The member of staff giving me treatment acted "strangely" as soon as I walked into the treatment room. After expressing my (later justified) fears that I had a post-extraction infection, this staff member immediately dismissed this possibility out of hand. Their exact words were "no, you do not have an infection, it's probably just the [hot] weather." Given that hot weather generally doesn't make me so ill I'm unable to work, I respectfully (if incredulously) disagreed. This reaction alone was odd; it was almost as if the staff member had some kind of gain in not diagnosing me with an infection. The practitioner then proceeded to talk over me every time I even began to describe my symptoms to them; on top of this, the entire time they were speaking and looking at my accompanying girlfriend, who looked confused as to why she was being addressed about symptoms someone else was experiencing. After several minutes of trying to explain my symptoms and why I was worried for my health, I gave up, as the dentist continued in this dismissive, odd fashion for the entirety of the conversation. During this time, I noticed the other member of staff in the room with us rolling her eyes and at one point even professionally disagreeing with what the original member of staff was saying, which further made me feel that I wasn't in competent hands with regard to my treatment and health. The situation became worse when the member of staff started mumbling about endocarditis, which is an infection of the heart lining which can be caused by teeth-related illness and infection. They mentioned this condition seemingly out of the blue about five times (and after denying I had an infection at all); clearly, this really worried me. She then made me do several tests to "see if I was well", including putting my head between my legs, a test which I am not familiar with, nor does it seem to have any medical merit. After denying that I needed antibiotics, and completely dismissing I was unwell whatsoever, I went back to being unable to stay awake and not being able to work for another week. I then called an emergency appointment again. The same thing happened with the same member of staff. This time, however, they actually looked at my extraction/socket and announced that I did indeed have an infection. After very aggressively and painfully administering local anaethstetic to my gums, they "drained the socket", told me that "the infection was all gone", mumbled more about endocarditis, then told me to leave. Please, please look into the conduct/bedside manner/professionalism/people skills/communication skills of this member of staff. If I was a more vulnerable person, I would have left that clinic terrified. You should not throw about terms like "endocarditis" without good cause. Further, please just *listen* to your patients; the only way of making an accurate diagnosis is to actually *listen* to what your patient is saying. Dreading coming back in this week.
Original Comment Report...

I have a back tooth that is hanging on by the nerve!!! 48 calls yesterday, 47 of them engaged, the only connected call rang out! Today, so far 74 calls. This may be the best dental service the world has ever known but if you cant get through to make a appointment, the one thing it isn't is accessible!
Original Comment Report...

Been phoning all to get emergency appointment. Got a phone back at 1.25 saying that I can have an appointment at 2. Said might be a few minutes late and was told not to bother they would reallocate to someone else.
Original Comment Report...