F in Dentists..
Discussion
Why is it they think it acceptable to keep you waiting around for atleast 30 mins after your appointment was supposed to be, but if your 5 mins late for the appointment ( ok for the 3rd time in a couple of years) they take you off their list... I mean its not like Im in pain, having had to wait 3 weeks whilst he's on fecking holiday for a filling that it took him 3 checkups to diagnose !!!! looks like im off to b&q for some polyfilla to do the job myself...
Because you either have taken the morning or afternoon off or are not working at all that day whilst he/she is working their arse off nose to the grindstone.
With a full day of programmed patients plus emergencies to squeeze between these, 5 or 10 minutes can be the difference between just scraping through the day or completely throwing the whole appointment book out of whack. The job is stressfull enough as it is without having extra spanners thrown in the works.
With a full day of programmed patients plus emergencies to squeeze between these, 5 or 10 minutes can be the difference between just scraping through the day or completely throwing the whole appointment book out of whack. The job is stressfull enough as it is without having extra spanners thrown in the works.
Nope I have to try and fit in his appointment ( that is 3-4 week in the future) round my own schedule that changes daily.. and move things long enough for my appointment that seems to be at their convenience not mine... I too have to schedule my day around others but dont feel the need to get arsey if they cant make it for what ever reason, and also I dont continually keep people hanging about when they come to see me at a specified time !!
Graham said:
Nope I have to try and fit in his appointment ( that is 3-4 week in the future) round my own schedule that changes daily.. and move things long enough for my appointment that seems to be at their convenience not mine... I too have to schedule my day around others but dont feel the need to get arsey if they cant make it for what ever reason, and also I dont continually keep people hanging about when they come to see me at a specified time !!
I don't think I'm going to be able to make you understand 
The fact of the matter is that he is providing you with a service and he has plenty of other people he is trying to do the same with. Imagine if everyone was 5 or 10 minutes late in the same day.
With dentistry you can't just put down your tools and go and do something else. Things can easily get complicated in a second and this makes you over-run thus making you late for tyhe next patient.
If you're running late with a bit of paperwork you can push this aside for 10 minutes to see a client.
Dentists' clients are their paperwork and when you're up to your eyeballs in blood in a sterile environment you can't just take your gloves off, tell the patient you'll be back in half an hour and pop into the next room to see someone.
We are Dental Surgeons. Think of any other surgeon in a hospital, cardiac etc for example, if that helps.
Driller, don't get wound up... the general public will never understand what actually goes on in a dental practice.
Always remember... We are the ones who inconvenience them, charge too much, hurt them, rip them off and get off on the stress and pressures of sorting out their filthy mouths.
Always remember... We are the ones who inconvenience them, charge too much, hurt them, rip them off and get off on the stress and pressures of sorting out their filthy mouths.
I do understand what goes on in business, but it needs a bit of give and take in both directions.. If your going to take the piss and overbook yourself, so you can never make a single appointment on time then fair enough if you dont get arsey with others when they run a bit late as well... If I always got seen on time then fair enough.. but when i turn up 15 mins early and you dont see me for another 45 mins the least you can do is understand when someone else might be running a bit late, Heck it might have been your system I was trying to get running !! :-)
I don't like my dentist. Every time I go , I seem to need something doing even though I am never aware of any problems prior to going.
It always hurts a bit and I get robbed on the way out afterwards.
And he drives a new RS6 and as he knows I am a bit of a petrolheads, likes to talk about the ( various ) new model cars he invariably has on order.
Last time I had to listen to the tortured story of how he has put his name down for an R8 V10 convertible ( he's trading in his old Gallardo you know ) . And my mouth was full, so I could'nt tell him to shut the f
k up... 
I offer this pointless ramble merely because it makes me feel better.
Thanks for your indulgence.
It always hurts a bit and I get robbed on the way out afterwards.
And he drives a new RS6 and as he knows I am a bit of a petrolheads, likes to talk about the ( various ) new model cars he invariably has on order.
