How do you pay for your dentist service?

[cobrainterpun]

Our dentist closed its NHS service earlier in the year and there are no NHS dentists in our town now. The whole county is shutting its NHS doors so that's that really.

Our dentist has a 'prepaid monthly charge' which gives you 2 x checkup / X-ray and 2 x hygienist visits. For our family of 4 this would be £62 per month. It's such a lot of money that we don't really have. You get 10% off treatment but that would still be over a hundred for a filling, £250 for an extraction etc. such a lot of money to find. Do you pay something similar? Do you think it's worth it?

Do you go less frequent but try and put the same money aside in case treatment is needed?

Do you have dental insurance? I can see simplyhealth gives you the opportunity to claim back around half of your check ups and treatment.

There are no denplan dentists locally. Although I think that's similar?

I find the whole thing quite exhausting to think about. None of us have been to the dentist this year so far as it's just so hard to find the money for. A check up for us all is around £300. Another £350 for hygienist.

What does everyone else do?

I take my DS 10 miles to an NHS dentist that was taking new child patients. I haven't been in 18 months since we lost the last dentist.

I pay £21 a month, for two dentist and two hygienist visits per year and 10% off treatment. The hygienist would like me to go more often, but I’m not prepared to pay more.

For a family, it’s probably out of many budgets.

We don't have anyone in this region that takes NHS children on. They've just all shut their NHS services down.

I have Denplan and will be signing up both my children shortly as their NHS dentist has closed. For £28 a month I get two check-ups a year, 2 hygienist appointments a year, and fillings (including root canal work) are included in the charge.

I have Denplan...4 hygienist and 2 dentist appointments a year .. 28 a month

I just pay the bill when things need doing. We all look after our teeth so I've only had a couple of high bills. No big deal. But your check-up costs seem extortionate! Ours are £50 for an adult and £25 for a child.

£22.00 per month for 2x appointments and 2x hygienist.

£20 for denplan but I've got the care plan so the highest
2 check ups, 2 hygienists, includes most work except lab fees. If I need seeing for an issue there's no charge

We have denplan. DD2 is about to be added as now 19. I dread to think what it will be as we will have ABCA ratings across the 4 of us.

We're not NHS so have to pay the full amount, unfortunately. We just pay the bills in full at the time of treatment. We did have a couple of eye watering bills last month when my husband had a crown rebuilt and I had a wisdom tooth removed. Hopefully nothing more than checkups/hygiene for a while now!

Our dentist is private on account of the 7year waiting list when we moved here.
I have good teeth so pay as I go and am on annual check ups which are £40. If the dentals does the scale and polish it’s £40 (if things aren’t too bad) if not it’s the hygienist at £80 and I’ve only needed that once.
The children are seen on NHS and he’s agreed they can remain there until they’ve finished uni.

Mr Monkey has had Denplan for years - £23 per month. I tend to pay as I go. My Dentist still offers NHS check ups and I pay £65 every six months to see the hygienist privately.

Same.

I pay £14 a month to the dentists for a twice yearly checkup, two dental hygienist visits which I can't attend because she's so rough that she damages fillings 🙄 and a percentage off treatment costs. Also, priority appointments in the event of needing to be seen.

I go to the dentist one per year £29 for check up and to the hygienist twice per year £69 per time.

Pay as I go along. In last 18 months it’s just been one replacement filling, so 100 quid plus a check up and clean which was 50 ish. Tbh it all pales into insignificance compared with DS’s orthodontics. I told him he better bloody well wear the retainer.

It's 43 euros for a check-up, de-tartar and polish in France, but you immediately get 28 back from the govt so it's 15 and you'll get that from your health insurance - all dentists are private but prices are regulated.

Kids get a number of completely free check ups every few years.

It's more than a bit shocking to me how the NHS has declined since we left the UK.

If it's only twice a year can you travel outside your area?
Many places round me will take children as NHS if parents join the private scheme

All our local dentists haven't taken on new NHS patients since 2020 so we had no choice but to go private. I just book an appointment and hope it isn't too expensive, no idea of their actual prices, my last appointment was £70 for a general check-up, X-ray and a scale & polish. My 2 year old had an appointment for a general check up, was £42.

Dental check up £50, hygienist £50. Only treatment recently, two teeth out (complicated) £990.

Mine is £16.60 a montj. Ds now 18 works full time so pays £43 annual check up only.

I rarely need work doing. Though a few years ago it was £300. I get 20 % off the private cost from the plan. It also includes 2 hygienist and 2 check ups a year and I think x Ray's.

It's £70 for a check and £85 for hygienist (dentist won't to scale and polish) - only slightly less for kids.

There are around 8 dentists locally and all charge roughly the same - some even more!

Looking at some of the prices elsewhere in the U.K. - I wish it were regulated here.

Mine is £26 per month for 2 x check up, 4 x hygienist (I have gum disease) and x rays if needed, and 20% off other treatment. DH's is about £14 I think for 2 x check up, x rays and dentist does scale and polish at check up. DH has much healthier teeth and gums than me so much cheaper.

We're in deepest Devon and both Devon and Cornwall are the same. No NHS places anywhere - it's constantly on the news.