Dentist & tooth Filling

Humbug40

I've just registered with a NHS dentist and had my first check up in a while. The dentist wants to replace an old filling with a more expensive white filling at £150. When I queried the cost i was told an amalgum filling was £45-60 but that a white filling would be cheaper in the long run as it will last longer and cause less damage. I've just done a quick internet search search and what I've read suggests that white fillings are less durable.

I'm concerned that the dentist might be recommending a treatment that will benefit him more than me.

Toothsmith

It sounds like you've registered with someone who says they're NHS, then just trys to sell you private stuff once you're through the door. There's no 'about' about the price of an NHS filling - it's £45.60 for as many fillings as you need in one course of treatment. (Not £45.60 EACH - £45.60 for as many as you need - and that will include all the check-up, x-ray and clean & polish bits as well)

Why did you go to that dentist? has someone recommended it to you, or was it just the only place doing NHS?

If you're going to be paying private prices, it might be better to get a dentist who is honestly private - not just doing it by the back door.

Humbug40

Well I phoned the NHS dental help line and got the details of the practice from them.

Are NHS dental prices published anywhere on the web?

Pennylane

Humbug40 wrote: »

Well I phoned the NHS dental help line and got the details of the practice from them.

Are NHS dental prices published anywhere on the web?

---

I believe they have to be displayed at the dental surgery. At every NHS dentists I've been to they are usually in the waiting room. Sometimes they are not too prominent but they are there somewhere.

They're on the web too - yes. On the NHS site amongst others.

jugglebug

One quick point.
With regard to the issue,"Which is better white or Amalgam fillings?"
The answer is neither. (In my opinion, others will disagree)
The question should be what is the right material for this particular restoration (filling)
There are some situations where I prefer Amalgam
There are some situations where I prefer Composite (The tooth coloured stuff)
There are some situations where I don't care much as either will do the job.
There are some situations where neither is perfect and alternatives need to be looked at (Gold, Porcelain, Zirconia, Glass Ionomer etc)

What is true is that Composite is much more technique dependant and requires a far higher attention to detail when being placed.
Moisture contamination of the surface being bonded will wreck the join
Incorrect handling will produce a poorer outcome.
This is why they often take far longer to place if done well.
Amalgam is far more forgiving of mishandling, saliva etc.

Toothsmith

Humbug40 wrote: »

Well I phoned the NHS dental help line and got the details of the practice from them.

Are NHS dental prices published anywhere on the web?

BTW - I was assuming you were in England - If you're in Scotland or N.I. then a different system applies, and there is a fee for each individual item in those places.

Sorry if I caused any confusion, but the 'National' health service is no longer national for dentistry!

welshdent

Were they recommending an inlay?? That would be a filling that requires impressions to be sent away to a lab for them to make it. The prices you stated are slightly off but could you have misunderstood? I know in wales a band 2 treatment i,e, filling is 39 but the band 3 is 177 which would be an inlay

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

If the tooth is'nt noticeable I'd go for an amalgam.
They last much longer.
I had a white filling in a pre-molar as it was seen easily but it was forever breaking away and coming out and cost me a fortune overall.
I ended up with a crown in the end.

jugglebug

MRSTITTLEMOUSE wrote: »

If the tooth is'nt noticeable I'd go for an amalgam.
They last much longer.
I had a white filling in a pre-molar as it was seen easily but it was forever breaking away and coming out and cost me a fortune overall.
I ended up with a crown in the end.

A blanket "They last much longer" is incorrect.
As I say above it is down to the situation and the person placing them.
In some situations the tooth would actually be weakened by the placement of Amalgam as they require a different shape to be cut into the tooth to retain them.
Composite has the ability to bond to tooth structure than Amalgam has not and so less tooth removal to create that shape is needed.

welshdent

I have seen more than my fair share of fractured teeth, fractured on the basis that the amalgam gives no reinforcement to flexural stress. I am entirely with jugglebug. A blanket statement is not right especially given none of us can see the tooth in question.

kerrydrobertson

i have just registered at a new dentist as have just recently moved and was so nice! he explained all my options as need 3 fillings replaced, 2 i kind of thought needed done. He gave me the price that it would be on nhs and for the clean and polish and also said it would cost me £40 for each white filling to get done privately, as id asked about them. I said i only wanted 2 white as they are on the bottom and then the clean and polish. I thought that was pretty reasonable pricing?