Mouth Guard for Kickboxing

donner_kebab

Hiya everyone,

I went to the Dentist yesterday for my 6 month check up...cost me the standard £17.

Just as I was about to leave, I mentioned to him that I do a lot of Kickboxing and really wanted to have a custom made mouth guard done as I have a nightmare with normal guards (think it is to do with the fact some of my wisdom teeth never made it!) and they all hurt like hell at the back! I have researched into the best ones for combat sports etc and have tried the best but no joy...

He said they could take the mould now and it would be ready within 24 hours. I said great, but stupidly never asked the price! My friends all said they paid about £40 odd for theirs but not sure if that is private or via NHS like me.

Now I have been told by the Receptionist that I need to pay an extra £187 as it is a Band 3 treatment. I nearly passed out! Looking online places say that Band 3 excludes Sports Guards but no where seems to say what price they should be Anyone have any idea before I have to go and pick this thing up? If he would have told me the price I would have said no thanks, not until I had at least explored other places and looked at saving the money if needed! Reckon if I had all my teeth knocked out fighting it would be the same cost! xxx

brook2jack

NHS does not pay for sports guards/mouth guards, so it will be a private fee.

If you are in a full contact sport then you should be having a mouthguard that fits over top and bottom teeth to save getting concussion with a sidewards blow etc. These bilaminar mouth guards are more complex to make and have to be sent to specialist laboratories.I pay in lab fees alone about £80 to £90 for one of these so factoring in surgery time you will be looking at £130 upwards.

If you are not full contact then a simpler mouthguard will do normally £40 to £50 from a dentist. So check with reception, straight away before you turn up and the guard has already been made.

Toothsmith

As Brook said, the NHS does not pay for Mouthguards. So if this place is claiming this as a band 3 NHS treatment, they are being very naughty.

A Mouthguard should be a private option. Dentists can charge what they like for one - but a usual price would be about £70-£100. Possibly cheaper.

donner_kebab

Thanks for the advice guys. Yes, it appears that they did charge me under a Band 3 'other appliance' and I have just got back from paying them for it just now. I did question the cost but they were not budging. I also mentioned that in future they may wish to warn people before they start taking a mould etc as if I had known the price I certainly wouldn't have agreed to it.

They are generally a great Dentist Surgery so it is such a shame that they have charged me this amount and I have paid it as do not want to loose them as hard to get a good dentist these days.

It is a great mouthguard, quite a bit thinner than I would have thought but does fit like a glove and I can talk and breath properly whilst wearing it so that is something. It means that I can Spar properly now as the Mouth guard is an essential piece of kit, along with a licence. Ho hum...

Thanks again for your help guys, much appreciated...I have learnt my lesson now...always ask before getting back into that Dentist chair! xxx

welshdent

They are completely wrong. It is NOT someting they are allowed to claim for under the NHS.

donner_kebab

Do you think it is worth me contacting them in writing and complaining? I wish I had a notice from them that confirmed that the mouth guard cannot be classed as a Band 3...I have nothing other than the piece of paper that states I have to pay Band 3 for 'Other Appliance' and it doesn't state what that actually is.

I don't want to cause trouble and been seen as a trouble maker etc, just £187 quid after the £17 I paid for the check up making £204 is a lot of money, especially when I said I was hoping to get one done and not that I really wanted one asap. Maybe he assumed that I wasn't paying for it and that I got everything for free? Either way I am out of pocket now xxx

brook2jack

It's up to you. But the regulations are crystal clear you can contact your local pct to confirm if you wish. Sports guards cannot be provided under the NHS , it won't pay for preventative work. I have to say even privately £187 is expensive for a gumshield. You should have been given a written estimate (fp17dc) detailing costs and what was going to be provided which you should have signed to give consent. You should have been told costs upfront as part of the dentists NHS contract.

welshdent

I charge 40 for a gum shield

Mingle

My dentist is an absolute star and did me one for £27... dunno how he did it but he is a very nice gentleman and all of my teeth are still in place despite regularly getting punched in the face . He showed me a list and they went up to ridiculous amounts for different colours and patterns though.

brook2jack

£27 is less than the lab fee I pay for cheapest gumshield.

Mingle

brook2jack wrote: »

£27 is less than the lab fee I pay for cheapest gumshield.

I thought that when you said it. On all of them mine only charge the lab fee but I still don't know how it was done that cheaply. He is quite militant about these kind of things- he gets angry with the NHS subsidising the treatment AFTER you get your teeth knocked out but not before. Maybe he is running an underground dentist vigilante group? He is a lovely man