We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
NHS dentistry and subtle ways they make you pay for private treatment
Options
Comments
-
good I would rather "him" not be the OP!!
0 -
I'm discontented Fabian.0
-
Inigo_Montoya wrote: »On a related issue is there much difference in the quality of work done by a hygentist charging say £25 as opposed to one charging say £80 ?
Im not totally against paying for a hygentist occasonally as long as they do a better job than a dentists basic scale & polish
Ideally I'd like to be able to get a basic dentist scale & polish (when clinically needed as is my right) with maybe the occasional trip to a hygenist for a more thorough clean
Most practices charge for the hygienist on the basis of time eg a 20 minute appointment costs less than a 30 minute appointment. Ideally the time you spend with a hygienist is not just treatment but education as well to show you how best to keep yourself healthy.
Ask how long the appointment is for, on the NHS we used to give 15minutes but the average private appointment is between 20 and 30 minutes, more if complicated treatment. The costs are normally related to how expensive the practice is to run..... a ritzy "spa" with leather seats and a coffee machine in a city centre will cost more than a family dentist in the suburbs.
A rough rule of thumb is a hygienist surgery costs approx £90 an hour to run in a cheapish practice. Extras such as antibiotics placed directly into the gums (if necessary) are normally charged seperately.0 -
brook2jack wrote: »Most practices charge for the hygienist on the basis of time eg a 20 minute appointment costs less than a 30 minute appointment. Ideally the time you spend with a hygienist is not just treatment but education as well to show you how best to keep yourself healthy.
Ask how long the appointment is for, on the NHS we used to give 15minutes but the average private appointment is between 20 and 30 minutes, more if complicated treatment. The costs are normally related to how expensive the practice is to run..... a ritzy "spa" with leather seats and a coffee machine in a city centre will cost more than a family dentist in the suburbs.
A rough rule of thumb is a hygienist surgery costs approx £90 an hour to run in a cheapish practice. Extras such as antibiotics placed directly into the gums (if necessary) are normally charged seperately.
Another thing to look for is if the hygienist works alone or with nursing support.
Some practices expect their hygienists to do the scaling, control the suction, clean and sterilize the instruments by themselves.
Others provide a nurse so that the Hygienist can concentrate on actually carrying out the clinical work.
It isn't rocket science to work out which is likely to be providing the better service in a given timespan.
(Disclaimer, I don't employ a hygienist.. I just married one)
0 -
I saw the hygentist yesterday
Rather than having an assistant she took the novel approach of getting me to do my own suction
Ending up gulping down quite a lot of water so not really ideal
Do any hygenist charging around £42 have assistants or do you have to pay a higher rate ?
Even so she did a reasonable job so I agreed to a follow up appointment in three months - I intend to do my best to take her advice i.e. change to an electric toothbrush , use dental brushes & cordysl
The idea being to get my teeth cleaned up to a decent standard & then try to find a dentist prepared to follow the rules & do a scale & polish under the NHS0 -
Having a chairside assistant varies from practice to practice to be honest. It would be down to the employer if they worked with one. Doing your own suction is not unusual. Even WITH an assistant we often ask the patient to help out a little. You may find it interesting that some countries not even the dentist has an assistant. France to name one. In ireland all students are trained to work alone.
Regards to being advised to be seen in 3 months makes me think that perhaps you have a condition that is a little more serious than a simple scale and polish would warrant anyway. This would put you in to the band 2 price bracket and in england is around the £42 mark anyway. You may find that you are managed better with a private hygienist and an NHS check up than having the dentist do the lot but still for £42 (granted without the £15 charge). I know which option I would chose to be honest.0 -
Regards to being advised to be seen in 3 months makes me think that perhaps you have a condition that is a little more serious than a simple scale and polish would warrant anyway.
I had/have a fair amount of build up of plaque/calculus and the associated gum disease - it was always going to take 2 cleaning treatments to sort it out properly IMO
As it happens I have already paid for NHS band 2 treatment in addtion to the cost of the 2 private treatments as I am having an extraction as well
Its pretty clear I was entitled under NHS rules to a scale & polish i.e.
http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1781.aspx?categoryid=74&subcategoryid=742
So I would have preferred it if the dentist had done this so called "basic" scale & polish and then referred me for a follow up visit with the hygenist saving me the extra £42
When I was looking for a dentist this was the only one who could fit me in at short notice
As such my suspicion is that I am not the only one who wasnt happy at having to pay for private treatment that should have been given on the NHS & who subsequently decided to find another dentist ! (which is exactly what I intend to do)0 -
I am not disputing you feel aggrieved honestly. I am just pointing out that if you need 3 months clean ups then you probably are more than a simple scaling ... we wouldnt do a basic scaling and then refer because that isnt the correct treatment. The correct treatment is subgingival debridement. BUT if you had already paid for band 2 treatments then yes the debridement should have been included in there anyway. You didnt mention that you had other treatment though so I Was working on the basis you had an exam and then a hygiene visit. If you were my patient I wouldnt have just done a basic scaling if that was contrary to the diagnosis because IMO I would be failing in my duty to treat you for your condition. Assuming you did not need other work I would have offered the band 2 treatment with me for what in wales is £39 or offered you the treatment with the hygienist which would work out at £32 (£12 for band 1 exam and £20 hygienist fees).
But as I Said, by the rules, if you were having a band 2 anyway then you would not have needed a "basic" scaling anyway because it would have been covered by the B 2 charge. The issue would have arisen with just band 10 -
just as an aside ... you may find it takes longer than the 2 visits to sort out gum disease. I have patients that I have been seeing every 3 months for the last 3 years. They get better but periodontal disease is no quick fix sadly. Really do listen to what the hygineist said and do buy the recommended items0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 351.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.7K Spending & Discounts
- 244.2K Work, Benefits & Business
- 599.2K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177K Life & Family
- 257.6K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards