What is your experience using NHS dentists?

We found an excellent dentist but it took awhile.

Just read this thread and am really gobsmacked now!  I haven't been to a dentist here, DH and I are on a waiting list atm.  My daughter has been though.  She had a checkup where they evaluated her for braces, then sent her to an orthodontist, who sent her back to the dentist to pull two healthy adult teeth, then back to the ortho for the braces.  At the checkup, he didn't even clean her teeth, and when I asked why he looked surprised.  He said, Do they clean them in America?  And I said, Yes, you're supposed to get them cleaned every 6 months.  He said, Well, do they charge you for it?  He told me children's teeth don't need to be cleaned professionally and the dentists in America only do it to make more money.  Somehow I don't really think he's correct, and now that I see this is the norm here, I will be making appointments for us all to have thorough cleanings on our next trip back!

unrelated- my DH went for a checkup on Saturday at same place as me-different dentist. He asked his dentist how to properly floss 2 of his teeth (they are very close together- hard to floss). The dentist said not to worry about it as flossing isn't that important and you really don't need to do it more than once a week?!
Also the dentist actually told him flossing more than 3-4 times a week is bad for your gums and bleeding when you floss is "normal".

That is crazy!  I remember a poster in my US dentist's office which read "Should I floss my teeth? Only the ones you want to keep!"

We really had to look hard to find a good dentist here and go through our fair share of bad ones.   I wonder why it is this way here?

That is crazy!  I remember a poster in my US dentist's office which read "Should I floss my teeth? Only the ones you want to keep!"

My old dentist in the US used to say the same thing.