What is your experience using NHS dentists?

Hi,

Just wondering about the availability/access of dentists under NHS as well as how long it takes to get an appointment.  I've heard that in some areas there aren't enough dentists and that the wait is long.

Thanks.

It varies from place to place. For us (in Derby) it took 2 weeks for an appointment for my husband only because they do new NHS patients on Tuesdays only in our area and the next Tuesday was booked already. But when I registered on a Wednesday I was able to get an appointment the following week.

Our Primary Care Trust operates a page on their website that shows all the local dentists that are taking new patients and how long the waiting time is for a new patient appointment.

The additional services that my husband needed (a crown) was done within a couple weeks (the first week they did the temporary and the following week they did the permanent) and then his referral for the extractions we received the letter in mid October and when we rang the earliest appointment was for February 2011. But we were able to get on the Cancellation list and he was seen this week for a consultation but they ended up doing the extractions then and there rather than having him come back a 2nd time.

So the service and treatment we've received has been outstanding. If there's something that is major that needs to be done it's good to get on the Cancellation list and you can get it a lot earlier if need be.

I have had no problem getting a quick emergency appoitment in both Sheffield and Norwich. When I registered for a dentist in Norwich for the first time it was a three week wait and any other appoitment I've had with this dentist have all been within a week of each other.

Go on  http://www.nhs.uk/servicedirectories/Pages/ServiceSearch.aspx and do a search for local NHS dentists. That will give you an idea about how many NHS dentists are in a particular area. However, you will have to make some phone calls as it is possible that some of the dentists that are listed as NHS aren't. In theory, if you are having trouble finding a dentist you can call NHS Choices and they will help you find a dentist (0845 4647).

I haven't had anything more than general checkups done yet, but I've been really pleased with my dentist.  We found him by searching around for private practices in our area and found one that takes a small fraction of NHS patients while mostly doing private work.  We've never had a problem getting an appointment (though we haven't had to schedule major work yet); the only drawback is the practice limits us to 'NHS appointments' which are at the more inconvenient times during the day (so no early morning or late afternoon appts to try to schedule around work).

The hygienist we use is private and while she is very good, we have had LONG waits to get in to see her.  I tried to make an appointment recently and found out it was a 6 month wait!!  I've ended up scheduling an appt in the US for a cleaning over Thanksgiving in the meantime since it was easier than trying to look around for another practice who could take me sooner.   

It can definitely be a long wait, especially if there's a shortage in the area.  My fiance broke a tooth about 11 months ago.  It took 3 months to get even an 'emergency' appointment by adding himself to the cancellation list.  (Of course, when his mother phoned and they asked if he was in pain, she told them no.)  All they did at that appointment was poke around for a few minutes, determine that nothing was infected or anything dire, and put him on the list for a follow-up appointment.  Which he finally had last week.  Where they still didn't fix anything, they just spent a little longer (10-15 minutes) making an assessment/treatment plan for his next appointment.  Still don't know when that will be.  

The wait to see the hygienist for a cleaning is going to be even longer, though once he's on that schedule, they're apparently pretty good about getting people in every 6 months.

To be fair, there's only the one dentist in the area, and he covers at least one other office, and there's only on hygienist working, so they've been building a backlog for some time.  There also aren't really any other options (i.e. private dentists), so everyone is stuck waiting.  Also, on the plus side, it being Scotland and him qualifying under the means testing, he'll get all this work done at no out-of-pocket cost.  In the U.S., the work he'll need to have done would easily be over $1,000.

I didn't have a problem with a wait at all.

I was waiting until my husband was eligible for private dental insurance with his company (2 more months) but had a really bad situation with a cracked filling. I walked in, registered and was seen within 24 hours. I needed to take antibiotics, so they postponed treatment for a week, but actually called me to see if I would like to come in 2 days earlier when they had an opening.

They were very friendly and professional, quick to make a follow up appointment. The hygienist is slightly harder to get to see (they suggest booking 1-2weeks in advance).

I found it weird that the dentist said I should try to get my teeth cleaned by the hygienist once a year. When i mentioned that I had previously gone every 6 months in the States, he looked at me as if I was crazy and said that was "very unnecessary".

I've just been to see an NHS dentist yesterday, I popped into a local dentist and they had some places, so we signed up. I see lots of dentists with signs outside at the moment. I have private dental insurance, so I will get my money back, but I had two white fillings and it cost me £190...I am on maternity benefits, so I could have had silver fillings for free, but I wanted white.

