NHS Dentist Decline

Norkie

Norkie

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My/our dentist has written to us and has confirmed they are no longer supporting NHS patients and will be private only. We kind of expected this, there has been a decline in NHS dentist practices in the UK.

Has this been your experience? Will dental care be private only in the future?
 
I've not been able to get to see an NHS dentist for more than twenty years and have always had to resort to paying a fortune for private. The bonus is that the service is soooooo much better.

The best dental treatment/service I've ever had was when I lived in France - it was superb. Also a lot cheaper (>65%) than the UK at the time (ten years ago).
 
Are you kidding? They have been on the decline for 30/40 years in most areas. You are lucky if you have been NHS until now.
 
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my wife is a private hygienist and two of the dentists she works for are doing the same
there is just no money in being NHS its all a points system you get so many points for a treatment etc
it means some dentists can get paid just £40 for a check up and a filling that can take 40 mins yet
they can do an implant which can make £500 for 2 hours work (thats pure profit) my wife alone charges £38/hour just for labour to
her contract partners, NHS dentistry will die over the next few years
 
The decline was initiated by John Major's governmnent in 1992 who , in my opinion, deliberately gave NHS dentists such a lousy contract it left them no choice but to go private. In 1997 Labour came to power and did nothing, despite Tony Blair promising in 1999 that everyone would have access to NHS dental care. Then in 2006, they introduced a new dental contract, and the result was another disaster with up to 1 million people in England losing their NHS dentist.

I've copy/pasted this .

In England dentists are paid in "Units of Dental Activity". (UDA's) Typical values for units are £20-35, and they are paid 1 unit for a band 1 course of treatment, 3 for a band 2 course of treatment, and 12 for a band 3 course of treatment. Patient charges are deducted from these values. For many treatments, the rate of pay is below the cost of providing the treatment to a modern standard and as a result, many dentists will refer patients for any unprofitable services. In 2008 the Parliamentary Health Select Committee investigation found the UDAs were unfit for purpose.

I just don't understand why dentistry has been the poor relative of the NHS. over the years. It's vital (especially for children) to have good teeth which gives people a feeling of well- being. On Five Live recently I heard of two callers who pulled their own teeth., One poor chap was left half the tooth in and was suffering enormous pain but couldn't afford to go privately. Someone called in and offered to pay the fee . Another man from the Isle of Wight did the same because there were no NHS dentists on the island. I don't know if that's true or not. I assume it must be.
 
I have an NHS dentist. The guy who own the dentistry sold out to "My Dentist" and they kept us NHS patients on the books but, I haven't been able to get to see a dentist for over 18 months,. My appointments keep getting cancelled and they say I have to rebook at some point in the future. I do wonder if the private patients get their appointments cancelled? The guy who sold out to My dentist set up shop about 100 yds away from his ol practice but only taking in private clients but his prices seem very reasonable so I may have to go down that route if I ever want to get my teeth seen by a dentist.
 
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plloydie said:
I have an NHS dentist. The guy who own the dentistry sold out to "My Dentist" and they kept us NHS patients on the books but, I haven't been able to get to see a dentist for over 18 months,. My appointments keep getting cancelled and they say I have to rebook at some point in the future. I do wonder if the private patients get their appointments cancelled? The guy who sold out to My dentist set up shop about 100 yds away from his ol practice but only taking in private clients but his prices seem very reasonable so I may have to go down that route if I ever want to get my teeth seen by a dentist.
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Our dentist is only private but getting an appointment is far from easy,.
 
I got an email from my dental surgery today:

"Our NHS dentist is no longer with us due to returning home to Spain and sadly, we have not been able to recruit a replacement to continue with the NHS service ."
 
I've not been to the dentist for my last two extractions; I've done them myself. It wasn't difficult as they were both very loose.

So that's £250.00 saved last year and thankfully I've lost none this year, but I think I'll be pulling another two next year and then I'll probably be selling a kidney to pay for some dentures. :(
 
Sky said:
I've not been to the dentist for my last two extractions; I've done them myself. It wasn't difficult as they were both very loose.

So that's £250.00 saved last year and thankfully I've lost none this year, but I think I'll be pulling another two next year and then I'll probably be selling a kidney to pay for some dentures. :(
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and for your electricity and gas bills!
 
Tony_M said:
I got an email from my dental surgery today:

"Our NHS dentist is no longer with us due to returning home to Spain and sadly, we have not been able to recruit a replacement to continue with the NHS service ."
Click to expand...

its a hostile country for EU nationals since Roy from Preston voted for Brexit they are leaving in droves
 
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