I WENT TO SEE MY NEW DENTIST ON 4/4/08.

I had bridge work done to my upper front teeth 10 years ago, due to a accident. The accident caused me to lose my large front teeth, which i was without for over a year until my jaw settled down. I had bridge work to replace my missing teeth all was well again, i could smile, laugh and be my normal self once more.

For the past 4 years I have started to suffer from abscesses constantly,
with no NHS dentists available i suffered in silence. Then a new NHS dentist opened in my home town, "great i would be free from my pain".
On the 04/04/08 i went to see my new dentist, I was told that i need a new bridge, as the one i have is going to fall out at any time. There is nothing my dentist can do for me untill i have £1500-£2000 to pay for my treatment as the NHS will not fund this. I am only 32 years old with abscesses all the time, I now have to watch what i eat e.g. no apples, toffees or hard foods, i also have to be carefull when cleaning around them, so i dont move them too much, as well as suffering still with my abscesses.

I am a Lincolnshire citizen living on benefits, with young children to look after, debts the same as everyone and can not afford to pay for this treatment. I have to suffer untill/if i can come with this amount of money. It may not seem a lot to some of you but to me its a lot, with the amount of children i have there is plenty of other uses for this money .. I really wish the NHS would see my story and help but its not likely .. I'm a young 32 year old women who is going to loose my teeth ... HELP!!!! Is there any funding !!!!

I WENT TO SEE MY NEW DENTIST ON 4/4/08.

I had bridge work done to my upper front teeth 10 years ago, due to a accident. The accident caused me to lose my large front teeth, which i was without for over a year until my jaw settled down. I had bridge work to replace my missing teeth all was well again, i could smile, laugh and be my normal self once more.

For the past 4 years I have started to suffer from abscesses constantly,
with no NHS dentists available i suffered in silence. Then a new NHS dentist opened in my home town, "great i would be free from my pain".
On the 04/04/08 i went to see my new dentist, I was told that i need a new bridge, as the one i have is going to fall out at any time. There is nothing my dentist can do for me untill i have £1500-£2000 to pay for my treatment as the NHS will not fund this. I am only 32 years old with abscesses all the time, I now have to watch what i eat e.g. no apples, toffees or hard foods, i also have to be carefull when cleaning around them, so i dont move them too much, as well as suffering still with my abscesses.

I am a Lincolnshire citizen living on benefits, with young children to look after, debts the same as everyone and can not afford to pay for this treatment. I have to suffer untill/if i can come with this amount of money. It may not seem a lot to some of you but to me its a lot, with the amount of children i have there is plenty of other uses for this money .. I really wish the NHS would see my story and help but its not likely .. I'm a young 32 year old women who is going to loose my teeth ... HELP!!!! Is there any funding !!!!

i am not a dentist ,but have suffered for lot of years now with my teeth
and had many treatments etc paid a lot of money and yet still not sorted
so i know what your going through:(

well from what you have said ,and i think if the dentist was honest with you,it seems to me ,you have a problem with your gums or something not quite right to keep getting abscesses
and if the dentist was a good one ,he wouldnt even suggest putting a new bridge in ,if there was any infection their at all
that what started my problem at the begginning

you will have to get rid of all infections first,and then hopefully the bridge you have now ,hopefully might be ok !!
but ,it seems to me you might have to resort to having a denture there instead
not very nice thought ,but if you dont get rid of your infections it will come to that

but i wouldnt consider and neither should a dentist putting in a new bridge until ,your problem is solved
also if you did have the money for new bridge you would be wasting your money ,as you will find you have more trouble than you had before

i would suggest buying some cordysil mouthwash,for gingivitous,and asking for some anti biotics strong ones
and clean your teeth and use mouthwash every day and rinse mouth after eating
and if after a few weeks ,see how the abcess are if they are gone and your gums are ok
thats the time to consider a new bridge ,but you wont get another bridge on NHS
your only hope for that is if you have a hospital near you that is a school for teaching students
they take on so many patients and do treatment for free
but they only take on so many lets just hope you are successful
but i would try sorting out your abcesses then try the dental hospital
but i would start thinking of having to wear dentures


well good luck

Good advice above, however, the price quoted by the NHS dentist was not the NHS fee. Having worked in Lincs, I know the problem of access to dentists.
Sounds that the bridge is at the end of its life and that dentures are probably the next move.

....I am a Lincolnshire citizen living on benefits, with young children to look after, debts the same as everyone and can not afford to pay for this treatment. I have to suffer untill/if i can come with this amount of money. It may not seem a lot to some of you but to me its a lot, with the amount of children i have there is plenty of other uses for this money .. I really wish the NHS would see my story and help but its not likely .. I'm a young 32 year old women who is going to loose my teeth ... HELP!!!! Is there any funding !!!!

It seems alot to me and I don't have children that need me to support them anymore!

What seems really unfair is that dentists who work for Social and Health Services around the world, are paid alot of money for providing basic dental health care to lower income families.

I recently read about a dentist in Washington State in the US who was being investigated by the state dental board in 2007 for about 20 consumer complaints..most of them involving his alleged rough treatment of children during dental procedures.

This dentist apparently received $l.46 million from the state medicaid program in the year 2006. He saw roughly 10,000 patients a year...many of those from social assistance programs. This works out to 27 patients per day if he worked every day of the week. As I read this article, I thought to myself it sounds like a dental 'factory'...push them through as fast as you can..

What I'm trying to get at here is... what is this dentist doing to at least provide basic dental care to you? Isn't the treatment of abscesses *sp?* considered to be basic dental care? Did he/she at least prescribe some pain meds or antibiotics to start dealing with the abscess pain and discomfort?

I think bergerbaby is right...you need to get the abcesses under control. Do you think your family doctor might be able to help you if you explain the situation to him? Also, could you contact the offices of the NHS and inquire about your problem? If riptoff is right, there seems to be a discrepancy in the price you were quoted...

Here are the NHS dental charges:
Band 1 costs £15.90 & covers : diagnosis, X Rays and a scale & polish
Band 2 costs £43.60 & covers : the above +fillings, root canal treatments, and extractions
Band 3 costs £194 & covers: band 1 & 2 items + crowns, bridges and dentures.
Therefore the most you can pay for a course of NHS treatment is £194, so the fee quoted was private.

Thank you for your replies!

I use mouth wash & brush my teeth after eating anything. The abscesses are caused by nerves that i have sticking out of my gums. My bridge has also crack't a healthy tooth which is making the whole bridge move, this is why my front top teeth shall eventually fall out.
I am going to try to find another dentist for a second opinion, i shall let you know how that goes.

Once again, thank you for your help so far!

Suggest you try to see my mate David Hartoch in Horncastle. Tell him Tony sent you and he might give you an appointment, though he has a full book and may not be able to carry out the treatment.