Dental checkup/hygienist

athomick

I stand by all three quotes. In context:-

1) "If your dentist recommends a scale and polish, it should be provided under the NHS (Band 1, £17.50), whether it is done by a dentist or a hygienist.If your dentist says a scale and polish is not clinically necessary but you want one anyway, you will have to pay to have it privately. An NHS scale and polish should be carried out as thoroughly as a private one".

Is this just ignored by NHS dentists?

It is a question, feel free to answer it.

2)

The whole system seems to me to be a little flawed. Some dentists suffer from a conflict of interest between the patients health and profit, and the NHS suffer from conflicting motives of appeasing dentists to keep the crumbling system afloat and patient health.

This is a comment about SOME dentists, please read it again. Do you disagree with it?

3)

Do chips qualify or not for repair under the NHS? The NHS say this to patients, although I am starting to think that what the NHS tell patients and what dentists think they are allowed to do under the NHS are not the same thing:

"If you have just chipped the edge of one of the front teeth, your dentist will probably smooth the uneven edge and replace the missing bit with a tooth-coloured filling....these treatments can be provided on the NHS."

I am making a point about what the NHS are telling patients via its website and what my dentist and you are telling me. They conflict. I am not making the point that dentists in general are bad.

I have to say you seem a little over sensitive to any sort of perceived criticism of dentistry. Perhaps you should entertain the possibility that there are some bad dentists out there and mine might be one of them.

Toothsmith

The NHS website is rather notoriously inaccurate over quite a few dental issues.

athomick

Toothsmith wrote: »

The NHS website is rather notoriously inaccurate over quite a few dental issues.

I'm starting to see that. Where does a member of the public look for accurate information?

roddydogs

Ok, I had an extraction band 2 £48...........but im also going back within 2 months for bridges....Band 3 £209.......the dentist insists its £48+£209, but surely it should only be 1 payment of £209?

Toothsmith

athomick wrote: »

I'm starting to see that. Where does a member of the public look for accurate information?

Even the DoH aren't that sure how every little bit of it works! It was put together in a rush, it wasn't properly trialed and it's a terrible system. Doesn't work for dentists, and it especially doesn't work for patients.

Toothsmith

roddydogs wrote: »

Ok, I had an extraction band 2 £48...........but im also going back within 2 months for bridges....Band 3 £209.......the dentist insists its £48+£209, but surely it should only be 1 payment of £209?

My guess would be that you were right, but the devil is in the detail.

brook2jack

Actually the dentist is right ! If you had a band 3 treatment first you wouldn't have to pay for any further treatment within two months. If you have a band 1 or 2 treatment then any further treatment in the same band is not charged for. Any treatment in a higher band and you pay the whole charge, not just the difference , if the original course of treatment has been sent off.

This rule confused many dentists as well but they have no discretion in what they charge, the nhs computer system automatically raises the charge.

It just goes to show the rules are very opaque. All the rules are not written down for dentists let alone members of the public, and are complicated by the fact pcts will have their own individual rules as well on fp of health service requirements which few pct staff understand accurately.

All of this fogginess has led to trials of a new contract which is also proving hugely problematic with massive problems over waiting times ,software and patient charges. This is only England and Wales, NI and Scotland have their own problems.

Toothsmith

There you go then!

I'm glad I'm out of it!

athomick

So just going back to a question I asked previously which Toothsmith answered. Does this mean that a check-up followed by a band 2 clean within 2 months could be charged £17.50 + £48 if the dentist processes the check-up before performing the clean? But - if the band 2 clean is done first followed by a check-up 10 minutes later it should be £48?

athomick

Toothsmith wrote: »

Even the DoH aren't that sure how every little bit of it works! It was put together in a rush, it wasn't properly trialed and it's a terrible system. Doesn't work for dentists, and it especially doesn't work for patients.

So it's often a question of interpreting it as you see fit sometimes?