False teeth.

I would go for the private over NHS everytime if you can afford it . They will look and fit much better.

I had to make the same decision when getting crowns replaced and went private. Don't tend to spend a lot of money on myself but my daughter went for the NHS option and was not happy with them whereas I am delighted with mine. The way I looked at it was I would probably spend a similar amount on a car or house repair so why not for me!!!

I am glad I found this post as this evening my sister rang me and told me that the small top plate she had fitted about this time last year has snapped in half,would she have to pay again for the repair or replacement of a new plate she is treated under the NHS,I will telephone the dentist for her on Tuesday but just wondering how she stands with regard to payment or gaurentee of work

Yes I went with private, but not before attending Dental Hospital for months, so bad words fail me !!

I have a (much hated) small denture from the nhs, and have absolutely no problems with it; even though I was fully prepared for and probably looking for issues. No slipping, sliding, or popping out unexpectedly
Over ten years now, and still going strong.

I have belonged to a Dental insurance scheme for 25 years. I had to do as at the time there were so few NHS dentists in Wales. It started off costing about £8 a month and now is about £19. For this I have all the dentists time facilities such as X-ray and check ups and cleans etc. The only thing I pay for is the technician's time if I have a crown or veneer. A crown is now about £70.
I had a front tooth break while I was on holiday in USA last time - went to a local dentist and she did a repair for £150 which I was reimbursed - then when the repair failed my little friendly French chappie did a repair using metal pins too and my UK man gave me two veneers to strengthen and cover the repair as for front teeth you need the pair done. He managed to get that all done on the insurance part of the policy.
I have been delighted with my policy and the cost of anything done. Most times I have no further money to pay.

I should imagine the calibre of the dentist and technician is more relevant than whether they are in a private or NHS practice. Unfortunately we don't always know how good or bad they are till it's too late! My (private) practice seems to be constantly changing staff.

Same here. I have an NHS plate and it fits well. I've had it over ten years and no problem

You are so right Maggie - I went to two private dentists (there are no NHS dentists in my area). The first practice was terrible, filled a tooth over an abcess, managed to do the check up, X-ray and filling in 30 minutes! Still in pain I went to a different dentist, he was excellent undid the damage caused by the first dentist and I now have regular check ups with him. The charges in both cases were very similar so it wasn't down to the first dentist doing the job on the cheap - just incompetent.

Ask around. I went to a recommended dental technician, not a dentist , and he was superb! He insisted I keep going back for tweaks , as many times as I like, till they were perfect. comfiest than nhs, but I do stress it's crucial u keep returning for tweaks. He maybe was about a hundred more than basic NHS. I have got another set since and wouldn't go anywhere else. He s near Falkirk Scotland

I had to have most of my teeth removed and got an NHS set of dentures - felt dreadful - had huge set of choppers that took up my whole mouth and couldn't breathe - kept trying them in the hope that they would eventually feel better, but eventually gave up, especially as my remaining few teeth kept crumbling. Sometime I will go and see what, if anything, can be done, but meantime am trying to save up as much as I can in the hope that if private is better can afford it.

I had a nhs palette fitted a couple of months ago it's fairly comfortable but I wish now I'd gone for a more expensive acrylic or chromium clip version if you have the money I'd go for more expensive option

Had dentures for many many years. I had a NHS pair some years ago and they were always causing problems so the next pair I went privately and had very little trouble. Dentist retired so I went to another dentist and discussed private or NHS. He said modern dentures were fine under the NHS and I took his advice and they have been very successful. It depends on the dentist and denture maker.

Have had NHS partial dentures for many years. First one was from a dentist I'd seen regularly for a long time but they never seemed to fit properly against my own teeth, despite several tweeks. After I moved to a different area my new (NHS) dentist made me a new plate which is perfect. Looks good and feels good!

AS someone said earlier it's all about competence, not price.

I've had both Nhs and private.neither have fitted properly but the private ones were marginally better but they cost £600 and sit in a pot in my bathroom cupboard! I've given up trying to get used to them! I've been back a few times to have them tweeked but to no avail.
I've always been a slow eater but now it's a family joke how long I take! They don't know about the teeth saga! My front teeth are still my own!

I don't know about dentures but I had private dental cover when I was working & had everything done privately. When I retired I went NHS & TBH I have not noticed any difference at all. Had a crown fitted this week with no pain- no fuss & a really lovely girl who couldn't have been nicer. I've been NHS for 6 years now & no problems at all.

