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I can’t afford to pay for my dental treatment, can the NHS help?

Im a 31 yr old woman. Ive had my teeth treated about 10yrs ago under IV sedation. I have been to a dentist recently who says i have severe peridontal problems. I do not like this dentist and find her un caring about my phobia and how much it took me to come to the dentist in the first place. I cannot afford to move dentists and pay for IV sedation for treatment. Also i was declared bankrupt two yrs ago so a payment plan is out of the question. Can I be refered for help through the NHS or do i have no choice and just need to wait and see my teeth fall out one by one. Im so depressed over this

Im sorry life has had its problems for you .
Lets start with whats not possible . You say that you can’t change dentists to pay for IV sedation treatment .
If you have advanced gum disease and haven’t seen a dentist for 10 years , then the first thing that needs to happen is that you have some teeth cleaning and also get your home care more effective by giving you advice on what you need to do at home .
When I see patients like yourself , even those who can afford private treatment , then generally IV sedation is not the best option , and the problems can’t be sorted out in one sedation session .
Perhaps if you could accept that IV sedation is not a possibility , then either work with this dentist , or find a more empathetic one , then you could make a choice to try to keep your teeth .
Cleaning for periodontal problems can be done with topical /local anaesthetics , and there are options for having sedative medication to help such as 5 or 10 mgm of diazepam , they are very cheap tablets .
If you could do this then the progress of your gum disease could be stabilised .
Its unlikely that you will find anywhere on the NHS to deal with this kind of problem . Dental Hospitals have gum disease departments , but its unlikely that a sedation would be offered , without you having had treatment from their hygienists first .
People who have had IV sedation often never get any proper home care advice , or even very effective scaling and cleaning , so the gum disease just progresses I hope you can try to make use of what options that are open to you
Jenny .

Answer provided by: Dr Jennifer Pinder Retired
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