I recently had a lumpectomy and have a great result but need radiotherapy and medication, the problem is that the medication can affect my gums so my oncologist as said I need a dentist but I can't get one on nhs, xent to a private dentist and wanted £1500 for extractions and dentures, I can't afford that as I'm a pensioner, please could you let me know anyway I can get help please
Hello Trigsgirl.
My name’s Vicky and I’m a Support Advisor here at Macmillan. I’m so sorry to hear you’re going through such a difficult time, and it must be such a worry to be needing this dental treatment too, especially finding out the cost of going privately.
When you say you can’t get a dentist on the NHS, is it that you can’t find a dentist or that they’ve told you you’re not eligible? You can check to see if there is an NHS dentist in your area by searching on the NHS website, I’ve put a link for it in below. It may also be beneficial to have a chat with your cancer nurse if you have one or even your GP, to see if there’s anything they can do about getting you a referral for a dentist, everywhere works differently but it’s worth asking them.
If it is the case that you do have to pay privately, we have a Welfare Rights Team here on our Support Lines who can look at your situation and advise on any benefits, grants etc. that you could be entitled to. They can be contacted through chat by selecting Welfare Rights and Benefits as the subject or you can give them a call on 0808 808 0000 selecting Option 1 for the Support Lines then Option 2 for Money and Work and Finally Option 2 again for Welfare Rights.
I’ve also put a copy of our booklet below, there may be some additional information and advice in there that can help you.
I hope these options are helpful for your Trigsgirl. If you have further questions, please feel you can come back to us at any time.
Remember you can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or by email.
