How do the Dentists Compare

I've had mixed reviews with dentist and I have a child as well who I had been denied service for.

Our first dentist, looked at my teeth and said, good. Just looked. Um, what?  I have old fillings that need to be poked because they can get old and pull away from the tooth.  They refused. Yes, you heard me.  Refused to check my teeth that way.

They did the same to my son and missed a cavity that I had been on watch with in America.  I asked them to clean my sons teeth and he refused. Yes, again, refused.

He told me my teeth were too nice for the NHS to pay to have them cleaned and they absolutely do not clean childrens teeth.

Gum disease runs rampant in my family so cleanings are a necessity. 

I went private and paid £75 for a check up and £40 for a cleaning.  Same for my son.  The practice took us on as NHS after about a year but the cleanings still have to be paid for.  The first hygeniest was awesome.  The second time, the hygeniest was a different lady for my sons cleaning and she said, with attitude, "You know you have to pay for this, right?"  Well duh!  I scheduled the appointment -  just clean his teeth.  Nobody has ever taken an xray of my sons teeth. 

The NHS dentist within the dental practice is good. She did poke my teeth and did find that one of my fillings was pulling away from the tooth and it had to be replaced.

Now if you want white fillings, it's an extra £150, I think.  A white crown is a couple of hundred above what the NHS pays for as well.  Still pretty reasonable in my book.

My dentist is state of the art - they have teeth whitening, an orthodontist and a specialist that does implants so I feel like I'm at a good practice now.

~BEG

they absolutely do not clean childrens teeth.

Our UK dentist's office refused to clean my son's teeth too, even though it was a private dentist!  We paid for her to look at and count his teeth.  They did nothing about the developing cavities in his permanent molars as they emerged (teeth were damaged prenatally) so that by the time he saw a US dentist a few months later he almost needed root canals.   

Something different this go around.

Son had his check up and when I made the appointment, they wouldn't do the appointment for the cleaning.  Dental checkup was good. They put sealant on one of his molars.

I go down to make the appointment for the hygenist and they say that you have to get a referral from the dentist.  They won't just let me make the appointment.  Thank goodness the dentist listened to me and did the referral no problem.

One of my coworkers said she never got her teeth cleaned and didn't until she was 20 years old!

I just find this whole way of thinking really strange.

~BEG

I was at the dentist (private) the other day, and I remember thinking that it was a bit unusual that I never see children in my dentist's office here in the UK.

In America, the dentist's waiting room is usually packed with kids.

When I was in elementary school, you used to have to bring in a form from the dentist saying your teeth had been checked every year before school started.

When I was in elementary school, you used to have to bring in a form from the dentist saying your teeth had been checked every year before school started.

Really?! I've never heard of that.

What is the reasoning, besides the obvious need to take care of your teeth? I mean, it's not like proving to the school that you've had all your vaccinations!

My boyfriend had his first American dentist appointment a couple of weeks ago. ...

Funnily enough, the hygenist joked that she was afraid to work on his teeth since he was English

I broke a tooth at work a few months before moving.  It was practically my last day at work, and ta co-worker born in Mexico teased me that it was a good thing I'd given myself 'Dientes ingleses' just before moving, I'd fit right in!  Now, Mexico is not exactly known for dental care, but that even they subscribe to the stereotype of English teeth being bad, that says something about the international reputation!

Sadly, I only just found out that I could have had free dental care for the past year, because of having a baby.  Somehow, I missed that detail.