I walked in and had an appointment within six weeks, it wasn't the quickest, but it was okay. The hygenist did an amazing job and I was pleased. I had some work done yesterday, and my mouth is so sore (boo hoo) but she did a really lovely job.

NHS dentists also are private, so the best dentists in the country can take on NHS patients as well as private.

My NHS dentist is great. I was able to register right away (he's still taking new NHS patients, too), I can get an appointment for the next week or so (I've never had a dental emergency so I presume those are quicker), I never, ever feel pressure to upsell, and everyone's really nice. The only non-routine procedure I had was to put a cosmetic filling around a baby canine tooth (it's been that way my whole life but I wanted it fixed for wedding photos) and he did a BEAUTIFUL job and in the end only charged me the NHS price instead of private since he felt it was justified after looking at my unique baby/impacted situation. So it was half the cost he quoted me. 

I think the reason such a great dentist has availability is because it's up a narrow staircase and the waiting area is a bit grubby, and all the staff are Muslim Asians that speak like a million languages, so I think that some people might instead go for the brightly lit, new and shiny English dentists on street level on either side of the high street. So the lesson here is, Don't judge a dentist by its shop frontage.

My NHS dentist is super easy to get in to see.  I've only had a check-up and one cleaning, but both of them were scheduled within a few weeks. And, I could have had the check up faster if I'd had any concerns.  The best bit is it is next door to work, so I can pop over without too much trouble.

We were NHS patients in Sheffield but on the waiting list about 6 months for a spot in the area where we now live.  I'm neither impressed nor dismayed, it's fine but not great.   
I think there is a different attitude here about dental "needs".  The dentist in Sheffield filled my cavity and within a week the filling was broken.  When I phoned them it was like "So?  What's the big deal?"  And when the new dentist noticed the broken filling his reaction was sort of "If it doesn't hurt we'll not spend time fixing it."
I've yet to have a "scale & polish" in England that actually involved any scaling and more than a very quick polish.  I miss that squeaky clean feeling I used to get at my US dentist.
But I am NOT complaining.  The prices charged by NHS dentists are so fantastically cheap that I would be crazy to fuss.   

 
I think there is a different attitude here about dental "needs". 

Absolutely.  Everytime I go in for a check up my dentist says I take such good care of my teeth that I don't need a cleaning, so I don't fuss, but obviously that would never happen with any of my previous US dentists.  You can ask for it to be done if you really want it done though. 

I've recently had an infection in my tooth and got in to see my dentist quite quickly as an emergency patient.  I got antibiotics and had a root canal scheduled for a week later which was perfect since the antibiotics needed that time to really attack the infection.  And like Jennie, my dentist is very close; it's right down the street from both my house and my work so it's super convenient.

We just went to our NHS dentist last week.  DH needed a filling and it was scheduled for 3 days after the check up.  My gums are terrible (she said it's most likely just because of hormones from pregnancy/breastfeeding) so I have to go back in 3 months.

A few months ago we needed to make an appointment for DD to be seen as she had a permanent tooth coming in behind her baby tooth and it wasn't getting loose.  She had an appointment 2 days after I called to make it.

Having said all that, our dentist is private and NHS.  To be honest I'm not really sure what that means but it's only one dentist in the office.  I'm not sure if that makes the service "better" than if it was NHS only or what. 

I'm sure it varies drastically in each area and between each dental office as DH had loads of trouble with the previous NHS dentist he used.

Haven't had any problems with ours (does both NHS and private) quick appointment turnaround but haven't needed any emergency stuff at all.  Only thing I noticed was the scale and polish was only on the teeth that show when I smile.  I suppose if I was that bothered I could pay private rate to have a more thorough clean.

No clue. I've been on the 2 year waiting list for 3 years.   

Not sure that waiting list is working though, maybe I need to revisit if I'm close or not or if things have gotten better and I just need to be proactive and move myself into an NHS dentist.

My private dentist is good. Cheap enough. Except for X-rays, which are definitely not cheap there.

The strange thing for me was when I first accompanied DH to an NHS dentist appointment.  He was scheduled for a check-up and scale & polish.  I took a book to read while I waited.  But, and I'm not exaggerating, he was done and out of the chair in less than 10 minutes.  How thorough and how polished could it be in such a short time?  I like our new NHS dentist much better.