Free Dental Treatment For Children?

[mancitychick]

Hi

I am slightly confused and wondering if anyone can help.

My son who is 7 has sensitive back teeth. The dentist said the enamel hasn't formed properly on his back teeth but to try using a flouride mouth wash for 6 weeks if it didn't work to come back and he could put a fissue seal on his back teeth.

Now I had this seal done when I was 7 and so did all my class mates, but apparently this is something they did in the seventies and eighties to everyone, whereas now they only do it to children who need it.

I.E. Children whos teeth are decaying as they are not looked after or children like mine who has a problem with their teeth but the teeth have been well looked after.

Anyway we go back after 6 weeks as the mouth wash has not worked and the dentist says that he can put the seal on if I want, so I say go ahead. As he is about to start he tells me it will be £12 per tooth - £48 in total :eek:

I told him I thought children were free under NHS and he said that the NHS only pay for fissue seal for children with decaying teeth.

I paid it, but what I want to know is was he right? How can I find out whether or not the NHS would of paid for this?

[Maisie]

My grandaughter had that done for the same reason as your childs. Had it twice on 2 teeth and it cost £54 ! the dentist said it wasn't available under the NHS. Didn't give the other reasons about decayed teeth.

[trafalgar]

bit of a strange one this really,your dentist is right it can be done on the nhs but only if decay has started .................as part of treatment to prevent further decay,but not as preventative,daft ain't it .

[Maisie]

So the NHS would pay for more expensive fillings but not for something to prevent these more expensive fillings.

it's a crazy system we have.

[mancitychick]

I could just about swallow it if I had asked for the treatment and there was no need for it, but there is a problem with his teeth and this was the only treatment available. Arghhhh.

[Maisie]

Same as Phoebe. Same as a lot of other things if you look after yourself you don't get any help. If you neglect yourself you get help!

[mancitychick]

Spot on there Maisie. If I had left his teeth to rot they would be happy to pick up the bill for all the fillings & teeth out etc..

[trafalgar]

I could just about swallow it if I had asked for the treatment and there was no need for it, but there is a problem with his teeth and this was the only treatment available. Arghhhh.

I'd be looking for a more sympathetic dentist ,I'm sure he /she could of done this as it was needed ,seems they were just following the guidelines too rigidly

[BFG]

I'd be looking for a more sympathetic dentist ,I'm sure he /she could of done this as it was needed ,seems they were just following the guidelines too rigidly

By 'more sympathetic' do you mean 'will work for free'??

[Toothsmith]

This thread highlights perfectly the complete **** up that is NHS dentistry.

BFG's point is very well made, but doesn't pick up the true depths to which it has sunk. You are not looking for a dentist who will work for free, you are looking for one who will MAKE A LOSS. In effect you are looking for one who is prepared to dig into his own pocket to pay for your child's treatment.

Technically you are correct, all treatment necessary to secure and maintain oral health is availabe on the NHS to a registered NHS patient. This is why fissure sealents normally fall outside this. If your kids teeth aren't decayed, then he's orally healthy, and nothing is NEEDED. If decay has started, then it is needed, but technically, it is too late for FS. So, on the NHS, entirely inappropriate treatment is being funded by the taxpayer!

As your kids teeth are sensitive, then there is a case to be argued that this treatment WAS necessary, and should have been provided, especially as the dentist said it was necessary. (Has it cured things BTW?). You could approach the dentist and quote the phrase I've highlighted above. This is a key phrase from our contract. He will see from that that you know what you're talking about! If he doesn't change his position, you could ask for the practices complaints proceedure, and if you get no satisfaction through that, take the complaint to the local Primary Care Trust (PCT) it will be the PCT local to the dental practice, rather than the one local to you (If there is a difference) that you will need to contact.

Bear in mind though, that it may become necessary to change dentist if the complaint gets too nasty.

Due to the way the NHS contract is going to change next April, I am currently trying to persuade as many parents as possible to change their kids onto a Junior private scheme I have. It could well be that most kids with well looked after mouths get even less on the NHS in future.

[Spendless]

Just wondered. Why would it make a loss? Is that because the NHS would pay less than the charge being made?

