[Politics] Sunk planning to allow dentists from abroad to practice here .....

[Thunder Bolt]

Not even one that was just practicing?

I have an incredible dentist, Imran Sharif - I’ve never asked where he is from, so have no idea, the only thing I was interested in was his qualifications which are numerous. I get charged an arm and a leg for his services and those of the hygienists but you try getting registered with an NHS practice here - it is nigh on impossible.

Norfolk Dental Specialists | Our Team

Our clinicians are highly trained with at least ten years’ experience in dentistry and an accredited postgraduate qualification in their specialism.

www.ndspecialists.uk

My dental surgery has a waiting list. When I was there a couple of weeks ago, I was chatting to a woman who had been waiting six months, and was on her first visit.
It is a requirement that six monthly appointments are kept, and regularly attended, which some people won’t bother with.

 

[Blue&WhiteSea]

I'd be interested to see the finer details of this. I assume that what is actually happening is a relaxation of fairly stringent rules about which foreign countries dental qualifications are acceptable to practice dentistry in the UK.
I remember that there were a number of nationalities that were a bit unhappy about having to do additional training when moving to the UK even though they were qualified in their own country and been performing dentistry for a number of years.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Good lord

I get charged an arm and a leg for his services

I wouldn’t trust these unqualified dentists to know the difference.

 

[Blue&WhiteSea]

As expected, it's got nothing to do with unqualified dentists and they will also have to work under supervision until their full registration is complete.

Government plans to boost dental workforce by cutting red tape

New proposals would give the General Dental Council powers to provisionally register dentists trained overseas to start delivering care as quickly as possible.

www.gov.uk

 

[zefarelly]

Our Dental practice is run by South Africans, In the last ten years I've also had a Portuguese, Irish and now English dentist . .they've all been very god and also cost the same. . . . I wouldn't say it was cheap, but anything good isn't cheap. £200/hr I've calculated, thats 2 people, a practice and some expensive gear . . . No more than a few grease monkeys in a car dealers!

This is part of the bigger problem in this country, we've been conditioned for decades now to be happy with cheap substandard crap, that now includes our health and general wellbeing. . .

 

[Boroseagull]

As a point of interest there is no 'free' health service dentists in Spain other than free dental care for children up to the age of 15 and emergency care for pensioners. However the amount of dentists that practise here is numerous and therefore competition is fierce. Standards are exceptionally high and costs very reasonable and dental plans are available from health care insurance companies. The dentist I use here is exceptional, as are the facilities in his practise. He even has a computerised machine that makes crowns/caps to the exact fit and colour whilst you are in the chair. No more horrible moulds rammed in your mouth, waiting weeks for them to be made and then hoping they fit properly. And the cost of this service? 90 minutes in the chair and 300 euros, all done in one visit. Implants, Mrs BS has had 2 done usually 750 euros each. It's no wonder friends of ours arrange dental treatment here whilst on holiday in Spain!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

As a point of interest there is no 'free' health service dentists in Spain other than free dental care for children up to the age of 15 and emergency care for pensioners. However the amount of dentists that practise here is numerous and therefore competition is fierce. Standards are exceptionally high and costs very reasonable and dental plans are available from health care insurance companies. The dentist I use here is exceptional, as are the facilities in his practise. He even has a computerised machine that makes crowns/caps to the exact fit and colour whilst you are in the chair. No more horrible moulds rammed in your mouth, waiting weeks for them to be made and then hoping they fit properly. And the cost of this service? 90 minutes in the chair and 300 euros, all done in one visit. Implants, Mrs BS has had 2 done usually 750 euros each. It's no wonder friends of ours arrange dental treatment here whilst on holiday in Spain!

Same in Berlin, there’s dentists everywhere. If you visit the city you won’t have too walk far before you see the tooth sign somewhere. I have two within two blocks of my apartment but opted for an English speaking practice two tram stops away.

The technology seems a lot more advanced as well.

As for cost, the vast majority is paid for…. my recent and quite extensive work I paid 10% of the cost. Not sure why though.

 

[Zeberdi]

As expected, it's got nothing to do with unqualified dentists and they will also have to work under supervision until their full registration is complete.

Government plans to boost dental workforce by cutting red tape

New proposals would give the General Dental Council powers to provisionally register dentists trained overseas to start delivering care as quickly as possible.

www.gov.uk

Yes, I suspected as much too. It is the same with most professional qualifications at least outside the EU - My particular bug bear has always been making very well qualified Filipino nurses retrain in the UK leaving them on low wages until they ‘qualify’ - The Philippines has one of the highest standards of nurses training in the world (in fact trained nurses are one of their greatest exports) - it is insane that the NHS hasn’t harmonised training standards with the Philippines when we are crying out for nurses - in the NHS alone, there are 40,000 Filipino nurses, in the private sector (nursing homes) that is even higher. However, I would rather have an ‘unqualified’ Filipino nurse looking after me in hospital than a foreign dentist pulling my teeth who has not had his/her training vetted by the British board of practice.

 

[vegster]

Unqualified dentists?

You go first and tell me how it went

I heard a report recently from the UK that a Ukrainian refugee here was struggling to get a NHS dentist appointment for a badly broken tooth...in the end it was easier to fly her back to Ukraine to get treated ! ..

Plenty of Brits fly out to Eastern Europe for their dental implants already so I don't expect any problems much with their quality. Will we be able to persuade these foreign dentists to come to our Third World country though ?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I'd be interested to see the finer details of this. I assume that what is actually happening is a relaxation of fairly stringent rules about which foreign countries dental qualifications are acceptable to practice dentistry in the UK.
I remember that there were a number of nationalities that were a bit unhappy about having to do additional training when moving to the UK even though they were qualified in their own country and been performing dentistry for a number of years.

