Edinburgh Dental Institute

Please note that this is not a review of the NHS, but the service I’ve received at the Dental Institute itself. Yes, waiting times are terrible on the NHS. We all know this. I blame *insert party currently in power here*.
My first appointment here annoyed me as I thought I had been referred to have my wisdom tooth out after if had a consultation with my dentist. However, it turned out that it was yet another consultation. I get why it’s necessary for them to have an in-​house consultation, but it’s annoying all the same and communication was not good in that way. That consultation was in November. I was given an appointment for the end of February, which… Blah blah blah NHS.
I decided I didn’t want to wait, however, so in late January I phoned up in the afternoon and asked if they had any cancellations I could jump in on. They didn’t have any but actively encouraged me to keep calling in the mornings to ask! They were very friendly about it and I resolved to keep trying. Later that same day they phoned me up themselves to offer me an appointment for this Monday just gone! I didn’t even have to call them back, they just phoned me up and gave me the appointment!
Once I got in there, the extraction was quick and easy. The anaesthetic wasn’t fun, but once I was numb, they just poked around a bit and yanked my tooth out without me even realising that they’d done it. The whole procedure took less than 15 minutes, and the dentist was professional, comforting and very patient with my running commentary on the strange sensations of the anaesthesia. Sadly, they wouldn’t let me have my tooth… This one would have been a whopper with the tooth fairy!
The waking times once you get there can be a bit crap, I will say. The first time I went, I waited for over half an hour after my appointed time before anyone would see me, and then had another long wait to get my x-​ray done. The second time, I waited for fifteen minutes before I was seen. Ironically, I was in and out in less than half the time when I actually had the procedure than when I was just in for a consultation!

In September 2013 my husband was referred to the Edinburgh Dental Institute for an extraction of impacted wisdom tooth. We were told at the time it would take 12 weeks max for this to happen. Needless to say, this was not the case. Six months on, with maximum doses of paracetamol and ibuprofen to deal with agonising pain and four courses of antibiotics to calm the infections we were no closer to getting a date. In the end we got an appointment for extraction two months further on, making the wait a full eight months. Phone calls, pleadings and complaints fell on deaf ears and the staff were uninterested in helping him. With the help of our parents we stumped up for a private dentist who sorted everything out within a week of being contacted.
I was very glad to be able to contact the Dental Institute and say we didn’t need their help anymore.
A month later we received a letter from the Dental Institute inviting my husband for an x-​ray. I called again to say we had no need of this as we had already had the problem sorted privately and anyway, this made no sense as their earlier letter had given a date for extraction prior to this. The nurse told me there would have been no extraction done anyway as they wanted more x-​rays. She seemed indifferent and aggressive consistent with all my other encounters with them. There was no follow up or interest expressed by the managers in our horrific experience and no desire to change or accept any responsibility for their incompetence. I have since found out the emergency clinic is only open one day a week. All in all a very poor experience.

In 2006 My dentist advised me that I should either pay him the amount of a minivan or to be transferred into the care of the University of Dentistry as an outpatient. — not a difficult choice. My teeth were deemed in such a state that up & coming orthodontists and Dental Care consultants could practise on me.
After an 1.5 hours of interview and assessment that same year I was accepted and my treatment started in early 2007.
I should back up a bit. This institute is NOT a free for all, not everyone will be able to enter into a program like I was. They do perform emergency treatments, but regular visitors are not part of this institute. They do not replace your normal NHS or Private dentist.
My treatment in 2007 & 2008 was minimal — many consultancies, measurements and towards the end of 2008 my first real visit.
I have been a regular with dentists and have had many. Good and bad. However the one before moving to Edinburgh has only been able to plug holes if you will. So I was a little wary. But I needn’t be — the care at Prof Ibbetson Dental Institute for Dentistry is brilliant. They make you feel at ease and use the very latest in local anaesthesia.
As the program I am in has not fully finished yet I cannot comment on the full outcome but I will review the part up to today.
As I said they try to make you at ease, until you have to get a full treatment and boy did I have some treatment!
I will give a small overview of what I had so far in the last 4 years
Root Canals (about 5 or 6)
Nerve Cuts
Gum Slices
Removal of old fillings — all of them
Holing and roughing molars
Cleansing gums, teeth and jaw.
Veneers on the Front row
Caps on the bottom front row
Bridges to support the veneers
Cement for caps and molars hoods
Gold fittings on all molars
…
and many many many needles in my palate, gum and jaw to numb for treatment.
Only on some occasions it really hurt, (mostly the needles) but hey they are dentists in training and always under supervision of a consultant!
Anyone who has been to the dentist and had a filling or a root-​canal treatment will know what it is like — I have had this nearly every 2 – 3 months. — Thinking about it does make my claw clench up.
The biggest drawback regarding this ‘stretched treatment’
They will not give you a guarantee but if anything is amiss you can always call upon them to fix it. — if it is beyond your own dentist’s skill or knowledge.
I had my problems, but they weren’t anything too major. — Just badly timed. I lost a molar fitting while holidaying in Finland, I cracked my Front Veneers 2x just when the weekend started and the latest was a cemented metal bridge that gave way on Boxing Day… whoopsie.
But I was able to make an emergency appointment the day after and all was good again.
If you (like me) struggled with really bad set of teeth, ground up and anxiety induced acid erosion and possibly facing a bill nearing the £30k. Try asking your dentist if it would be possible to become a subject at the Dental Institute.

The staff is very friendly and helpful, and will make you as much comfortable as possible. The waiting time is quite long but it is rather the standard waiting time everywhere. The service is 100% satisfactory.