Am I entitled to keep my dental X-Ray?

scotsbob

I recently had a panoramic dental x-ray which was quite costly. I am now considering treatment abroad and the dental clinic has asked me to provide a panoramic x-ray.

Can anyone advise me if the one I have just paid for is my property or the property of the dental practice.

goanmad

Although you paid for the x-ray it forms part of your medical records and the clinic has ownership. You are entitled to borrow it or you can ask the dentist for a written report of his findings which you can take to with you.

Teerah

You are entitled to a copy, not to borrow it but you will be expected to pay a fee in relation to this.

bank_of_slate

scotsbob wrote: »

I recently had a panoramic dental x-ray which was quite costly. I am now considering treatment abroad and the dental clinic has asked me to provide a panoramic x-ray.

Can anyone advise me if the one I have just paid for is my property or the property of the dental practice.

Please be careful if you are looking to get treatment abroad. Please read the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry's advice
https://www.bacd.com/images/DentalHolidayAdvice.pdf

...Linda xx

Oldernotwiser

scotsbob wrote: »

I recently had a panoramic dental x-ray which was quite costly. I am now considering treatment abroad and the dental clinic has asked me to provide a panoramic x-ray.

Can anyone advise me if the one I have just paid for is my property or the property of the dental practice.

Unfortunately, in the UK, people aren't trusted to take responsibility for their own documentation, even if they've paid for it.

brook2jack

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Unfortunately, in the UK, people aren't trusted to take responsibility for their own documentation, even if they've paid for it.

No it's because you are much more likely to be sued in the uk than in any other country in the world including the us! The doctors/dentists defence lies in the notes, xrays and records .You may have a copy of these for a fee (but conventional opg xrays cannot be copied ,digital ones can.)

All of the dentists in the UK carry very hefty malpractice insurance the cost of which rockets with advanced treatment such as implants.

The reason why Linda posted the advice from the BACD (there is similar advice from the BDA and consumer groups and it applies to all treatment abroad not just eastern europe) is that many people having treatment abroad have found to their cost that similar protection, if something goes wrong ,is often not available or requires going through that countries court system.

Very few dentists will give a report on a xray taken by them if you are seeking treatment abroad because it may make them part of the treatment process and if something goes wrong it is easier to seek recompense from a uk dentist than one abroad.

vk2003

My understanding is that when you pay for an Xray at a dentists, you are not paying for the physical film, but for the interpretation of it. The film belongs to the practice. Thus you can generally pay for a copy of the film. This may be cheaper to procure if the film was digital in the first place as a simple copy of the image can be burnt onto a cd. However a physical film will often have to be sent to a hospital, or to the dentist's defence union who have the ability to duplicate it, who levy a charge to do so.