Dentists again... because I am a dweeb

I know it's on here in bits and pieces.. but I am confused as to what an NHS dentist is versus non-NHS (private).   I hear there is a shortage of NHS dentists.... I also hear that you have to qualify for these dentists... so what do you need to qualify?  Also going private how much does a cleaning cost and what do you ask for when calling?  DH needs to go badly and might even want an eye tooth removed for cosmetic reasons and those invisalign braces -do they have them here?  How much does all this cost going private?  I have been promising to schedule an appt since before we left the USA and I also have been told to get 6 months cleanings.... so...  if you go private is there a shortage of dentists?

Help......

Anyone can go to an NHS dentist but only certain groups of people (like children and pregnant women) get the treatment free. You pay even an NHS dentist but you will pay a private dentist more. The kind of work your hubby wants done could cost an arm & a leg if he has it done privately, unless he has medical insurance that covers it.

Nope see that's is what is confusing me.. so you go NHS... if you can find one..but still pay?  You just pay less then if you go private...  I would expect that NHS won't cover things like adult braces anyways, but they cover cleanings and the like?

Yes. I don't know if they would do adult braces on the NHS or not.  Come to think of it I am not sure that any orthodontic treatment is NHS because I know my parents paid loads for mine when I was a teenager and they would defintely have had it done on the NHS if they could.

I just found the NHS website and our nearest NHS dentist is in Cornwall!  25 miles away... I feel like I am in Atlanta again.

I went and did some searching... "If you are not eligible for free NHS dental treatment or help with the cost, you pay eighty per cent of the cost of the treatment up to a maximum of £378 per course of dental treatment (as of 1 May 2004)."

So basically we pay up to 80% anyways... so rather than drive to Cornwall as 25 miles there is quite a bit longer than 25 miles on the motorway...   the amount we spend on petrol can cover the 20% that NHS would cover....    though I can see if you need major work done that the drive would be worth it.. oh what I would not give to be a dentist now...

and yet it still beats the $550 dollars it took to get one intensive cleaning (not scaling) and one small filling in white (my first ever!!! :\\\'() in the USA I guess...

Britwife seems to have answered all your questions.  

My wife suggests you look into Denplan http://www.denplan.co.uk/ to see if there's a closer private dentist at a reduced cost.

Good luck.

Jim
not affiliated in any way with Denplan

Yep, Devon has one of the biggest shortages of NHS dentists in the UK. I had a scaling and a very minor filling fixed in Exmouth and paid about £60 I think (privately). I have a post about it on here somewhere.

I'd suggest you phone several private practices to see if their prices vary at all but, honestly, if it isn't urgent, I'd probably wait on the tooth removal and braces if you can. It is possible to get emergency dental care. So if a tooth that needs pulling gets infected, that can be done at hospitals or emergency dental facililties.

OK, I have bad teeth (ver little enamal and a gap I had bonded and has opened up in the past 12 years)  But what the heck is an eye tooth and scaling?

An eye tooth is the canine teeth - the little sharp pointy ones on top.

A scaling is the British word for cleaning - and I believe they are not as intensive as most Americans are used to.

My husband has a tooth that um sticks out a bit you know the pointy one.... I thinks it's called an eye tooth... not really a big deal and most of his teeth are straight... but he mentioned wanting it removed at one time...but  the main thing is to get them cleaned.

Scaling is what you need done when you have tons of tartar and the onset of gingivitis...  or basically years of not going ot the dentist.  He had a scalign done about 2 or 3 years ago but we hated our dentist... so just never switched... despite having insurance.

So he just needs a really intensive cleaning at the moment... and I need a cleaning every six months that does not cost an arm and leg...

So scaling here is different?  So what is it I need to ask for when I call?  I think I may just trek over to the nearest Surgery and annoy them.  There are like 4 in a block radius of my house.

Thanks ladies  I was a bit confused!!!

I had an ex who had an eye tooth, I thought it was sexy  

And thanks for the link Jim!

Yes. I don't know if they would do adult braces on the NHS or not. Come to think of it I am not sure that any orthodontic treatment is NHS because I know my parents paid loads for mine when I was a teenager and they would defintely have had it done on the NHS if they could.

Yup, the NHS pays for orthodontics-but not purely cosmetic ones.  It has to be for a medical type reason.  And as with anything you have waiting lists-it took Lizzy two years.  And not all treatments are available on the NHS and some are only available with a very long waiting list. But we've got a very good orthodontist that we're happy with.  She's got a retainer and headgear now, it'll be the full traintracks in one year to eighteen months.