How long should a dental check up take ?

mandi

I had my six month check up today , happily everything was okay , but it literally took less than 2 mins as it always does . Is this about right ?



Also when my son turned 18 he was changed from NHS to private care without our knowledge can the dentist do this please ? He was made redundant in December , not claiming benefit, but stil charged as a private patient today .


Thanks for reading

brook2jack

Your son is an adult and the surgery would be breaching privacy rules discussing his status with you. If the practice only has a restricted contract for under 18 s they will not be able to see him as a nhs patient and he will need to go elsewhere if he wants nhs treatment. He should have been made aware of this when booking the checkup.

If you are a private patient I would not expect a "routine" check up to take less than 15 to 20 minutes. Longer if a new patient or complex treatment. Nhs will be alot shorter.

mandi

Thanks Brook

Yes I am an NHS patient . Im slightly worried now that potential things may be missed , both for me & my children.

Also they asked me for the fee for my sons checkup which I feel they cant justify considering the time it took ?

brook2jack

The other thought I had was if your son is not claiming benefits and had a nhs checkup then he would automatically have to pay the nhs fee £16 ish England less in Wales and Scotland.

If it was a nhs fee he will have to pay it but can ask for an ag1 form to see if he can get help with nhs costs and if he does claim back the check up fee.

coldstreamalways

If it was an NHS check up that is the fee the practice HAVE to charge for it whether it took 2min or 20min, if you don't like it then you either need to lobby your MP or vote with your feet.

TBH, how long I spend on a check up depends on a lot of things including dental history and how much info I have on that (ie new patient or patient who we have been seeing for 15 years and has 15yrs worth of radiographs), how restored the dentition is (ie a handful of small fillings versus a mouth full of crowns, bridges and implants with rotations and root fillings etc etc). Lots of variables.

welshdent

mandi wrote: »

Thanks Brook

Yes I am an NHS patient . Im slightly worried now that potential things may be missed , both for me & my children.

Also they asked me for the fee for my sons checkup which I feel they cant justify considering the time it took ?

As you get more experienced you tend to get quite adept at spotting things. What would have once taken 20 minutes to do becomes a much quicker task. Sometimes there just isnt anything TO see. coldstream explains the situation for the charge. The NHS is a flat rate even if we dont like it. Move to wales, its free up to 25 :A

mandi

Thank you for your replies , I really appreciate it .


Just one more question please to our lovely dentists .

I know you check a patients soft palate, but do you check lips too as part of the check up ?
My reason for asking is that I have a blue " ink stain " like mark on my lower lip , and its not planning on going anywhere

brook2jack

I check everything from the lymph nodes in the neck to the jaw joints hard and soft tissues and general health and appearance. In my time I have diagnosed everything from leukaemia to oral cancers to psorasis and back. Every dentist studies oral and general medicine.

Ask your dentist about mark it's probably an amalgam tattoo or a graphite tattoo from chewing a pencil or a little group of bloodvessels ( haemangioma) but ask the dentist who is an expert on this and can actually see you .

elfen

Mine took five minutes, and got told I need 2 fillings and then they did the x-rays.