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'We have experienced something truly horrific. The city centres have become wastelands. People go hungry and homeless. There's a basic lack of provision of essential services ... How do the British get by like this?'
Oh, this explains the "British teeth" phenomenon. (Most?) Everywhere else in Europe affordable and fast dental care is a given
The traditional "british teeth" was the UK's dental industry focussing on healthy rather than pretty.
Nowadays, it's caused by underfunded patient slots at dentists.
You can find a private dentist pretty easily, but it's quite hard to get taken on as an NHS patient (which means when you need treatment for something, you're not in the capped NHS bands). Which is especially bad if you're eligible for completely free treatment, as you're blocked by available dentists.
The dentists are generally given funding (or access to funding) for a set amount of NHS patients to make up the difference between NHS capped costs and their true costs. And unfortunately, there often aren't enough slots.
I was lucky with my current dentist that they happened to have slots when I signed up. And a few years later, they let me know when slots were opening so I could add the rest of the household.
I have some dental trauma and that combined with autism meant I was able to push to go to the community special access dentist (or whatever it's called), but I had to really push for that. I wouldn't have been able to find a dentist otherwise
Teeth are a luxury bone, you don't need them to work.
In the future all foods are in the form of a paste.
An iv you only get access to at work facilities to avoid too much time off and so you don't need to stop working for sustenance
The UK having such horrendous teeth is a myth
I mean...comparing with the US is not even fair. They don't even have socialized healthcare, never mind dental care.
I mean when it’s mostly American’s who perpetuate the myth it is.
Okay yeah. But it is definitely non trivial getting care here, having lived in both countries.
I mean it doesn't well it didn't anyway until about a decade ago. You used to be able to get a dentist easily enough then austerity happened and look at us now! World leaders in shooting ourselves in the foot.
The British smile is really only a thing because teeth straightening and whitening aren't usually covered by the NHS and nobody cared enough to go private, everyone else has a crooked smile anyway. Your more likely to get bullied for braces than having a tooth out of place.
Do dentists in other countries have the same sense of prestige as British ones? I used to work with a guy whose wife was a dentist and he constantly talked about being a dentist as being on the same level as a doctor. Said that entry requirements for dentistry at university is the same as medical doctors.
I mean, they try. Somewhere here in eastern Europe there's always banter between those two. Dentists wearing the "i save people" mantra and MDs making fun of them for learning 2 teeth each year in school.
In my experience, people who talk a lot about how hard and respected the career is, care more about the prestige than their career.
It's Dr. Evil, I didn't spend six years in Evil Medical School to be called "mister," thank you very much.
I had teachers in uni who would get mad if you didn't call them "Licenciado". Bitch that's the Spanish version of. A bachelor's degree. XD
A girl I went to school with told me they had a professor at uni called Dr. Death.
I'd insist on being called Doctor if that was my surname too
A true dentist is basically a surgeon.
There's massive rightfully so prestige in that and they are a doctor by title.
But most aren't that. Which is fine, not every dental appointment is a lower jaw line reconstruction. My mother had her entire bone "replaced" from her teeth to the nose line by a dentist. It was long ass surgery. It's fair those people would like more than the "nhs rate" cleaning service.
That sounds fun. Especially the recovery!
Her teeth were basically "free floating" with a thin bridge holding them together as the fake bone was hardening.
She described it as basically sand being poured in and activated to solidify.
Wild stuff, it was done at the cost of the materials used and still cost thousands.
Moral of the story? Make friends with a dentist who will operate on you after hours for free.
Said that entry requirements for dentistry at university is the same as medical doctors.
I think they're roughly the same in Ireland for what it's worth
Wait till you try to get the other healthcare, you're in for a real treat. You can always console yourself with the knowledge that the royal family is never short of anything.
Bri'ish moment
Us Americans: >_>
I feel the "[a]" is passive aggressive.
The English ruling class has a very unhealthy admiration for the USA. Unfortunately, a lot in the UK is decided by them.
Imo the only solution would be to change the UK voting system to something less insane (and undemocratic) than the current system. Also, they'd do well to limit the proportion of politicians who were educated in one of their elite schools (even better, do away with those schools altogether)
the only solution would be to change the UK voting system
Well, there's always the.... Cromwellian solution.
You can prise my mince pies out of my warm christmas mittens!
What, genociding the Irish and banning any form of fun by claiming enjoyment is sinful?
Sounds like a perfect swap for slightly more availability of dentists /s
I think he meant the other things, considering genociding the Irish is the traditional idea of English fun.
this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2024
338 points (98.6% liked)
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