[Anya]

I asked about this procedure for my son, and I got told that it was only done if the grooves in the back teeth are deep and can't be cleaned properly. My little boy still has his baby teeth but he has had alot of problems with them. Me and my sisters all had the coating done when we were younger and didn't have to pay. When his second teeth come through I am definitely going to try and get his done as it will be too late if he gets a hole in them. If I have to pay I have to pay but considering all the problems he has had so far I feel that it should be covered. If his second teeth come through and don't have deep grooves - I am going to have to fight for getting them done as I know that if he didn't his teeth will go bad again.
I never used to be worried about going to the dentist, but I now dread going with my children as each time I go I get a lecture about how my little boy is on a high-sugar diet. Each time I insist that he is not (everything I buy that can have reduced sugar - I get, he has sweets once a week, plenty of calcium in his diet, and full fluoride toothpaste) and that he has vulnerable teeth - like his dad, but she won't have any of it. It's so annoying. They no longer fill milk teeth either - they just yank the teeth out even if there is a hint of a hole (to save them having to have them taken out later)! I spent last year so stressed about my little boys teeth! Grrr - getting mad again now just talking about it!!

[Toothsmith]

Just wondered. Why would it make a loss? Is that because the NHS would pay less than the charge being made?

Sort of.

The NHS pay less than the cost of doing it.

The expenses at my practice are about £170 ph.

That means that to pay all my staff and the overheads etc taking into account holidays and time off for further training, and accounting for replacing and updating fixtures and fittings each working hour of the practice neets to gross £170.

It generally takes a half hour appointment to fissure seal 4 back teeth on a 7 year old. Possibly 15 mins if it's a really cooperative child. That means that it would cost the practice £42.50-£85, not including materials, but that would be less than £2 and the gloves, disinfection proceedures between patients, and disposables have already been accounted for in the £170.

The fee on the NHS for fissure sealants is £9.80 per tooth. So in an ideal case, the loss to the practice would be a few quid. If it's a wiggly child, it could be nearer £50!

[Toothsmith]

I asked about this procedure for my son, and I got told that it was only done if the grooves in the back teeth are deep and can't be cleaned properly. My little boy still has his baby teeth but he has had alot of problems with them. Me and my sisters all had the coating done when we were younger and didn't have to pay. When his second teeth come through I am definitely going to try and get his done as it will be too late if he gets a hole in them. If I have to pay I have to pay but considering all the problems he has had so far I feel that it should be covered. If his second teeth come through and don't have deep grooves - I am going to have to fight for getting them done as I know that if he didn't his teeth will go bad again.
I never used to be worried about going to the dentist, but I now dread going with my children as each time I go I get a lecture about how my little boy is on a high-sugar diet. Each time I insist that he is not (everything I buy that can have reduced sugar - I get, he has sweets once a week, plenty of calcium in his diet, and full fluoride toothpaste) and that he has vulnerable teeth - like his dad, but she won't have any of it. It's so annoying. They no longer fill milk teeth either - they just yank the teeth out even if there is a hint of a hole (to save them having to have them taken out later)! I spent last year so stressed about my little boys teeth! Grrr - getting mad again now just talking about it!!


Low sugar is not sugar free, and if you are the size of a bacteria living in the mouth, it's still a feast.

Sweets are not the only thing that rot teeth. Anything containing sugar can do that. But I'm afraid sugar is the ONLY cause of tooth decay. Even a 'weak' tooth would not decay without it.

The mouth can repair the teeth with the calcium and other wonderful stuff in saliva, but it can only do this if it gets good 4-5 hours of no sugary attacks 3-4 times a day.

So, the rule to try and stick to is not to worry about the stuff kids have at meal times. There's bound to be some sugar there somewhere, so you may as well have a whole load. The thing to stick rigidly to is no sugar between meals. Thats not only no sweets, but no biscuits, no sugary drinks, no fizzy drinks, try and avoid acidic pure fruit juices as well (The only 'safe' drinks are milk & water) If anything must be eaten in between meals, be absolutely sure it's sugar free. It really is best not to eat at all between meals though from a dental point of view.

The final thing to bear in mind is that the salivary glands shut down at night. So anything sugary being consumed within half an hour of bedtime could well be stuck to the teeth all night (even after brushing!) This is a very dangerous time to eat anything sugary.

Hope this helps

[Anya]

Why won't they fill their teeth any more? When I was little, pulling them out was the last resort - is this a cost thing as well?

[Maisie]

They do still fill children's teeth. My grandson had a small filling . His first (he's7) It came out after a couple of months
The dentist said the filling was too heavy for the tooth and had cracked the tooth..

He had to have a bigger filling as part of the tooth broke off.

I wasn't very impressed with the work done on him.

[Toothsmith]

Why won't they fill their teeth any more? When I was little, pulling them out was the last resort - is this a cost thing as well?

Yes.

Baby teeth can be filled very successfully, but the fees are appalling. No excuse not to do it though in my opinion. Just what tends to happen on the wonderful NHS.