Hi I went to the dentist’s yesterday for a 6 month check up which was all good but cost me £60 fee + £40 taxi fares (I use a motorised w/c) plus 32p/m for private care…does anybody get any help from an NHS dentist because no-one is taking on.
In many parts of the country it is almost impossible to get onto NHS dentist lists. The few that offer NHS services have pretty much permanently closed lists. This was supposed to have changed, back in Jan / Feb 2020, with them being required to regularly open their lists to new patients - then Covid came and upset everything. Even those registered with NHS dentists then found they could only get emergency treatment due to the backlog caused by Covid, as the dentists were prioritising their private clients over NHS ones!
I need quite a bit of work doing on my teeth. I’m still registered with an NHS dentist in the former city I used to live in, which is 100 miles away. At least I think I’m still on the list and hope I haven’t been removed. Some dentists have taken the Covid lockdowns when people couldn’t or were to nervous to make appointments as an excuse to remove them from their lists as they’d not attended for over a year. Due to the waves of Covid and due to my own fluctuating health I’ve not made an appointment for over 2 years now.
The info about the lists having to be opened regularly came from my dentist who is strongly pro the NHS. But as I said Covid put the kosh to that. He wanted me to find one closer to my current home as 100 miles away is no good in an emergency! He was shocked to see that there were so few NHS dentists in my area.
Ah, getting any help from an NHS dentist is almost impossible. Whenever I wanted to avoid all these huge sums that I pay at a private dentist, I couldn’t. Plus, a private dentist offer services that the NHS does not provide, mostly cosmetics. I needed that most. I wanted to whiten my teeth. At first, I thought of an NHS dentist, but then I found out they weren’t dealing with it. This shocked me a little, but very quickly, I found teeth whitening services in Lake County OH and scheduled for the next day, and I already had my first whitening procedure. I have a few more to do, and my teeth are ready! I will have perfectly white teeth;)
I’m sorry to hear that you had to pay so much for your dental care. I know that it can be very costly, especially if you have to pay for transportation as well. Unfortunately, I do not know of any programs or assistance that can help with the cost of dental care from an NHS dentist. But I can recommend you crowndentalgroup.com.au. They have the most affordable prices on the market. I would suggest checking with your local dental society or government offices to see if there are any programs or subsidies that can help you with the cost of dental care.
Hi, no haven’t found a less expensive way, just accepted the cost, luckily it’s just check ups at mo but dread the thought of any major work however I do need an extraction .