"Not provided with all the options"

My son had an accident two years ago and fractured both front teeth. He was first seen at the Children's Hospital where they assessed him and referred us to Glasgow Dental Hospital. There they gave us minimal information about the situation of our son's teeth. They weren't able to take an x-ray, even though my young son cooperated at all times and said the only solution was to remove the teeth. No other option or further information was provided as if there was nothing else to be done for my son. I didn't think this was true, I mean, it was 2021 and not 1950.

I had to google information, ask for desperate help via social media, and contact dentists in other countries until I found an answer and a doctor in Edinburgh who was able to help us save our son's teeth.  Yes, there was a risk of having an infection and of the teeth dying which was terrible, but no one, I mean, no one was able to tell us there could be an option to protect the fractured teeth and give my son a small chance of living with his baby teeth for a couple of years.

The private doctor in Edinburgh put two crowns on my son's teeth and monitored the situation closely.  They gave us the information and guidance to make the best decision for him. I understand maybe the NHS does not give this specific treatment, but saying there was no option I feel was unfair. The NHS needs to be more open in communicating with the patients by saying that they don't do this treatment here, but you could find this or that in a private clinic. That's all!

Now my son's teeth look really healthy and he has been a happy and smiley kid for a whole year. The trauma of the accident plus the unhelpful response from the NHS could have cost us years and years of sadness and even bullying. My only hope is that the staff and the system can learn from our experience to provide better guidance for parents, carers, and patients and all of the information available.