Has anyone else used the new NHS dentists in the town? My husband had a bad experience there and we are wondering if it was just a one-off.

It would be nice to hear your opinions, experiences and comments.

What do you mean by bad experience?
Medical?
Financial?
Psychological?

Mostly medical, maybe a little psychological.

My husband went there in an emergency after he had terrible toothache. They decided to take the tooth out, they gave him one injection of anaesthetic but that failed to numb the tooth enough for extraction. After another two injections they attempted to remove the tooth. The tooth broke away from the gum, leaving the root still in place, the tooth itself hit the light (I know it sounds a little far fetched but it did happen!). They tried to remove the root but the anaesthetic was not strong enough, so another injection was given and he was sent to the waiting room. After a few moments to relax and to allow the anaesthetic to take effect, they once again attempted to remove the root but with no avail. At this point he was told to come back in a weeks time for another attempt to remove the root but my husband wanted to seek help at the hospital. He was then told that he could not go to the hospital unless the dentist referred him.

In the end we sought the help of a private dental surgeon who removed the root with no problems. Although he has worked all his life and has always paid into the NHS, he never will return to that particular dental practice because of this experience.

Does anyone else have any horror stories or was this just a one-off?

I know some people can have longer roots than average and pulling teeth is very physical and not an exact science but if he has lost confidence then going elsewhere is an obvious option.
I hope he is better now, toothache can be agony. :)

He's fine now thank you.

But if I hadn't have witnessed it myself I would have thought it was something straight out of a carry-on film.

Are you referring to the one by the entrance to the Quarry? If so, then I've never had a problem there, but then I've never had an emergency there either.

It's the one on Claremont Bank, it's on the top left as you go down the bank. I know I can't comment on all the dentists at the practice but the man my husband saw seemed inexperienced compared to our last dentist (he stopped working on NHS patients). The dentist at the NHS practice may be fine at other dental techniques but I really don't think pulling teeth is his forte. :(

I had a Similar experience at a dentist on town walls, i was ok until his assistant started cringing at the bloot, it looked like somethng from WWF as he had one hand on my forehead and his knee on my chest, yes the tooth broke of, i guess t spoilt hs day, needless to say was glad to get out of there, he did manage to dig out the root, so half an hour, job done and my toothache was gone, i haven't been back there since, i've since found another dentist who is totally painless, and does actually care

I know several people who refer to the NHS as the "Negligent Hell-th Service" and there are a few cases that I have heard involving family members and people I know that make me believe the analogy to be true in many aspects.