NHS dentist - hygienist costs not covered?

macaroni

My nHS dentist usually gives me a scale and polish every time I go, and my 2 children too

Stargazer_Lily

macaroni wrote: »

My nHS dentist usually gives me a scale and polish every time I go, and my 2 children too

Same here - My NHS dentist did mine as part of my 6 month check-up last week.

Maybe the OP and the people who are complaining about being charged needed a more intensive (?) scale and polish than I did as mine took a whole three minutes...

Lil

GreenNinja

It was the same at my dentist, NHS treatment but you paid for the hygienist separately.

Would also say at the same time its the best money you can ever spend, a regular scale and polish twice a year keeps your teeth in tip top condition and makes your mouth feel really clean and nice. Also less chance of having to have fillings etc in the long term.

:j

LondonDiva

If you need the hygien visit and the dentist informs you it's clinically neccessary, I would attend the hygienist appointnment and pay the £15.90 that is the NHS charge for a band one treatment.

If the dentist tells you that this is not covered under the NHS you need to tell them to contact their local PALS and Dental Advisor as they have obviously not been reading the new dental contract they signed up to and could be done for giveing false information and breach of contract.

I would google your local PCT or look on www.nhs.uk and contact your local PALS asking them to remind the dentist of the terms of the contract.

You should only be charged the band 2 rate (43.60) for a clean if you do have really dodgy theeth and would need lots of work in hygiene terms.

ka7e

You should only be charged the band 2 rate (43.60) for a clean if you do have really dodgy theeth and would need lots of work in hygiene terms.

That is what irks me! My dentist did a quick scale (he said my teeth were quite clean!), but has referred me to the hygienist about a small section of gum. He also went on about replacing my old amalgam fillings with ceramic or crowns - until he realised I was NHS (husband on pension credit), then he shut up!

donteatthat

I would say that if the scaling is clinically necessary ie) calculus under the gums then under their terms of the new contract it must be provided under the band 1 or band 2 charge. To say you need it, but must pay privately is getting into very dodgy territory.
If you have a bit of staining or calculus above your gums then that could be considered scaling for cosmetic reasons, then you might have to pay privately if you wanted that done I guess.
This is another reason this new dental contract is a joke.
I'm pretty sure that you are within your rights to insist that the dentist does this for you or that the hygienist fees are covered in your NHS charges.

Also watch out for those who tell you that dentures aren't covered on the NHS and you have to pay for them privatley...

HTH
donteathat
(dentist)

~Chameleon~

donteatthat wrote: »

I would say that if the scaling is clinically necessary ie) calculus under the gums then under their terms of the new contract it must be provided under the band 1 or band 2 charge. To say you need it, but must pay privately is getting into very dodgy territory.

Now I'm starting to get confused

Yes, this work is clinically necessary from what I can gather, and seems to be more than the usual "scale & polish" that some people have mentioned only taking a few minutes to perform.

It's almost 10 years since I've had access to regular dental treatment, and only had two emergency dental appts since then, so I guess my teeth have deteriorated somewhat, hence now being told I have periodontal disease.

My gums have already started to recede in places, which is why I guess the dentist mentioned refering me to a specialist if necessary, but has suggested I need 2 x half hour sessions (£40 per session) with the hygienist to clean and remove calculus from my teeth/gums in the mean time, or risk losing my all my teeth within 10 years

Toothsmith

What London Diva said!

Toothsmith

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

I've finally managed to get myself registered with an NHS dentist and had my initial check-up today only to be told that I need to have two sessions with the hygienist at a cost of £40 per session :eek: as I am showing signs of periodontal disease

Is this normal practice to charge for a scale and polish with the hygienist?

I'm on benefits so usually exempt from paying dental charges and going to struggle to find the money to have this work done

This is a common dodge on the new NHS contract, as dentists get paid a fixed amount for an open ended amount of work. Which is completely unsustainable.

Rather than just not signing the contract and going private though, some dentists stayed with the NHS, but now try to limit what a patient is entitled to in a way that is totally against the document that they have signed.

If you are an NHS patient, and you NEED some treatment, you are entitled to it on the NHS.

If the hygienist is on the premesis of the practice, then you are entitled to see her too.

As a lot of hygienists are self-employed, then I suppose there could be an argument for he alone 'going private', but in that instance, either the dentist him/herself MUST sort out your periodontal disease, or he must pay the hygienist the £40 to see you!!!!

There have been a couple of cases of dentists trying to get out of doing even basic root fillings by referring all root fillings to private specialists saying that they are 'beyond their skill level'. In the two cases I'm referring to, the dentists were ordered by their PCT's to pay the cost of the private referral for the patient, so as LondonDiva said, having a word with your local PCT is certainly worthwhile. The case can be handled annonymously if you fear being struck off his/her list.

bristolleedsfan

we used to have a lovely hygenist, she went off to a private practice and never got replaced, so my dentist does a marathon 5 min scale and i presume some kind of polish.

it is a problem worrying about saying the wrong thing to either a dentist or doctor with them having the power to strike off merely claiming relationship has broken down.