Last time I had to listen to the tortured story of how he has put his name down for an R8 V10 convertible ( he's trading in his old Gallardo you know ) . And my mouth was full, so I could'nt tell him to shut the f
k up... I offer this pointless ramble merely because it makes me feel better.
Thanks for your indulgence.
Christiaan said:
Driller, don't get wound up... the general public will never understand what actually goes on in a dental practice.
Always remember... We are the ones who inconvenience them, charge too much, hurt them, rip them off and get off on the stress and pressures of sorting out their filthy mouths.
Thank you for clearing that up - duly noted..........you don't see many dentists on the bones of their arse though do you?Always remember... We are the ones who inconvenience them, charge too much, hurt them, rip them off and get off on the stress and pressures of sorting out their filthy mouths.
Are you fully qualified as a dentist or are you still at Uni?
Just so you know & to avoid the distinct possiblitly of a forum 'dentist v patient' war.........one of my best friends is a dental surgeon.
Quick silver said:
Christiaan said:
Driller, don't get wound up... the general public will never understand what actually goes on in a dental practice.
Always remember... We are the ones who inconvenience them, charge too much, hurt them, rip them off and get off on the stress and pressures of sorting out their filthy mouths.
Thank you for clearing that up - duly noted..........you don't see many dentists on the bones of their arse though do you?Always remember... We are the ones who inconvenience them, charge too much, hurt them, rip them off and get off on the stress and pressures of sorting out their filthy mouths.
Are you fully qualified as a dentist or are you still at Uni?
Just so you know & to avoid the distinct possiblitly of a forum 'dentist v patient' war.........one of my best friends is a dental surgeon.
I also have several friends who are dentists, but that is mainly because I am one, and no, I am not a student.
ETA: If one of your best friends is a dentist then why did you feel it necessary to ask PH about the "crown" incident when you were very quick to be blaming the "Dodgy Dentist" who filled a crown 20 years ago! Surely your time would be better spent giving him a quick call before shooting your mouth off.
Edited by Christiaan on Tuesday 25th August 14:50
Christiaan said:
Why should we be "on the bones of our arses"? We train long and hard to do a job which is technically difficult and the public at large think of as generally unpleasant.
Oh come on.....I didn't say that you SHOULD be on the bones of your arse did I?........besides which, you knew what the job entailed before you started so why complain about the unpleasantries?Christiaan said:
ETA: If one of your best friends is a dentist then why did you feel it necessary to ask PH about the "crown" incident when you were very quick to be blaming the "Dodgy Dentist" who filled a crown 20 years ago! Surely your time would be better spent giving him a quick call before shooting your mouth off.
If he was in the country at the time I can assure you that I would have, but he's an Iranian & often visits Iran with his Iranian wife........besides which, I was asking the question as to 'whether or not' I had been ripped off.........shame you have to continually twist things around - don't you think?2 comments about Dentists:
1. You couldn't pay me enough to look into the mouths of the public day in, day out! Fair play to them.
2. A little more explanation and transparency wouldn't go amiss. Coming out of a routine check-up with no pain but a booking for £500 of work requires a little more than "to avoid future problems", IMO.
Is there such a thing as a little LCD TV linked to a fibre optic pen type tool so the dentist can actually show us what the problem is/could be? That would be a great idea and would certainly make me feel better about handing over my petrol/beer money every 6 months!
1. You couldn't pay me enough to look into the mouths of the public day in, day out! Fair play to them.
2. A little more explanation and transparency wouldn't go amiss. Coming out of a routine check-up with no pain but a booking for £500 of work requires a little more than "to avoid future problems", IMO.
Is there such a thing as a little LCD TV linked to a fibre optic pen type tool so the dentist can actually show us what the problem is/could be? That would be a great idea and would certainly make me feel better about handing over my petrol/beer money every 6 months!
Maxf said:
Is there such a thing as a little LCD TV linked to a fibre optic pen type tool so the dentist can actually show us what the problem is/could be? That would be a great idea and would certainly make me feel better about handing over my petrol/beer money every 6 months!
Yes there is. They have been around for years.Intra-oral cameras are an invaluable asset for any dentist.
