I decided to go private a couple of years ago after having a bad experience with my NH dentist. At the first check up he told me I needed to have a root canal redone which cost me 400 pounds before he would take me on denplan. Now I am checked up 3 or 4 times a year and my teeth are pretty good. I haven't had to add to my 7 fillings in the last 2 years.
Actually I do have a horror story, when I wass about 13 I had a brace, the one with blocks on your teeth and a retaining wire. The wire was 3 ply plaited and decided to break out of the blocks and stuck through my cheek so I took the brace off including the blocks with a pair of scissors. My orthodontist was so pissed off he wrenched the remaining blocks off my teeth cracking the enamel of my front upper tooth leaving me with a dead tooth which is now black. I didn't go to a dentist for 10 years after that and by then my teeth were in bad shape needing a root canal and 5 or 6 fillings, he did cap the damaged tooth though so you cannot see it is bad from the front.