NHS dentist price for root canal treatment

Phantom151

Have you actually been told you will pay the 3 seperate bands? Check with your surgery. As I said above the total charges should only be band 3 if you end up having the lot done. I had this last time out, went for check up told I needed a filling. Pay the band one cahrge. Come back some time later for the filling and pay the difference between band 1 and 2. Total charge? Band 2 only. Same as when I had a root canal many moons ago.

You are overthinking this.

Bod_1234

Think I will contact them (in writing of course) and ask some very specific questions regarding bands and costs. 

Phantom151

For avoidance of doubt. From:

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/dental-costs/understanding-nhs-dental-charges/

"Depending on what you need to have done, you should only ever be asked to pay one charge for each completed course of treatment, even if you need to visit your dentist more than once to finish it."

brook2jack2

However a band four charge is a seperate course of treatment (emergency but same charge as band three) , as explained because you had a problem you were brought in for an emergency slot because as per NHS guidelines dentists should be prioritising treatment needs over routine check ups. 

There are many types of dental treatment that are legitimateY carried out over several courses of treatment eg immediate dentures and bridges . Pt comes in , has tooth/teeth out and immediate denture. One band three course of treatment. Three to six months later when the gums have finished healing  they can have the definitive denture , or in rare circumstances a single tooth bridge , then that is another band three course of treatment. 

The seperate charge for band four treatment, band two treatment for root treatment and then some months later band three for crown is an ethical treatment plan allowed under NHS regulations 

Undervalued

brook2jack2 said:

However a band four charge is a seperate course of treatment (emergency but same charge as band three) , as explained because you had a problem you were brought in for an emergency slot because as per NHS guidelines dentists should be prioritising treatment needs over routine check ups. 

There are many types of dental treatment that are legitimateY carried out over several courses of treatment eg immediate dentures and bridges . Pt comes in , has tooth/teeth out and immediate denture. One band three course of treatment. Three to six months later when the gums have finished healing  they can have the definitive denture , or in rare circumstances a single tooth bridge , then that is another band three course of treatment. 

The seperate charge for band four treatment, band two treatment for root treatment and then some months later band three for crown is an ethical treatment plan allowed under NHS regulations 

Yes, we both agree it could be.

However the OP clearly says

None of this was explained. I was told I WOULD need a crown, and that was an additional 282 quid.

So if that is the case I fully understand why he feels "fleeced".

Bod_1234

They also didn't inform me that my appointment was an "emergency". I certainly didn't ask for a priority appointment, I even mentioned that I wasn't in pain at the time of phoning them.

My crystal ball is currently out of action, so not getting the memos that are being sent to dentists.

brook2jack2

You might not have been in pain , but you had a problem . As explained the NHS wants dentists to prioritise people with problems and put off routine check ups. You have a tooth that needs root treatment , this is not something that can wait until check ups are routinely available. You needed an appointment to assess your problem and see if it needed prompt treatment. That is a band four emergency treatment. 

Your dentist explained how much your treatment , including future treatment needs , would cost . 

Root treatment is not 100% guaranteed to work and most dentists would want to wait a period of time before crowning, if they decide to crown. Like in immediate dentures or treatment for gum disease  etc this is legitimately a seperate course of treatment, in the case of gum disease you may need several courses of treatment for the same problem , all of which will be claimed for seperately. 

Unfortunately the rules and regulations covering NHS treatment are complex and very many pages long and are set by several bodies so rules may change from area to area . They also change rapidly , especially at the moment post covid , dentists struggle to keep up with changes and nuances .

However all NHS treatment is scrutinised and prescribing patterns that are out of the norm are rapidly picked up. 

ASTONDB9

Undervalued said:

silvercar said:

Bod_1234 said:

So the answer appears to be, just manipulate the system so the patient pays for all 3 bands. 

I think it's time to report this dentist, it feels they are working outside of the NHS rules.

How would I do such a thing?

Did you read the previous post? It’s not a system manipulation, it’s a necessary gap between different stages. You need an examination, you need a root filling and you may need a crown. 

The other option would be an extraction, which would avoid the need for a crown entirely.

in my area it is difficult if not impossible to find an NHS dentist who would do a root canal on the NHS and would instead refer you to a private endodentist. NHS dental services in the UK are patchy at best, in terms of finding a dentist and the treatment they offer.

In which case they are breaking the rules and should be reported to the GDC! 

If the root canal is relatively straightforward and reasonably within the capabilities of a non specialist, it is a treatment the NHS provides. The fact that the dentist loses money hand over fist in doing it, as Brook regularly points out, is not the patient's problem! If they are not willing to stick to the rules then they should opt out of the NHS system, as is their right, and only accept private patients. Which, as I understand it, is exactly what Brook and Toothsmith have opted to do.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10531599/NHS-dentists-lowest-level-DECADE-1-000-quit-just-year.html

So if dentists keep leaving (maybe because they lose money for certain procedures) would that not eventually make all items private and not just root canals private 

Toothsmith

In which case they are breaking the rules and should be reported to the GDC! 

If the root canal is relatively straightforward and reasonably within the capabilities of a non specialist, it is a treatment the NHS provides. The fact that the dentist loses money hand over fist in doing it, as Brook regularly points out, is not the patient's problem! If they are not willing to stick to the rules then they should opt out of the NHS system, as is their right, and only accept private patients. Which, as I understand it, is exactly what Brook and Toothsmith have opted to do.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10531599/NHS-dentists-lowest-level-DECADE-1-000-quit-just-year.html

So if dentists keep leaving (maybe because they lose money for certain procedures) would that not eventually make all items private and not just root canals private 

Exactly. 

Then if the Government really did want some sort of social dental care service, it would have to set up the clinics, employ the dentists & staff, decide just what materials are used in their clinics, decided exactly which treatments they provide, and to who.

Rather than just giving ever decreasing sums of money to independent contracting dental practices, alongside airy-fairy guidelines that can be open to all sorts of interpretation. 

Toothsmith

As for the OP - we simply don't have enough information from what is given to make any judgement whatsoever.

He says he didn't ask for an 'emergency' appt - but what exactly was said in order to get him in? Especially when just routine check ups are so hard to come by on the NHS. It must have been something that the receptionist interpreted as something that needed to be seen - so an emergency appt sounds perfectly reasonable. 

As others have said - there are also perfectly good reasons why such a treatment should be staged, and possibly done over a couple of different and separate courses of treatment. 

OP seems determined to 'have' this dentist for ripping him off. If that's the case, the first port of call should be to complain to the practice directly. I'm sure if they provide an explanation of just why your treatment needs to be staged, and why your first appt was an 'emergency' one - that should put the matter to bed. If not satisfied, part of the practice response should be to let you know places to go to to escalate your complaint. 

I really think that what you need to find is a dentist you can trust though, or get over your trust issues with dentists. Otherwise, the only way to "Not play their game" would be getting all your teeth out as soon as you can, and then just new dentures every few years. It will save you a lot of grief in the long run.