KaySquirrels Blog Thingy

Bracknell Dental Centre - Dentist Knocks My Filling Out, Then Refuses to Fix It

On March 13th of this year, I registered as a new NHS (National Health Service, similar to Medicare in Canada) client at the Bracknell Dental Centre in Charles Square, in Bracknell town centre, as I was due for my 6 month cleaning & checkup.

The “dentist”, Mr Goran, only spent about 10-15 minutes to do the cleaning and take X-rays.

Also, it wasn’t so much a “cleaning” as it was “getting water sprayed on my teeth for a few minutes and getting charged for the privilege”.

Did I mention he also knocked one of my fillings out and said it would be better if he left it that way? Oh yes.

On the lower left side, the 2nd tooth from the back has a filling along the outside gumline. It’s there because a real dentist in Canada removed some tooth decay for me, and filled the hole left behind, so the nerves wouldn’t be left exposed and I wouldn’t be in excruciating pain. It’s nice how real dentists will do little things like that for paying clients, hm?

During the “teeth cleaning” done by Mr. Goran, the filling got knocked out. When I told him that he’d knocked it loose, he looked at the tooth and said it would be fine. Uh, what?

Not only could I feel a jagged-edged hole in my tooth now, but I was already starting to feel pain because of what he’d done. I told him it was NOT fine, my tooth was already hurting, and I would like him to repair the damage he’d done.

He still refused to fix it. He said in most cases, the filling was probably not necessary anyway, and it should be okay to leave it as it now was. He suggested that I give it a few days, and book an appointment if it became an issue.

What. The. Hell?!

Despite obvious fluency in English, he did not appear to understand me when I said it was NOT fine, as I was IN PAIN RIGHT NOW and wanted him to fill the HOLE he left in my tooth by KNOCKING MY FILLING OUT.

Lights on.. Nobody home! I have never before had a dentist appointment where they actually leave your teeth in worse shape than they were before you came in!

It’s £15.50 for a cleaning that lasted AT MOST 15 minutes. That’s £62 AN HOUR to knock people’s fillings out!!

Toothache already forming, I explained to Ploes (who was also there for a cleaning & checkup) what had happened. We spoke to the receptionist, who seemed puzzled that the dentist would have done that, too. She went to check with him, and the final verdict was still “make another appointment”. There was apparently an appointment available on Friday — which, as we were only Monday, gave me several days of pain to enjoy Mr. Goran’s fine example of the kind of dental service you can expect at the Bracknell Dental Centre.

We went to Subway for lunch and tried to decide what to do next. Ploes called the Bracknell Dental Centre Of Pain And Butchery again and told the receptionist that I was already having trouble eating because of the pain, so would book the appointment on Friday, pending cancellation if I could find a real dentist before then.

We went home and did some googling. Ploes called NHS customer services, and the end result was essentially that unless I am left broken and bleeding by a dentist, there is really nothing they can do to help. Lovely, that. Ever wonder why there’s that stereotype that the Brits all have Austin Powers teeth? Because of “dentists” like Mr. Goran!

Yellow Pages to the rescue. We were able to get me an appointment later that afternoon with a private dentist. *cue angelic choir singing*

The dentist repaired the hole left in my tooth, and took the time to explain to me that this was the best he could do to ensure it would stop hurting me, without being able to see any X-rays or knowing my dental history. Fair enough, really!

I left the surgery armed with a whole tooth again, and a letter to the old “dentist” requesting that the X-rays taken today be sent to the new dentist’s clinic, as I would be trusting them with my dental care from now on.
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About a month later, on April 21st, I made a 2nd visit to the new dentist for a cleaning and checkup. I was informed that the Bracknell Dental Centre had sent them a letter saying that the X-rays taken of my teeth back in mid-March were “too old” to be valid anymore. A little over a month had passed, and the X-rays weren’t good anymore??

The cleaning at the new dentist’s office was done by a dental hygienist, and was of the caliber one would expect from a certified dental professional. She examined & scaled every tooth, and then finished with a flossing & rinse. When I asked her if it looked like I’d had a cleaning done a month ago, she said that while I do keep my teeth in good condition, they weren’t as clean as they should be after being cleaned so recently. You can draw your own conclusions about what that says about the quality of cleaning I got at the Bracknell Dental Centre, hm?

The new dentist also took X-rays, and then on my 3rd visit, he actually took the time to review them with me, which is something not even a Canadian dentist had bothered to do before!

They’ve also replaced my gnawed-through hard plastic tooth guard (I grind my teeth at night, and this applicance protects them!) with a softer, flexible, alternative — which is working out a lot better for me, as well!

Ploes has registered with their clinic as well recently, and there has been further proof that he wasn’t getting proper care from the “dentist” in Bracknell town centre, either!

I’m over the moon with my new private dentist, really I am! It’s a shame that I had to get hurt by an NHS dentist at the Bracknell Dental Centre to have been prompted to go private, but at least now we’re getting good care and service for our money!
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Ploes had X-rays taken on March 13th 2006 at Bracknell Dental Centre as well. On June 9th, when our new dentist requested them, they were miraculously not “too old” to be valid anymore.

Why is it that Ploes’ X-rays — taken on THE SAME DAY AS MINE, were still recent enough to be used on June 9th, but mine were already “too old” to be valid on April 21, 2006 — only a month after they were taken?!

They truly have no idea what they’re doing over there at the Bracknell Dental Centre!

This evening, our new dentist told Ploes that there were a few things that showed up on the X-rays that should have been followed up on — but of course, the shining example of British dentistry down at Bracknell Dental Centre had never mentioned these to Ploes, or bothered trying to follow up on them. Not surprising, really.. I’m so glad we switched to a private dentist!

As for Mr. Goran at the Bracknell Dental Centre: I hope all his teeth fall out, save one — and may it become riddled with cavities that need filling. Then, during a “cleaning”, I hope the dentist bloody well knocks the filling right the hell out of his mouth and leaves it that way, JUST LIKE HE DID TO ME!