NHS dentist price for root canal treatment

Undervalued

ASTONDB9 said:

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 

Sadly that may be the case or maybe it will force the system to change. However that does not excuse a current NHS dentist "bending" the rules leaving an existing patient paying privately for a straightforward root canal. 

Obviously there will be grey areas, just as there are when a GP (doctor) decides to stop treating the patient himself and to refer to a specialist. No two doctors (or dentists) will make the same call on a borderline case. However if the doctor refers it is at no cost to the patient. If a dentist refers (for a RC) it normally cannot be to the NHS, so it comes at a cost of many hundreds of pounds to the patient. If it is genuinely beyond his ability and / or equipment then rightly so. However if it is for financial reason then that is dishonest. There is no doubt this happens, hopefully only in a small minority of cases.

strawb_shortcake

Toothsmith said:

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. 

The two local NHS practices near me are both doing routine appointments, so may be difficult in some areas but not all. 
One friend her and her family were removed from their dental surgery for not attending appointments during the pandemic despite making efforts to do so. 

brook2jack2

This is what most of the NHS commissioning groups are saying and I quote 
"

Aim

The aim will be to implement a phased, risk-based re-establishment of dental services to meet population needs.

Objectives

Prioritise dental care for at-risk groups and people with symptoms/ urgent routine dental problems.

Increase routine practice-based dental care and assessment to meet the population’s oral health needs when capacity available.

Maintain emergency/ urgent dental care provision (COVID and non-COVID) to meet requirements".


The problem is there is a massive backlog of treatment as the precautions dentists had to take meant they could only see around 30 to 40% of the people they did before , even with working longer hours etc. Most practices do not think they will meet their targets this year so will have more money clawed back. Many older practitioners have retired early , worn out by the physical and mental demands of covid dentistry. Ergo very few practices have capacity to increase "routine care and assesment" .