DENTISTS

[Daddyshome1971]

Can someone explain to me why the hell Dentists have carte Blanche to charge car mechanic and then some fees when we have a national health service that’s takes care of the rest? It’s wrong and pure exploitation and not justified reason why it should continue. Dentists should be treated sane as GPS.

I’m confused by “car mechanic” in there.

??

I think they charge everybody not just car mechanics

Because some dentist offer private treatment which means better materials, longer appointments etc. but also bigger overheads.

By car mechanic, I think she means "car mechanic type fees and then some"

but it would help if people could proof read before they post.

Because the NHS is very restrictive. Here in Scotland we have an NHS fee scale/regulations that we use. We aren't allowed to provide white fillings for posterior teeth, we can't provide white crowns on back teeth either, and the provision of bridges and cobalt chrome ( metal dentures) is very restrictive. In some cases the lab bills for materials are more expensive than what the NHS remuneration is.
Therefore we offer a private service in order to provide these things that people ASK for all the time.
In order to be cost effective and pay our overheads ( materials, staff wages, energy bills, insurance, chair rentals, engineers, rent, indemnity, rates, computer software, telephone services etc etc etc) we have time restraints, allowing maybe 5 or 10 minutes max for a checkup, which includes writing extensive notes etc. We only get pennies for providing this.
When we offer a private service, we can take our time, and do a much more thorough job. Genuinely.
There are other services that we are increasingly being asked to provide such as tooth whitening, Botox, fillers, Invisalign. None of which the NHS provide.
The NHS as I said, is heavily regulated and we can't just pluck figures out of the air for treatment. The price is set in stone. There is more flexibility with private charges, but generally this depends on the cohort, the area, the local competition and what level of treatment is provided. All practices must publish their prices and be transparent about it

I dropped out of NHS Dentists years ago, when the systems started changing and my dentist opted out of NHS provision. I moved; new private dentist who retired a couple of years later, then one that decided to stop practicing once she started a family... couple of random ones.
Last year (late 2018) I called a local dentist with good reviews - asked whether I wanted NHS or private. Apparently the only difference was waiting before appointment - had to wait three weeks for NHS appointment, when I called to arrange an appointment late 2019, was offered an appointment the same week. After years of paying £xxx just for checkups, think its brilliant to get appointments for around £20!

Plus dentists are highly skilled professionals so deserve to earn a professional salary from their years of study.

And the fee you pay the dentist has to cover the cost of employing nurses, cleaners and receptionists.

I’m going to stick my neck out here and suggest OP may be wondering a little irately why the NHS delivery of dentistry is different to delivery of most other NHS services, which are free at the point of delivery whereas dentistry is charged using bands.

The NHS is on its knees as it is trying to provide what it can. They are having to make cuts to services left, right and centre.

If me having to pay £50 for a filling means that the NHS don't have to cut more important services then I'm happy to do that and I am by no means well off.

I used to go to a private dentist and £50 would have only gotten me a check up so the NHS provision is a fair bit cheaper.

If it's a choice between providing NHS money for general dentistry, or providing several new beds in a cancer treatment centre, the treatment centre would always ( and rightly so) get the funding.
NHS will always be a lower priority for government budgets.

The NHS is not FREE. It costs a bloody fortune and is shockingly inefficient from a financial pov. The postcode lottery is a real problem, and some areas are severely lacking in services. I think because people view it as "free" they don't value and respect the service or its providers and it really pisses me off.

Good quality dentistry is bloody expensive. Dentists were finding that the NHS allowances meant they were unable to provide good quality treatment so many opted to go private, or to run a service part private part NHS. The nation's teeth are in a shocking state because so many people resent any penny they have to pay towards their own treatment.

GPs will be going the same way soon though op; paying for appointments. The Government don’t like to give us anything for free.

I don't begrudge paying a penny to my NHS dentist, I couldn't do that job in a million years.

Echo this ^