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torture experiences/NHS for EU nationals

G

Guest

Former Member
I'm almost 36 years old now. I used to have bad dental phobia since I was totured (yes, I insist that it was torture!) as a kid by a dentist in Germany (I am german) and his team. 4 people held me in the dentists chair while I was fighting, screaming and crying... and extracted 6 teeth at once. :scared:

Quite obviously this didn't help creating trust in dentists, even though this was just about baby tooth, which at that time didn't mean anything to me.

From that point on I avoided contact to any dentist or anything related to it as much as possible. So I didn't get braces even though I was told to get some, resulting in quite not-so-nice teeth.

And then began the slow decay of my teeth. Starting with a root canal treatment, which was the last time I've ever been to a dentist, being verbaly attacked by the dentist for the shape of my teeth and my anxious behaviour. I didn't go there for the final treatment and just lived on with the provisional thing in my mouth.

Over the years, tooth after tooth got holes, started to hurt and then died, started to desintegrate with some leftovers in my mouth, partially overgrown by new gum... it's pure luck that almost all of those teeth were molars, so no-one except me really noticed.

Then it started with 2 front teeth as well, and then I used some DIY dentistry with the well known superglue. Two front teeth are now gone, replaced by fake teeth made out of some coloured and lacquered superglue bits. I know that this sounds weird, but that's what I did and so my smile still looks quite ok, because I did a quite good job there *lol*. I had people look at the "teeth" and asked them if they notice anything weird and they said no.

Well, over the years, I had severe pain, fistulas (and I still have them), swollen jaws and areas where it feels like my jaw started to mushroom. But at the same time, the thought of a dentist became less and less frightening after I realised where it came from (experience as a kid) and how much pain it is not to go to a dentist.

But by now there's so much to do. I just moved to the UK 2 years and 1.5 month ago and I have a good job, but not much money. So my main problem is how to get treatment (preferably with IV sedation) to get my mouth sorted out without the treatment being spread out over month or even years.

I just want to get rid of the infectious remains of the dead teeth, because I fear that all that crap in my mouth will cause severe illness sooner or later. I would be able to go to a dentist, still afraid and anxious, but I wouldn't be stopped by that if I knew I would be told off or treated as a freak.

I am not registerd to any doctor/dentist in the UK, so what are my options to get this sorted in an affordable way? I don't even get a loan because I'm not in the UK for more than 3 years and also not in the Electoral Roll (as a foreigner).
 
Hi Jad,

sorry to hear you had such a hard time with German dentists.

As to affordable options to get it sorted now: As a German national you are entitled to healthcare under the NHS in just the same way as a British person. The fact that you've been here less than three years and are not on the Electoral Roll is irrelevant.

So, you have two options: either go to an NHS dentist or get private treatment (many private dentists offer payment plans and that may be an option).

If you want an NHS dentist, you can search for one in your area through the NHS website.

However, before you can see an NHS dentist, you need to be registered with the NHS. For some reason, this has to be done at a doctor's surgery. Visit your local surgery and ask the receptionist for form "GMS1". Complete it and hand it back to the receptionist. Your medical card (with your NHS number) will be sent by post to your home address. You can then take that to the dentist to register as a NHS dental patient. (Note: you don't *have* to stay with the doctor's surgery where you registered. You are free to see any doctor in your catchment area.)

There is lots more information on how to find a caring dentist at https://www.dentalfearcentral.org/ , but I hope the above helps you with the process on how to get registered with the NHS and how to find a NHS dentist.

Take care

G.
 
Hi,

thanks for this answer. I will contact dentists on this page and I will tell them straight away about what I want (like IV sedation) and what I don't want. Hopefully I will be able to get decent treatment soon.
 

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