Am I being unreasonable with my NHS dentist?

[michelle456]

I have always gone private for my dentistry but find I can longer afford it and registered with an NHS dentist, ironically 5 minutes walk, the closest I have ever had.

Now dental charges are shown as:

NHS dental charge bands 2024:

·         Urgent Treatment – £25.80

·         Emergency appointments and any emergency or urgent treatment you need that cannot be postponed.

·         Band 1 – £25.80

·         Dental checkups and if your dentist finds you need any X-Rays or a basic clean (scale) then these are included at no extra cost.

·         Band 2 – £70.70

·         Everything in Band 1 plus NHS treatment provided directly by your dentist (such as fillings, deep cleaning, simple root canal treatments, extractions), and simple changes to dentures (such as adding an extra tooth or relining the fit surface).

·         Band 3 – £306.80

·         Everything in Band 1 and Band 2 plus complex NHS treatment requiring the help of a dental lab such as crowns, veneers, bridges, dentures and mouthguards.

However, the kind receptionist advised me I would be exempt from any charges as I receive Pension Credit.

But when the dentist examined me he told me I would need to pay £75 for cleaning and £400 to have two teeth removed.

When my husband queried this, he was told that the extractions could not be done under the NHS, as they were more complex extractions that had to carried out by an oral surgeon not a normal dentist. They could refer me to a hospital but this could take 6 to 12 months.

We felt they had saved us £306.80 on fees we had expected to pay by telling us about the pension credit, so if they are having to get hygienists and oral surgeons in, maybe they were being fair.

However, we now find the same dentist, who owns the practice and examined me, is carrying out the work, so this all seems a little bit rich.

I feel we are being taken for idiots, but is this the accepted stance for dentists today?

[just_jue]

I had to have a complex extraction done and my NHS dentist recommended me to a different dentist (non NHS) who said that it was possible for the NHS dentist to do and was only charged the £70 charge even if it went to the different dentist.

[michelle456]

Thanks just_jue. The same dentist is doing the complex extraction as who examined me (he is just replacing his dentist cap for his oral surgeon one). So he is just being selective as to what he does on the NHS which is why I feel I am being scammed or is this common practice for dentists today?

 

[Ethel Street]

To judge by media stories you were lucky to find a NHS dentist at all! The shortage of them probably does mean they can be picky about what they are willing to do, and they are independent businesses not NHS employees even when carrying out NHS dentistry.  I've no personal experience but I suspect the reality is you do it his way or you'll end up with no NHS dentist at all and have to go back to private.

As far as visits to the hygienist are concerned the NHS rules seem vague and open to interpretation. NHS funding covers  "a scale and polish if clinically needed"    but does that mean that routine hygienist visits are covered? I suspect not, scale and polsh is only covered if for clinical reasons it has to be done by the dentist not the hygienist, ie it needs the skills of a qualified dentist for reasons specific to your dental health. Understanding NHS dental charges - NHS (www.nhs.uk)  Just my guess though, I'm not an expert on this.

In theory there are various complaint procedures you could use but I suspect using them would result in the dentist refusing to have you as a patient any longer. It's the market place at work. Most dentists have new customers queuing to registered at the practice whereas we all know how hard it is for people to find an NHS dental practice that is accepting new patients.

 

 

 

[michelle456]

Thanks for your comments, as the title suggests I am seeking other people’s advice on whether my expectations were too great or not.

As you say, I was lucky to find an NHS dentist. Not only that, but I printed a list of NHS dentists indexed by the closest, and with the first call I found someone in the next road. They are so nice there and I was ready to pay the Band 3 NHS charges of £306.80, but the practice receptionist told me I would get an exemption on the fee as I receive Pension Credit. If I have to pay the £475 I will.  

I was just upset to learn the very same dentist was carrying the extractions. The article you attached says the NHS covers “……..removal of teeth but not more complex items covered by Band 3.

Any treatment that your dentist believes is clinically necessary to achieve and maintain good oral health should be available on the NHS.”

I am sure that dentists find NHS work a complete pain, waiting ages for payment and being paid much less than the same work done privately. Maybe I have to accept that dentists today can pick and choose what they charge for. I think I will ask for exactly is covered. The removal of two teeth will require two crowns and this won’t be cheap.