Dentistry - Cant pay - What now?

[brooklyn77]

I have about �800 worth of dental treatment needed on my teeth/mouth including several fillings or re-fillings and also an absess to deal with.
Believe it or not...apart from that I am fit and healthy. Trouble is although I am working full time most of my wages goes on bills and paying of stuff. I am left with not a lot, what I can save each month is minimal. But I fear I will need this work done ASAP. NHS dentists are not that much cheaper than Private Dentists so that does not help much....what can I do? Do I just let my teeth rot? Let the absess become infected? I dont know what to do...cant hospitals do dental treatment without the cost if people cant pay? Is there are dentists that let you pay off bills monthly? I am so desperate for advice..If you dont know the answers, who will? Thanks for your time.

[helliebobs]

Hi brooklyn77 If I were you I would speak to my dentist - i'm pretty sure most will let you pay in installmets, especially when the bill is as high as it is. You ,must have the work done though - you'll be in a lot of pain and discomfort if you don't.

[bracknell]

you need to chat with your dentist. Have a bit done each month that way you pay for what you can afford. One word of advice, get the abcess/infection sorted first - take it from one who has suffered over the years with them.

[Eastender]

Yes a load of Dentist will let you pay off for your treatment, just ask. If they dont find yourself another dentist. Sure it will be fine.

[tigga]

A university dental hospital would do it for free, although i would advise just to go there for straight forward fillings or teeth out, not root canal or anything serious.

[brooklyn77]

Bracknell - Can you tell me a bit more about absess'.
I read that if left, they can seep poison into your bloodstream and possibly kill you eventually.

I have had mine for well over a year. At first it was painfull to touch and seeped.
After about six months it stopped seeping, the lump went down and stopped hurting.

For the most part it is inactive and only once in a while rears its head again, but only briefly before disapperaing again.

I have left it for three reasons: 1) Cant afford the work 2) Hate dentists and dont want my tooth out (if needed) unless I am under. 3) It is not troubling me.

Any info greatly appreciated

[Buenchico]

If you've got a dental training hospital near to you, just give them a ring and you'll be able to get totally free treatment. OK, it'll be the students that will do the work but they're always properly supervised and the standard of treatment will be as good (or even better) than you'll get at many dental surgeries.

The last time I had some work done at Sheffield's Hallamshire hospital, the student who started the work had already taken his finals and (courtesy of a rich Daddy) was going into private practice (probably at extortionately high rates) in a couple of months time. He didn't have time to complete a long job so he handed me over to his supervisor, the Professor of Dentistry, to complete the job. So I got expert attention, totally free, and all with only a 2-hour wait from my initial phone call to the hospital.

Dental hospitals are always looking for patients for their students to practice on. Although it might sound rather daunting to put yourself in the hands of someone who's not yet fully qualified, you'll find that the treatment is just as good as anywhere else.

Chris

[tigga]

Either you were lucky chris, or i was very unlucky, though i did go on a friday evening when i guess they couldnt wait to get out !

[bracknell]

Hi Brooklyn, an abcess is an infection caused by any number of things not cleaning teeth properly/regularly, a bit of food stuck in between teeth can work its way into the gum and off it goes.It is the body's way of saying I have something wrong here and you need to sort it. That's a long time to have an abcess, but it could also be something else like what used to be called pyreia - hope I have spelt that right!!! Hospitals do dental treatment but only on referral from dentists and then it has to be something the dentist does not do at the surgery. What you could try, is I know that some hospitals over the week end ( dependant on where you live ) have an emergancy dental clinic - might be worth pursuing that way for the initial treatement of the infection. You can also look up about abcesses on the NHS Direct site and also on Net Doctor to give you more background. Hope this helps a little.

[jno]

strictly speaking, I think an abscess is an infection already, and might respond to antibiotics. I've had a gum infection for about 15 months. It hurt to the touch at first but now just feels mildly tender. My dentist says it'll probably flare up eventually and he'll treat it then - but it's been much longer than he thought (he was expecting 3 months or so) and I'm starting to wonder if it'll ever need treatment at all. But I've had abscesses that did flare up, and they hurt, and needed quick treatment. So if you find a dentist, ask the prognosis; it might not be all bad.

Incidentally, my dentist also says prices (NHS) will be going up in April. Don't know if anyone else can confirm this.

[brooklyn77]

I am so fed up with Dentistry.

Why on earth is dentistry not on the NHS FULL STOP !
I mean, you can get plastic surgery, Fertility treatment, fat reduction rubbish (for vanity purposes) and more, yet none of that is health driven or an illness yet everyone pays for these people through Taxes!

Why cant my taxes pay for my own dental treatment !
Besides everyone knows now that there is not much difference between the So called NHS prices and private prices..its scandalous and I dont see my people are not up in arms about it.

Your taxes pay for people to make themselves look better in many cases, your taxes pay for people to receive services that are not illness related, your taxes even pay for illegal immigrants to get treatment before you do, yet get a tooth problem and the NHS dont want to know, scandalous, and I will say it again SCANDALOUS !