mouth wash. Dried. Needs to be dry to stick. Got a set of dental tools. Takes a bit of practice to get the mix right.
Should only be used as a temp fix, waiting for a proper job.
Not recommended for a whole host of reasons. 😬
 
Twenty odd years ago the dentist I was with went private. No sooner had I joined another dentist they did the same. So this has been going on for two decades or more to present day where we are scrabbling for that rare NHS dentist.
 
tangerine.com said:
Twenty odd years ago the dentist I was with went private. No sooner had I joined another dentist they did the same. So this has been going on for two decades or more to present day where we are scrabbling for that rare NHS dentist.
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It’s escalated since Covid. The Gov have put extra demands on the NHS dentists’ to the point most have had enough. They‘ve had to double the amount of patients they see for the same time & money. Some have retired. A lot have gone private. It’s a mess.
 
Most of the dentists in Lincolnshire have been private or semi private for over 10 years. Under 18 year olds are NHS, but a large proportion of adults pay some sort of fee. I pay about £12 per month, for two checkups and scale/ polish a year and fortunately haven't needed and work for about 30 years!
 
Towerpower99 said:
Afraid it’s the way now…..if you need a new hip..18 months wait….. same surgeon (Private) see you next week for only 12k
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My mam needed a cataract operation. Went to the specialist at Lancaster hospital and it was almost an indefinite waiting list. She went private and saw the same specialist!
 
So as above if the NHS trained Doctors & Dentists didn't do so much private work, they'd have time to do the NHS work we paid them to train to do?

When they go private, they should have to pay back the cost of their training, which should pay for their replacement.

Also, how do consultants see "private" patients in NHS hospitals?
 
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