Dentist vent.

fierystormcloud

My niece (20,) went to the dentist (nhs registered,) a month or so ago, after getting a reminder letter saying she was due. He told her she needed 3 white fillings that went over 2 teeth (the canine and the first premolar.) See below.



So she came out into reception and booked the appointment, and paid for the check up (£19.70.)

Then she went for the filling(s) appointment last week, and gathered that it would be the standard £53.90 charge (for stage 2 nhs dental,) but to her horror, she was charged £150! (In addition to the £19.70 she had already paid.)

It knocked her sideways and cleared out her bank account.

When her mother quizzed it, she was told it was because they were white fillings, and 'white fillings are only included in the £53.70 nhs charge if they are at the front,' which only includes the first 4 teeth allegedly. (top and bottom.) So only those 8 teeth are included. So she was 'private' fees.

My niece was in tears, as not at ANY POINT was she told that it wouldn't be the regular £53.70 charge, and this charge knocked the stuffing out of her. Apparently, it was £50.00 per white filling! She was literally in his room for 15 minutes. So his charge worked out to £600 per hour.

Maybe it's correct, but it's disgusting that she wasn't told beforehand. She did say that she wouldn't have had it done if she had knows it would be that expensive, as she didn't have the money. Also, you couldn't even see that anything needed doing, and she had no pain in the teeth, so he could have been making it up for all we know!

Has this ever happened to anyone else? And is there anything she can do, or does she have to suck it up?

In addition, me and my husband went to the same dentist in early October for check-ups, and we both needed fillings (amalgam ones at the back.) We went back the following week and had them done. We paid £53.70 each.

Then yesterday, we got a letter (each) saying 'oral health is of paramount importance, and according to our records, you are due for a check up; please ring and book now for your check-up.'

!!!!!!, it's only been 4 months since we had our last check-up, and 3 and a half months since we had the fillings!

Is the dentist trying to save for his pension or something, because it feels like he is fleecing us all!

Very peed off right now! :mad:

Next time my niece goes for a check-up, she is going to insist that she gets a quote of what it's going to cost beforehand, because nobody told her. I wonder why?!

ripplyuk

That doesn't seem right to me. I'm no expert but the NHS do allow white fillings on canines and premolars. Also, the dentist didn't explain to your niece that he was planning to do this work privately. Has she spoke to the practice about it? If they aren't helpful, she could always put in a complaint to them.

Your own appointment letter coming through early is probably just a mess up with their computer system.

Perhaps one of the dentists on the Health&Beauty boards could give you better advice.

fierystormcloud

ripplyuk wrote: »

That doesn't seem right to me. I'm no expert but the NHS do allow white fillings on canines and premolars. Also, the dentist didn't explain to your niece that he was planning to do this work privately. Has she spoke to the practice about it? If they aren't helpful, she could always put in a complaint to them.

Your own appointment letter coming through early is probably just a mess up with their computer system.

Perhaps one of the dentists on the Health&Beauty boards could give you better advice.

Thanks Ripply. I don't like the sound of it either. When we looked through the internet at various websites, we get different responses/answers, but many of them seem to indicate that the 2 teeth involved (the canine and the first premolar) are not 'front teeth. Ergo, you have to pay the 'private' fees.

Personally, I think (and so does everyone else I have asked) that these 2 teeth should be classed as 'front teeth,' but apparently our dentist classes them as 'side teeth.' :mad:

We are all so tempted to find another dentist, (all 10 of us in the extended family who are registered there,) so they lose all the custom!

esuhl

My last dentist switched me being an NHS patient to a private one without telling me (until I went to pay the NHS fee after I'd been treated). I queried it and was assured that this "would have been explained to me". I refused to pay and changed dentists.

My current dentist also insist on me seeing the hygienist for a scale & polish every six months. I'm pretty sure that that should be covered with an NHS appointment.

They also "lost" a £60 payment and accused me of missing an appointment (after sending me a text message to say that it had been cancelled ONE HOUR beforehand, so I was already en-route). Fortunately they sorted that out.

