White Fillings on Back Teeth on the NHS

nikki2804

brook2jack wrote: »

Composite fillings are complex to do and not the material of choice in large cavities anyway. There is no code and therefore no remuneration given for large composite(white ) fillings. You and the surgery were wrongly informed and there is no special arrangements for pregnant women to recieve composite fillings.

Also the regulations only ever applied to pregnant women not breastfeeding women. To avoid being too graphic you can produce a matb1 certificate to prove pregnancy but breastfeeding??

I am only providing the information given to me by my dentist. If they wish to provide me with the service free of charge because i am breast feeding then I'm going to let them. The work was also confirmed and signed off by the NHS. Also, I was never asked to provide my MATB1 form, only the exemption certificate given to me when I first fell pregnant which incidently runs up until my child is 18 months old not a year.

I will continue to use this service although hopefully I wont need any fillings for a while.

Ellie2758

well there yu go then. is an NHS dentist and i am on the list for the newbie dentists who have no experience. they last a year or so then get replaced by another newbie. not ideal but that's life i guess.

Toothsmith wrote: »

It's not really that it's not as strong - I have one in a friend of mine which I did when we were students, and it's still there 20yrs later.

It's just that they are much harder to do well. (And to balance it up - I also do the occasional one that doesn't last well as well!!)

You can bung amalgam in virtually any old hole, and even if the cavity is swimming with saliva, it has a fair old chance of lasting. Perfect for high-speed low-skill conveyor belt stuff.

To do a white filling that lasts though, you need to really know what you're doing, and have the time to do it.

If your dentist always seems to be in a rush - whether private or NHS - then avoid having white fillings done there. It will do more harm than good.

Only have white fillings done by a dentist who is happy to book appointments of good length, and take his/her time.

Unfortunately though, that time will only be available from an NHS dentist if they have some other form of income (Like a lottery win!).

coldstreamalways

Ellie2758 wrote: »

well there yu go then. is an NHS dentist and i am on the list for the newbie dentists who have no experience. they last a year or so then get replaced by another newbie. not ideal but that's life i guess.

You are right in calling them a newbie dentist but they will have been treating people (under supervision) for the best part of three years so they arenot quite as fresh as you may think.

The reason they are only around for a year is that they are in a training job that lasts a year, the jo is to provide a transition between supervised hospital practice and unsupervised independent practice. Their trainer will get a new trainee next year, if this year's trainee stayed around, next years trainees would have no-one to train them!

dee17

nikki2804 wrote: »

If your in Scotland you can get white fillings on the NHS aslong as your pregnant or a breastfeeding mother. I feel I should point out the latter (sorry if I am hijacking the thread slightly) but I know many dentists still charge breastfeeding mothers for white fillings.

I actually had an out and out argument with my dentist over this point. In the end he told me he wouldn't charge me that day and look up on the matter. Well I looked it up too, he was adamant that no one had told him this. (It was actually the receptionist who told me about it in the first place)

So research is key because (apparently) not all dentists are aware of what can be claimed on the NHS.

I use apparently sparingly (sp) I do realise that a lot of dentists will be know about this, just seems that none in my area have!

Would it be possible for you to provide the NHS contact so I can get confirmation to give my NHS dentist. They are currently saying I will need to pay for the composite (white) filling. However, according to your thread I should be entitled to this as a pregnant woman on the NHS. So if you can tell me who I can contact to get writen confirmation, this would be very useful. Thank you.

brook2jack

There is no regulation allowing White fillings on the nhs to pregnant women. Your dentist is correct. The only advice is not to place amalgam whilst pregnant which normally means a temporary filling.

I'm afraid the posters advice was incorrect.

nineteenseventyseven

Dentists in Scotland can apply for prior approval to the dental practice board in Edinburgh. In some cases they will grant permission and a discretionary fee for placing a posterior composite ( White filling on back tooth). In most cases the advice is to place a temporary filling ( usually glass ionomer).

I have never heard of any patient having an exemption lasting for 18 months after giving birth. The exemption has only ever been valid for courses of treatment starting prior to the baby's first birthday. This is clearly stated on the gp17 form which is signed by the patient prior to treatment.

frivolous_fay

Toothsmith wrote: »

"It's like squirrels and rats" he said. "Both essentially the same animal, but one is seen as cute and fluffy, the other get's complaints to Environmental Health"

Hm, I wouldn't want to put either in my mouth either. That's such a reassuring quote, persumably coming from a dentist :rolleyes:

brook2jack

"Dentists in Scotland can apply for prior approval to the dental practice board in Edinburgh. In some cases they will grant permission and a discretionary fee for placing a posterior composite ( White filling on back tooth). In most cases the advice is to place a temporary filling ( usually glass ionomer)."




However the prior approval has to be for medical reasons and they will normally want a consultants report. Pregnancy is not normally seen as a reason for composite fillings.

nikki2804

brook2jack wrote: »

There is no regulation allowing White fillings on the nhs to pregnant women. Your dentist is correct. The only advice is not to place amalgam whilst pregnant which normally means a temporary filling.

I'm afraid the posters advice was incorrect.

As i've previously said, if my dentist wants to give me white fillings for nothing due to being a nursing mother then I am not going to complain or say "no, no i'll pay for it"

Right or wrong its the dental practice who gave me this information and ill hold them to it. Although I am not planning on having any more fillings.

Plus I never said that the exemption lasted for 18 months, I only stated that my certificate lasted until the sprog was 18 months for some reason. He was born in June and it lasts until October 2010 according to the dates on he form.