Yes, Iām not sure exactly what happened with the dental hygienist - all I know is that she doesnāt work there anymore and the practise manager told us that she had misdiagnosed people and there were communication problems! I think they are suggesting that she was misdiagnosing because she didnāt understand English very wellā¦Iām not totally sure! I donāt know if they meant she was misdiagnosing for profit. It was a very sombre conversation and I was a bit drowsy! I was then told that I would be seeing the head honcho today for another initial assessment (obviously as the first assessment had been done by the hygienist that no longer worked there). Mr DP then asked if head honcho could be my dentist (instead of the newly recruited dentist I was supposed to have) as we had heard so many good things about him and everyone said he was lovely. The practice manager said that he doesnāt really take on new NHS patients (as I guess he does mostly private work) but she would arrange it so he could be my dentist. I was so pleased but now Iām wondering if he thinks I demanded it or something because of the palava. I didnāt even really know there was a problem until they told me I wasnāt having the treatment yesterday. Maybe he doesnāt like filling in all the paperwork for NHS patients! Either way he didnāt make me feel very welcome!
A hygienist should not have been diagnosing dental treatment, they are only qualified and legally allowed to diagnose periodontal/gum issues. Anyone can look and think, āoh yes there is a hole thereā but they cannot diagnose treatment, only suggest you might want to see a dentist. Sounds all a bit dodgy to me.
Ah, I seeā¦She was a bit vague and she actually told me that all of my teeth had some degree of decay (that made me quite worried) and then said that she needed to refer to me to a specialist for my jaw pain and that I would need a filling for the tooth pain. Maybe she was just supposed to do the initial x-rays and then pass me onto the dentist without saying what treatment I needed. Maybe she was unsure of her role. Yes, it all does sound a bit unprofessional!
In the U.K. A hygienist legally should be working under the dentist prescription, you should have seen a dentist initially prior to seeing an hygienist, if this was a new practice to you, as otherwise how would she know what your dentist required of her.
You can request a copy of your X-rays, as with all your written records, they are your personal records and you have paid for of the X-rays and your personal notes, the practice only holds them for you, they actually belong to you and as dental records they legally have to keep them for a good number of years. They may charge you an admin fee, but you can request a copy of any and all records, from past and previous dentists, and see what is written or show to another dentist for a second opinion.
Well, she was actually doing the initial consultation and she told me afterwards that she wasnāt a dentist and wasnāt qualified to do the treatment as I was discussing it with her as if she was going to do the work. I didnāt realise until afterwards that she wasnāt my dentist. So she shouldnāt have been left in charge of initial consultations then? Do you think I should look for another practice then?..this one has been there for over 30 years and all the reviews are goodā¦trust me to have this experience when I am such a nervous patientā¦lol!
She should not have been doing your initial consultation, if she is just an hygienist, and it sounds as though she knew that with what she said. I would wonder why you were booked in for a dental examination with a hygienist in the first place. Even if it was a mistake, she should have not carried out such an examination. Donāt know how you would want to proceed, but if it was me I would question it with the practice manager, and/or report it myself to the GDC if I was not satisfied with their answers. If she was a dental therapist, they do have some limited additional skills, but you could check that yourself, anyone registered to work in the dental profession in the U.K. be it a nurse, hygienist or dentist has to be resisted with the GDC, so doing a name check with them should give you the information you need. https://www.gdc-uk.org/
You can test it by checking on me if you like, put in my surname on that link as directed and my number will show, if you copy and paste my number, go back to that first page and enter it, it will show you I am a dental nurse, when I registered, etcā¦
OMG - she did say that she was a dental therapistā¦I remember now but Iām sure the practice manager referred to her as the hygienist when she spoke to us - I think she confused issues there! I feel a bit better now knowing that it was probably ok for her to do the consultationā¦ (I donāt actually know her name to check )
Thanks for all your help Natalie on your hols xxxxxx
Good morning, yay happy dancing for your sales Sarah and Brenda
Thanks for the master class in dentists Natalie, Iāve learnt a lot definitely helpful. Iām not nervous at the dentist at all but I struggle with the x-rays I just cannot tolerate having the thingy between my teeth on one side, last time I went they actually gave up lol! luckily Iāve hardly any fillings, even have a wisdom tooth that came through without any problems, I do go for a check-up though to make sure everything is okay
Good morning all a flying visit for now as my Morrisons delivery is due anytime todayās listing is the last pair of my peacock feather earrings all caught up to here have a lovely Friday everyone xxx
Lots of lovely stuff, as usual. Selling something while in the middle of listing it is almost obscene, Sarah @thedotterypotter ! Your substitute plate is beautiful.
This is what I did yesterday - between shopping and spending time with our daughter and grandkids.
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