I get the impression that dentists don't think they earn enough from NHS patients and so do everything they can to "persuade" them to pay for private services.

ripplyuk

It says this on the NHS website:

"Where clinically appropriate, white fillings are available on the NHS and are generally charged as Band 2. For example, if you need a filling in one of your front teeth (incisors and canines), the filling material of choice may be a white filling."

....so the canine at least should definitely be covered. I personally know people who have white premolar fillings, done on the NHS. I think the biting surfaces are often done in amalgam but the sides can be with white fillings.

I'd be tempted to leave too!

agrinnall

esuhl wrote: »

My current dentist also insist on me seeing the hygienist for a scale & polish every six months. I'm pretty sure that that should be covered with an NHS appointment.

S&P is covered.

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1781.aspx?CategoryID=74

Band 1: £19.70 covers an examination, diagnosis and advice. If necessary, it also includes X-rays, a scale and polish and planning for further treatment.

Torry_Quine

If I need to come back for any treatment then I always get an itemised list of the treatment needed and the expected cost. I'm an NHS patient and my dentist goes through the options I have and does tell me what I could get done privately but never pushes me to get any private work done.

brook2jack

Whenever anyone has any treatment with a NHS check up it is a requirement that they are given a written estimate (fp17dc form this is a copy of the English/Welsh form, an equivalent computer print out can be used http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/dentists/Documents/dental-treatment-plan-dh_4139048.pdf )detailing the costs . It is also a requirement if you have a NHS check up and decide to have private treatment that you are given a FP17dc form detailing costs. It is signed at the practice and the patient has one copy and the practice has the other.

NHS treatment is there to secure dental health , not to provide the most attractive option. Certainly on the biting surface of premolars that is most likely to be amalgam rather than white fillings.

However your niece should have been given a written estimate , and should have signed something to give consent for treatment. I suggest she contacts the practice in writing to raise her queries .

Fosterdog

agrinnall wrote: »

S&P is covered.

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1781.aspx?CategoryID=74

Band 1: £19.70 covers an examination, diagnosis and advice. If necessary, it also includes X-rays, a scale and polish and planning for further treatment.

I'm sure this has been brought up on here before and if the S&P is done by the dentist it is covered under NHS but under the hygienist it is classed as private. I may be remembering incorrectly though but when I've been offered S&P I've always made sure it's the dentist themselves doing it and not the hygienist.

On the original topic my OH had fillings in his canine and pre molar last week and they were white and covered under NHS band 2 treatment. Maybe it's something that some dentists don't count pre molars as front teeth but others do. Regardless of that at most she should only have to pay one private charge as the other is under NHS so they owe her £50 for that and if the treatment plan was put in place when she paid the £19 that should also be deducted as this is a continuation of the original treatment plan.

brook2jack

A scale and polish is only covered on the NHS if it is necessary to secure dental health. So if you have gum disease yes it will be covered but will probably be done by the dentist, not the hygienist as NHS fees do not cover that sort of expense.

However if the scale and polish is cosmetic i.e. Tea, coffee, smoking stains then a private option can rightly be offered.

Intervals in between check ups will vary according to health. So someone who has had fillings at regular intervals or has gum disease may have a check up every 3 months , and someone who wears full dentures may only need to come in once a year.

daytona0

I got conned by an NHS dentist a while back. Changed dentist straight away!!

Basically, I paid the £20 or whatever for a checkup and got a plan of what needed doing. When I went a second time they had apparently "changed dentists" and insisted on charging me ANOTHER £20 just for another initial checkup!!

So I begrudgingly paid and they checked again.... gave me the same plan of what needed doing.

So then I paid for band 2 treatment (£54) and they did the work fine, but on my penultimate visit they actually turned round and said "oh wait, our records show that you owe us £20 for your initial checkup"

Umm no I don't!!!

I sadly did not have proof of payment (lesson learnt, get receipts) and so I decided to make a third £20 payment just to get them off my back (they seemed like they would be the small claims court type).

My first one (which closed down) was funny! They were so incompetent that they wouldn't even chase up money which people owed them! I got a 4 year old bill in the mail from them when they started chasing up debts. Ironically, it was only about 2 weeks later that they closed down Bet you wish you had that dentist eh?