Coronavirus - Denplan/Simply Health

brook2jack2

The average amount a Denplan patient will pay if they are not on an essentials plan is £14 to£45 per month. That will cover the cost of all treatment , not including lab fees. So if you have  treatment  that needs to be done  and it is not done from end of March to now then it will be done as soon as possible , you will just have it a bit later. 

Snuggles

As a Denplan customer myself I don't really understand why people are so concerned about this. It's not as though you would normally be at the dentist every week or month to get your money's worth. I was supposed to have a check up and hygienist appointment in May which was obviously cancelled. I presume I'll have those appointments later this year. Yes it might technically mean that I don't get two check ups within 12 months on this occasion, but I'd rather the dentist had my money and survives to keep providing the excellent service they always have. 

whizzywoo

Snuggles said:

As a Denplan customer myself I don't really understand why people are so concerned about this. It's not as though you would normally be at the dentist every week or month to get your money's worth. I was supposed to have a check up and hygienist appointment in May which was obviously cancelled. I presume I'll have those appointments later this year. Yes it might technically mean that I don't get two check ups within 12 months on this occasion, but I'd rather the dentist had my money and survives to keep providing the excellent service they always have. 

Me too.  I'm a Denplan customer also.  

Boa21

Well, my practice is owned by BUPA and I pay Denplan monthly. The Denplan contract makes it clear that the 'the plan and your contract are both with your dental practice'. So I am paying BUPA who are not fulfilling their part of the contract. Both my wife and I have now had routine check-ups and hygienist sessions cancelled.

I get that our cover is also for emergency care, but BUPA are taking a large proportion of over £1,000 per year and not providing the service.

I have every sympathy with small businesses at this time, but we are very quick to take issue with other large companies who have failed to honour contracts during the pandemic.

nineteenseventyseven

If you are happy with your Denplan dentist, I would urge you to continue to support them with your Denplan payments. If you are in Denplan essentials, I would imagine that most practices will be prioritising you with exam and hygiene visits as soon as they can provide these. If you are on Denplan Care, it is possible that problems which may have been simple to treat 3 months ago are now more complex to treat. A moderately deep cavity may now require a root canal treatment. This will take much more clinical time to complete than a filling would have done back in March. The tooth may also now require a crown - the dentist will make no profit from this - they can only charge the lab fee. Most Denplan patients won’t really have missed out on treatment / their contract hasn’t been honoured. Their treatment may have been delayed by a few months but it will still be carried out by their dentist. If a patient wishes to pause their Denplan care payments for 3-4 months, do they expect the dentist to treat any issues that have occurred in this period for free? Patients need to be “dentally fit” to sign up for Denplan Care. As long you continue your monthly payments and your dentist carries out any treatment required to maintain your dental health when they are permitted to do so, no one has failed to honour a contract. Denplan dentists are not paid to carry out particular items of treatment. They are paid a monthly fee to cover all necessary treatment. PPE costs have increased approx 10 fold. Most practices will be working increased hours to catch up with lost clinical time. They will not be paid extra for this - it will be paid for partly by the payments received by the practice during lockdown when routine treatment was forbidden. 

thepurplepixie

I've been with Denplan for over 30 years, with current dentist for over 20 years so I've just carried on paying.  I had a checkup and hygienist appointment cancelled at the end of March, then hygienist cancelled again at the end of June, I have two check ups and 4 hygienists appointments a year with my plan.  So this week I wondered if they were making appointments yet so I gave them a ring, about 11 am, and was amazed when they asked if I could get in at 3 pm. I went and had my checkup, nothing needed doing and dentist complimented me on my oral hygiene after missing my hygienists appointments, maybe she was humouring me?  I suspect it might be easier to get into Fort Knox than the surgery and the systems to protect us all were very impressive, it is clear they won't be able to see many patients unless things get back to normal.

maman

We're now 5 months down the line for Denplan payments and no service except the offer of telephone advice and more recently triage . I've just had my September appointment cancelled. I understand that missed appointments could result in the need for more extensive treatment in some cases but that won't be applicable in every case.

I think what irritated me was the advice on the practice website detailing how to pay (hygienically) for patients who pay on the day but conspicuous by its absence was any advice for Denplan patients.

I believe the way practices manage themselves financially varies hugely but I think a small gesture to Denplan patients to acknowledge paying monthly for nothing would be appreciated. 

whizzywoo

maman said:

We're now 5 months down the line for Denplan payments and no service except the offer of telephone advice and more recently triage . I've just had my September appointment cancelled. I understand that missed appointments could result in the need for more extensive treatment in some cases but that won't be applicable in every case.

I think what irritated me was the advice on the practice website detailing how to pay (hygienically) for patients who pay on the day but conspicuous by its absence was any advice for Denplan patients.

I believe the way practices manage themselves financially varies hugely but I think a small gesture to Denplan patients to acknowledge paying monthly for nothing would be appreciated. 

Why is your dental practice not seeing patients?  My own dentist has been seeing patients for well over a month now.  Both my daughter and myself are Denplan patients.  She saw her dentist about 4 weeks ago and I have an appointment next week.

maman

whizzywoo said:

maman said:

We're now 5 months down the line for Denplan payments and no service except the offer of telephone advice and more recently triage . I've just had my September appointment cancelled. I understand that missed appointments could result in the need for more extensive treatment in some cases but that won't be applicable in every case.

I think what irritated me was the advice on the practice website detailing how to pay (hygienically) for patients who pay on the day but conspicuous by its absence was any advice for Denplan patients.

I believe the way practices manage themselves financially varies hugely but I think a small gesture to Denplan patients to acknowledge paying monthly for nothing would be appreciated. 

Why is your dental practice not seeing patients?  My own dentist has been seeing patients for well over a month now.  Both my daughter and myself are Denplan patients.  She saw her dentist about 4 weeks ago and I have an appointment next week.

They are still seeing patients but working through the backlog of planned appointments first and triage for anyone who calls with something urgent. It's obviously a slow process as they've already cancelled my September appointment