Dental charges

imranawan

Hi

I registered with a private dentist earlier this year and joined a monthly dental plan offered via the practice.

I was given a treatment plan when first registering with the practice, as I wanted to get an idea of costs to have a dental implant. I was also verbally told that a dental implant assessment would be free for members of the dental plan, which prompted me to join the plan.

I came in for a dental implant assessment a month or two ago and received a treatment plan for the implant but never received a bill/invoice for the implant assessment. I've now received an invoice from the dental practice demanding money for some of the x-rays, stent and models that were created as part of the implant assessment. I've queried this with the practice and am awaiting them to get in touch and intend to dispute the charges. After attending the implant assessment I never received an itemised bill from the practice, and the letter has arrived out of the blue.

From a legal perspective where do I stand? I did receive a treatment plan at the outset, but never signed this. Also I was only verbally told the implant assessment was free, so essentially is it my word against theirs? Finally, when I have previously had treatment at the practice eg. a hygienist appointment I receive an invoice and pay this immediately. In this case when I attended the assessment I didn't receive an itemised invoice.

CharlieRabbit01

what does your dental plan say?

I am with a private dentists and a member of their dental plan and i get a certain amount of things fre ie 1.5 hours worth of hygienist appointment and 10% off treatments (amongst other things).

brook2jack

There is a difference between a general assessment for an implant which would consist of an examination and general x rays, which sometimes is provided free of charge and gives a general indication of implant suitability and more specific treatment planning.

Treatment planning is done when a patient agrees in principle to go ahead with treatment and then more expensive preparation for implants like surgical stents stents are made and more extensive investigations like e.g. ct scans are ordered.

Stents etc involve a considerable amount of money and would never be provided free of charge to someone who did not intend to proceed with treatment.

This sounds like rather than an assessment the surgery understood you definitely wanted to go ahead with an implant and started the expensive process of providing a detailed treatment plan and surgical guides (stent) which would be used in providing the implant/implants.

The problem is they will have possibly spent several hundred pounds on these investigations which if you are not proceeding with treatment they will be anxious to recoup. From the sounds of it they had the impression you wished to proceed with treatment which may be why you didn't get a bill immediately. Now it's clear you are not proceeding with treatment you have been sent a bill.

imranawan

Thanks for the responses.

From a legal perspective I'm now facing a bill of £400+ for the work already undertaken (an assessment placement). I appreciate the work undertaken, but was never explicitly made aware of the costs associated with undertaking the implant assessment would still be payable should I not proceed with the implant. From your experience do private dentists need you to sign up to the treatment plan for this to be valid?

The part I find strange is that I was never invoiced for the assessment, and almost a month has elapsed. Whenever, I've had treatment previously at the dental practice, I've always been invoiced/received an itemised bill there and then and have paid this off before leaving the practice.

In this instance all I've received (over a month since receiving a treatment plan for the implant) is a letter saying I owe this amount.

brook2jack

I would think you weren't invoiced because they believed you were going ahead with treatment. You would never make surgical stents just to treatment plan , you would only make them to facilitate treatment, not treatment planning.

It's only as it became apparent you were not going ahead with treatment (ie you didn't sign the treatment plan and didn't make the appointment for treatment) that they have invoiced you for the preparatory work You have had done.

You would not normally sign a treatment plan for preparatory work.

So the dispute will boil down to did you give the surgery the impression you you definately wanted to go ahead with treatment? Because what you had done was not an assessment but the preparation for implants.

This as you know is expensive and time consuming and involves laboratory costs and would never be provided free of charge to someone not proceeding with treatment.

Anyone is entitled at any time to change their mind about going ahead with treatment even if they have signed a treatment plan. But if work has been started on the understanding that work is going ahead then costs incurred do have to be paid.

imranawan

I've called the practice and said that I wasn't made aware of the implant assessment charges explicitly. I acknowledge that preparatory work has been undertaken, but still feel I should the costs of the implant assessment on its own should have been communicated.

Out of interest is a cost of £400 for this work actually reasonable?

brook2jack

The lab costs for the stent alone will be be several hundred pounds depending on type and a ct scan will normally be around £130 and that's without the cost of surgery time. So doesn't sound excessive.

brook2jack

Does your surgery have a website, does it say anything about implant costs there?

imranawan

The website only makes reference to an implant placement fee not an assessment fee. I assume the two are very different fees. Assuming i do have to pay for the assessment can I take the stent and model elsewhere? Or does this remain with the dental practice.

brook2jack

The stent will be of no use to anyone else. Basically it is a plastic guide used to very accurately place implants. However different implantologists will use different systems , and may very well want to place implants in different places or at different angles, some do not use stents at all.

If you are thinking of multiple implants, different implantologists may use different numbers of implants and restore them in different ways.



However you should be able to have copies of x rays, ct scans and models (providing you have paid) and those will be of help if you go elsewhere.