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Having tried to get an NHS dentist up here and being told by NHS Highlands that the waiting list is over 2 years, I have managed to go private in Golspie and only had to wait 4 days for an appointment.
This could be added to the "things that bug me" post but i am just gobsmacked that the NHS dentistry service is in this much of a state.
I was told that if i needed urgent NHS treatment i could visit some dentists in POLAND!.....apparantly this is becoming more and more commonplace.
Crikey...LOOK AFTER YOUR TEETH EVERYONE!
I know we had a thread on Dentists some time back with loads leaving Bridge End in Thurso and registering on the NHS Dental Helpline.. BUT I'd recommend if you have registered with them, to ring again and ask to check if you are actually on the list - I did and although I registered some moths back - they had no record of me -this applied to my wife too! (seems they write down your details in freehand they put it on PC)
So give 'em a ring: 0845 6442271
ber219 that is awful, i have a 3year old and im just glad there is still school dentists that go about, i dont fancy taking her to poland to get a check up, what is going on, its horrible!?![disgust]
Well i moved up from West Yorkshire and I can promise you its just as bad down there. The whole country is suffering from it.
Its unfair and something needs doing about it!
i just tried calling as me or my OH arent registered and cant get through, so left a message, i hate going to the dentists but shouldnt have to travel far if we need treatment
I was told that they can see people next day if you are in pain, however this is only for temporary repair and pain relief.
Its private or nothing me thinks!
I was told that they can see people next day if you are in pain, however this is only for temporary repair and pain relief.
Its private or nothing me thinks!
its the only way, but the thing is what about the people who cant afford private, its really unfair:eek:
I used to be private but when me & my OH split up I had to give it up as I couldn't afford it as a single parent.Result is me and my 3 kids are now without any dental care and they all need something done but it's a case of temporary treatment or nothing.I can understand slightly why this may be the case for an adult but to make kids suffer this way is just another form of cruelty x
Exactly....people are being priced out of a health service that is required. They always say the prevention is better than the cure and a checkup every 6 months is exactly what is needed to stop larger scale problems.
Ive been without a dentist for three years and although i brush twice a day and use mouthwash etc it still doesn't stop problems from occuring.
I know i have at least 3 or 4 fillings that need attending to! ouch!
Well said Thumper....the damage to teeth is done when we are young.......fizzy pops and sweets etc...not brushing when you should.
But as you say some people cant afford private so that means that you need to wait two years to find out!
What we should all do is arrive with some screaming children that are in pain and refuse to leave until ALL children have a dentist that can and WILL treat them!Good lord when I was a child we all had checkups every 6 mths and now in our "modern world" its only the priviledged that can afford to have this done :( We are going back to the victorian era...kids will be made to take jobs at an early age just to be able to have dental work [disgust] x
On a lighter note i was informed that Somerset only has a 1 year waiting list......we will just pop down there then!!
Ooooo I would love to go there I wonder if they will give me extra single parent benefit so I can go get my kids teeth seen to in Somerset lol....god this seems too crazy for words really doesn't it?It sounds mean but I swear if I had a trade and a dentist came in asking for my help I would be tempted to say...only if you pay me the highest rate possible for it because I only work for the rich people who can pay highly overated prices just to see how they like it x
Well they are working on supply and demand and making an absoloute packet out of it.!
On a lighter note i was informed that Somerset only has a 1 year waiting list......we will just pop down there then!!
Having just moved from Somerset, I can say thats not true. We had no problem at all getting on a dentist list.
Has anyone spoken to our MSP or MP about this situation?
Don't know if anyone has spoken to our MSP or Mp about it Andrew C but something needs to be done desperately or all our kids will be running around with no teeth or false teeth by the time they are teenagers! x
OK....in that case, 'The Salvation Army' will write to our MSP and ask him what he is doing to challenge this appaling situation. I will post his response when I get one. Or, perhaps if he is a reader of the org he could post a response himself.
We haven't got round to signing up to dentists as the family only had a checkup before we left above mentioned Somerset but it looks like I'll have a problem.
