Dentists - when will they start seeing patients again?

[anonymous-user]

This has suddenly become an issue for me as part of a filling has broken, apparently as I am not screaming in agony I have no chance of any treatment.

So I was wondering if anyone had a view on when they think dentists will generally be available again, I can see this being a really difficult situation as many treatments are aerosol generating which is a big concern.

Thanks.

[Frank7]

I had a check up scheduled for May 20, and the dentist receptionist called me to say that in the light of this recent unpleasantness, it was being cancelled.
They’ll give me another date eventually, but if I have any kind of dental emergency before that, just call and I’ll be seen as soon as humanly possible.

[monkfish1]

Just go to A&E. Not much happening there.

[Riley Blue]

I lost part of a filling over a month ago, nothing too serious and or painful so I thought I'd wait until my next appointment in early June. Yesterday I had a text from my dentist advising that my appointment on June 8th has be postponed to December 7th so I may have to resort to D-I-Y.

Amazon has tooth filler kits, how difficult can it be?

[paulguitar]

monkfish1 said:

Just go to A&E. Not much happening there.

Do they do fillings at A&E?

[Dolf Stoppard]

monkfish1 said:

Just go to A&E. Not much happening there.

Given that he's not had an accident and it's not an emergency then going to A&E is clearly the wrong thing to do. He'd therefore be turned away - and quite rightly so.

Fingers crossed Covid-19 will lead to some sort of review of A&E where people finally understand it's not a replacement for GPs (or dentists).

[anonymous-user]

I have absolutely no intention of turning up at A&E as this is the wrong thing to do irrespective of them being busy or not.

I got in touch with my dentist and have taken their advice, not much else to do under the current circumstances but I think I stand a better chance of being allowed back to the office before I am able to see my dentist.

[tim0409]

I started a thread last week after suffering from an abscess; I spoke to my dentist again today after the antibiotics they prescribed on Monday didn't work, and he prescribed a different type. My only other option is a referral to a dental hub set up to deal with dental emergencies during CV - apparently the only treatment option offered there is extraction, which would be rubbish for me as I really need to keep it so it can be used as part of a cantilever bridge (after root canal, which I was meant to get last month).

I asked the dentist when they thought they would be able to see patients again and was told this depended on 1) The government allowing them to open, and 2) them receiving the correct protective equipment and even then some treatments may be restricted.

[rich888]

Riley Blue said:

I lost part of a filling over a month ago, nothing too serious and or painful so I thought I'd wait until my next appointment in early June. Yesterday I had a text from my dentist advising that my appointment on June 8th has be postponed to December 7th so I may have to resort to D-I-Y.

Amazon has tooth filler kits, how difficult can it be?

Any recommendations for which tooth filler kit to use, my young lad has started screaming the house down with occasional toothache and apparently the dentist isn't seeing anyone for dental work. According to the receptionist the choice is put up with the pain or go to A&E where they will extract the tooth - what a choice!

Can imagine there will be huge problems if this lock-down drags on into the autumn if folks can't go to the dentist to sort out toothache or other emergency treatments. Not good at all.

[CrgT16]

NHS ones are grounded until CDO let’s them work. Private can work but with revised protocols/capacity. Initially probably to take care of their emergencies. We are looking to start on the 1st June. The whole situation has been badly managed and beggars belief.

[HelenT]

CrgT16 said:

NHS ones are grounded until CDO let’s them work. Private can work but with revised protocols/capacity. Initially probably to take care of their emergencies. We are looking to start on the 1st June. The whole situation has been badly managed and beggars belief.

I'm an Optometrist and in a very similar situation although we are "lucky" enough to be able to deal with emergency situations, I hate to think what we are going to have to deal with when some form of normality returns. Having spoken to Dentists, Vets and Optometrists in recent weeks we all seem to have been let down by our professional bodies.

[rich888]

BTW, if you are suffering from toothache I can highly recommend Orajel for temporary relief which is sold in most supermarkets and worked a treat on me when one of my fillings fell out on a Friday, so spent all weekend in agony, luckily this was many years ago so was able to sort it out the following week with the dentist.

[cheeky_chops]

rich888 said:

Any recommendations for which tooth filler kit to use, my young lad has started screaming the house down with occasional toothache and apparently the dentist isn't seeing anyone for dental work. According to the receptionist the choice is put up with the pain or go to A&E where they will extract the tooth - what a choice!

