Hello
Guest

Sponsored Links


Topic: great UK dentist experience  (Read 1917 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 13328

  • Officially a Brit.
  • Liked: 2
  • Joined: Mar 2004
  • Location: Maryland
great UK dentist experience
« on: June 17, 2004, 12:27:47 PM »
First let me just say I hate going to the dentist and frankly can't recall the last time I did go, but it was at least 5 years ago. So I was absolutely dreading seeing one but when a shallow filling fell out, I had to bite the bullet.

Unfortunately I had to go private as there are no NHS dentists in Devon right now.

I've heard so many stories of horrid British dentists that I was really worked up about this but it was absolutely fine. Turns out the dentist even worked in the US for a bit! They were pretty up to date with equipment and all -even using digital x-rays. And the best news was I had no new cavities (a major surprise there!).

It cost £60 for a check up, x-rays and replacement filling. She didn't do a proper clean as she said I didn't need one. I've been using an electric toothbrush and that does seem to really help.

Just wanted to share that there are really good dentists here!
When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. ~ John Lennon


  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 5875

  • You'll Never Walk Alone
  • Liked: 8
  • Joined: Apr 2002
  • Location: Rochester, Kent
Re: great UK dentist experience
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2004, 12:36:55 PM »
I'll toot the horn for our dentists here in Medway, as well.  And they're NHS dentists!  The boys go to a lovely Scottish lass (her name is Sheena!) who just adores them and who they are quite partial, too, as well!  My dentist is from South Africa and he has got a great "chair-side" manner.

There are good dentists out there - they just don't get the press the bad ones do.  :P
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

- Benjamin Franklin


  • *
  • Posts: 768

  • Liked: 2
  • Joined: Jan 2004
  • Location: New England, USA
Re: great UK dentist experience
« Reply #2 on: June 17, 2004, 02:34:36 PM »
I havent been to a dentist at all since Ive been here in the UK. Thats coming up to 3 years. Its mostly because I know I have some serious dental issues that need sorting and I really cant stand to have it done here knowing it'll take quite a while to sort out. Since I was a kid Ive needed surgical orthodontic treatment to realign my teeth and get rid of my wisdom teeth wich are impacting due to overcrowdedness. Nice. Ive been desperate to get to the US so I can finally settle down, get my insurance, and get my treatment going. If its going to cost me $12,000 in the US, Id really rather it not cost me £12,000 in the UK. Im glad, though, to hear you all have had nice dentists in the UK and it gives me hope incase I have to go private before we move back to the US. Lets hope those wisdom teeth behave for a while longer.
Me (US/UK), DH (UK/US), DD (US/UK)
US > UK (2001, 3 years) > US (2004, 16 years) > UK (coming soon)

Specialist in UK > US Immigration via Direct Consular Filing (DCF), Founder of Dive Into America (2003-2020)


  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 5875

  • You'll Never Walk Alone
  • Liked: 8
  • Joined: Apr 2002
  • Location: Rochester, Kent
Re: great UK dentist experience
« Reply #3 on: June 17, 2004, 02:53:06 PM »
I had 2 teeth removed and 3 fillings and it cost me just under £60 on NHS.  Not a bad deal, I'd say...
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

- Benjamin Franklin


  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 13328

  • Officially a Brit.
  • Liked: 2
  • Joined: Mar 2004
  • Location: Maryland
Re: great UK dentist experience
« Reply #4 on: June 17, 2004, 03:04:45 PM »
Mars, just call up a local dentist and tell them you need a ballpark quote. I'm pretty sure they can at least give you an idea of a base price.
When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. ~ John Lennon


  • *
  • Posts: 428

  • Philadelphia, PA to York in 2000
  • Liked: 1
  • Joined: Aug 2003
  • Location: York
Re: great UK dentist experience
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2004, 12:49:17 PM »
I havent been to a dentist at all since Ive been here in the UK. Thats coming up to 3 years. Its mostly because I know I have some serious dental issues that need sorting and I really cant stand to have it done here knowing it'll take quite a while to sort out. Since I was a kid Ive needed surgical orthodontic treatment to realign my teeth and get rid of my wisdom teeth wich are impacting due to overcrowdedness (snip)...........

