Nhs Dentist Question

silkyuk9

hi there.

my father has been to his dentist, the dentist is new to him as he has been on a waiting list, and the dentist is over 20 miles away.

anyway. He went for his appointment and he was given an x-ray and a tooth check, that was it. it cost him £15-90. he was given a further appointment for a week later to return. This time he was given a tooth scrape and that cost him a further £15-50. he was told to make another appointment for next monday for a deep root filling.

are these 2 fees correct, it seems a lot to pay for 2 appointments.

oldagetraveller

He can thank "New Labour" for this. My daughter has just had a check up and 1 x-ray at the same price £15+
I've just had a check up, 1 x filling renewal & a scale polish at a bargain price of £43.60 so yes, those prices seem about right unfortunately.
My oldest daughter is a Dental Nurse and did confirm mine was correct for "NHS" treatment.
It's a fixed price up to a certain number of fillings so whether you have one or say 3 it's still the same. Then goes up again for another batch of treatment in excess of that.
"Healthcare free at the point of delivery" to quote some Labour politicians!! e.g. Tony Bliar

mookie

£15.50

This charge will include an examination, diagnosis and
preventive care. If necessary, this will include X-rays, scale
and polish, and planning for further treatment.

Urgent and out-of-hours care will also cost £15.50.

£42.40

This charge includes all necessary treatment covered

by the £15.50 charge PLUS additional treatment such

as fillings, root canal treatment or extractions.

£189.00

This charge includes all necessary treatment covered by
the £15.50 and £42.40 charges PLUS more complex

procedures such as crowns, dentures or bridges.

You will pay one charge even if you need to visit more than once

to complete a course of treatment

May of been cheaper for them to charge the £42.40 and do all the work under the same fee. Worth checking.

alared

mookie wrote: »

£189.00

This charge includes all necessary treatment covered by
the £15.50 and £42.40 charges PLUS more complex

procedures such as crowns, dentures or bridges.

This is correct until you come across a NHS dentist who refuses point blank to do any crown work under the NHS and will only do it private,as was the case with me.
The only alternative offered was to have it pulled for £44 !

Diane65

Hi
They cannot charge your father more than £42.40 for the total course of treatment as they will have planned and documented the treatment plan at his initial consultation; make sure they know you are aware of this. They are treating him as an NHS patient. If your father has any difficultys tell him to contact PALS, the patient advice and liason service for the NHS; they will contact the dentist on his behalf.
Good Luck

bubblesbonbon

Diane65 wrote: »

Hi
They cannot charge your father more than £42.40 for the total course of treatment as they will have planned and documented the treatment plan at his initial consultation; make sure they know you are aware of this. They are treating him as an NHS patient. If your father has any difficultys tell him to contact PALS, the patient advice and liason service for the NHS; they will contact the dentist on his behalf.
Good Luck

I wish that I had known about this a few months ago.

I was making a 70 mile round trip to an NHS dentist and dispite me telling him that I had an occasional problem with a filling, he assured me that I had two fillings that were "wearing a bit thin" but would be ok. Result -£15 for a 3 minute examination.

A month later, I found a practice a lot nearer who did the initial examination after I told him about the problem filling.
The dentist told me that the problem filling should be ok for a while but said that the other was missing completely! (a bit thin?) - He fixed that and told me to come back 6 months later. - Cost £42

No doubt the problem will then be attended to for another £42.

I think Martin should follow Dianne65's lead :T and warn, sorry inform, others.

System

my dentist charges £15 for a check up and polish if you need a filling etc its £43. if you do need extra work then all you pay is the £43 not the £15 aswell