Can imagine there will be huge problems if this lock-down drags on into the autumn if folks can't go to the dentist to sort out toothache or other emergency treatments. Not good at all.

Feel for you and your son. The choice between pain or extraction isnt a choice in this day and age.

Wife is a private dentist, the practice owner (private only) plans to open early June, see as many patients as he can before getting associates (3 or 4) in, so add onto that the 6 nurses covering decon/patients/receptions they all wont be back for a while, expecting possible redundancies. Add on to that yesterdays Welsh CDO guidance and it look even worse - aerosol is off until October!!! I said what do you do then? "use a excavator... like a little spade to dig the soft ste out. Then temporary dressing" So patients are going to have to pay twice - once for a temp and then for the perm. They are also considering a percentage "PPE" charge to client as its gone from £'s to £20+. A box of cheap masks has gone from £5 to £25, add on face guards, decon, gowns. There is also talk of surgery downtime to allow the aerosol to clear between patients - so you only see half your patients each day.

It doesnt have to be like this - being a restorative dentist she used a rubber dams for years (similar to a big tent in mouth exposing only tooth to be treated), these supposedly cut down a huge amount of the aerosol spread (iirc evidence shows >90%?) They have stocked up on these as possible becoming a mandatory PPE requirement.

I know alot of industries are in turmoil but from having an inside track it does seem to have been terribly managed. The CDO/CQC and NHS/private legal differences have just reenforced that IMO

[bad company]

rich888 said:

Any recommendations for which tooth filler kit to use, my young lad has started screaming the house down with occasional toothache and apparently the dentist isn't seeing anyone for dental work. According to the receptionist the choice is put up with the pain or go to A&E where they will extract the tooth - what a choice!

Can imagine there will be huge problems if this lock-down drags on into the autumn if folks can't go to the dentist to sort out toothache or other emergency treatments. Not good at all.

I understand that there’s hubs around the country doing emergency dental work. I’d say your son’s is an emergency situation. Your dentists should be able to tell you where the nearest one is.

[Frank7]

Last week, I emailed the dentist in Portugal who did my wife’s series of implants quite a few years back, her niece is considering implants, and would gather not pay the mega bucks that dentists ask for here, if and when they reopen.
After the initial “ Hi Cris, staying safe?”, I told him my reason for contacting him, asking when did he he think that he’d be open for business again.
His wife replied later that day, she said that they were open now, and Cris was just going in to see a patient when my email arrived.
She said, “Ask your niece to email us, saying which dates she’d like to fly over, and Cris will make time to see her for you, anytime.”

[mickyh7]

I lost a filling a couple of months ago.
My Dentist, who couldn't see me, recommended an Emergency Filling Kit.
Which was absolutely useless.
Stayed in overnight, didn't harden properly. Then just disappeared! I'm guessing I ingested it.
Its very sensitive to temperature, but fortunately not actually Toothache yet.
I'm actually looking forward to visiting my Dentist.
Never thought I would say that.

[hairy vx220]

I had me last check-up the day before lockdown started. At the time he said to call him if I had any problems. May be worth a call to yours?

[omniflow]

I had a crown come off just before Easter - turns out it was a filling that had come unstuck - the crown was still stuck to the filling.

I bought a tiny tube of dental cement from the local chemist (after phoning the dentist for advice - I had no idea you could actually buy this stuff). Cleaned everything as best I could, put the glue on and pushed it back into place. It's still there. It probably helps that the tooth was root filled about 20 years ago - no chance of pain.

I think if I'd had to survive from Easter until now with that crown / filling missing I would have died from blood loss due to a lacerated tongue - well, maybe not, but it wouldn't have been pleasant.

[Driver101]

The temporary filling kit I tried was useless as well. It does say on the label to see a dentist within 2 days.

Orajel can be bought from Tesco. It's very effective for short-term pain relief. There's also an extra strong version, but the normal version was strong enough.

[paulguitar]

Frank7 said:

Last week, I emailed the dentist in Portugal who did my wife’s series of implants quite a few years back, her niece is considering implants, and would gather not pay the mega bucks that dentists ask for here, if and when they reopen.
After the initial “ Hi Cris, staying safe?”, I told him my reason for contacting him, asking when did he he think that he’d be open for business again.
His wife replied later that day, she said that they were open now, and Cris was just going in to see a patient when my email arrived.
She said, “Ask your niece to email us, saying which dates she’d like to fly over, and Cris will make time to see her for you, anytime.”

Do you remember how much the dental implants cost in Portugal, Frank?