We could be twins!  :D I haven't been to the dentist since being here and I know I really should...I'm just terrified.  [smiley=lipsrsealed2.gif] 

The last dental action I've had done was having all 4 of my wisdom teeth taken out as an out patient in the hospital (before my insurance ran out!).  All 4 were impacted from overcrowding (no one believes me when I tell them I have a small mouth! LOL!) and had to go. They needed to be done surgically because they had to cut each tooth into quarters to remove them and it required stitches afterwards. It all brings back such horrible horrible memories for me that it turns my stomach.  :-[  I don't mean to make you scared, it's just that I'm just a big wuss when it comes to dental procedures.....even had braces for 4 long and painful years (with 4 more grownup teeth being removed) when I was young.  :-\\\\

I'm thinking it'll take a filling to fall out before I can be dragged back to the dentist [smiley=bigcry.gif] I am, however, relieved to hear that there are dentists here that do have the more "modern" technology as the fear that it'd be more old fashioned is also keeping me away.


  • *
  • Posts: 768

  • Liked: 2
  • Joined: Jan 2004
  • Location: New England, USA
Re: great UK dentist experience
« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2004, 11:28:10 PM »
yikes, sounds like we were seperated at birth. mind if i pm you sometime about your wisdom teeth experience?
Me (US/UK), DH (UK/US), DD (US/UK)
US > UK (2001, 3 years) > US (2004, 16 years) > UK (coming soon)

Specialist in UK > US Immigration via Direct Consular Filing (DCF), Founder of Dive Into America (2003-2020)


  • *
  • Posts: 428

  • Philadelphia, PA to York in 2000
  • Liked: 1
  • Joined: Aug 2003
  • Location: York
Re: great UK dentist experience
« Reply #7 on: June 20, 2004, 11:44:39 AM »
yikes, sounds like we were seperated at birth. mind if i pm you sometime about your wisdom teeth experience?

Of course you can. Any time.  ;D


  • *
  • Posts: 34

  • I love YaBB 1G - SP1!
  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Oct 2003
Re: great UK dentist experience
« Reply #8 on: June 21, 2004, 12:06:47 PM »
I also have had a great experience with dentists here in the UK.

Six weeks ago I woke up in the night with a very painful abcessed tooth.  That was bad enough but it was a Friday night and I knew I wouldn't be able to see a dentist until Monday.  My partner thought so also.

Saturday evening I passed out from the pain and he called an emergency help nurse.  She told him of an NHS emergency dentist that is open on Sunday.  He took me to this place Sunday morning and they got me started on antibiotics. 

The dentist I saw on Monday took xrays and increased the antibiotics.  By Tuesday the pain was gone.

I went back to this dentist on Friday to have the cause of the abcess sorted out.  Now I need to explain that I had $10,000 worth of dental work done before I left the US.  The abcess was in a tooth that the US dentist had used as an anchor for a bridge.  The UK dentist drilled into the back of this crown and tried to get into the root canal but found it impossible.  He wanted to do everything possible to save the bridge so he sent me to a specialist.

Both of these dentists are private pay.  They both have the latest equipment and they visit the US regularly to learn new procedures.  The specialist told me that the tooth that abcessed should never have been used as an anchor for the bridge.

Neither of these dentists use needles to inject the deadening stuff.  They use a wand that beeps as the deadening is being applied.  I felt absolutely nothing.  I have no idea how it works but it is absolutely wonderful.  I have never had such wonderful care in the states and I have had years and years of spending hours in the dentist chair.


