Unfair dental charges?

paulpud

My partner is currently having a minor dispute with her dentist.

She went for a routine check up in mid January and was advised to have root canal work followed by a crown. She paid the standard £16.50 charge and arranged an appointment for beginning of February, when she had her first treatment. Yesterday she went for her second treatment, leaving only the crown to be fitted. At the end of her treatment she was asked to pay another £46.50 to cover the root canal work, and was told that she would then have to pay another £198.00 when the crown is fitted.

She questioned this as she believed the £198.00 charge would cover the crown and root canal work, but was told that because it was necessary for three months to elapse before fitting the crown, it goes outside the two month period allowed for completion of treatment.

I didn't think this was right so I checked the NHS webpage this morning and my interpretation of the rules is that the £198.00 charge should have not only covered the root canal work but also the initial check and diagnosis. The two month rule seems to apply to new treatment after a course has been completed.

Does anyone else have any ideas on this?

meltdown_point

paulpud wrote: »

I didn't think this was right so I checked the NHS webpage this morning and my interpretation of the rules is that the £198.00 charge should have not only covered the root canal work but also the initial check and diagnosis. The two month rule seems to apply to new treatment after a course has been completed.

Does anyone else have any ideas on this?

Print off this information and bring it to the dentist!!!!!
See what they say!
If you dont ask..........you dont get!!!:D

Toothsmith

Your interpretration is correct paulpud. £198 is the maximum charge, and covers all the work that has been done so far.

This is not an uncommon dodge pulled by a few 'NHS' practices, and they'll be pocketing the extra £16.50 and £46.50.

I'd seriously consider reporting this to the local Primary Care Trust dental department, as I bet you're not the only one they're doing this to.



EDIT - sorry missed the 3 month gap!!!!!

This would mean that the £198 charge would be appropriate, and the £46.50 is right for the root filling.

Not sure why the £16.50 was charged seperately though.

tirednewdad

Not sure why she was charged £16 and then £46 as this should be included under one cost (£46.50) as it is a band 2 treatment.
The only reason i can see that these charges were separate was if the first appointment was for emergancy treatment (which would cause an extra charge).

It is not necessary for there to be a 3 month gap after the rootcannal treatment (RCT) and a crown can be place straight away, but some dentists do like to give the tooth some time to settle after a RCT before providing an expensive crown.

As the poster above said- if you don't ask you don't get, so take the information to the dentist.

welshdent

I dont think the 3 month gap between RCT and crown is unreasonable. Its a stabilisation phase which understanding NHS dentistry and the CDO for wales have both said are perfectly acceptible. Its a common misconception you can have everything for one price. It doesnt work like that and is contrary to all the advice I get. Doing one filling every 3 months as seperate courses is not acceptible but doing a root filling first then a crown as a sep course of treatment is. It is still a tiny fraction of the costs involved if getting it done privately. The total cost for a band 4 band 2 and band 3 will still not come to the cost of a decent private crown

welshdent

tirednewdad wrote: »

Not sure why she was charged £16 and then £46 as this should be included under one cost (£46.50) as it is a band 2 treatment.
The only reason i can see that these charges were separate was if the first appointment was for emergancy treatment (which would cause an extra charge).

It is not necessary for there to be a 3 month gap after the rootcannal treatment (RCT) and a crown can be place straight away, but some dentists do like to give the tooth some time to settle after a RCT before providing an expensive crown.

As the poster above said- if you don't ask you don't get, so take the information to the dentist.

If she attended in pain which is a reasonable assumption given that an RCT is recommended then that could quite easily induce a band 4 charge

paulpud

Thank you all for the advice.

Whilst I accept that what she is being asked to pay probably is a fraction of the cost of going private, it doesn't really relate to my query in this instance. It isn't so much an unwillingness to pay the amount she's being charged but the principle of having to pay more than is actually stipulated.

When she first went to the dentist it was for her six-monthly check up. She had experienced no pain and was totally unaware that there was a problem with the tooth.

welshdent

The main issue for me is the initial band 4 charge (if it was). If she had no pain then realistically they can not charge for a band 4 then a band 1. The £198 charge for the crown in additon to the 40 odd for the root filling IS imo reasonable. This is because IMO root fillings are not always 100% successful therefore i normally advise that the tooth needs to have a few months to settle before definitive final restorations are provided. I am not alone on that approach and I think it is sensible. The alternative is 198 for all the treatment and then an extra 40 odd for the extraction if it fails after the treatment ... and yes that does happen. (charges are less in wales so I cant recall the exact england ones)

Toothsmith

Sorry Paulpud, I think my first reply was wrong.

paulpud

She called the local PCT who suggested that she perhaps might have been given a treatment plan in which case the £198.00 would have covered all treatment, but it is quite common (also described as crafty) for patients to be charged the way she has. So on reflection it would seem she has been charged £16.50 unnecessarily which isn't really worth making a fuss about.

Thanks again for all the advice.

welshdent

It isnt crafty it is IMO responsible in THESE instances i.e. Root fillings then crowns ... to do 2 sep courses. PCTs however have no dentally trained people giving advice and as such they do not understand of appreciate the complexities of such treatments. GLad we could be of some help though