Dental Hygienist Treatment NHS?

Toothsmith

What he said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The dentist isn't obliged to send you to the hygienist on the NHS.

What he is obliged to do is to an offer an NHS solution to any problem you may have.

moomin_white

as a private dental hygienist, i'm confused about NHS charges. If i wanted to work under the NHS -what would the charge be to the patient? would it be £16.20?

Toothsmith

Yes - and that would include the check up and any necessary x-rays.

The patient's charge is irrelevant to the dentist - they're paid a fixed monthly sum anyway, and patient charges are deducted from that sum.

The dentist would earn 1 UDA (target point) which on average is worth about £25

If a patient has a more severe gum condition, the dentist is entitled to claim a band 2 treatment and the patient chareg for that is £44.60 (I think). He can claim 3 UDA for this.

A hygienist working within the NHS would find it difficult to be self-employed. It would be more straight forward to be employed on a fixed hourly rate.

pinkfuller

hi hope some one can help me with this one
i am on working tax credit and child tax credit so i dont pay for my dentist but i have bad gum prombles they say i have to go to the dental hygienist but it is private they have never offered any work on the nhs they just keep saying it private and not covered i have to pay £65-£80 every time i cant aford to pay this but i have to or i will loss the rest of my teeth i need a filling to but the dentist said he will get the hygienist to do this at the same time on my next vists ???? can they do filling ??? some time they make my feel so sad like i should not be there because i am with the nhs i really dont know if i should stay there as the work is really good but i just find it hard to pay for this every 2- 3mth
also they ask me to pay today but i dont see the hygientst untill the 4th this is the 2nd time they asked me this the 1st time i was lucky that i had some money on me to do this but day i could not pay i could see she was not happy about it and asked the other girl if that was ok so i said well if not i still cant pay today
dont know what i should do

brook2jack

If you are seeing a private dentist then even if you are on benefits then you will still have to pay for treatment. The only free treatment you will get is by seeing a dentist who does nhs work, so you need to try to find a dentist who does nhs treatment.

If the dentist does nhs work and you have signed a nhs form then you should be offered nhs treatment for all clinically necessary treatment.

A hygienist who is dually qualified as a therapist can do fillings to a dentists prescription.

pinkfuller

thank you for your help
it is a nhs dentist as well i will just have to keep it going
thanks again:A

jm356

A very interesting thread and some good advise i.e. it is best not to get arguementitive or shout, it is always better to listen to the reasons provided. Often lay persons have not been given 'all' the information. Firstly, under band 1 -you should also be aware that the NHS only provides a scale and polish where it is clinically necessary for your health. Under best practice all dentist offer oral health advise; they do not have to offer a scale and a polish unless it is clinically necessary. What is important here is that what the patient ( you) determine is necessary may indeed not be clinically required or necessary and often a better option for the patients would be to improve their tooth brushing. If however you want a scale and polish you can of course pay privately. The private charge is the same for everyone and exemptions do not apply. Secondly, often the biggest cause of confusion is when your dentist tells you you have gum inflamation ( or multiple code 3's plus) a scale and polish won't help you. You probably need oral health advice and then once you are able to manage your own plaque levels then non- surgical periodontal treatment can be provided ( band 2 £47.00). Both the dentist and the hygienis can deliver this. So If you have been examined and your BPE (Basic Periodontal Examination) index score is 0, 1 or 2. The dentist will teach you how to clean your properly and if you are code 3's 4's he/she will remove sub-gingival scale where there is evidence of disease.
You will find that periodontal treatment on the nhs is often different from private periodontal treatment and your dentist might offer to refer you to someone with a special interest or is a specialist. This is usually privately and has nothing to do with cosmetics.

The key issues address here are addressed in the PDS or GDS contract ( a good 100-200 pages) so often the key words like ' private treatment options are 'usually' cosmetic and 'clinically necessary for your health' and payment can be on 'booking of the treatment or urgent appointment' are often missed by PALS and non dental professionals. It is important to note that most dentists are not trying to rip off the patient. but getting patients to take responsibility for their own oral health is challanging but rewarding.

In 2006 when the new contract came in The Department of Health told dentists and PCTs that millions of pounds were being wasted under the old system primarily on the provision of unnecessary scales and polishes and that this wastage must stop. Money for dentistry must be spent where it is most needed and practices have each been allocated fixed budget. Today that budget is being streached to its limit. The fixed budgets are not getting bigger yet more patients want treatment. Given that this is likely to be the trend for quite a few years the new direction for dentist and patients with a focus on oral health advice is a good one But please do not assume that just because you want or think you need to see a hygienist or the dentist has offer to refer you to a hygienist it means you should get in on the nhs under band 1 treatment.

ARM10

I'm on income based JSA and recently attended a dentist for a general check up. I had no dental symptoms other than some occasional gum bleeding.

Upon inspection the dentist said I had "severe" gum disease and needed to see a hygienist followed by a tooth removal at the hospital. He also prescribed some antibiotics. When I inquired about the arrangements for the removal, he refused to proceed unless I had attended a hygienist.

A few weeks later I found time and tried to make an appointment with the hygienist, who quoted a fee of £49. The clinic insisted this was not available on the NHS, nor were the costs claimable with an HC5(D) form. I explained the dentist requested I had this treatment before he would proceed with the tooth removal.

Based on this information, I'm assuming neither the hygienist nor tooth removal are clinically required as the dentist refuses to proceed ? Am I correct ?

brook2jack

In general all treatment required to treat gum disease should be available on the nhs if you are a nhs patient. If you have severe gum disease this should be treated. It will probably be by the dentist as it is not economical to use a hygienist on the nhs.

If you have had nhs check up and been told to visit the hygienist privately you should have been given a fp17dc form which details what treatment is private,what is nhs. If you need a scale and polish for health reasons this should be offered on the nhs but probably not with the hygienist

A referral to the hospital should be an entirely different matter. Phone or call into the practice to clear up what exactly is necessary and what is happening to your referral.

ARM10

I called the practice earlier today for a clarification. The dentist now "strongly suggests" treatment by the hygienist at their clinic, and believes a NHS Band 1 scale and polish would not be helpful for my gum disease. The tooth removal would a referral to the hospital, which he said he wouldn't arrange until after the hygienist visit.

I agreed as I didn't want to delay and put my health at risk for the sake of £49, but the practice hasn't given me a FP17DC form. After the treatment, I will arrange a visit to another dental practice for a second opinion.