NHS fillings

Ryse

I am a student who is exempt for fillings. My dentist says that I need 2 fillings at the back of my teeth. He says it will cost me £80 per white fillings, however the silver one is free. I checked on the NHS website and it says (nhs*uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/dentists/Pages/dental-services-available-on-the-NHS.aspx) white fillings are free. Does this include back teeth? Is my dentist lying to me?

McKneff

Your dentist is not lying to you. If you want white fillings for cosmetic reasons it is your choice, then you have to pay for them.

Dentistry on the NHS is for necessary dental treatment. Anything else, you have to pay for.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

Clickable link:
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/dentists/Pages/dental-services-available-on-the-NHS.aspx

brook2jack

Your dentist just has to provide what is clinically necessary to secure health. Amalgam (silver ) fillings are the most commonly placed filling material on the nhs on back teeth. Composite (white) fillings are much more demanding and technique sensitive to place. They may be placed on the back teeth on the nhs on non biting surfaces or when the hole is minimal but in general if it's a back tooth and you want a white filling that's for cosmetic not health reasons and you will have to pay privately.

Ryse

McKneff wrote: »

Your dentist is not lying to you. If you want white fillings for cosmetic reasons it is your choice, then you have to pay for them.

Dentistry on the NHS is for necessary dental treatment. Anything else, you have to pay for.

Then why does it say white fillings are free on the site? Is there any documentation that says white fillings on the back teeth are not covered by the NHS. So far the only thing I can see on the site is that white fillings are free.

brook2jack

Here is your link about white fillings on back teeth being mainly cosmetic https://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/nhs-fillings-and-crowns.aspx?CategoryID=74&SubCategoryID=742

On the whole information on the net about nhs dentistry is often very poor and misleading. Even worse is most health authorities understanding of it.

As explained before unless it is on a non biting surface or very very minimal a filling on a back tooth on the nhs will be amalgam . A white filling here is a cosmetic choice you will have to pay for.

Toothsmith

Have a look at this link, and click on the 'white filling' tab at the bottom of the list

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/dentists/Pages/common-nhs-dental-treatments.aspx

White fillings are available on the NHS where clinically appropriate. However, in some situations, silver-coloured (amalgam) fillings may be a more durable option. Fillings fall under Band 2 (£49)

If it's free for you, then you're exempt from the £49

LittleVoice

brook2jack wrote: »

Here is your link about white fillings on back teeth being mainly cosmetic https://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/nhs-fillings-and-crowns.aspx?CategoryID=74&SubCategoryID=742

On the whole information on the net about nhs dentistry is often very poor and misleading. Even worse is most health authorities understanding of it.

As explained before unless it is on a non biting surface or very very minimal a filling on a back tooth on the nhs will be amalgam . A white filling here is a cosmetic choice you will have to pay for.

Of course, for many people, it is not a cosmetic choice but one dictated by not wanting mercury in their mouths. That is seen by them as a very serious health issue. However the "received wisdom" does not support their fear.

welshdent

Wadr and I do not wish to sound patronising however there is no evidence at all of any health issue with amalgam fillings at all. There are cases of hypersensitivityin some ppeople but I would hazard a guess you aren't referring to that. Amalgam has been used for an exceptionally long time. It was first documented in 1528.they have been in widespread use since the 1800's. There are a lot of people that will feed your fears and scaremonger but offer zero evidence. Dentists place amalgam on a daily sometimes hourly basis. Surely they would have high incidences of these health problems but they don't. So aside from hypersensitivity which can be demonstrated I'm afraid declining amalgam IS a cosmetic choice in my opinion.

brook2jack

LittleVoice wrote: »

Of course, for many people, it is not a cosmetic choice but one dictated by not wanting mercury in their mouths. That is seen by them as a very serious health issue. However the "received wisdom" does not support their fear.

There are also health worries with bis gma which is one of the constituents of composite (white) fillings. The most inert substance to fill a tooth with is probably gold but gold inlays require holes to be cut that are more extensive than for amalgam or composite .

All fillings have potentially hazardous materials in them, the best thing is to avoid them in the first place.

However on back teeth there are still many situations where amalgam is a very useful material, and where composite (white ) fillings should not be used as the conditions have to be just right for composite to stick and stay.

McKneff

Just in case you are not aware, 3 of the posters on here who have answered your initial question and given general advice are Dentists....
and know exactly what they are talking about.