I'm in the same position too. I've always looked after my teeth really carefully, but still managed to develop an abcess under a filling and the nerve has now died. After being in terrible pain over a weekend (isn't it always a weekend??) I managed to get a temporary filling done at a private dentists in Wick. I now need a root filling which I can't have via the emergency system. I asked the dentist what I should do and he said "save up" !!!!!!!
Are people who are exempt from dental charges due to being on Tax Credits/Working Tax Credits experiencing these problems too?
It is a disgraceful situation and makes you wonder whatever happened to the NHS being "free at the point of need" - some kind of sick joke. I'm a pensioner and need frequent treatment which I couldn't possibly afford without the little capital I have but I haven't paid my NI contributions all my life to get so little help now and feel desperately sorry for those who simply can't afford. Private dental charges are iniquitous and even insurance comes nowhere near covering it. They seem to be able to charge what they like, know they have a captive market and can dictate their own terms. Contrast this with opticians who are all private companies but many people are entitled to free eye tests and can choose cheaper glasses if necessary. The same people should at least get free dental check-ups.
I have a feeling that Jamie Stone did get involved with this a little while ago but to be fair to him there's not a lot he can do about a nationwide shortage. I think we all thought the new clinic at Wick was going to help but it doesn't seem to have made much difference so far. The damage was done years ago when the then government changed dentists' contracts, just as it has been with hospital consultants and GPs. Every time they meddle, things get worse.
i would go to poland if the nhs would pay for my trip!! :lol:
i am one of the lucky ones to be on the nhs in wick. and the dentist i see is great, i saw a nasty one when i was young and developed a fear for a long time. :roll:
NickInTheNorth
13-Sep-07, 18:14
Are people who are exempt from dental charges due to being on Tax Credits/Working Tax Credits experiencing these problems too?
Certainly are :( (Jill is my better half, and we are on tax credits and have full exemption from charges, but still can't get on a list).
We are still registered with a dentist on Mull, and I suspect we will need to make a trek down there at some point to get treatment. As you can imagine that is not going to be cheap!
"I have a feeling that Jamie Stone did get involved with this a little while ago but to be fair to him there's not a lot he can do about a nationwide shortage."
Of course...its not to say our MSP is to blame, but he is responsible to lobby parliament on our behalf. If there is a shortage the government should be doing something about it and seeing as it is a devolved issue, we should have nowhere neat the complexities that the whole of the UK have.
Very little happens in politics in favour of 'the people' unless the people make a noise about it. Lets hope something positive will come with a word in our MSP's ear.
AC
rockchick
13-Sep-07, 18:54
Hardly helpful, I know, but when we moved to our village in Nottinghamshire we found an NHS dentist right away. He's a young lad, just setting up "shop" for himself, but I've already had my first check-up with him and he seems fine. I must admit to being pleasantly surprised!
[quote=Thumper;271340]What we should all do is arrive with some screaming children that are in pain and refuse to leave until ALL children have a dentist that can and WILL treat them
i have done this!! when my son was 4 and in ALOT of pain with an abscess(?) phoned dental helpline and nhs24 and they both said sorry nothing we can do but nhs24 did say take upto dunbar hospital and see if they can give him something for the pain, so i went up and was told that bridgend would see him when in bridgend the dentist wanted to remove my sons tooth without any anesthetic as it wouldnt work because of the abscess my son screaming i decided to go back to hospital then a nice dentist up there saw how much pain he was in gave him anti-biotics and told us to go back in 1 week to have the tooth removed went back and from there on he registered my son with him and now my daughter who is 4 is also registered with him up in the dental clinic in dunbar hospital
my boy fell and knocked his front tooth out not long after moving here,missus took him to caithness general and they wouldnt do anything, she asked for milk to preserve it and they gave a blank look. We got a private appointment the next day and they put it back in at no cost. He then got in at the NHS dentist and goes there every month for treatment to try and save the tooth.
My daughter developed an abscess last month, I phoned the emergency dental helpline (early afternoon) and we were given an appointment out at Lochshell for about an hour later, her tooth was extracted, she is now registered and is having her first proper checkup next month. When I was on the phone to the dental helpline they took down my son's details as well, he only has two teeth so far but he is now registered at Lochshell and is having his first checkup next month too.
