[ot] dental fillings

[Dave Plowman (News)]

On the couple of times I had 'gas' for a tooth extraction as a kid, there was also an anaesthetist present.

[DerekG]

A cyst can grow to the size of a hen's egg destroying a lot of bone with the ever present possibility of a pathological fracture of the jaw (nice !).

Once the pulp has died they don't hurt if they drain !

God is not mocked, sooner later the drainage gets closed off

*Then* ...

DerekG

[Peter Crosland]

I am not a dentist and am an NHS dental patient

The NHS charges are here

The band one charge includes x-rays so they are not the money spinners you seem to think.

It is certainly good dental practice to do x-rays from time to time. Since the new dentist has no access to your old records he needs to start from scratch and it is prudent for him to make a full examination so he knows what he is dealing with.

If decide to have the work dome privately then you have to pay the full cost not just for the extra cost of the filling materil.

[<me9]

I've had several teeth extracted lately (very mobile with deep pockets, a family trait) and about 25% have had abscesses that haven't pained me in the run up to the extraction. Most had given me trouble in years gone by but I assume the nerves had been damaged by the abscess.

I'm at the stage now that with one more extraction I will find dentures a necessity. I'll put up with the cosmetic aspect until then. I only wear my current ones on special occasions or overnight to stop my teeth wandering. By lunchtime they need removing! Next extraction I'll get a new set (upper and lower rather than just upper) which should be more managable.

I wish I'd had a better dentist 30 years ago!

[Fred]

I didn't mean money spinner as in getting money from the public, I meant getting money from the NHS. That list shows what the public pay the dentist for each activity; it doesn't show what the NHS pays the surgery for the same work.

Some time ago I read an article that suggested that a scale and polish did not do much for mouth hygiene and that they were only being offered to generate income, so I was thinking along these lines.

I am not a dentist, so I do not know what/if the NHS pays for these so they may not be money spinners, I was just suggesting they could be.

I was an old school "only go if the tooth is black or it hurts"; it seems that I need to enter the 21st century, so I will follow the consensus and book the fillings. Thanks.

[Tim Streater]

You should do the scale and polish twice yearly. The plaque irritates the gums and makes them more susceptible to infection.

[Huge]

No chance. I'd rather take my chance with the plaque than pay to be waterboarded.

[sm_jamieson]

When the dentist's NHS contracts changed, I stopped needing a full scale and polish for some reason ... Simon.