dentist

People seldom die or have long term illness, or even miss work, through having bad teeth.  Therefore, seeing a dentist is not something which the state feels it needs to pay for.

Vicky

True enough, but doesn't NHS pay for a lot of treatments that do not involve death or long term illness?  I seem to remember having my haemorrhoids done on the National Health. 

Just went to the dentist today, normal checkup with scale and polish is £63.  I think if I had X-rays I'd pay more but not sure how much.  Dentist used to see me 6-monthly but because I haven't had any problems for a few years she moved it back to an annual checkup.

True enough, but doesn't NHS pay for a lot of treatments that do not involve death or long term illness?  I seem to remember having my haemorrhoids done on the National Health. 

yes, and if you require work on your teeth which can't be done in an dentist surgery then it will be done on the NHS.

For example, when I needed a wisdome tooth extraction, I could have got a referral to have it take out on the NHS in the local hospital, for free.  As it was, I couldn't be arsed to wait, so I got my dentist to take it out for a fee.

Vicky

yes, and if you require work on your teeth which can't be done in an dentist surgery then it will be done on the NHS.

For example, when I needed a wisdome tooth extraction, I could have got a referral to have it take out on the NHS in the local hospital, for free.  As it was, I couldn't be arsed to wait, so I got my dentist to take it out for a fee.

Vicky

That's really good that they would have done that for free. Atleast you had more of a choice, whether to go free or fee.  I had none.  In the States, I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed, my health insurance only covered it because there was a risk of infection. They billed my health insurance nearly $4000 and I had to pay $400.

so if you just want to go to a dentist and pay for the infamous routine mouth clean up you should do every six months... how much would that cost in London?

In NYC it's around or a bit less than $100 I think...  should I do that before I leave or when I get there?

or you cant just go and pay for the service, do you have to pay monthly stuff?

My dentist charges £50 for 30 minutes with the hygenist.

Just went to my new NHS dentist today and was told that since I have healthy teeth and no dental problems I only need to come in once a year for a checkup/cleaning.  I guess I'm okay with that, but I've had "every six months" in my head for so long it feels a bit strange to me!

Also, the cleaning they did on my teeth felt a bit rushed- not sure if that was by design or not, but they only spent about 10 minutes on my teeth when I'm used to more like 20.  But those are minor things, really- for £17 I'm quite happy!

I always understood that Dentists were called Mr because they were surgeons - just as consultants and surgeons are called Mr not Dr even though they probably have more qualifications that the average Dr (or GP).

It's some sort of historical thing where the original barber-surgeons were Mr and physicians were plain old Dr.

I may well be wrong!

I've just found these links which may help explain.  I think I'm right about why surgeons/consultants are Mr but not about dentists.

http://www.dentistry.co.uk/news/news_detail.php?id=208
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/3329907/Dentists-claim-the-right-to-be-called-Dr.html

Just went to my new NHS dentist today and was told that since I have healthy teeth and no dental problems I only need to come in once a year for a checkup/cleaning.  I guess I'm okay with that, but I've had "every six months" in my head for so long it feels a bit strange to me!

Also, the cleaning they did on my teeth felt a bit rushed- not sure if that was by design or not, but they only spent about 10 minutes on my teeth when I'm used to more like 20.  But those are minor things, really- for £17 I'm quite happy!

I thought my dentist was a bit rushed too, when I went to another place to get a crown replaced I found out it was a bit too rushed and I had some serious tartar issues for the first time ever.  Sigh.

I am off to the dentist this afternoon. 

Hope I'm not boring you but here's why surgeons are Mr and not Dr.


In most other parts of the world all medical practitioners, physicians and surgeons alike, are referred to as ‘Dr’ whereas in the UK surgeons are usually referred to as Mr, Miss or Mrs. This is because, from the Middle Ages physicians had to embark on formal university training to gain possession of a degree in medicine before they could enter practice. The possession of this degree, a doctorate, entitled them to the title of ‘Doctor of Medicine’ or Doctor.

