Dentist charges...can this be right?!

Mrs_justjohn

You need to register for a NHS dentist regardless of the waiting list...find one anywhere and go on the list - give a friends address or relatives address if it is out of your area. Then phone the dental emergency line and tell them that you are on the waiting list for a NHS dentist but in the meantime you have a dental emergency (pain from your wisdom teeth..etc...) They are obliged to give you NHS treatment even if it is with a dentist outside your area and not who you are on the waiting list for.

This is exactly what my hubby did and he got his teeth pulled at a NHS dentist and at NHS prices.

Alternatively does your local A&E Hospital have a dental dept?... They will not do cosmetic stuff but they will do what is necessary to get you out of pain.

Toothsmith

gmbunn wrote: »

Hi folks

I have been suffering with my wisdom teeth and went to see a private dentist today as i cant find a NHS dentist in my area taking patients. She told me I needed a filling and to have the 2 wisdom teeth out. Apparantly this is going to cost £540 in total?!

Does anybody know if this is correct or not? I need them out but i simply cant afford to pay that! Ive looked at dental cashplans but its no use as its a pre existing condition and they ont generally pay out that high claims!

Any advice or opinions would be gratefully received!

Gary

This is the total bill?

So as well as the filling and the extractions there will also be the initial examination charge, x-rays and possibly a good clean up on there as well?

My initial check up charge is £90 (inc x-rays) extractions are £94 each and a typical amalgam filling is £75. Add on a mouth clean (£45 with me or £67 with hygienist depending on how grubby it is) and that's getting on for £400, assuming everything is straight forward. But it is for MORE than just a couple of extractions and a filling.

As jugglebug said - without a lot more information it is impossible to say if this is a good price or not.

If the wisdom teeth are easy, it might be a bit 'top end' - but if things are complicated, it could well be a bargin, and save you huge amounts of time and trouble, and running about if NHS dentists start referring you here there and everywhere to do the bits they don't want to do.

LondonDiva

Where do you live? If you give us your details, I'm sure we could find the info for youor give you details of the PCT who would be able to either get in in touch with a local one or explain their waitlist arrangements for you.

Unlike GPs you can register with any NHS dentist you like, as long as they are accepting patients (check with their PCT not the practice). You can register near work or your parents. If you're in so much pain, it's worth the effort to look outside your immediate home area and look at travelling 30 mins or so.

barbarawright

NHS Choices lets you find a dentist in your area who is taking on patients

pigpen

my sister paid £25 for a wisdom tooth out.. last year or year before..

onlyroz

My dentist charges around £45 for a routine check-up, £90 for a filling and around £50 for a hygenist appointment. No idea what the cost of extractions are, but if this bill is a total amount for all treatments (including the initial examination and any xrays etc) then it sounds like that's just what you've got to pay.

I wouldn't, however, give up on finding an NHS dentist. I live in a reasonably affluent area and I know of two dentists that are taking on NHS patients. Even then, though, you might find that you have to go private for more complex treatments like root-canal etc.

FBaby

If you need to have them removed from medical reasons that meets certain criteria, you might be able to have them done at your local hospital. They are likely to have some strict criteria (locally the criteria is something to do with whether they are impacted or not, whatever this means), but it is worth investigating.