NHS Hygienist

brook2jack

The problem with taking dentistry completely out of the NHS is it leaves the already vulnerable even worse off.

NHS dentistry for children is free yet between 10 and 50 % of children do not see a dentist and dental decay is the number one reason for hospital admissions for children in the U.K.

Everyday dentists see children with neglected mouths, who have been in pain for a while because parents have not bought the children in. Now imagine how much worse things would be if people paid for children's treatment as well?

I think a core service of fillings,extractions , hygiene and dentures would keep people out of pain and disease free.

However we need to provide this for everyone especially for those whose oral health needs are neglected at the moment e.g. The elderly in care homes.

We cannot afford all dentistry for everyone so we need to make decisions on what we can afford to do and how best to target the limited funds we have.

silvercar

owl_fan wrote:

Evidently my dentist didn't think I needed my teeth scaling or she could have done that on the NHS at no extra cost.

I'm not sure that that is true. "Need" is subjective, it may benefit your health but is it necessary? You could live without it, but would benefit with it.

Having had a lovely NHS dentist for years, I eventually realised that his underfunded practice meant the best equipment wasn't being used and the best treatments not always offered. It is then a judgement call whether I want to spend a lot more money to hopefully prolong the life of my teeth.

Directly related to this thread, my old dentist generally gave my teeth a thorough clean, floss and polish - never any scaling. The new dentist recommends I see a hygenist.

Beenie

Coincidentally, I saw the hygienist yesterday.

I was very happy with her service (35-40 minutes) at a cost of £40. She did the work, and also told me not to use mouthwash, and explained the benefits of using an electric toothbrush. She also gave me an inter-dental brush.

I asked about tooth whitening and my sensitive teeth, and she said she had the same problem but used the home kit (provided by the dentist). She thought that was better because you could control the amount of time the paste was on the tooth, rather than having a set time in the dentists chair. She also said that whitening in the surgery was roughly £500, whereas home whitening was roughly £300, so although I paid her a fee, she will actually be saving me some money.
:T

Pop_Up_Pirate

brook2jack wrote: »

The problem with taking dentistry completely out of the NHS is it leaves the already vulnerable even worse off.

NHS dentistry for children is free yet between 10 and 50 % of children do not see a dentist and dental decay is the number one reason for hospital admissions for children in the U.K.

Everyday dentists see children with neglected mouths, who have been in pain for a while because parents have not bought the children in. Now imagine how much worse things would be if people paid for children's treatment as well?

I think a core service of fillings,extractions , hygiene and dentures would keep people out of pain and disease free.

However we need to provide this for everyone especially for those whose oral health needs are neglected at the moment e.g. The elderly in care homes.

We cannot afford all dentistry for everyone so we need to make decisions on what we can afford to do and how best to target the limited funds we have.

When I said dentistry should be taken off the NHS, I did mean for adults.
Kids should have free health care across the board.

Adults should pay.

charlies-aunt

Just starting on a treatment plan with a private dentist for dental implants and the first step was a 45 minute dental hygienist appointment - £73.00 .....but worth every penny as not only do I now know how to brush correctly but the clean and polish were amazing - removed 90% of staining & my teeth look like they have been whitened.
I work full time and choose to spend my spare money on having this work done as an investment for the future .... no point in having expensive clothes etc if your teeth look like they have come out of a vets dustbin! IMO anyhow

stone_circle

mal4mac wrote: »

Ask your dentist if you have a clinical need for a scale and polish at all. If he says, "Yes", than ask him why it isn't available on Scale 1 NHS.

If he says you need more than basic scale and polish, and would need to pay at scale 2, then you might just have to accept that. (He might be telling the truth. Do you trust him in general?)

If you accept paying for Scale 2, you might as well pay the £40 as it works out at about the same price.

In a checkup, my dentist said I need band 2 scale & polish. The only distinction between band 1 and band 2 S&P that I can find is here:

band 2:

non-surgical treatment of periodontitis (a severe form of gum disease) – such as root planing (cleaning bacteria from the roots of your teeth) or deep scaling and a polish

So unless I have "severe gum disease", it should be band 1.
Dent has not diagnosed severe gum disease, so I will refuse to pay band 2.

Secondly, if dent gives some other citation\regulation that shows I must pay band 2, if I've already paid band 1 (for checkup), then according to MSE:

If within two months of finishing a course of treatment you need more treatment covered under the same band, or a lower one, it's included, so you won't pay again.

So does this mean, since my checkup and S&P were within two months of each other, if I pay band 2, I can be refunded the band 1 I've already paid, since this is a lower band? Thanks.

custardy

stone_circle wrote: »

In a checkup, my dentist said I need band 2 scale & polish. The only distinction between band 1 and band 2 S&P that I can find is here:

band 2:
So unless I have "severe gum disease", it should be band 1.
Dent has not diagnosed severe gum disease, so I will refuse to pay band 2.

Secondly, if dent gives some other citation\regulation that shows I must pay band 2, if I've already paid band 1 (for checkup), then according to MSE: So does this mean, since my checkup and S&P were within two months of each other, if I pay band 2, I can be refunded the band 1 I've already paid, since this is a lower band? Thanks.

your own quote also refers to a deep scaling....

stone_circle

No it doesn't my quote reads:

non-surgical treatment of periodontitis (a severe form of gum disease) – such as ... deep scaling

I don't have gum disease, so only need to pay band 1.

Can you provide another citation in support of your interpretation?

custardy

stone_circle wrote: »

No it doesn't my quote reads:
I don't have gum disease, so only need to pay band 1.

Can you provide another citation in support of your interpretation?

Really?

non-surgical treatment of periodontitis (a severe form of gum disease) – such as root planing (cleaning bacteria from the roots of your teeth) or deep scaling and a polish

.....................

brook2jack

The regulations say "or deep scaling" . If you have tartar below the gum line then this will qualify for band 2 scaling.

Your dentist has offered you NHS treatment. You don't have to accept it , but if you refuse to pay a band two treatment that has been quoted for and you have already been made another appointment and you have signed the treatment plan then you will incur a debt if you keep that appointment and the dentist is quite entitled not to see you again.

The entire cost of treatment is band two so you will only have to pay the difference between the band one you have already paid and the band two charge.

The way to avoid this is to ask to be shown how to brush and use tepe brushes or floss effectively. That way you will not build up tartar and will never need a scale again.