I discovered today that I have a big split in my upper right wisdom tooth. When we moved to Whiteley, we looked at dentists in the area, and most of them were private. We nearly registered, but then we didn’t because it was too expensive. Now I pretty much have to go – if the tooth splits much more I’m going to be in agony.
I’ll have to go further afield to find a dentist, and it still isn’t going to be free. Last time I had a tooth pulled it cost about £100 on the NHS. That’s not a pretty sum. I also had a quick Google and found this Daily Express article. Clearly, NHS dentistry in the UK is abysmal. Why can’t it be free like medical services? I pay income tax and National Insurance – so what makes teeth so special? No wonder most people allow their teeth to rot away – they’d rather have that then pay the stupid NHS prices.
Perhaps we should start getting dental insurance…?
March 15th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
I think it’s a combination of greed and a lack of incentive for dentists to be NHS-based. I find it quite annoying because where I used to live, all the dentists went private and I just couldn’t afford the £95 a year tariff, plus like £50 a pop just to go and sit in the chair and have them count my teeth. We recently managed to get back on an NHS dentist, but they were private and took on NHS patients. I had some treatment, and it was pretty good, but because they don’t make as much money from NHS patients, the guy has a habit of cancelling my appointments on the day if something more lucrative comes up. I really need to go, though – I drink too much fruit juice and it’s put me in need of a root canal :/
March 15th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Dude, if you need general anesthetic, it could be covered on your health insurance…