Paid twice for the same treatment

Lewisgrove

I attended my dental surgery last year and they explained that I required a crown to be fitted. I paid £244.30 upfront. I’ve had the temporary crown fitted but the dentist had not discussed having the permanent crown fitted. I went for my check up today and enquiries about the fitting of a permanent crown. I have been charged a further £256.50.
I should have queried this whilst at the dentist but as I didn’t have the previous receipt with me I wasn’t sure what I’d previously paid for.
My original treatment plan was for examination, temporary crown, crown impressions, permanent crown and deep scale and polish.
My new treatment plan was for the examination, x rays crown preparation, crown impressions and night guard (which I was told would be at no extra cost due to the fact I was getting a crown fitted)
When I return to the dentist I will query this with the receptionist but I just wanted to see if anyone on here had any insight.
I just feel like I’ve paid twice and I am still waiting to have my permanent crown fitted. I’m concerned I’ll have to pay a third time as my next visit is just to take the impressions. I’ll need another visit to I’ve the crown fitted.... I have to pay for all my dental treatment, even though it’s on the NHS this feels pretty steep.

Saffythecat

I am due to get two permanent crowns fitted on Friday. I was given a treatment plan with costs when we made the appointments (this was following root canal treatment with a specialist endodontist outside the surgery) and it included all aspects. I am paying for each crown, the rest of it is just part of the steps to get there. I am paying separately for a new night guard though, funnily enough. As an aside, I don!!!8217;t understand how you can have the temp crown without having the prep done? I had an appointment of over an hour for that and the temporary fittings.

(I am in Scotland, and I know things work a bit differently here, so my experience might be the unusual one. I will pay for all of it on Friday, and have only paid the private specialist to date.)

Saffythecat

Also, sorry, my dentist actually said that the temporary might only last a few days, and that some of her colleagues don!!!8217;t even bother fitting them. My appointments were scheduled a fortnight apart, so leaving it six months (or more, depending when it was last year) sounds strange for a temporary crown. Mine is rough against my cheek and feels bulky, I can!!!8217;t wait to get the stupid thing out on Friday and the permanent one in!

Lewisgrove

My original receipt was for July 2018. So I probably had the crown fitted some time after that. It was only a routine check up yesterday and I had to bring up the fitting of the permanent crown to my dentist to make any progress. They did make a mold of my mouth when they fitted the temporary crown (as I still have it). I’ve spoken to the receptionist and she was quite offhand with me. Said she would have to “investigate” but “no course of treatment spans a year” I do feel hard done by if I’ve had to have paid twice for the same treatment on the same tooth. I don’t feel it’s my fault that the treatment hasn’t been completed. I’m not a dentist so I thought that they would say when the right time was to fit the permanent crown. I know when I first had it fitted my dentist said that I needed to make sure that I had no issues before we went on to fit the permanent crown. I was rebooked back in for a checkup for three months later. I assumed that would be when we would review the temporary crown. I was wrong, I went in for a checkup and that’s all it was. No mention of fitting a permanent crown. My fault I should have queried the permanent crown then, but again I trusted my dentist that they would make the call when I needed my permanent crown fitted. And I believed the first payment covered the whole process, I was not aware that I would have to pay again.
We’re now in June 2018 and still no permanent crown and two payments have been made towards the same tooth and as far as I can see the same treatment.
And the receptionist attitude makes me think that I’m probably going to have to accept the two payments.

Toothsmith

It's a bit hard to know what's happened here from just your description above.

It seems like you've had a new crown prepared and impressioned and a temporary crown fitted - which means they would have sent off those impressions and had a lab make you a new crown - which also means they will have paid the lab a fee for doing that........ And yet they've either not made you, or you've not turned up for, the appointment to have the crown fitted.

That all seems very strange to me that you've not been aware that a fitting appointment was needed, or that they followed it up if you missed a fitting appointment.

It's also strange that there is no mention of this immediately obvious n your record, assuming it's the same place you've gone back to - or that anything needs 'investigation'.

If a patient didn't turn up for a crown fitting after I'd prepared it here, there would be all sorts of alarms going off!!

Lewisgrove

When I had the temporary crown fitted they made a mold out of what looked like plasticine. He told me to keep it in case the temporary crown fell out and they would be able to replace it without making a new mold.
As I said above a further appt was made for 3 months later which was literally a check up.
During my appt yesterday when I queried the fitting of the permanent crown he explained I would need to be booked in to make the impressions for the crown and then a further appt would be made to have the crown fitted. I think this is what you!!!8217;re alluding to above.
I haven!!!8217;t missed any appointments and I don!!!8217;t understand why I had to actually prompt my dentist to have the permanent crown fitted, and then to be charged again.

Lewisgrove

And yes this was all done at the same place and with the same dentist

Toothsmith

Still profess myself puzzled!

They seem to have charged you as if they were going on to make a new crown for you, but then not made you any appointments for you despite taking the money for a Band 3 treatment.

Shouldn't be too hard to get to the bottom of, particularly if you have the receipt for that payment.

Lewisgrove

I am also puzzled !!!55357;!!!56883;
If the two payments are justified I will swallow it. But it feels like to me at the moment I!!!8217;ve paid twice for one treatment... which I don!!!8217;t understand why this is the case.

I have kept the receipts and I!!!8217;ve had a text saying the surgery are looking into my payment claim and they will be in contact today.
I!!!8217;m hoping that they!!!8217;re is a mistake with the payment because if I knew they would charge again I would have just stuck with the temporary crown and kept my mouth shut !!!55358;!!!56592;

Toothsmith

I can't see that the first 'treatment' should have been a band 3 payment.

Incidentally - if you go to 'settings' on your iPad then 'general' and 'keyboard' - you can turn off 'smart punctuation' and that silly thing with apostrophes will stop in your posts. It's some sort of board glitch that they don't seem to be able to fix!!

Saffythecat

Just to hijack, sorry, OP - Toothsmith, how long on average does it take to fit the permanent crowns? I am feeling pretty ropey with a threatening cold and am worried I won!!!8217;t manage a very long appointment with my mouth wide open. It!!!8217;s the upper six and seven, so the prep was quite awkward in terms of hauling about at my cheek to get in there. The teeth have had RCT so I didn!!!8217;t get numbed. I still have the wisdom tooth which possibly makes it even harder for the dentist to get access.