Goldilox
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The sad state of NHS dentristy is such that so long as all you need is an amalgam filling, or other basic work then you'll be fine. Need to save a tooth with complex reconstruction and you're f*cked ................basically! The Dentist is paid a maximum amount to save a tooth, if you're treatment costs more than the very low ceiling the governemnt enforce, then extraction will be your only option on the NHS - trust me! I lost a tooth unnecessarily at an NHS dentist that could have been saved. Sadly it was cheaper to extract. I learnt a valuanle lesson that day - your teeth are irreplacable!
Not attending an NHS dentist does not mean I don't believe in the NHS, and it's a ludicrous link to make frankly!. I work in the flippin NHS, I'm a staunch defender and seupporter, but their dentistry is minimal and out dated. Complex tooth saving technology is not available, and amalgam fillings ..........yuk!
It depends what you think is an excellent job. Big black fillings everywhere? Yes, they are excellent at those .
It's not about the training the dentist receives, it's the severe financial restrictions imposed on NHS dentists to keep costs down. Cost in NHS dentristy is more important than saving teeth. I'd rather not have a cost benefti analysis done on my teeth if I need treatment. I prefer to have all the necessary treatment to save my teeth. Thankfully my dentist is so good on the preventative work that I haven't needed much work, but any fillings that have been replaced have been done with white fillings, not the mercury heavy amalgam
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_amalgam_controversy
Each to their own, but good private dentristy is streets ahead of good NHS dentristy because the private dentist is not restricted byt the NHS financial restrictions so can offer more varied and complex treatments. Until you've tried a good private dentist you'll not realise that the difference between the 2 is night and day. I love the NHS, but their dentistry needs a lot of financial investment that just isn't going to come sadly.
Disclaimer - I have all my own teeth & have only ever used NHS dentistry....
I'm curious as to why you feel a cost/benefit analysis is so out of place in dentistry? Surely the fundamental point is that we can all enjoy a pain free existence & masticate our food & if the most cost effective way to achieve that is to pull a tooth is that really so bad? It seems like an easier argument to make over a tooth than when you're talking about denying someone a cancer treatment that's too expensive.