The training of surgeons until the mid-19th century was different. They did not have to go to university to gain a degree; instead they usually served on apprenticeship to a surgeon. Afterwards they took an examination. In London, after 1745, this was conducted by the Surgeons’ Company and after 1800 by The Royal College of Surgeons. If successful they were awarded a diploma, not a degree, therefore they were unable to call themselves ‘Doctor’, and stayed instead with the title ‘Mr’.

Outside London and the largest cities the surgeon served an apprenticeship like many other tradesmen, but did not necessarily take any examination. Today all medical practitioners, whether physicians or surgeons have to undertake training at medical school to obtain a qualifying degree. Thereafter a further period of postgraduate study and training through junior posts is required before full consultant surgeon status is achieved. Thus the tradition of a surgeon being referred to as ‘Mr/Miss/Mrs’ has continued, meaning that in effect a person starts as ‘Mr/Miss/Mrs’, becomes a ‘Dr’ and then goes back to being a ‘Mr’; ‘Miss’ or ‘Mrs’ again!

I always understood that Dentists were called Mr because they were surgeons - just as consultants and surgeons are called Mr not Dr even though they probably have more qualifications that the average Dr (or GP).

Vets are Mr. too!   

I think that's interesting about surgeons -- but how does that explain about non-surgeon consultants?  They're usually Mr. but know of an oncologist who calls herself Dr. (Do female surgeons become Miss/Mrs.?)

Okay Bostondiner here goes:  I found this on Wikipedia which explains the titles of surgeons, doctors, dentists and some of the differences between UK and US titles.

In English-speaking countries, the title doctor is strongly associated with the medical profession. Most medical practitioners use the title professionally and socially.

In the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries, those training for the medical profession complete either a 4-year graduate entry or an accelerated 5-6 year course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MBChB, or other similar abbreviation);the higher postgraduate degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD) is reserved for those who can prove a particular distinction on the field, usually through a body of published work or the submission of a dissertation.  In guidance issued by Who's Who it is noted that in the context of the United Kingdom, "not all qualified medical [practitioners] hold the [MD] degree" but that "those ... who have not taken [it] are addressed as if they had."

A & C Black also note that British surgeons - a designation reserved for those who have obtained membership of the Royal College of Surgeons - are addressed as Mr, Mrs or Miss rather than Dr. This custom has been commented on in the British Medical Journal and may stem from the historical origins of the profession.

For many years the UK's General Dental Council (GDC) regarded the use of the title doctor by dentists as a disciplinary offence; however on November 14, 1995 the GDC ruled that dentists could use the title doctor thenceforth provided that they did not do so to imply that they held qualifications that they did not possess.

Speaking in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom on January 19, 1996, health minister Gerald Malone noted that the title doctor had never been restricted to either medical practitioners or those with doctoral degrees in the United Kingdom, commenting that the word was defined by common usage but that the titles "physician, doctor of medicine, licentiate in medicine and surgery, bachelor of medicine, surgeon, general practitioner and apothecary" did have special protection in law.

In the United States and other countries, the basic medical qualification is the M.D., usually completed as a second entry degree following a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree. The United States M.D. is the equivalent of the British MBBS, MB, BMed, MBChB, etc qualifications. Other health-related disciplines such as podiatry and dentistry use a very similar educational framework, though a podiatrist is often referred to as a "podiatric physician/surgeon" and a dentist a "dental surgeon" or "dental or oral physician".

In the Unites States only, the D.O. degree is an equivalent degree to M.D. with a different history.

Now that's interesting about the two tiers of medical degree in the UK.  I didn't realize that they had a M.D. level as well (but at a higher level than the US M.D. degree)
Sounds like its optional what you call yourself in many cases.
Thanks for the info, Marmalade!

Well, I had my first dentist appointment today.  I love my dentist!     She's lovely, she listened to me, she was thorough.  She said I took such good care of my teeth that I don't even need a scaling and cleaning.  The bad news is I need a lot of work done, both NHS and private (if I want it to look good--i.e. tooth colored crowns and not hideous silver crowns).  It's going to cost me a lot.