Denplan

mellyp

Hi

I have received a letter from my dentist today, basically outlining that he will be turning private and offering the denplan scheme. I have a few questions:

1. Myself and my husband go to the dentist every 6 months for a checkup and the most work we ever have done is a scale and polish. Haven't had any fillings, extractions etc for about 18 years, therefore our average dental costs amount to £20 each, totalling £40 a year for the both of us. I am aware that some dental problem might crop up at anytime, but based on this average yearly figure, could someone who may already be on denplan, enlighten me as to what kind of figures they are paying monthly ? is it a lot more than this?

2. Regarding the above i have read a thread somewhere about paying for treatment as needed, can anyone let me know more about this?

2. Do i have to go with Denplan, or can i research and get my own best deal on this?

Thanks in advance, and sorry if a similar question has been posted elsewhere, if it has, could someone point me in the right direction

Cheers

Toothsmith

mellyp wrote:

... therefore our average dental costs amount to £20 each, totalling £40 a year for the both of us.

Bear in mind that this is the price you've paid on the NHS. As your dentist is going private, the cost of a check up and a scale and polish twice a year is going to rise quite significantly. You need to find out what the 'Fee per item' charges are going to be, then you can compare them to the amount you will be paying on Denplan.

Also bear in mind that Denplan will cover most stuff if you do ever need anything doing, and it will also give you access to an emergency service that is useful at home or abroad, as well as insurance cover should you damage your teeth in an accident.

Over the long term, (4+ years) I find that I receive roughly the same amount of money from my Denplan patients and my fee per item ones. I think the Denplan ones get the better deal though, and there are no nasty expensive surprises on Denplan.

mellyp wrote:

I am aware that some dental problem might crop up at anytime, but based on this average yearly figure, could someone who may already be on denplan, enlighten me as to what kind of figures they are paying monthly ? is it a lot more than this?

Every dentist sets their own fees, and there are bands dependent on how much work has been done already and how much time is likely to be needed in order to keep you healthy. (From your history, I would guess you'd be in the lower (Cheaper) categories.

Generally, depending on the practice and area costs, the fees vary from £9 - £15 per month for 'A' category to £20 - £40 per month for 'E' category. Most of my patients ar 'B's or 'C's. Your dentist should explain all this when they next see you though.

mellyp wrote:

Regarding the above i have read a thread somewhere about paying for treatment as needed, can anyone let me know more about this?

Most dentists are happy to still retain patients on a fee-per-item basis, but make sure you know the charges your likely to be paying before opting for this. Remember that if you have an out-of -hours emergency you will have to pay call-out charges. And if you have an accident and break a tooth or two it could get VERY expensive. Also, if you have a problem on holiday, there would be no support or cover for emergency fees.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking it will be cheaper if you go less often. Probably one reason for never needing much doing is the fact that you've been a regular attender, and have a very good dentist.

mellyp wrote:

Do i have to go with Denplan, or can i research and get my own best deal on this??

Ask your dentist.

There are other dental insurance packages, but you would have to be a fee per item patient with your dentist, pay the fees, and then go about claiming back those fees from the insurance company yourself.

Some of the companies require the dentist to fill out the form, and to tell the truth, they're a right pain in the backside for us, so I tend to charge if I have to fill one of these out, and that charge isn't covered!

A lot of these schemes have a maximum annual limit, so make sure you know what it is and satisfy yourself that it will be enough.

You won't get a better Denplan deal than the one the dentist is offering, as each plan is unique to a specific practice.

I would imagin that the letter from your dentist will say somewhere that it will all be discussed when you next come to visit, or it will urge you to make an appointment as soon as possible in order to discuss it. It will be best to speak to the dentist or the reception staff about it, and find out exactl what the costs at your practice will be.

mellyp

Toothsmith - you're a star.

Thanks for explaining all that in easy terms.

Yes, my letter from my dentist does say to make an appointment to discuss it,so will be doing that next week.

Hopefully i will be in one of the lower categories, i have been with my dentist since i was a child, my husband since he moved to the area and now my 2 children. I feel comfortable going to him and he is great with the children, bringing them in from birth, my youngest will have his first appointment now at about 8 months old, to check his 'one' (at the moment) tooth. He believes that children should come in from as young as possible, so they get used to just 'going to the dentist', sitting in the chair etc.

Thanks again for all the explanations, have kept a copy of it to show anyone who may come across a similar situation - as the rest of my family (brothers/sisters) are with different dentists.

Cheers :T

Toothsmith

I suspect there will be a lot between now and next April.

