Am I being overcharged for dentistry?

Philthy

I recently broke a filling in a wisdom tooth, so I went along to my usual dental practice to have the tooth repaired. I was in the chair for about 45 minutes. The tooth was duly cleaned and then restored using amalgam filling. For this I was charged a total of £220. I knew before hand it would be this much as I had already been seen on a previous occasion to have the damage assessed, so I know there are no hidden charges.

This is a practice I have been attending for over 20 years. The staff are very professional and their work rarely requires follow up. But lately I am starting to question their fees. £220 for one filling to me seems excessive. I prefer to go private when it comes to my teeth; I'd rather make savings elsewhere if I have to for the peace of mind and the speed with which problems can be dealt with. At the moment though my teeth are costing me a fortune. I just hope I don't require anything more complex than fillings any time soon.

Any thoughts...? Thanks. (I'm in East Surrey area)

System

if you prefer to go private then im guessing that's the going rate , i have an NHS dentist who is very good , for that kind of work id expect to pay under £50

Oliver14

Phone other dentists in your area and see what they would have charged.

maninthestreet

£220 for a filiing!!!???

Fridaycat

I have recently had an old filling removed and replaced with a white one. It showed up as needing doing during my 6 monthly check up. I too am private and it cost £60. I was in the chair for around 30 minutes.

mum2one

My friend chipped a tooth, she had to have a filling, and the tooth filed due to the angle she had broke it, she was only charged £50 that was in midlands area, and shes private.

I would def ring round other surgeries to get an idea of what their scale of charges are.

AdmiralX

Philthy wrote: »

I recently broke a filling in a wisdom tooth, so I went along to my usual dental practice to have the tooth repaired. I was in the chair for about 45 minutes. The tooth was duly cleaned and then restored using amalgam filling. For this I was charged a total of £220.

Did the dentist give you an invoice with treatment he did?
Dentists have a list of costs by type of work published on their website and brochures.

45 minutes is long time. Did he do root treatment? I usually pay more for this time but the treatment might be different.

Toothsmith

'A filling' can cover a multitude of different things.

45mins is quite a long appointment, so it would seem like this was quite a complex one.

AS you said, they were up front and open about these charges and you knew in advance what they would be. This is good practice.

I would say that £220 for a complicated rebuilding of your tooth is good value in a well organised ethical dental practice.

Dentistry, like resturants, and probably pretty much anything else, have expensive places and cheaper places. Hopefully, as prices go up, the level of service you receive also goes up. You should always feel that you are getting 'value for money' - be it an expensive place or a cheaper one.

[Deleted User]

I would say that was good value.

missesther

I'm in East Anglia, I pay about £75 for a white filling. I'm private. £220 sounds excessive but it may have been a complicated procedure?

Needaname_2

Think what you would pay for the repair of your car. Here you have someone working in miniature like a watch repairer and rebuilding something you need to enjoy a part of living (eating). That's how I bear the costs of my dodgy teeth - and a solicitor would cost even more, probably!