Am I allowed both NHS and private treatment?

[Della44]

Hi, question for a dentist please?
I am in the UK and currently have an NHS dentist. I need two teeth removing from the bottom front, because this partial will have to go next to a tooth that is only bonded on to a bridge at the other side, I am not entirely comfortable with wearing a NHS hard plastic partial. My other option is to go to a clinical denture technician, who would be able to work with me, taking the bridge into consideration and making me something more comfortable. My question is, can I go and get treatment from someone else without it affecting my NHS status. Thank you

 

[Gordon]

My question is, can I go and get treatment from someone else without it affecting my NHS status

Short answer is yes, in theory. Depends how your dentist feels about you getting treatment done by somebody else.

Longer answer, whatever you get as an immediate insertion after extractions will have a relatively short lifespan due to bone remodelling. You might not want to spend a lot of money on something that won't last long.

 

[Della44]

Short answer is yes, in theory. Depends how your dentist feels about you getting treatment done by somebody else.

Longer answer, whatever you get as an immediate insertion after extractions will have a relatively short lifespan due to bone remodelling. You might not want to spend a lot of money on something that won't last long.

Hi Gordon,
Thank you for your prompt reply, really appreciate that. It is my understanding that a NHS dentist could not remove you from his list unless he has a very good reason, if it is allowed to mix treatment, then I am not sure that would be good reason to remove you. Yes, I understand the denture would become looser when the gums shrink, but is it not possible for a technician to deal with that when the time comes? I am only worried about this because the bridge is involved

 

[Gordon]

The dentist is perfectly at liberty to choose who is on their NHS list. They may well not be bothered by you seeking treatment elsewhere or they may be bothered enough to remove you. I can't tell you which way they'll go. They would have to give 3 months notice (in Scotland at least) but they could do it quite easily.

It rather depends on what kind of denture is provided, something like Valplast can't be relined/resurfaced and a Cobalt Chrome partial can be relined but it's not always entirely satisfactory depending on the design.