Charged for kids dental oppointments

linesandlines

Just in case anyone comes to this thread with the same problem, the British Dental Foundation advise that hygienists are self employed, only ever do private work and no exemptions apply. So there you go. An expensive way to get your kids teeth clean.

welshdent

It's not quite as simple as that. Hygienists can not hold an NHS contract and can not open and complete an NHS course of treatment.
All dentists are self employed in practice as well but we are able to the the diagnosis needed to open a course of treatment and carry it out under an NHS agreement.
Now some practices may utilise the services of a
Hygienist as part of an NHS course of treatment but the dentist would need to pay them independently for it. As an associate I.e. Not a practice owner it's not worth it for me. I do my own cleaning because the NHS fee barely covers the cost of an examination. If I had to pay for the hygienist to do a scale and polish too then I wouldn't be paying my mortgage! That's the reason most hygienists see patients privately mostly.
Now I suggest you contact the practice and enquire what happened. It is likely that there has been a miscommunication somewhere.

sheramber

Make a complaint to the practice manager that you were not told the cleaning was not being offered on the NHS.

I was charged fro a NHS denture repair. I was assured that they only did NHS repairs with the first 12 months.

I contacted the NHS dental complaints section who confirmed that I should have had free repair.

After they contacted the dentist he admitted that I should have been offered a NHS repair although there was a 2 week delay with them while a private repair would be done that day. He blamed his staff for not giving me the choice.

The charge was eventually refunded.

linesandlines

Thanks Sheramber & Welshdent. I think it is a case of miscommunication, and I will email them to let them know we're not best pleased.