Hello,

Currently and from time to time, we have some people on this forum who live in the UK that undoubtedly have difficulty obtaining emergency dental care from an oral surgeon. Can anyone who lives in the UK or is familiar with the healthcare (dental in particular) system in the UK offer some suggestions or helpful information about getting emergency dental care?

I live in the US and although it can be a bit nerve racking getting in to see an oral surgeon on an emergency basis, it can be done with a bit of assertiveness and always with a referral from a general dentist.

I realize the healthcare systems are different between the US and the UK. So any help that anyone familiar with the UK system can offer would be wonderful!

Thank You!

I am from the UK. All accident and emergency wards will admit and provide treatment to dental emergency patients (for free). Many of these will only offer antibiotics and painkillers however, and a referral to a dentist. There are some hsopitals which have specific dental departments which will treat dental emergencies more thoroughly however (a google search will show up those within your area).

Other than that, most dentist surgeries have an emergency system in place, which is either by a call back system in case of cancellation of existing appointments, or in more urgent emergencies you can usually turn up at the surgery and wait for another patient to arrive late or miss their appointment (and take their place).

The dental system on the NHS is cheap compared to most countries but there are some waiting times associated, I'm currently mid-way through a 4 week wait for a root canal appointment.

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

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.

Hi Mr Outsider,

Okay, that explains it very well, thank you.

So unless someone is willing and able to seek private dental care, they will normally just wait for their "turn" at the clinic or wherever.

Is the private care generally so expensive that it is really just for those you can easily afford it? Or is it priced within reason but just more expensive than NHS care?

Thanks so much for your help. I see that you have posted a thread about your personal dental situation. I am going to take a look at that now.

Bryanna

Yes, you basically wait for an available appointment for regular dental treatment. If there is a referral to a specialist, this would also be subject to waiting times. Emergencies of all kinds can usually be treated - in some way or another - on the day you arrive at A&E, but this can entail waits of several hours depending on the busyness at any given time and also the perceived severity of your complaint.

Private care is generally only used in the UK by those on incomes far above the average, and it isn't neccessarily more reliable or efficient than the NHS. The NHS is a very comprehensive health system which covers almost every kind of treatment, even though you may sometimes face longer than ideal waits and may sometimes have to know what kind of things to say to earn a referral to a specialist.

In comparison to America, I don't think that private health care is too much different in terms of expense, but it is more the point that people in general are used to having all of their health care provided cheaply, and indeed in most cases completely free (dental treatment is actually the only kind which is charged for at all, prescriptions aside), and so most do not seek private care for that reason. But the private sector is there for any who wish to pay for it too.

From my experience Emergency Dental care with a general Dentist is fairly easy, anything a tier above is a referral from your Dentist or Emergency Dentist. That is to a Max Fax or an Oral Medicine Dept.

Max Fax private cost vary from one surgeon to another but I would say an initial consultation it would £150 -220 and then they would give a quotation for the work. That work would be charged by the hour by the surgeon and then the hospital fees are on top. Some practising general Dentist are qualified as oral surgeon and are in general practice. Or are the local hospital consultant. A Search of Google once you have the name will normally lead you to where they practice privately.

My experience of referral wait time is around 8-12 weeks..



Searchable database on this site. Sorry not allowed to post link but search Google for the GDC and they will have a UK database where you can search for oral surgery by town

I recently paid £160 to refer myself for a second opinion when I wasn't happy with what my dentist had done (it was a bit more involved than just normal dentistry; an implant). If you're paying for yourself and not using private health insurance you can generally refer yourself (by phoning the consultant's private secretary and booking direct). My appointment wait time was just over a week, but I was willing to travel, which made it a bit quicker.
If you have private health insurance, most will only cover dental stuff if you have a dental extension on the policy or a specific dental plan. My health insurance (yes, I'm lucky my husband works for a big corporate company, but we do pay a lot towards it) didn't cover me. However, if I needed to see ENT consultant it would have done. Some have hefty excesses such as £200 on the policies, just like other insurances.
It's all quite complicated. If I'd gone on the NHS or gone as an emergency to the ER/A&E I'd have either had to wait a month or so at least after a referral from my dentist (they wouldn't do it without) or go and wait in A&E for four hours if it's an emergency (or 5 if it's anything like we had to wait last time we needed to go there).

Hi Janie and others,

Thank you so much for replying and giving us a clearer understanding of what the healthcare (dental) system is like in the UK.

In the US the healthcare system is also complicated and not real easy to navigate. Insurance premiums are sky high for quality insurance coverage if you are self employed or if your employer does share in the cost. If your policy does have out of network coverage, the yearly deductible to utilize that part of your coverage is astronomical (like $15,000 to $20,000 per person) and it is a separate deductible from the in network portion of the policy which is another several thousand dollars per person. So for instance if you went to both in and out of network providers you have to satisfy two separate deductibles on top of the yearly premium. Crazy!!

However, a person can see whomever they want so long as they are willing to pay out of pocket. With that said, the physicians and dentists who do not participate in insurance plans generally are not crazy busy like participating practitioners so the wait time is usually nominal if at all. I have also found that non participating drs and dentists offer better quality and up to date care and they treat you like a real person and not just the next guy on the list.

Of course there are exceptions to all of this, but that is the main jest of the way healthcare works in the US.

Thanks again for all the great information!!

Bryanna