Every treatment room at my practice has them and very few patients leave my room without seeing a couple of pictures of their teeth relating to the issues I may have raised with them.
Quick silver said:
Christiaan said:
Why should we be "on the bones of our arses"? We train long and hard to do a job which is technically difficult and THE PUBLIC AT LARGE THINK OF AS GENERALLY UNPLEASANT
Oh come on.....I didn't say that you SHOULD be on the bones of your arse did I?........besides which, you knew what the job entailed before you started so why complain about the unpleasantries?Its a shame dentists get such a bad rep....I had a brilliant dentist a while back, he used plastic tools after I explained that I hated metal objects in my mouth, and explained every procedure before I even openend my mouth.
Roll on five years (and numerous graduate interns) and I get some muppet that decided to give me a major filling without even looking at the tooth in question.
And that hurt, and I mean fooking hurt. The dentist in question even laughed at her assistant saying I was a wuss for not putting up with the pain.
I've not been back there since, and I wont be going to an NHS dentist again.
Roll on five years (and numerous graduate interns) and I get some muppet that decided to give me a major filling without even looking at the tooth in question.
And that hurt, and I mean fooking hurt. The dentist in question even laughed at her assistant saying I was a wuss for not putting up with the pain.
I've not been back there since, and I wont be going to an NHS dentist again.
I have to admit I sometimes run late.
I have no choice, due to the amount of peeps who just don't show up (NHS surgery in a sthole). Everyone gets a 15 minute slot, no matter if its a check up, filling, root canal, crown prep etc.
If I booked say a 45 minutes for a crown which is more realistic then say 2 people don't show up for a crown prep back-to-back, thats 1.5hrs me and all the staff are sitting there on our arses, with me not getting paid.
Or say you get two families of 6 who don't show, nightmare.
Or say what looks like a simple 10 minute extraction turns into a 45 minute surgical. What can I do? What do you think would happen if I downed tools and told him that "yes I know the tooth is now wobbly and your gum is hanging off but you have to go home and come back tomorrow because Mr X is going to be late for his meeting. The next person has to wait the extra 30 mins.
On the other hand I am VERY understanding of lateness, people turning up 2 hours late, yeah we'll usually see you no probs. Patients just turning up clutching their jaw in pain, yeah have a seat, you might have to wait but we'll try and sort it.
Some people still take the mick, bloke turned up at closing saying he had tooth ache and wanted to be seen as it was an 'emergency':
"when did it start?"
"2 days ago"
"why didn't you call this morning?"
"I was busy"
Then got arsey when I pointed out that it obviously wasn't an emergency if he couldn't be bothered to call earlier. You know what it turned out to be? A bit of sensitivity!
I have no choice, due to the amount of peeps who just don't show up (NHS surgery in a s
thole). Everyone gets a 15 minute slot, no matter if its a check up, filling, root canal, crown prep etc. If I booked say a 45 minutes for a crown which is more realistic then say 2 people don't show up for a crown prep back-to-back, thats 1.5hrs me and all the staff are sitting there on our arses, with me not getting paid.
Or say you get two families of 6 who don't show, nightmare.
Or say what looks like a simple 10 minute extraction turns into a 45 minute surgical. What can I do? What do you think would happen if I downed tools and told him that "yes I know the tooth is now wobbly and your gum is hanging off but you have to go home and come back tomorrow because Mr X is going to be late for his meeting. The next person has to wait the extra 30 mins.
On the other hand I am VERY understanding of lateness, people turning up 2 hours late, yeah we'll usually see you no probs. Patients just turning up clutching their jaw in pain, yeah have a seat, you might have to wait but we'll try and sort it.
Some people still take the mick, bloke turned up at closing saying he had tooth ache and wanted to be seen as it was an 'emergency':
"when did it start?"
"2 days ago"
"why didn't you call this morning?"
"I was busy"
Then got arsey when I pointed out that it obviously wasn't an emergency if he couldn't be bothered to call earlier. You know what it turned out to be? A bit of sensitivity!
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