should dentist provide scale and polish with check up

andie856603

I've been at my current dentist for 20 years the original dentist was a lovely man he retired and sold out to a big company 2 years ago ever since check up's have never been a pleasant experience.

The old dentist always took great care of us and always gave my teeth a scale and polish during our check ups now i get told "you should go visit the hygienist it will cost you £22"

can i request they do the polish as part if the check up? i'm in receipt of tax credits & don't pay for treatment and if this is the case is there a specific rule i can quote to them to ensure my request is fulfilled.
Our next check up is next wednesday and i know i'm also going to need a filling replacing so i'm am bit worried about them doing the dentist version of spitting in my food if i upset them too much!!

Dogger69

You would only qualify for a scale and polish on the NHS if there is a clinical need for it. If you do a search you will see this question has been asked many times before.

andie856603

surely clinical need is a matter of opinion to my mind a dentist takes care of your teeth and paying or not a band one treatment includes a scale and polish if you teeth are badly stained and rough from tartar is that not reason enough for the dentist to do what they're supposed to do which is have your teeth in the best possible condition my old dentist always did this for me. I want them to do it they don't want to do it is there no rule stating that is part of the service they should provide within a check up, if i was paying the £17 or whatever it is they wouldn't be getting it but then i think they are generally nicer to their "paying" patients

Toothsmith

Different rules now.

In the past, dentists had a lot more freedom to 'do the right thing' and make patients feel and look good.

Nowadays they can't. The NHS is there to keep you healthy, not make you look good. They pay the bills, they set the rules.

If you have gum disease, then you 'need' your teeth cleaning (and to be told to do the job better yourself in future).

If its just staining and superficial tartar, then there is no evidence of any health gain by removing this, so the NHS will not pay.

If you would like it done, then £22 is not an unreasonable hygienist charge (it's 1/3 of what I charge for a hygienist appointment) and you can have lovely shiney teeth! If you then brush them thoroughly yourself, they might even stay like that!

What would be wrong would be for the dentist to tell you you NEEDED a clean, but that they would only do it privately. If you NEED it, then it should be available on the NHS.

But you wanting it is not the same as you NEEDING it. And the NHS will only fund it if you need it.

Personally, I think it should be done virtually every time as a preventative measure. Unfortunately the NHS decided it didn't and that was one of the many reasons me and the NHS went our separate ways several years ago!

I bet it was a similar time to when your old dentist decided to sell his practice and throw in the towel. If I had been older at the time, I might have taken that route instead.

andie856603

Toothsmith wrote: »

Different rules now.

In the past, dentists had a lot more freedom to 'do the right thing' and make patients feel and look good.

Nowadays they can't. The NHS is there to keep you healthy, not make you look good. They pay the bills, they set the rules.

If you have gum disease, then you 'need' your teeth cleaning (and to be told to do the job better yourself in future).

If its just staining and superficial tartar, then there is no evidence of any health gain by removing this, so the NHS will not pay.

If you would like it done, then £22 is not an unreasonable hygienist charge (it's 1/3 of what I charge for a hygienist appointment) and you can have lovely shiney teeth! If you then brush them thoroughly yourself, they might even stay like that!

What would be wrong would be for the dentist to tell you you NEEDED a clean, but that they would only do it privately. If you NEED it, then it should be available on the NHS.

But you wanting it is not the same as you NEEDING it. And the NHS will only fund it if you need it.

Personally, I think it should be done virtually every time as a preventative measure. Unfortunately the NHS decided it didn't and that was one of the many reasons me and the NHS went our separate ways several years ago!

I bet it was a similar time to when your old dentist decided to sell his practice and throw in the towel. If I had been older at the time, I might have taken that route instead.

thanks a very informative reply and yes i think he did retire around that time possibly he does however moonlight at the emergency dentist now!!!

So to clarify when she tells me to go see the hygienist if i ask her do i need to and her answer is yes then then should do the treatment? (they don't have a hygienist and don't recommend anyone in particular so not gaining in that respect)
Again want and need is a matter of opinion isn't it if they cared about their patients everyone could need it They allow a 20 minute appointment it's not like there's not the time's given to do it
Maybe its time to ring dentaplan and find a decent dentist!!

Toothsmith

That's right. If you NEED it, then it must be provided on the NHS to an NHS patient.

It might be that they have long check up appointments because they are one of the pilot sites for the next NHS dental contract. (I Get fed up of calling it the 'new' one, as there have been so many!) That has an awful lot of computer form filling and assessing people, and that then comes up with just what you can and can't do for that person. Basically it's dentistry-by-numbers!

If you want dentistry like you remember it, then yes....... It probably is time to look to funding the care yourself.

andie856603

Toothsmith wrote: »

That's right. If you NEED it, then it must be provided on the NHS to an NHS patient.

It might be that they have long check up appointments because they are one of the pilot sites for the next NHS dental contract. (I Get fed up of calling it the 'new' one, as there have been so many!) That has an awful lot of computer form filling and assessing people, and that then comes up with just what you can and can't do for that person. Basically it's dentistry-by-numbers!

If you want dentistry like you remember it, then yes....... It probably is time to look to funding the care yourself.

Thank you tooth smith your advice has been very helpful 😊

SandC

My dentist gives me a scale and polish most check ups. I think it depends how busy he is, how long he has to the next appointment. I suspect a hygenist does more but I've never been recommended to see one.

My dentist is I would say mid 30s so not old school!