Initial registration fee at dentist?

moneyistooshorttomention

To clarify...I'm not in Denplan or anything similar. I'm a pay as you go private patient. Though I'm pretty dentally fit, I was shocked some years back now to be told what I would be charged as a "monthly premium" as a Denplan patient (ie rather more than I expect to pay these days on my pay as you go basis).

So, that left me distinctly wondering re Denplan then...

As far as I can see, I think I might be paying a premium for being "held over a barrel", as in I'm now in a location where there simply aren't many dental practices around (there simply isn't much of anything around in the way of choice) and I guess it might count as a "Rural Premium" (well....rural-ish in my case).

brook2jack

If you are a pay as you go patient the statistics are that payg patients are much less likely to attend regularly and much more likely to need emergency treatment at short notice or attend only when treatment needed than patients on a plan. Some surgeries ask for an amount for "registration" to help defray the costs of keeping emergency slots open for the increased short notice emergency likelyhood.

koan_2

brook2jack wrote: »

If you are a pay as you go patient the statistics are that payg patients are much less likely to attend regularly and much more likely to need emergency treatment at short notice or attend only when treatment needed than patients on a plan. Some surgeries ask for an amount for "registration" to help defray the costs of keeping emergency slots open for the increased short notice emergency likelyhood.

I think you're clutching at straws now.. :rotfl:

It sounds like they charge just because they can. Pay or go elsewhere.. and there often isn't an elsewhere, as in the OP's case. Dentists are businesses. They are there to make money.

moneyistooshorttomention

I'm a payg patient....and DO attend regularly. I'm very conscious of that fact....

...and have just literally lost half a tooth (as in half a tooth that is filling, rather than a tooth as such iyswim)l.

Excuse me...while I go and have a bout of swearing about "I HAVE been taking care...so why the **** did that just happen to me?"...

If I personally am anything to go by...then a lot of us PAYG patients really ARE "responsible" and then **** happens to us.

brook2jack

Actually at our practice we do not take on payg patients without registration everyone registers with us because the dental research shows that , on the whole, payg patients have poorer oral health,attend less regularly and are more likely to need emergency appointments.

Obviously ,like op, there are exceptions but for us we can plan our appointments and toothache and out of hours care better because things like out of hours, trauma and emergency care is paid for by the insurance that registration buys .

In our case the registration fee buys an insurance for the patient that covers the cost of dental emergencies etc and for that insurance to be valid they have to attend at least once a year and have any necessary work carried out.



The cost of these registration "insurances" is from £12 to £35 per annum some practices run their own others have companies who run them for them.

Most patients we have sign up to a maintainance plan that covers the cost of check ups, hygiene etc twice a year.

There is plenty of nhs places in our area, quite a few private practices and most of us put our fees etc on our websites for all to see ,understand and chose if they wish.

brook2jack

This is not my practice but another picked at random that has a registration fee http://www.manningtreedentalpractice.co.uk/about-us/care-plans/136-registration-and-insurance-scheme.html

You can see the fee also covers insurance but part of the cost is offsetting the costs of saving emergency appointments etc for payg patients.

moneyistooshorttomention

So, it boils down then to the fact that I (as a responsible payg patient...ie someone who visits regularly as required for check-ups etc) am being made to pay towards "insurance" for those other payg patients that don't have regular maintenance visits:(.

Sighs...."here we go again...responsible little me having to help sub The (non-responsible) Others":(

Never realised I'd be being made to sub The (non-responsible) Others even when going to the dentist....

Maybe I should think "If you cant beat 'em...join 'em" and be just as negligent....(only joking...I think...).