Root of the Problem: Dentists in the UK
Did you feel a slight twinge in one of your upper molars at breakfast this morning? Are some of your teeth a little sensitive to cold beer or hot coffee? If yes,then you probably need to visit a dentist. Many of us don’t really like the idea so we put it off as long as possible – often until we start getting a toothache. Where to go for treatment? According to a recent (November 2007) London Assembly Report,the capital has 3,841 dentists on NHS (National Health Service) contracts – more than anywhere else in the UK. Only 51% of Londoners,though,actually use them. 3.5% ( 205,000) say they have never been to the dentist and 17% (one million) not during the past two years.
The main reason (apart from phobia) is that they have to wait a long time to get an appointment as a NHS patient. If they are prepared to pay,however,they will be attended almost immediately. Under a new Government scheme introduced in 2006, NHS dentists can earn up to £60,000 a year but may see 40-50 patients a day. If they go private,they can make double that money for far less work. The inevitable result has been a serious shortage of NHS dentists throughout Britain. When a new one does open up there are long queues of prospective patients waiting to register . Even the Health Minister conceded last year that the situation is bad. Apparently,6% of people are now resorting to ‘self-treatment’ – pulling out their own teeth. One extracted 14 by using plyers. Others have stuck crowns back on with super-glue,which is only a temporary solution as water eventually washes them out.
The alternative is to compare prices and go for the best deal. Dental fees in London vary from about £60 – £75 for an initial check-up(including x-rays) and £50-£95 for fillings depending on whether they are ‘white’ or ‘silver’. One place charges up to £150 for fillings and £475 for crowns. These costs explain why so many people don’t bother unless they are really desperate. This doesn’t include the Prime Minister who despite being supposedly committed to improving NHS provision goes to a private dentist for £100 per hour. An investigation by ‘The Observer’ newspaper concluded that British dentists were making an extra £200 million by (for example) putting in unnecessary fillings Four-fifths of crowns didn’t fit properly,were made of inferior material,were likely to eventually break off and even poison the patient. In 10,000 cases,bits of the drill were left in the tooth.
Understandably,people began to look for other options. One councillor in the Isle of Wight organised a ‘tooth ferry’ to Cherbourg in France. These days,’Tooth Holidays’ are not at all unusual. Being looked after in Budapest (Hungary) for £2000 ( flight and accommodation included) is a more attractive proposition for many than spending double on a specialist in Britain. France also has its problems: ‘Le Figaro’ has reported that 1 million French citizens don’t brush their teeth and 57% of French children under five have never done so. The Gendarmes once arrested 23 Syrian ‘suitcase dentists’ travelling around the country with battery-operated drills, offering cheap on-the-spot treatment in cafes & shops. That (as far as is known) hasn’t happened here. Yet.