I think it is worth spending money on your teeth
I have always had bad teeth fir a variety of reasons but thank the gods for the wonderful dentist who saved my teeth when I was in my thirties. Excellent dentists are like gold dust!

After an really bad accident in 1970 I lost my front teeth and had to have a fitted bridge. I was highly recommended a private dentist by my doctor and paid £ 800 for the bridge. A lot of money for me at the time. A few years later we moved to Devon and I went to the dentist for a check up. I had never been satisfied with the bridge it was very thick and ugly so when the dentist commented how ugly it was and offered to re-do it on the NHS for a minimal sum I glad agree and have been delighted with it during all those years. So Private is not always best.
Likewise I have in the past 25 years had 7 pairs or hearing aid which I paid for privately. When the digital aids became available on the NHS I decided to try those. It was the best decision ever, I have the best hearing so far although not perfect by any means. Never think they can achieve that as it is the clarity not the volume that suffers. Goood luck with your new teeth. x

For me it was down to the fitting. Taking time to get used to the dentures and going back and forth until they were exactly right was worth the extra money. Now I just bung 'em in and forget 'em - and can eat nuts!

Just a word of warning. I have had dentures since I was a child and have always had NHS ones. They have been fine. I needed new ones recently and decided to go all out for a (very expensive) private set. I had them fitted last week and was in severe pain with the bottom ones rubbing. I had great difficulty eating. Although (after a couple of visits back to the dentist) the are beginning to feel a bit better, to be honest I never had this problem with NHS ones, so I am wondering if I have done the wrong thing and wasted my money.

This is an interesting post for me as I have been putting up with a broken bridge, front teeth since 2006. The bridge was put back temporarily after having a tooth removed. The private dentist kept putting of making a new replacement from August 2006 then just before Christmas he told me he was retiring. Of course the dentist taking over the practice would not touch it. We have come to an agreement that I keep the bridge until it fails.

I have a horror of dentures, the idea of taking teeth out at night terrifies me. My dentist says you have to take them out to allow the gums to breath. I remember my Nan's teeth in the glass beside the bed!

I have very few back teeth. I have just been for a check up and told it won't last much longer but they have been saying that for years. I am off to Canada Friday just hope nothing goes wrong while I am away. It will just show up British Dentistry. Don't know why people don't kick up a fuss about NHS denists as they do with Hospitals.

I have a partial top set which is Chrome and was recommended and fitted by a private dentist under a monthly payment scheme. The previous set was NHS, very flimsy and broke when I bit into an apple so he recommended Chrome. It took a long time to get used to but has been very sturdy. The Chrome plate also clips in place and doesn't cover the whole of the roof of my mouth which feels much better. The only problem I have is cleaning it properly. Because denture cleaners which you soak the denture in for a period of time contain bleach I can't use them so have to use denture toothpaste but try as I may it doesn't do a good job. I keep looking for something that I can soak it in and that doesn't contain bleach but have been unsuccessful so far. Any recommendations would be great.

I have partial denture always NHS. Last year I had to had several teeth extracted so I needed new dentures. Top set are brilliant, went in day I had teeth out. Bottom set are a different matter, I had a bottom set previously which I couldn't get used to. I can't get used to new set but need to try Fixodent or similar. Dentist did say when I had my check-up that if I can't get along with them she will arrange for a new denture to be made. I'm really happy with my NHS Dentist

I too have a partial NHS top denture and have had them for about a year, and they are great. Previous to this my last denture is still fine (I now keep them as a spare) and they were ten years old. I've worn partials since my early twenties and my first pair were metal with clasps that attached to my back teeth and these were the best, very thin and doesn't cover the whole of the roof of mouth. However, many years later my back teeth had to be removed therefore the only option was the plastic sort. However, I've had very little trouble with them.

If it was me, and the very thin one's with clasps were suitable for you, then I would opt for them.

Saying that the choice is yours of course, but I'm more than happy with my NHS one's and after a few fittings and a few weeks they felt good. I can eat most things with them and the colour matches in well with my own teeth.

Before I had my new denture I had been advised to look into using the services of a Clinical Dental Technician thise guys are suppose to give a much better fit and service but in the end I went for NHS ones.