Advise on dentists?

[chess]

My teeth are making 'we have Issues and wish to register a complaint' noises. They are not yet emergency-level painful but it hurts to chew on one side of my mouth, and I believe it to be something wrong with the molar that I've previously been told have a hairline crack which might develop into something nasty in time.

I am not currently registered with a dentist, and have no idea how to go about doing this (my parents have always previously dealt with this kind of thing).

I do have not inconsiderable quantities of money so private dentistry sounds like a reasonable option, as apparently NHS dentistry is almost impossible to get back into once it lapses.

The last time I'm aware of having any dental records was at the University Dental Clinic. It may also be relevant that I abandoned them while in no fit mental state to deal with anything, missed an appointment, received a letter fining me some money, never did anything about this and never went back. (Getting to them within opening hours has been Very Difficult at all subsequent points, including this one.)

Also, I currently have no bank card because I lost my bank card *again*, which makes actually paying people things a more long-winded process than usual, as I have to transfer the money to Nicholas' bank account and have him get it out of a wall / do the paying.

Some advice would be appreciated.

Comments

[lupie-stardust.livejournal.com]

NHS dentistry is practically non-existant, these days, and I had to pay £16 for seeing the University Dental Service, even though they claim to provide NHS care for students. Hmmm.

They will take you back. However, since you are officially a "lapsed" patient, the waiting list is looonnng. Go back to them - they are not open unreasonable hours. Say that it may be an emergency, but you don't know because you can't see your own teeth. The wait may be shorter, then.

You only need to pay once you've had the appointment. This gives you time to sort your money out.

Hope this helps.

[malal.livejournal.com]

Whenever my teeth start to vaguely complain, I kick "Looking after my teeth" into high gear, and that normally sorts the problem in a few days.

IMHO, take exemplary care of your teeth, while trying to sort out a dentist (since it's likely to take a little bit of time), see how it goes?

[albanach.livejournal.com]

I'd suggest continuing to take care of them afterwards too.

My teeth met a dentist for the first time in many many years when I moved to the US. They have now had $thousands of work done to fix them up, with about $1500-2000 still remaining. Toothpaste, floss and Listerine are much cheaper.

Once you get a dentist, make an appointment to see the hygienist for a cleaning and then get your teeth cleaned every six months.

[malal.livejournal.com]

I'd suggest continuing to take care of them afterwards too.

Well, yeah. But there's a difference between the standard cleaning twice a day, and after every meal, making sure you have a lot of calcium, etc.

However, I do second the regular check ups.

Which reminds me, I haven't had one in a while.

/me wonders off to add it to his to do list.

[nwhyte]

Just don't go near the University Dental Service. They were unpleasant enough in my day, and there is an entire play about them being a front for alien invaders.

[lupie-stardust.livejournal.com]

Oh. :( They were really nice to me.

[rjw76]

it'll surely depend on which dentist/dental nurse/both you get, which isn't really a function of which dental establishment you're at. Ralph's had a really nice dentist there who showed him all the instruments and let him look in his own mouth with the mirror and stuff, which I'm sure you'd... enjoy.

[lupie-stardust.livejournal.com]

*snigger*

[ktx.livejournal.com]

I have had similar trauma. I had bad toothache for about a week, but wasn't allowed see an emergency dentist because I wasn't about to die. I tried to get onto NHS books in Southampton, but there was a 6 month waiting list, I also tried one back home in Brentwood, and got an an appointment straight away. Since you have to pay for NHS dentists anyway, I would say go straight to a private one for a checkup - if they find a million pounds worth of stuff that's wrong with you, it is always possible to find an NHS one at a later date.

[toothycat]

I switched to Cambridge Smile Studio (eugh - when I looked them up, they were Cambridge City Dentists) after I stopped being a student, and have found them very good so far. Last I know, they were taking NHS patients and it didn't take long to get an appointment.
They're at 27 Milton Rd, at the Staples end, and do late appointments on Mondays and possibly another day as well, if work hours are difficult. 01223 312345 is the number.

[bouteillebleu.livejournal.com]

I was registered with Boots Dental back home in Watford, and when they were bought up by Optical Express I moved to them - had an emergency appointment with them just before the 3YGB, and it was quick and helpful and actually cheaper than I thought.

Optical Express Dental is in the Optical Express at the Market Square end of Petty Cury. Unfortunately I'm not sure what their phone number is - internet searches provided me with 2 different ones - but I'd tend to recommend them for private dentist stuff.

For signing up with a dentist, just going to them and saying you want to register there should be enough.

For getting dental records, my Watford dentists have said that the Cambridge ones need to ask them to transfer records. That's between two branches of the same chain, so it might be simpler, but perhaps you could see if that would work for getting records transferred?

[bouteillebleu.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I got an emergency appointment with them - on a weekday, mind you - within 3 hours of booking it. (Came in at 9am, had an appointment for 12:30.) This was on a Friday, and so it's less likely to work for weekends.

I don't think it mattered that I was a patient at another branch for getting the quick appointment, though, just for the expense.

[olithered.livejournal.com]

I can recommend this one (http://www.cambridgeonline.co.uk/listings/12305/) on chesterton road. Last time I looked they were still taking NHS patients, but I expect that they do private work also.

Meanwhile you may need to settle your account with the old place before they will release/transfer your records, but otherwise I would not imagine serious doom.

[janegowar.livejournal.com]

Get in touch with the Cambridge NHS web site - they can refer you on to a dentist who's accepting NHS patients - apparently this isn't as much of a problem now as it was 4 years ago when we first moved here. They should pretty much point you in the right direction - certainly we're with the NHS for our dentist.

Try this site:
http://www.nhs.uk/servicedirectories/Pages/ServiceSearch.aspx