Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryanna
Hi Mr. Outsider,
Thank you for replying to my inquiry and explaining the basics of the system.
May I ask a few questions......
What if a person has a general dentist that they see regularly but they are in need of urgent surgical services that are best provided by an oral surgeon. Can their general dentist make a call to the hospital where the oral surgeons are on staff or even call the oral surgeon directly requesting that their patient be seen as soon as possible?
Do oral surgeons only work out of hospitals or do some actually have private paying practices that a person can go on their own to?
Thank you so much for any help that you can provide.
Bryanna
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I have no direct experience of this but I think that most formal appointments with an oral surgeon on the NHS would be via referral from your dentist to a hospital (although a page on the NHS site says that some standard dental surgeries are beginning to incorporate this treatment).
In the cases of an emergency, I would think this would be dealt with as any other medical emergency, which is as a walk-in at a hospital (specifically one with a dental ward). I don't think a regular dentist could refer you for an emergency appointment, only advise you which hospital to attend A&E.
This is my understanding of how this would be done on the NHS. In terms of private care, I'm certain you can find a private oral surgeon relatively easily and arrange emergency appointments with them directly. Then it just comes down to money, private dental surgery of any kind is anything upwards of four times the cost of the same treatment on the NHS.