The Government are really playing silly Bug**rs with us at the moment.

They want us all to go private!


The next big thing to hit the papers will be as more and more dentists take children private as well.

kefb

My Mum has just been told by her dentist that NHS services will no longer be available. Denplan is on offer at a cost of £ 18.75 per month (after a consultation with the dentist today) - but I wonder whether there are other plans that might be more suitable for her? Her requirements are not onerous - scale and polish, the occasional filling replacement etc.

I see that there are other "posters" who have been faced with the same issue & that "Toothsmith" has been v. helpful!! - I would love to know, please, if there is anything that any other user might recommend for older dental patients?

I feel quite sad that Mum and others like her, at her age are obliged to pay over £200 a year in dental/insurance charges - or forego treatment altogether.I guess it's just a sign of the times. As she has dementia and I hold POA, I would just like to make sure that I make the best decision for her.

Thanks to all who read this and to those who offer advice.

Toothsmith

Hi Steve,

Denplan may well be the simplest way to go. With that coming out of your Mum's bank account on a DD every month, all she will have to worry about is going to the dentist (The same one who has been looking after her for however long = familiarity) and getting done whatever is needed. The only time she'd be charged anything extra is if a technician ever needed to make anything for her (denture, crown etc) when she would be charged the technicians fee.

If she has the means, then the fee-per-item option might be a realistic alternative, although I doubt it would work out much cheaper over the medium/long term. Be aware though that the fees will be considerably higher than NHS fees. It is important though that she still attends regularly. She would, or should be given an itemised bill each time she goes, but if dementia is setting in it may be best if someone else is there as well to help her understand it, and to make sure she has understood it. And to write out any cheques etc.

If you go for one of the insurance based schemes, you would still need someone to go with your Mum to do all the bill bits, and then there would be the forms to fill in afterwards to claim back some/all of the charges. If there is a bit the dentist has to fill in, be aware that there may be a charge for this. (They are a royal pain in the bum! especially when they ring up after the form has gone in to make sure everything that was claimed was done).

So, in summary, I would say Denplan would be the most 'hassel free' option. The value of that is for you to decide.

Cheers

TS

kefb

Dear Toothsmith

Thank you for a great reply that has saved me a lot of time and effort cross-checking options.

Mum is in the middle to late stage of dementia but thanks to lots of help from willing carers, we're still managing to keep her as independent as possible. I accompany her to all appointments and generally manage everything for her, so "keeping things simple" is an absolute must for me to juggle my job and children etc effectively. I just wanted to ensure that I took the decision.

A very big thank you TS. You've been a great help.

Katharyn
Not quite sure how I signed off as "Stay lucky, Steve" in my last post but I obviously did something wrong!

tomstickland

It's not big or clever I know, but I didn't visit the dentist for 5 years until today. I suffered some reasonable pain on Sunday which prompted me to finally act of months of "planning to get round to it".

The dentist was new to me and absolutely amazing. Very professional, but also ready to listen to me, his style really put me at ease. I mainly didn't visit because of a minor dental phobia which just got worse the further I ran. I actally feel a lot of relief now that I've face up to my dental situation.

The good news is that they couldn't really see what was casing the pain, and reckon some antibiotics will help sort it. Apart from that he said I need a decent course with the hygienist and one filling needs redoing.

So overall I haven't dont too badly.

Oh, the Denplan. TBH I'm so keen to sort my mouth out to tip top condition that money isn't an object. They told me that Denplan won't cover what I need and I should go to private with them until I'm sorted and then look at their own insurance scheme. My work don't advise Denplan either, so I don't think that they're trying anything on. I can the dentists point of view - sort the mouth then see what insurance scheme might work.

Toothsmith

Glad you're happy & getting sorted.

See - it's never as bad once you actually get into it!

tomstickland

Yes,I'm taking a bit of a longer term view here. I've not done badly toothwise, so it'd be a total shame to let a bit of negligence allow big problems to develop.
I think the dentist understood my situation; I want to work at this and make sure that I get everything sorted and then keep it that way.

tomstickland

OK the story complicates a bit.

The dentist said to me that Denplan was dead money and I couldn't claim for any of the new work on it.

Then when I went home the receptionist phoned me and told me not to cancel denplan because it would pay for hygienist.

I phoned them today for clarification and finally got to speak to the dentist who told me that the receptionists were wrong and I couldn't expect Denplan to pay for anything. I can understand this - it's an insurance plan and I've fallen out of its rules by non attendance etc. I'm not bitter about it. Just wanted to confirm that this is indeed the case.