I absolutely DO NOT recommend this practice to pregnant women. I had a terrible toothache about 3 months ago and one denstist told me (with a very patronising voice) it's just a gum disease and I should simply floss my teeth often. Unfortunately this was not true. It was a tooth infection. After taking one antibiotic prescribed by an emergency dentist outwith the Gorgie Dental Practice, the pain came back. I visited Gorgie Dental Practice again and asked (begged) for a tooth removal. All three dentists I have consulted there refused to remove the tooth without a prior x-ray. I did not give permission for x-ray- I'm aware that although a risk in pregnancy is small, low risk is still a risk and what I wanted at that moment was to get rid of pain/tooth without further antibiotic treatment or root canal treatment. I made it very clear that I could sign a document giving them a full consent for the removal of the tooth without an x-ray. I'm aware this is not ideal but in the existng circumstance (pregnancy, previous antibiotic treatment that didnt work) I believed this was the best option for me. I didn't feel listened to, my needs and values were completely ignored. I was offered to take another antibiotic (even though the dentist himself admitted this would not solve/cure the problem). After leaving Gorgie Dental Practice, feeling hopeless I phoned the NHS24 to seek help there. The NHS24 dentist at Lauriston Place removed the tooth I pointed (without an x-ray, he was unwilling to take an x-ray anyway because I was pregnant and he said it was unnecessary if I wanted to get the tooth removed) It turned out that the tooth had cracked inside which caused pain and I was made it very clear that the X-ray wouldn't have showed that anyway. The NHS dentist 24 admitted that Gorgie Dental Practice should have referred me to the specialist if they were not willing to extract the tooth themselves and considered what happened to me as unacceptable. A few minutes later I was without pain, no longer needed painkillers and antibiotics. I can confirm that 3 months later I'm still absolutely fine. In the Gorgie Dental Practice I was exposed to an unnecessary stress, prolonged use of painkillers and I would have been exposed to unnecessary risk to my baby if I had followed their advice (to get X-ray). I'm feeling really disappointed and obviously will never go back there again. I'm really grateful, however, to all the receptionists/dental nurses who listened to me, did their best to offer immediate appointments and advised me to phone the NHS24. read more
