Anyone tried to get dental treatment while this lots is going on?

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Dave7

Legendary Member
Location
Cheshire
The old farts retired persons are aware of my recent problem so bare with me, there is a reason for this post.
I have (or had) a crown on a molar. a couple of weeks ago, while eating, there was an ominous crack accompanied by sudden pain. It seemed that the crown had come loose. I tried to remove it, thinking I could cement it back, but it refused to come away. It seemed to be hanging on to my gum. I couldn't chew anything at all and was living on porridge and rice pudding etc.
Anyway the point is that it was impossible to get help. All dentists are closed. I tried all private and BUPA offering to pay but they explained they are not offering ANY treatment full stop. All they would offer is telephone consultation and pass a pain killer type prescription through the letter box.
Eventually I was passed to the one emergency dentist in the town. Everything had to be done online via set forms.......it was not possible to speak to anyone.
In a nutshell they offered that (only if I was in extreme pain) they would extract the tooth. Absolutely no chance of any other treatment.

Anyway the point of this post.
Someone I know was really irate over this, stating the reason being that dentists earning eg £100K per year have gone on furlough at 80% while hospital workers and shop workers etc are expected to keep working. I can see both sides but admit they have a point.............If they were willing to extract it why couldn't they just remove & replace the crown and get me out of my pain?
Eventually the tooth just broke off at the gum leaving a jagged root sticking through but fortunately no pain. I am keeping it as clean as possible until this lock down is over and hoping for the best.
 

Shut Up Legs

Down Under Member
Ouch, I can empathise with that. :sad: Last year, 2 of my rear molars deteriorated to the point where nerves were exposed, and the pain was pretty nasty. I had a few sleepless nights, because as soon as I lay down the pain would get 10 times worse, and so sleep was impossible. So I got a dentist to remove both problem teeth. I'd hate to think of that occurring right now.
 

alicat

Legendary Member
Location
Staffs
Sorry to hear about your troubles.

I had a couple of visits to the dentist just before the lockdown. He seemed to have aged about 10 years between the two visits about a fortnight apart. He said that the Chief Dental Officer was not giving useful advice about the danger of aerosol droplets and he felt unsupported. It was also clear that he and his staff did not have the appropriate PPE e.g a visor shield.

There's a cap on furlough payments of £2,500 a month so I doubt it's an option most dentists are choosing with glee. I suspect most of them would rather be keeping their skills up to date and keeping people out of pain.

And it does sound like your tooth probably can't be saved. Hope I'm wrong but i suspect it will have to come out anyway.
 
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newfhouse

Resolutely on topic
I feel your pain, but just as a point of order, they won’t have been furloughed at 80% of £100k as there is a £30k earnings cap. I also think there is little equivalence between the personal risks of working in retail and being up close and personal in someone’s mouth. Other health workers have to work, of course, but have been concentrating on life threatening conditions.

I hope you can get it sorted out soon.
 

Slick

Guru
Dental pain is up there with any of them when it comes to my ability to live with, so whilst it's not ideal, I think most people would choose to have it removed if that was the only option. Pain killers have rarely worked for me and certainly never for dental problems.

I really do hope you get it sorted soon as I don't think dentists will be opening up any time soon.
 

Beebo

Firm and Fruity
Location
Hexleybeef
Similarly I’ve had terrible lower back pain and sciatica which flared up a few weeks ago. It was impossible to get anyone to see me.

There must be loads of people needing dentists, physios and chiropodists etc. But it’s nothing compared to the people who have had cancer treatments and other life threatening work cancelled.
 

Levo-Lon

Guru
Ours are all closed, not that you can see a dentist when their open.
Dr's surgery closed too.

Wife is having problems with her meds and wants a blood test..sorry we can't atm.
All the clinics are closed.

Yet wearing a mask makes you safe:laugh:..
 

NorthernDave

Never used Über Member
There were a couple of dentists on BBC Breakfast yesterday. The message appears to be that they want to work, with appropriate precautions, but are forbidden from doing so by the government.

It's a specific interest to me as I've got a problem tooth that has a "watch" on it . I had a check up in January and was advised to go back in April rather than wait the usual 6 months. Obviously that was cancelled and I've been provisionally rebooked for mid-June, although it's anyone's guess if that will happen.
At the moment it's tolerable, but it is a worry what will happen if it gets any worse.

Realistically, something will have to be done at a national level as this can't go on.
 

welsh dragon

Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
I can see both sides. Toothache is the worst thing. It is agonising and you just want something, anything done to stop it.

On the other hand if a dentist fills A tooth then you have lots of particles flying through the air due to the drill and this makes it very hazardous for a dentist.

They have families as well and don't want to put themselves at that kind of risk.

Maybe this problem along with others will be topics will be brought to the fore
to see if solutions to problems like this can be solved in case god forbid another situation arises.
 

welsh dragon

Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
Ours are all closed, not that you can see a dentist when their open.
Dr's surgery closed too.

Wife is having problems with her meds and wants a blood test..sorry we can't atm.
All the clinics are closed.

Yet wearing a mask makes you safe:laugh:..


Wearing a mask does not make you safe. It may help to keep someone else safe from you if you have Covid19.
 

steveindenmark

Legendary Member
My dentist cold called me this week to arrange an appointment. Thats a new one. The receptionist also said an extra £17 would be added to the checkup fee to pay for the protective equipment they would have to wear.

I will not put my reply in print 😁
 

Smudge

Veteran
Location
Somerset
Toothache is the worst, i've had times where i've been close to pulling out a tooth myself. I now only have a few teeth left, so the possibility of me needing pain relief dental treatment in the near future are lessened somewhat.
But a crack has developed in my top denture, i'm hoping it holds out as i have no idea if could get it repaired atm. Super glue might be an option. Could be looking at a baby food diet.
 
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Dave7

Dave7

Legendary Member
Location
Cheshire
Sorry to hear about your troubles.

I had a couple of visits to the dentist just before the lockdown. He seemed to have aged about 10 years between the two visits about a fortnight apart. He said that the Chief Dental Officer was not giving useful advice about the danger of aerosol droplets and he felt unsupported. It was also clear that he and his staff did not have the appropriate PPE e.g a visor shield.

There's a cap on furlough payments of £2,500 a month so I doubt it's an option most dentists are choosing with glee. I suspect most of them would rather be keeping their skills up to date and keeping people out of pain.

And it does sound like your tooth probably can't be saved. Hope I'm wrong but i suspect it will have to come out anyway.
Excellent points.
I agree that it will have to come out. I am a dental coward and struggle to relax with any extraction. This one will be unpleasant as there is only the jagged bit to grip so I imagine they will have to cut the gum. OHH yippee :sad:
 
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Dave7

Dave7

Legendary Member
Location
Cheshire
I feel your pain, but just as a point of order, they won’t have been furloughed at 80% of £100k as there is a £30k earnings cap. I also think there is little equivalence between the personal risks of working in retail and being up close and personal in someone’s mouth. Other health workers have to work, of course, but have been concentrating on life threatening conditions.

I hope you can get it sorted out soon.
Very true and I agree.
As I said, I have mixed feelings (as it's my pain😄) and they weren't my comments. I certainly would not like to working on/in somebodies gob with this lot going on.
 
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