Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Ellis]

The Dental Surgeon, which is after all his correct title and the deserved use of the word "Doctor" is someone we all have to visit at some time.

The gentleman who looks after my teeth has a super modern surgery, light, airy without the "surgery smell", he is very able and yet my knees still shake at the thought of visiting him.

I am of an age when the 1960s to the 1980s and later was the time of "drill and fill" and I will never, ever forget the smell of the mask and it's placing on my face in the days when teeth were extracted under gas anaesthetic.

Someone I know who travels internationally nearly every month makes a point of visiting Singapore to obtain dental services from a partnership of two lady dentists who work in tandem on a single patient.
He assures me it is a relaxing and pleasant experience and looks forward to treatment there.

I wouldn't.

Would you?


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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[Minxy]

I had the same NHS dentist for around 30 years and he was brilliant, it helped he was a car enthusiast and like myself kept Koi carp. He then retired and I moved house so registered at another local NHS dentist. All was fine for a couple of years then, to cut a long story short, I had a very bad experience at this surgery resulting in being told a tooth needed extracting ( at nearly sixty I still have all my own teeth) I decided to go to a private dentist for a second opinion, he told me the tooth was perfectly salvageable with a root canal. He went on to explain that these days NHS dentists get the same money for a ten minute extraction as they do for a multi visit 4-5 hour root canal!! A visit to my private dentist is totally pain free, even the root canal. For regular dentistry he uses a system called Aqualase which requires no injection and uses a laser and copious amounts of water. The root canal required an injection ( a nerve blocker) the area was numbed first with a Liquid on cotton wool before the injection which was administered by what I believe is referred to as a ' magic wand' - absolutely no discomfort whatever.
In essence I believe NHS dentists these days do the minimum required to fulfil their obligation to 'the system' - I would never trust one again.

[Keith D]

I had a terrible experience with a dentist when I was about 13 years of age. I had an local aesthetic for an extraction that ended up with the dentist climbing up on the chair and having one hand on my forehead and his knee in my chest! I still have nightmares about this one! It kept me away from all dentists for about thirty years.
Finally my daughter (who was by then a dental therapist) shamed me into visiting one of her mates. I couldn't believe how things had changed. I can honestly say that a visit to the dentist nowadays causes me no concerns at all. It is one of the vast improvements in medical treatment in recent times.

Keith

[peppiB]

Similar experience to Keith. In the mid 50's had to have 6 'baby' teeth extracted and came round with him in my face shouting 'that's 4, that's 5, that's 6' Terrifying. I didn't go back.

17 years later I was in a grouchy mood biting the head off my secretary. She asked what was the matter, so I said 'Toothache - b... off' or words to that efeect. She told me to get to the dentist so I told her I didn't have one. She left, but returned 5 minutes later slamming a piece of paper on my desk growling 'I have made you an appointment for this afternoon with my dentist and you ARE going' Private dentist (hence early appointment) Lost 1 tooth and was with that dentist for over 30 years, even when I lived 150 miles away, and only left about 5 years ago when I found a good guy local to me. He now describes my teeth as 'Statistics - broken down by age'

[Dipster]

I was blessed by the fact that my father was constantly on to my brother and I to look after our teeth. So visits to dentists were unknown in our family.

This was because my father had no teeth, just dentures. He had had all his teeth extracted when he was 21, in 1927, so that he could go to sea with his father and brothers and earn god pay! It seems amazing now but it was, he told me, a requirement before he could be taken on.

He regretted it all his life (but not the financial fillip the pay gave him early in life!). Thus his constant attention to my teeth.

[47Jag]

Dipster.

Your story bring back memories of my youth. I had a couple of mates who had all their teeth removed and dentures fitted as a 21st birthday present

Art

[Bitumen Boy]

[kevin2306]

Pretty similar experience here too, terrible butcher of a dentist through school. Nothing in my 20s button hen started attending a local private dentist who was superb. Once he retired a few years back we were transferred to a modern practice and they are superb.
Due to being diabetic, I go every 3 months to both hygienist and dentist, I pay into Denplan so quite cost effective.

Kev

[Riley Blue]

My dentist owns an Alvis, Armstrong Siddeley and a Riley so I don't mind visiting him. He's also one of my best friends
_________________
David

1963 Riley 1.5
1965 Riley 1.5

[Rich5ltr]

[MikeEdwards]

I've been with an NHS dentist since I started getting dragged there by my mother some years ago - the practice was taken over by another when the first retired, and my mother doesn't take me any more, but that's about all that's changed. I also had the talk from my Dad about looking after my teeth after he had to have quite a lot of work done.

My favourite response was from my dentist some years back, when he was lecturing me about not doing a good enough job of brushing the lower back teeth. "It's difficult and uncomfortable to get to them", I whinged, to which he replied "Yes, but it's much more difficult and uncomfortable for you if I have to drill one out and stick a filling in it". Ah yes, good point.

[Rick]

Mobile dental unit on display at RAF Cosford ....



RJ
(all teeth as per factory spec)
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