A Dental Diversion

It's a little bit lazy of me, but here's my review of Guy's dental service which I wrote for Qype. Follow this link if you want address and someone else's point of view, but my review's the same!

Perhaps I shouldn’t admit this, but I recently had a very unpleasant few days, panicking and in pain. You see, I’d somehow got the idea that you couldn’t get NHS dental treatment if you are working. My excuse is I’ve always previously managed to time my dental emergencies to coincide with periods of unemployment. And I’m also used to getting glasses, where you either pay or get a voucher to help if you can’t, and there’s no help for those that can. So anyway, there I was, with a suspected abscess in one of two teeth competing for one place in my gum, working, but with a cash flow crisis, and thinking I couldn’t go to this place…

Then I found I could actually get help with dental costs as long as I got an NHS appointment at a dentist (and the fees suddenly seemed very reasonable considering I’d been expecting a couple of thousand…), but my local dentist didn’t have NHS appointments for months. So it was off to this place, with the worst of the pain over by this point!

I visited the walk in clinic. Actually my second visit, but my first was many years ago and involved having an impacted wisdom tooth and part of the surrounding bone removed under a local: not something I’m keen to remember, though that wasn’t their fault. I was advised to arrive about 8 am to queue for the doors to open at 8.30. Thanks to busses it was actually 8.30 when I arrived. After quite a long wait at reception I was actually seen more quickly than expected (I think I may have been lucky), and there’s a stunning view from the waiting room: the clinic is on the 23rd floor. The walk-in treatment room is a large room with many bays. The walls of the bays are half height: high enough that patients are out of sight when lying down in the chairs (except those opposite you…) but not fully private. I was seen by a 3rd year student to take my history. She then ‘presented’ to a tutor, and I was sent along the corridor to x-ray. Another wait there, then back to wait again… This time I was seen by a student in her final (5th) year, who would be treating me. They actually have notices up saying they don’t do permanent fillings and extractions in the walk-in clinic (usually you’ll have to come back or go to another dentist), but I was offered the chance to have the tooth extracted that day, as the extraction looked strait forward and the tooth was causing me major problems. I said yes, but since it was dinner time by then we agreed after lunch!

After fortifying myself with a good dinner I was escorted into a private room for the extraction. My student was great about waiting for my mouth to become fully numb and giving me a top up (dental anaesthetics seem to work badly on me and I’ve had many experiences where I’ve only become fully numbed up after leaving the dentist…). A tutor was not present in the room, but within earshot and was called in several times to check decisions and progress. I felt quite safe. She did try several different instruments before finding one she could get between my teeth, but then the tooth was out before I realised it. I was surprised to not be given antibiotics since I’d been told it was badly infected: apparently the infection comes out with the tooth! It does feel fine today.

Afterwards I felt lousy of course (not being able to wash the blood out is horrible… and I think worse with a front tooth than a wisdom). A few tips on leaving… if you came in via London Bridge Station (there’s a pedestrian walkway from there by the way: ask station staff), then remember that you entered the Hospital on the 2nd floor. Taking the lift down to the ground floor is a very good way to get yourself totally confused. Also do not go to Borough Market. All those lovely food samples are just a way of torturing yourself. Finally, I’d advise you do go to Southwark Cathedral. Perfect place to relax and take your mind off a sore mouth.

Overall, excellent. I actually wouldn’t feel too outraged about paying NHS charges now I could feasibly find the money, though free is nice. Of course many will find the fact that its treatment by someone not yet qualified scary. And there’s the lack of privacy, and the waiting around… still, a bloomin good service.