October 29, 2007
English dental horror
Some English people have resorted to pulling out their own teeth because they cannot find -- or cannot afford -- a dentist, a major study has revealed.From CNN. The figure commonly cited is 108 million without dental insurance in the USA (a bit over a third of the overall population), but what a mess in the UK if their promised 100% coverage turns out to be more like 25%, or less.Six percent of those questioned in a survey of 5,000 patients admitted they had resorted to self-treatment using pliers and glue, the UK's Press Association reported.
England has a two-tier dental care system with some dentists offering publicly subsidized treatment through the National Health Service and others performing more expensive private work.
But more than three-quarters of those polled said they had been forced to pay for private treatment because they had been unable to find an NHS dentist. Almost a fifth said they had refused dental treatment because of the cost.
Posted by David on October 29, 2007 11:27 AM
It's all been slow and sly. Until about ten years ago, practically everybody who wanted one could find an NHS dentist, as far as I know. Now very many people can't. I used to use a service provided through my employer - that's to say, on the premises; it was NHS and cost very little. Suddenly one summer, when lots of people were on holiday, we were told that in a fortnight's time the dental practice would become private. I still use it but pay more. On the whole my teeth are good; my wife has bad teeth and after experiencing private dentistry when we lived in Australia, decided never to use the NHS again. Indeed, preferably not to use UK-trained dentists again. Of course, you never know what to make of people who "can't afford it" - do they still drink and smoke and pay for holidays? On the other hand, the vile state of our hospitals is unambiguous - it is no joke to see - pardon the expression - blood and shit on the floors.
Posted by: dearieme on October 29, 2007 7:02 PM
Or try this:-=
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=490583&in_page_id=1774
Posted by: dearieme on October 29, 2007 7:19 PM
cronaca.com