Free dental treatment when pregnant 37 weeks

[Sunflower1989]

Hi everyone,

I'm 37 weeks pregnant and just got my routine appointment to the dentist. Which was private before I got pregnant. But I have my free prescription certificate and MATB1 form. Just wondering can I have a free dental treatment from my dental practice where I am now? Or do I have to go elsewhere to get it free? Any suggestions and experiences welcome. Thank you Xxxxx

[Hidden]

You’ll have to be registered at an NHS dentist. Mine is private so I lost out but I would rather I stay with someone I know x

[Hidden]

You can only be seen at a NHS dentist, some private practices still have a small nhs contract so ask them but I’d expect the answer to be no.

[Sunflower1989 in reply to Hidden]

I did check with my dental practice about NHS form. And the answer was no. Also check the closest NHS dentist and they were only taking people on for a waiting list. So in the end I've decided to stay with the Dental practice I'm with now. X

Thanks for your reply xxxx

[Comicbookmum in reply to Sunflower1989]

While you are pregnant you are protected under the Equality Act which means services have to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate your needs. An NHS dentist should give you priority as putting you on a waiting list might cause undue damage. The reason women get free dental care during pregnancy is because an infection at this stage would be dangerous for baby, so they shouldn't postpone seeing you. Might be worth arguing with them if you can be bothered. As a last resort you can mention a CQC complaint, you'll be given an appointment on the spot!

[kt_11 in reply to Comicbookmum]

I signed up for an NHS waiting list when I was 14 weeks pregnant, having been told the wait was 3-6 months. Just had my first NHS appointment this week - my baby is 10 months old 🙄 Ended up having loads of work done privately whilst I waited as I needed root canal work...

[roxannacar in reply to Comicbookmum]

I doubt this is correct ... equality act meaning not being discriminated against rather than being advantaged over others ... also you dont know who else is on the waiting list are pregnant/disabled etc. This doesnt sound right.

[Hidden in reply to roxannacar]

I work in nhs dentistry so I know how it all works.

If we made a nhs waiting list we would simply have to call the first on the waiting and work down. Im unaware that we would have to prioritise certain people.

NHS practices work by having a new contract every year where they are assigned a certain amount of funding in the form of UDAs.

This time of year we are coming to the end of the contract and are most likely out of funding. We completed our UDA quota back in late January so we are now no longer able to see NHS patients until the 1st April.

It’s always best to try and find local practices at this time a the list will be open and funding is available,

It is a bad system, which the majority of dentists working in the nhs feel isn’t working.