NHS dentistry RIP
- Thread starter hifinutt
- Start date
One (additional) complaint I’ve heard from dentists regarding NHS dentistry is that payments don’t keep up with advances in methods and materials. Mixed private/NHS practices had to keep both old and new versions of kit ready to use and to maintain skill levels with both - often when the new kit was simpler and faster to use.
ks.234
Half way to Infinity
No mention of the dangers of sugar. Sweet manufactures sponsoring Labour?
hifinutt
hifinutt
yes for instance pp use this laser light to harden fillings and not sure thats available on nhs . i may be wrong though
hifinutt
hifinutt
When Stephen Davies walks around his Lancashire village of Rawtenstall he says the impact of the NHS dentistry crisis is clear for all to see.
"There are people walking around with no teeth," says the 67-year-old. "I notice it amongst my friends. There's a whole generation of people with no teeth because they can't get a dentist."
He, like many others, has also been unable to access an NHS dentistry and has had to resort to emergency dental treatment to have 10 teeth pulled out. He ended up taking out a loan to pay for four false teeth.
"I've paid my National Insurance all my working life and I can't find a dentist. It's just not fair."
"There are people walking around with no teeth," says the 67-year-old. "I notice it amongst my friends. There's a whole generation of people with no teeth because they can't get a dentist."
He, like many others, has also been unable to access an NHS dentistry and has had to resort to emergency dental treatment to have 10 teeth pulled out. He ended up taking out a loan to pay for four false teeth.
"I've paid my National Insurance all my working life and I can't find a dentist. It's just not fair."
'Where I live, many people don't have teeth'
As the government unveils its NHS dentistry plan, people in England speak about their fight to get seen.
www.bbc.co.uk
tones
Tones deaf
AFAIK it's UV, not laser - ceramic-loaded UV-curing polymer is used. The two go together like peaches and cream, and you can't use one without the other. So, what do NHS dentists use, the old amalgam fillings? Somehow can't imagine it (but of course I don't know).
tones
Tones deaf
A combination of poor dental hygiene and a love of sweets meant that my mother had complete sets of false teeth by the time she was 30. My teeth aren't brilliant (I have some periodontal problems, meaning that I have to go every 6 months), but, at nearly 77, they're still there. That's progress, I guess.
tones
Tones deaf
I think amalgam is relatively stable chemically, but it still contains the noxiously poisonous (on its own) mercury, and I know a few folk who have had their amalgam fillings removed and replaced with the modern stuff. I still have a few amalgam fillings from The Bad Old Days.
hifinutt
hifinutt
reading a superb book about life before the NHS , probably one reason why mum had false teeth
from the book " our mom would wet the threadbare tooth brush , shove it up the chimney to cover it in soot , pull it down , sprinkle salt on it , and then , offering you this blackened instrument , would tell you to clean your teeth .
The taste of this home made concoction was awful and this was supposed to do you good? ..... needless to say the staying power of your teeth after this enamel -removing , gum rotting exercise would turn out to be very short lived, and by the age of thirty me and my siblings had had most of these tortured items removed "
https://www.outstandingmd.co.uk/brummie-kid.html
Mike Reed
pfm Member
Those of mine which are left (which may be >50%) do represent a dental graveyard. Tomb it may refer, my very early fillings from 1958 to about the early nineties were dark grey amalgam; I noticed white being used about 22 years ago. There is more grey filling than the original tooth, but continues to function after a fashion, so that stuff really was A1 !
My dentist has twice supplied me with (a 'scrpt for) extra fluoride toothpaste, Duraphat x 6. Had problems just prior to the pandemic (but may not have been entirely attributed to this) but have now been using it, as directed (hold in the mouth for a while) for over a year and it does seem to protect/strengthen the gnashers. On the last one, so time for a check-up, methinks !
tones
Tones deaf
Not sure about the salt, but I'd imagine that carbon black from soot would make a reasonable mild abrasive. Tooth enamel is very hard and can easily handle the chalk and silica used as abrasives in modern toothpastes - the problem is that gums and dentine can't, and overenthusiastic brushing on my part contributed to my current problems.
Much of the problem concerns the British love of sweets. The other problem is that the dangers of dental plaque weren't realised for a long time (I was in my thirties before I ever encountered dental floss and the necessity for interdental treatment).
ks.234
Half way to Infinity
I seem to remember that there was a time not long ago, when it was fashionable to have all your teeth knocked out as a 21st birthday present and replaced with falsies, because it was cheaper in the long run.
ks.234
Half way to Infinity
ISTR that mediaeval hut dwellers did that with a stick while sat around the fire.
Once hardened in the tooth amalgam is safe enough. AIUI The main danger was during preparation of the filling with the risk being most for the nurse, then the dentist, then the patient.
hifinutt
hifinutt
ah thanks FM . thats helpful . so sad to hear that . unheard of in days gone by