NHS Dentist, now private only

[bevelino]

I went to my NHS dentist today only to be told that they are no longer an NHS practice and are now private. The crown I was due to have on NHS has gone from £282 (NHS) to £680 privately. My dentist has also devised a whole new treatment plan of replacing all my fillings privately some of which were only done 6 months ago. I am not happy and feel that my dental practice is taking advantage of the shortage of dentists to charge people top dollar. Has anyone else experienced this?

My sister is a pure nhs dentist…says that for a number of patients now it actually costs her to treat them - ie the lab bills are higher than the money she receives. She has no kids etc so doesn’t have many outgoings, but you can see why nearly all dentists would not be willing to work like this. I wouldn’t!

NHS dentistry is almost finished - it is just so badly underfunded.

There are no NHS dentists in my county taking new patients. It's well and truly fucked.

The only way to resolve this is to have salaried dentists for the NHS.
I would be seriously questioning the need for removing all of your fillings though. Maybe consider a second opinion with a different dentist.

You don't need to accept the treatment for replacing pretty much new fillings !

Like pp in my area (small city) there aren't any practices taking on NHS patients. People who need emergency dental care are having to travel to other cities and towns for treatment.

I work in a very deprived area with families who either can't afford private treatment, nor can they travel easily. They're really going to suffer 😕

a lot of my nhs dental work pays me less than minimum wage and is super pressured and stressful. I have a kid, it’s not fair on them. I’m looking to go private too tbh

It does sound odd that suddenly all your fillings need replacing, maybe shop around for a different private dentist and sign up to something like Denplan, does your dentist offer a plan which would make it cheaper. It sounds like the treatment you actually need is the crown not new fillings.