Re: great UK dentist experience
« Reply #9 on: July 16, 2004, 11:57:49 AM »
MarsBar, it really is not too bad having your wisdom teeth out. I had 3 of mine out as a day operation at Farnborough Hospital, Kent (Now The Princess Royal Hospital). The day care unit was almost brand new. I was given strong painkillers (codeine!) before the op, then I was wheeled into the operating room's ante room and injected in the hand. Next thing I know I was awake on a trolley in the ward! The worst thing was I was so hot and terribly thirsty probably from the anaesthetic, but they gave me some orange squash that I drank through a straw. (The most important thing when having a tooth out is to give time for a blood clot to form in the socket, otherwise you get 'dry socket' which is very painful and can last a week). So drink only through a straw for 24 hours.
Anyway my mum was with me (you have to have someone take you home, they won't let you use public transport). Although it was a day operation and most people had gone by 3, I didn't feel ready to leave until 5 but they were great, they didn't rush me. All the staff were excellent. We got a taxi home.
I had no pain at all from the extraction. I couldn't open my mouth very wide for sometime, but 2 days after the op I was eating pasta (albeit gingerly). You need to eat something because of the codeine painkillers, or you'll feel, well, high! Just have soup and yoghurt until you feel ready to eat solid food again.
DH dreads getting his wisdom teeth out. I have reassured him that it is not nearly as bad as one might think.
PS It cost me nothing.
« Last Edit: July 16, 2004, 12:00:21 PM by Squirrel »


  • *
  • Posts: 157

  • BARGALARG!!
  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Jul 2004
  • Location: Texas to Bristol
Re: great UK dentist experience
« Reply #10 on: July 20, 2004, 01:19:55 AM »

Neither of these dentists use needles to inject the deadening stuff.  They use a wand that beeps as the deadening is being applied.  I felt absolutely nothing.  I have no idea how it works but it is absolutely wonderful.  I have never had such wonderful care in the states and I have had years and years of spending hours in the dentist chair.

-----> !!!!!  Is that true? Is that standard? Can something so fabulously beautiful really be real? Is there anyone else who has been numbed with one of these wands? And would anybody be kind enough to give me the name of one of these dentists? I'm afraid I've got a rather toothy problem myself, so reading over the posts on this topic has really added some good feelings to my day.

What a fantabulous website!
ouchy


Re: great UK dentist experience
« Reply #11 on: July 26, 2004, 08:43:10 PM »
I, like many others are scared to death of the dentist but when you are pregnant you get a maternity exemption cert. which entitles you to free prescriptions and dental care for up to one year after the birth of your child. Well I need tons of work done and finally got up my nerve to call the dentist. I went to the surgery closest to my house and got a very sweet Swedish dentist. He did x-rays, cleanings, 4 fillings and I had to have a tooth extracted and a bridge put in. All that would have cost me a fortune in the USA. But on top if it all I had a few teeth on top that started to separate. My dentist put on porcelain veneers and somehow got the NHS to pick up the tab. He said they would have cost me £250.00 a tooth if I had to pay for it out of my own pocket. So I got a healthy mouth, and a new improved smile all on the NHS! Recently I heard my dentist went back to Sweden so I dont know where Im going to go now. Just wonder if he wasnt fired! lol
:)
Pebbles ;D


Re: great UK dentist experience
« Reply #12 on: July 26, 2004, 09:05:07 PM »
So according to the NHS site there actually are a few dentists in our area accepting new patients - what's the deal, do you just go in and register the same way that you do at a surgery? Do you use the same NHS number you already have? And how do you know if any of them are any good? I wouldn't know how to choose between any of the ones listed as we don't know anyone who uses them!


Re: great UK dentist experience
« Reply #13 on: July 26, 2004, 09:08:37 PM »
Yes you just find a dentist surgery and go and register just like you would at a doctors surgery. But I think after a year you have to re-register. Well thats the policy at my dentist office. I got lucky and just walked in a surgery close by and got a good dentist. Ask people you know to recommend a dentist. My husband uses a different dentist than me. We both call him "The Butcher". OUCH!! Hubby must like the pain. Dont know why he wont switch.
Pebs


Sponsored Links