NHS dental charges

brook2jack

The problem is three different dentists have seen op. Dentists, even if they work in the same practice, are not connected to one another , so each separate dentist will charge for the emergency appointment and treatment.

Why not just phone the practice up and ask if you are not sure how much you owe, who to and how much?

My understanding is three dentists have looked at you, you have had x rays taken, your own dentist called someone in for a second opinion, various diagnoses have been put forward from cracked tooth to problems with a top wisdom tooth to two teeth needing root treatment. I know when you're in pain this is incredibly frustrating but dental pain can sometimes be very difficult to diagnose and even pin point which tooth it is particularly when the pain has gone on for so long.

The other thing is Welshdent do you look at your nhs schedule? You do realise if you have a late submitted claim it will not be paid at all? Therefore you have to submit treatment within two calendar months otherwise it will not be paid.

afm_2

Thank you both for replying!

I understand that I have to pay at different practices. Today I went to my current practice again but saw a different dentist who I find much better than mine. He's getting a mouth guard for me and gave me a prescription tooth paste. He said to the assistant to make sure that this mouth guard would be charged under the single charge of band 2. He also found that the filling on the lower second molar was too high (despite me asking my dentist to check it because of the pain I was having). However, I think he assumed that my dentist had checked my upper teeth and only when I got home I remembered that I didn't tell him that no x-ray was taken. Now the upper left molar is much more painful than it was in the morning. Paracetamol doesn't stop the pain. Called back and will have an x-ray tomorrow. Let's see what happens.

I really appreciate you both taking you time to answer to my questions. Thank you so much for that!

brook2jack

Just so you appreciate a laboratory made mouthguard should be band three. By charging you band two along with your other treatment he will make a loss on your treatment as a whole. Most dentists will either charge band three or charge privately £50 to £75 ish as a private charge is less than the nhs.

brook2jack

Also be aware you have to pay different dentists at the same practice. Almost all dentists are self employed and pay 50 to 65% of what they earn to the practice owner for materials, staff, equipment etc. So if you see several dentists at the same practice they rarely have any connection to each other apart from paying "rent" to the same person, so each will charge individually.

afm_2

He said it is a soft guard that's why it is band 2?!? I think the charge will be the same because he said that it would be included in the charge of the RCT, which was done by a different dentist. I don't think they work the way you said there.

Can I just ask, why would a tooth start making a clicking noise? The tooth that has been painful the whole afternoon now clicks when I talk. It is very strange.

brook2jack

No a soft guard is still band three. It would be a very unusual practice that doesn't work in the way I describe. In fact hospital or community clinics are the only ones that don't work that way. I think you need to ring the surgery to clarify what charges are going to be outstanding as to be honest all the appointments you've had plus further treatment plus a nightguard will end up costing the dentists a fortune.

You have mentioned clicks before on other teeth. Without examining you I can't comment on why a tooth may be "clicking".

afm_2

Yes there was a click on the lower second molar but that stopped after the RCT and it was only when I drank cold water. I know you can't give me a definite answer but given that there was a high spot on the tooth right below this one, could this pain and now clicking be related with this tooth hitting this higher spot? Thank you!

welshdent

We do get late submitted claim on there but generally they credit the UDAs. We have checked. They dont like it but USUALLY they honour it as long as you arent taking the mick

brook2jack

Have you checked recently? The Welsh LHBs announced a couple of months ago they would no longer pay late submitted claims (I can't remember from what date) so you absolutely have no discretion to go over two months.

They will take patient charge off but wont credit udas. No excuses. You lose out in every way. Check your schedules but most particularly don't let the lhb get away with not paying for treatment you've carried out.

welshdent

I'll get the boss on it asap.