Help please with dental care costs whilst receiving universal credit payments.

HillStreetBlues

peteuk said:

scottleag said:

HillStreetBlues said:

Went to NHS dentist yesterday (only 60 miles away) I'm not working and on UC and not a problem like others have advised.

When I first registered with my NHS dentist 25 years ago I moaned like hell because it was a half-hour bus ride and I couldn't get anything closer. Moved back to same area after 12 years away and was still registered. Now I think 'great, not only have I an NHS dentist, it's ONLY half an hour on the bus.'

Sorry to burst your bubble - no one is registered with a dentist unless under on going treatment.  Should the dentist retain your information then thats ok, but your not “registered” with them.  This is a regular problem many have, especially now NHS dentists are few and far between…

”But Im registered with them…” nope and hence why they can remove NHS status. 

I'm tempted to start like you did, but I thought better of it.
You are under miscomprehension that " registered"  can only  be used in the same context as a doctors surgery.
I'm registered with my dentist, as I filled out their registration form so I could be a client of that practice.  I did the same with my doctors.
Legally there is a difference between the two as I have more protection with the doctors but it doesn't mean they are mutually exclusive

peteuk

HillStreetBlues said:

peteuk said:

scottleag said:

HillStreetBlues said:

Went to NHS dentist yesterday (only 60 miles away) I'm not working and on UC and not a problem like others have advised.

When I first registered with my NHS dentist 25 years ago I moaned like hell because it was a half-hour bus ride and I couldn't get anything closer. Moved back to same area after 12 years away and was still registered. Now I think 'great, not only have I an NHS dentist, it's ONLY half an hour on the bus.'

Sorry to burst your bubble - no one is registered with a dentist unless under on going treatment.  Should the dentist retain your information then thats ok, but your not “registered” with them.  This is a regular problem many have, especially now NHS dentists are few and far between…

”But Im registered with them…” nope and hence why they can remove NHS status. 

I'm tempted to start like you did, but I thought better of it.
You are under miscomprehension that " registered"  can only  be used in the same context as a doctors surgery.
I'm registered with my dentist, as I filled out their registration form so I could be a client of that practice.  I did the same with my doctors.
Legally there is a difference between the two as I have more protection with the doctors but it doesn't mean they are mutually exclusive

I cant find the link now but will continue look to do so.  The government back in 2013 (I believe it was around this time) changed the way you “register” with a dentist.  Basically you are registered with them for the course of your treatment, once any treatment is completed then they technically de-register you.  Now if your dentist holds onto your details thats totally different. 

In the way you register with a GP, this is primarily done in catchment areas, although you can request a surgery outside of your area for instance if you work full time in another area you may register with a gp in that area (although they can refuse you or take you on whilst they have spaces). Once registered that is your Gp until you move areas etc. 

We had this Dentist argument for about a year in the area that I live in, lots of people claiming to be registered at X Dentist, but in reality they weren’t because they hadn’t been in X time.   We’ve slowly lost our NHS dentists.

Will continue to find the details. 

HillStreetBlues

peteuk said:

I cant find the link now but will continue look to do so.  The government back in 2013 (I believe it was around this time) changed the way you “register” with a dentist.  Basically you are registered with them for the course of your treatment, once any treatment is completed then they technically de-register you.  Now if your dentist holds onto your details thats totally different. 

In the way you register with a GP, this is primarily done in catchment areas, although you can request a surgery outside of your area for instance if you work full time in another area you may register with a gp in that area (although they can refuse you or take you on whilst they have spaces). Once registered that is your Gp until you move areas etc. 

We had this Dentist argument for about a year in the area that I live in, lots of people claiming to be registered at X Dentist, but in reality they weren’t because they hadn’t been in X time.   We’ve slowly lost our NHS dentists.

Will continue to find the details. 

Yes, there have been changes, but because one is different to the other doesn't mean they both can't be "registered".
I registered my Clubcard with Tesco, totally different to both of the above, but doesn't mean it's not registered

peteuk

@HillStreetBlues. At present all I can find is this…

” Due to the high number of people wishing to receive NHS funded dental treatment and very long waiting lists, your dental practice has no choice but to remove patients who have not attended for two years or more from the NHS list”

I will continue to dig further.  I am sure I had used a link in a previous comment a few years back, but struggling to find the comment. 

poppy12345

I'm also registered with my dentist. They contact me when i'm due my check up. My daughter also recently registered with the same dentist. As i was a patient of their's even though they had no NHS adult spaces, they allowed her to register because of me. She's currently undergoing some treatment.

She was also registered with a dentist further from home and i was receiving texts from them to say she's due a check up. I contacted them to tell them she's now with another dentist.

Spoonie_Turtle

peteuk said:

@HillStreetBlues. At present all I can find is this…

” Due to the high number of people wishing to receive NHS funded dental treatment and very long waiting lists, your dental practice has no choice but to remove patients who have not attended for two years or more from the NHS list”

I will continue to dig further.  I am sure I had used a link in a previous comment a few years back, but struggling to find the comment. 

Which implies there is indeed a list of NHS patients registered with them

Although the dentists on the Health and Beauty board also say dentists don't register people any more.  Maybe it means there's no compulsory list or registration for the long term, particularly for new patients, but in reality a lot of patients already registered seem to remain so.

KxMx

I managed to get an NHS appointment in April for some work I needed to have done. The dentist has kept me as a patient I keep getting reminders that my appointment is due. Not that they actually have any currently for NHS and I understand April was the last time they had any NHS availability. 

scottleag

The dental practice I returned to/was registered with - call it what you will - in 2015 after twelve years away and having been with NHS dentists in two other towns, had almost 4,000 patients on their books and closed without warning during lockdown. The premises were were taken over by a new practice almost a year later. Since then they've been slowly adding to their list by taking on patients from the old practice on the basis of earliest registration, earliest 'return.' A massive job and I think they're now only up to 2018.

My wife's dentist (and I used to be jealous as it was a ten minutes walk away) also closed and she couldn't get registered anywhere else as an NHS patient and even private practice weren't taking on any more people without insurance. We explored insurance and for the huge costs involved it didn't cover likely treatments either in general or in full. Basically she'd have been paying a lot of money for check-ups.

With my dentist still only up to 2018 with 'old' registrations things looked bleak for her but fortunately when I explained her illness to my dentist she agreed to take my wife as a patient so there are some 'good guys' out there. The lack of NHS dentistry is absolutely appalling and as I said in an earlier post what was once considered bad (half hour bus journey) is now a privileged position to be in. 

elsien

From the NHS website. 

"Once you find a dental surgery, you may have to fill in a registration form at your first visit, which is just to add you to their patient database. But that does not mean you have guaranteed access to an NHS dental appointment in the future."

Which seems fairly explanatory. If you are registered with a GP then they have to see you or have good reason not to and formally give their reasons in writing. If you are on the dentist's database and are not currently receiving treatment then they have no obligation to you to offer any further services although in line with good customer services they would keep seeing you unless something changed.