My sister phoned last week to have her family put on the waiting list, she was informed there were approx 7000+ on the list before her!
Seems to me if you can get in the door as an emergency you stay in the door!
I will be seeing my dentist in a few weeks in Turkey, he is brilliant and I don't care much for dentist visits but I have no problems at all with him. Last time I was there I had 6 caps removed and a bridge of 8 teeth done for roughly £350. It is cheaper as we go to a non touristic area but the standard is great.
Yes the country surely is in a shocking state of affairs when you have to wait 2 years for a dentist.
My partner and I are both on the waiting list for the NHS however, we both have broken teeth and were told that this was not urgent so we would need to wait until it became painful.
Needless to say i have now gone private and got an appointment 2 days later. However i do think this is ridiculous having to do this, especially as i have a six month old baby and should be getting free NHS dental treatment.
There are no facilities available in Caithness for pregnant or new mothers who are entitled to free treatment.
Went to Lochshell with a friend last week. She had been told by Bridgend she would need two (expensive) fillings.
I had phoned to register for the waiting list for myself and hubby ages ago and put her details on for her too. From a previous post I must check all the names went into the hat as only she has had an appointment.
Check up very thorough.......BUT...........Just a scale and polish required (no surprises there then!) and at less than a tenner it is well worth it.
Lovely place, nice friendly staff.
Hope we get there soon, as Bridgend seems to be a licence to print money in my opinion.
topotheuk
14-Sep-07, 20:52
I came out of the Bridgend practice when they started charging £13 per month for children as I just cannot afford to pay it. I phoned the NHS to register and was told that there was a long waiting list, however, the children would probably be fast tracked due to them being children. I waited around 3 weeks then got a letter saying my children had reached the top of the list and to phone Lochshell to make an appointment. My two were seen today. Son told he didn't need anything just now, but they would look again in 6 months as they thought he would probably need to see an orthodentist for a brace and daughter has an appointment in 2 weeks for a filling. Very thorough check up and All staff very friendly and nice. All in all I found their service much quicker and friendlier than Bridgend, even when we were paying a monthly fee!!
thefugitive1993
18-Sep-07, 14:47
Went to Lochshell with a friend last week. She had been told by Bridgend she would need two (expensive) fillings.
I had phoned to register for the waiting list for myself and hubby ages ago and put her details on for her too. From a previous post I must check all the names went into the hat as only she has had an appointment.
Check up very thorough.......BUT...........Just a scale and polish required (no surprises there then!) and at less than a tenner it is well worth it.
Lovely place, nice friendly staff.
Hope we get there soon, as Bridgend seems to be a licence to print money in my opinion.
Interesting that you would prefer the "no treatment required option".
What made you think the check up was thorough? I'd be suspicious, and how did you assess whose opinion was correct?
Was that based on the opinion you wanted to hear, or your own expertise?
I phoned the NHS helpline on Friday and was told that I would been seen today, my appointment was at 3 that afternoon, I wasn;t seen to 4.20 but I was greatful that they seen me that day.:lol:
Tan..that is great news but now you can see what a state this NHS system is in. I had to go private and I was sat next to a family who had been on the waiting list for 16 months.
Their is no system in place and the mystical waiting list is more of a lottery.
The dentist that I was at are taking on patients but its not on the NHS, £20.00 annual fee and then pay for what you need, I was told that a check-up is twenty pounds. I was thinking about joining as I can't be in pain like that again like I was last Friday.
I totally agree with what you are saving about the NHS it is a state and someone needs to sort something out.:lol:
i was with bridge end for long enough then i got the dentist at golspie who drilled a tooth without anesthetic (said i wouldnt feel it but scraping me off the ceiling) then i waited since 2003 to get the nhs dentist i got 1 at lochshell in wick (only after hassling them over the fact i was pregnant at the time ) when Lauren was 9months old... my next question is how do i get her registered before she has left school (she is only 14 nearly 15 months old)
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