query re: costs of private dental treatment

browneyedbazzi

I'm hoping that some of the helpful dentists that visit the forum can help with a query. I recently went to the dentist and was told I need two fillings (gutted!). I was advised that I could have them done on the NHS or privately.

On the NHS they'd be done for the band 2 fee and would be silver amalgam fillings. If I opted for private treatment I could have white composite fillings and the cost would be £270. I don't want the silver fillings because they would be visible (one is on my front tooth, the other on an upper pre-molar) so I'm going to do the private treatment.

My query is about the private quote - is that reasonable? I have no experience of paying for private dental treatment in this country so I don't know what's a fair price. If it makes a difference I live just inside the M25.

brook2jack

It's difficult to say as I cannot see the teeth, how large the fillings are and what materials they are using.

As a guide privately you charge according to an hourly rate. That rate will vary according to how expensive it is to run the practice. E.g. it will be more expensive in a snazzy practice in a city centre than a family practice in the sticks. A cheap practice will run at £140 an hour going up to £250 an hour or more.

A white filling should be more demanding of time and technique.

browneyedbazzi

Thank you - I should have realised the time was an important factor! She said it would be a 35 minute appointment to do both so £270 seems expensive based on the hourly rates you mentioned.

It isn't a particularly snazzy practice tbh...it's tidy and professional and in a fairly nice area but not posh (maybe I've been spoiled because I used to go to a really nice dentist in Canada that had a waiting room like the lobby of a 5* hotel and TVs built into the ceiling above treatment chairs so you could watch something while they went about their work)

domdent

35 mins is not enough time to do 2 fillings properly

Toothsmith

If one is on a proper 'front' tooth - your incisors or canines (The 4 squarer ones at the front, or the pointy one after those) then white fillings in them are usual NHS items.

Toothsmith

domdent wrote: »

35 mins is not enough time to do 2 fillings properly

I would agree with this unless they were very small. And if they're very small, then £270 seems quite excessive. It's more than I would be charging in a purely private practice.

quietheart

I've recently had a white filling at the back of my front lower tooth (near the middle). I paid NHS band 2 for this.
A few days later the dentist phoned and said I'd been overcharged and refunded the difference between band 1 and 2.
So I paid less than £20 for a similar treatment.
About 6 months ago I had 3 small white fillings under band 2 treatment.

bella_boo123

My dentist charges between £60 - £80 for a composite filling depending on the size. He is private only.

ERICS_MUM

I had a few amalgam fillings replaced with white (privately) and they cost between £80 and £150 each according to the size - large molars being most expensive obviously.

The prices covered the drilling out of the old fillings and some work on the empty tooth before re-filling. I was pleased with the results and didn't think they were too expensive.

I know lots of people resent having to pay £hundreds for treatment they think should be on the NHS but my view is that dentists have spent 6-7 years perfecting their profession and need to continually update themselves. Personally I would expect a 6-figure salary for this amount of devotion to the profession and clients. I should imagine they also have to pay ginormous insurances - e.g. public liability, eqiupment and maybe personal cover for damage to hands/eyes particularly.

My dental surgery has very modern and effective equipment which no doubt costs a fortune in maintenance and upgrades. All these costs couldn't possibly be covered by the NHS and I guess that dental surgeries might even be subsidising the NHS scale of charges.

Dental health is vital for other reasons. A friend of mine was diagnosed with oral cancer which was caught early by her dentist and went on to be treated successfully.

I have no links with dentists, these are just my views.

Linda xx

Fork86

ERICS_MUM wrote: »

I had a few amalgam fillings replaced with white (privately) and they cost between £80 and £150 each according to the size - large molars being most expensive obviously.

The prices covered the drilling out of the old fillings and some work on the empty tooth before re-filling. I was pleased with the results and didn't think they were too expensive.

I know lots of people resent having to pay £hundreds for treatment they think should be on the NHS but my view is that dentists have spent 6-7 years perfecting their profession and need to continually update themselves. Personally I would expect a 6-figure salary for this amount of devotion to the profession and clients. I should imagine they also have to pay ginormous insurances - e.g. public liability, eqiupment and maybe personal cover for damage to hands/eyes particularly.

My dental surgery has very modern and effective equipment which no doubt costs a fortune in maintenance and upgrades. All these costs couldn't possibly be covered by the NHS and I guess that dental surgeries might even be subsidising the NHS scale of charges.

Dental health is vital for other reasons. A friend of mine was diagnosed with oral cancer which was caught early by her dentist and went on to be treated successfully.

I have no links with dentists, these are just my views.

Linda xx

It's nice to see well educated comments like this. You're absolutely right. The practice I work in uses single use rotary files and rubber dams for every patient (NHS or private), and we certainly pay out our own pocket to offer root canals on the NHS.