My dentist debacle

Refund_Queen

I went to the dentist the other day for my 1st ever fillings, when i initially booked the appointment last month i asked for white ones. I phoned next day to ask the difference in price compared to silver nhs ones. I was told it was over £100 which i couldnt afford so I said i'd have to go for NHS ones. The receptionist said she'd write in my notes to discuss it with dentist but I told her i'd have to go nhs anyway as I simply couldnt afford the private price.

Well, I had the fillings done last week and the dentist used white ones. I was soooo nervous when i went in I didn't even think about having any sort of discussion! When I went out to see the receptionist, I told her that I couldnt afford it, she consulted the dentist but she informed me that because of the materials she had used and the length of time it took to put them in, id have to pay up. I refused and told her that I had phoned and informed the practice that I'd changed my mind about which type of fillings I wanted and that it was not by responsibility that the dentist had used the wrong materials. She then phoned the practice manager who was out of the country. Another senior receptionist went off to talk to him too. The lady who'd been dealing with me came back and saw that I was getting quite upset and she assured me that i'd probably have to pay the NHS fee as it should have been discussed before treatment commenced and not to worry about it. But no, the senior receptionist came back and said that the manager had said that I had 2 options; I either pay the private fee or pay the NHS fee but id have to book back in to have the white fillings taken out and new silver NHS ones put in!

I have such a fear of the dentist and it took me a LOT for me to go. I felt like they had me over a barrel. The only way i could leave was to pay the nhs fee and book in to have them replaced!!

Today, I got a call from the dental receptionist and she sounded really awkward to say the least. She said that the practice manager had decided to waive the outstanding balance that I owe them (their words) but that they will no longer be accepting me as a patient in the future!!

Totally shocked!

Patronus

:eek:

Did they tell you why they don't want you as a patient anymore? It seems like an honest misunderstanding between both parties. I don't understand why they are booting you like that.

MamaMoo_2

That's sh*te!
My dentist only uses the porcelain fillings anyway, and that's NHS!
I feel terrible for you, how rude do they want to be.
If I were you I'd put in a complaint to the NHS about how they performed a service that you didn't request and then charged you for the error!

Toothsmith

To start with, I would say that this is probably a practice you are well out of.

It sounds like a terribly managed place.

Taking out a perfectly good filling to replace it with amalgam would have been serious professional misconduct - nomatter how the filling got put in. Even threatening it could be grounds for a serious complaint. We do not have the right to 're-possess' our work!

I wouldn't want to go back there, and I would relay your experiences to the dental department of the local PCT at the very least.

melancholly

probably the best outcome - you're not out of pocket and you don't have to go back to somewhere you don't trust/feel comfortable.

depending on how you feel, it might be worth making a complaint. i'd start by putting a letter in to the practice manager with all of your concerns in writing and then if you're not happy with the response (in reality all they can do is promise better communication or something) then escalate;
http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1777.aspx?categoryid=74&subcategoryid=742