My NHS dentist who happens to be female, is every bit as good a dentist as the dentist I had in the US - except that my US dentist looked like he could have been a male underwear model (he was ridiculously handsome & fit), charged the bomb & accordingly made enough money to attend every major tennis tournament held anywhere in the world.
The practice I go to is -- I don't know if this is the right term -- a 'split' practice, in that they do both NHS & private dentistry. So if I need any reparative work doing (a filling, crown, etc), I have the choice of getting the NHS standard or 'going private' - so for instance, I have opted for a white filling and a white crown previously rather than the standard NHS metal materials. Also, you can pay privately to see a hygienist for a more involved cleaning & scaling than what you might receive during the standard NHS appointment.
I'm quite happy with my dentist & the practice is spotlessly clean etc - you couldn't fault it.
Perhaps, rubydamselfly, you could find a similar practice? Don't be afraid.