If it is targeted, with certain countries given a waiver because their training is accredited by a body recognized in the UK, that would be OK. Countries of the EU, for example. Alas I suspect this is going to be countries of the third word.

I can see this being a prelude to doing the same with doctors.

It has the added advantage of undermining the power of the professional organizations that standard-set in the professions. For example in medicine the BMA. Or 'Doctors union' as the government have instructed the BBC to call them.

So I can see the argument that "these people have been properly trained in their home nations, so who are we to add extra hurdles to their practicing in the UK". The problem is that unless their training has recognized accreditation (recognized in the UK), we can't know they actually are properly trained.

I do a lot of scientific peer review (research journals). The new editor in chief of one leading British journal wans to change the rules so instead of researchers having to declare their animal research work conforms with a recognized licensing authority, such as the Home Office in the UK, they can simply declare that their work was approved by a local committee. For some parts of the world this will mean nothing more than a box tick. We recently had a paper submitted that used an anaesthetic that has been banned in the UK for 30 years. When this was spotted, and the authors told this is unacceptable, they came back and said "oh we made a mistake. Actually we used (a common clinically approved anaesthetic)". So it may come as a shock to some, but in parts of the world standards are poor or nonexistent, and it is culturally acceptable to lie about anything if the means justify the end. Why take the risk with dentists?

To me this wheeze is killing two birds with one stone - undermining the British professional association (of dentists today, and who knows, tomorrow), and maybe reducing the NHS dentists waiting list. My guess is that it is mostly the former, and will pave the way for more, similar, wheezes if, heaven forfend, Sunk wins the next general election.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

That's because we don't go to the dentist.

I do go, and my English dentist is excellent.

The 'solution' offered here is because we have a dentist shortage that is not being filled by UK qualified dentists or qualified dentists from overseas. So the Sunk plan is to waive the qualification requirements.

Open wide!

My dentist is very good, but also very expensive. There is a slight absence of NHS dentists round here.

The real solution would be to increase NHS payments to actually cover the cost of the treatments, and limit the charges made. That way, fewer dentists might be tempted to go private, and my taxes might be spent on something useful for once.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

My dentist is very good, but also very expensive. There is a slight absence of NHS dentists round here.

The real solution would be to increase NHS payments to actually cover the cost of the treatments, and limit the charges made. That way, fewer dentists might be tempted to go private, and my taxes might be spent on something useful for once.

Yes. It is sad that dentistry provision has always been a bit of an 'option' in the NHS, unlike medical care. There aren't many socialist dentists queuing up to stay as NHS dentists, sadly. The gap (gedditt??) between the threadbare NHS dental provision and private provision will ensure that 'English teeth' will remain a thing.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

As a point of interest there is no 'free' health service dentists in Spain other than free dental care for children up to the age of 15 and emergency care for pensioners. However the amount of dentists that practise here is numerous and therefore competition is fierce. Standards are exceptionally high and costs very reasonable and dental plans are available from health care insurance companies. The dentist I use here is exceptional, as are the facilities in his practise. He even has a computerised machine that makes crowns/caps to the exact fit and colour whilst you are in the chair. No more horrible moulds rammed in your mouth, waiting weeks for them to be made and then hoping they fit properly. And the cost of this service? 90 minutes in the chair and 300 euros, all done in one visit. Implants, Mrs BS has had 2 done usually 750 euros each. It's no wonder friends of ours arrange dental treatment here whilst on holiday in Spain!

My NHS dentist has a scanner and a computerised machine for crowns and bridges. I was scanned on Wednesday and it was fitted on Thursday morning.

 

[robinsonsgrin]

My dentish is South Aftican and chases the sun. He works here May til Oct then goes home for theit better weather. He is with a Bupa pract who are encouraging the dumping of NHS - he so far has refused to do so... but, as nice as he is.. he does not do anything apart from try to encourage me to get a crown and refer me to they hygienist who is 70 quid a pop now... I know others in different counties whose dentists are NHS and still do a scale and polish as part of the check up...

 

[Boroseagull]

My NHS dentist has a scanner and a computerised machine for crowns and bridges. I was scanned on Wednesday and it was fitted on Thursday morning.

Sure, but that was still 2 appointments over 2 days.

 

[portslade seagull]

My dentist (NHS) is Indian.

As is mine and very nice he is too

 

[tedebear]

Sunk! Ha - Freudian slip there!

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

As others have said don't really give a shite where the dentist comes from. If they are qualified in their own country have good reviews and cheaper than the British ones I'm all for it !!!

The British public don't seem to give a fook either. Plenty going to turkey for their teeth.

I personally have a dentist in Harley street and for more expensive procedures I go to a friend's in Krakow who qualified in the states.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Plenty of people letting us know their foreign-trained but British certificated dentists are marvelous.

Oh dear. This is like when I set an in course essay for my undergrads and the thickies read only half the question, then pile in with a load of well-meaning but irrelevant (and hence, wrong) old bollocks. Dear oh dear

Still.....this has cheered me up, and has partly explained how folk are still planning to vote for Sunk.

We get the governments we deserve.

Shiney teeth. Lovely.

 

[The Clamp]

If there’s no clinics to put them to work in, you can ship any amount of call centre workers in from Delhi you like and call them dentists. Won’t make a difference.
We’re gonna need a bigger barge.