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Original poster

How do you pay for your dentist service?

70 replies

cobrainterpun · 23/10/2023 15:34

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?

OP posts:
43ontherocksporfavor · 23/10/2023 17:20

We still get NHS treatment. £25 for an annual check up incl x-ray if needed.

Original poster
cobrainterpun · 23/10/2023 17:20

There's a lot of poverty in my area (and a lot of affluence obviously) and no NHS for people on benefits. I just don't understand how people can afford these sorts of prices for a family of 4 🤷‍♀️ - presumably they just don't go? But no one goes through life never needing ANY dentist treatment.....

OP posts:
RedRiverShore4 · 23/10/2023 17:21

Do you all need the hygienist, maybe you could cut down on that if they do a plan without it

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Dental health
Goldmember · 23/10/2023 17:21

I have a health cash plan with work that gives me £200 annual allowance for dental that they reimburse. Work pays £24pm for this. I also get £200 for optical, £60 for prescriptions and £300 for chiropody/ acupuncture.

43ontherocksporfavor · 23/10/2023 17:24

Have not seen a hygienist for years. Check up last month was first for 3 years ( couldn’t get an appointment out of term time after Covid) and all ok. I look after my teeth well, don’t t eat much sugar, electric toothbrush and floss twice a day. Use Dr Dent natural teeth whitening strips.

43ontherocksporfavor · 23/10/2023 17:25

OP I’m 52 and haven’t needed any treatment since braces aged 13.

Original poster
cobrainterpun · 23/10/2023 17:28

RedRiverShore4 · 23/10/2023 17:21

Do you all need the hygienist, maybe you could cut down on that if they do a plan without it

They don't do any less visits for a lower price.
You could pay as you go and just not go to the hygienist I guess.
Tbh for the prices being charged, paying up front just means we never prioritise the money which is why we've stopped going. I was hoping by doing something monthly it would ensure we all went but you have to have all of it in a plan or not have one.
I just wish is wasn't so expensive but looks like I need to move elsewhere for that not to be the case!

OP posts:
Pushkinini · 23/10/2023 18:04

I'm in Cornwall and am private at our local practice. I pay £12.00 per month for one check up and one hygienist appointment per year.

Original poster
cobrainterpun · 23/10/2023 18:14

Pushkinini · 23/10/2023 18:04

I'm in Cornwall and am private at our local practice. I pay £12.00 per month for one check up and one hygienist appointment per year.

How often are you supposed to go? Dentists always say you should go 6 monthly but I do wonder if you really do need to if your teeth are relatively stable.

Maybe 1 check up and 1 clean a year would suffice?

OP posts:
Melroses · 23/10/2023 18:18

My dentist that I only went to because he was NHS, went private and I was signed up by them to Denplan - it was about £20 a month but increased rapidly every year to £36.

For this I was getting my six monthly check up (but they could not fit me in every six months) and my teeth cleaned by the dentist in this. It covered dental work but not lab work. The only thing I had done in that time was a root canal which had to be redone after it turned out the previous one he had done to it was incomplete 😬.

After having my appointment cancelled once too often, I moved to another one that was PAYG, and pay £60 for a check up and £70 for hygienist since lock down (was £45 before).

Xenia · 23/10/2023 18:20

We have had our NHS dentist since 1997. In fact my son travels for 3 hours by public transport back to our house for his appointments with the NHS dentist so we will be clinging on to the NHS dentist for dear life. Luckily we live in an area of London with a fair few dentists as lots of younger ones want to train here.

Melroses · 23/10/2023 18:20

Maybe 1 check up and 1 clean a year would suffice?

That is what my PAYG private dentist now do, but you can book with the hygienist whenever you want.

Pushkinini · 23/10/2023 18:35

@cobrainterpun fortunately I've never had issues with my teeth so even when I did have an NHS dentist I still only went once a year. If you have no problems then my dentist is happy to see you only once every 12 months.

Pipistrellus · 23/10/2023 18:36

Maybe 1 check up and 1 clean a year would suffice?

I had one check up a year when I had my NHS dentist, none in 2020. They did a scale and polish on my bottom incisors at the check up. This was after no checks at all for over 20 years overseas, I think I had four or five check ups before we lost our NHS dentist.

Pipistrellus · 23/10/2023 18:53

I am thinking of just paying for whatever the minimum is, once a year if possible. I'm lucky there is still nothing wrong with my teeth at 40. I was mostly just seeing my NHS dentist to keep my place in case I ever needed treatment.

43ontherocksporfavor · 23/10/2023 19:07

OP I took my Dc every 6 months but I only got checked every 12-18mths until Covid when I lef it 3 years. If you’re teeth are ok and you are up on brushing and flossing at least twice a day you’ll be fine.

80skid · 23/10/2023 20:00

My dentist did the same. I am so sad that NHS dentistry is being consigned to the history books. Fortunately my dentist will continue to treat children who's parents sign up for denplan for free for the time being.

I really resent that dental care is being put out if financial reach of so many people.

TheChosenTwo · 23/10/2023 20:06

We still have an NHS dentist, me, dh and the 3 dc (although one is now an adult and the second will also be in a few weeks).
just pay as we go. Checkups twice a year, dh always gets told he needs to see the hygienist inbetween and I often need to go back for some treatment or other but have never been sent to or offered the hygienist.

stayathomer · 23/10/2023 20:08

Our dentist only takes payment on the day- full payment- hence I’m missing a few teeth. I wonder if they’ll ever make dental care affordable?

felisha54 · 23/10/2023 20:54

£14 per month with denplan at a private dentist. Luckily as I'm a patient they take dc on as nhs.

ErrolTheDragon · 23/10/2023 21:00

Our DD got to adulthood under the nhs, fortunately. DH and I briefly had denplan about 30 years ago before deciding it was a ripoff. So we just pay as we go, and try to do a decent job of dental hygiene.

While it may not be cheap and there really ought to be nhs provision for people who need it, it's a lot less than servicing and sometimes needing repairs on a car, to put it in perspective.

Original poster
cobrainterpun · 23/10/2023 21:05

ErrolTheDragon · 23/10/2023 21:00

Our DD got to adulthood under the nhs, fortunately. DH and I briefly had denplan about 30 years ago before deciding it was a ripoff. So we just pay as we go, and try to do a decent job of dental hygiene.

While it may not be cheap and there really ought to be nhs provision for people who need it, it's a lot less than servicing and sometimes needing repairs on a car, to put it in perspective.

I still don't understand how teeth got to be different to the rest of the body in terms of the NHS. Although give it 10 years and this will be the same for all healthcare I would imagine. Prepaid plan to give you a GP appointment once a year and hope you never need treatment for anything as it'll cost thousands.

OP posts:
ErrolTheDragon · 23/10/2023 21:11

I still don't understand how teeth got to be different to the rest of the body in terms of the NHS.

I don't know either. Teeth and eyes... maybe just because dentists and opticians were already separate defined professions at the point the NHS was created?

Xenia · 23/10/2023 21:19

What particularly annoys me is that in one nation of the UK people in some regions have cheaper or different arrangements.

In England NHS care is free for those under 18 and women who are pregnant I think it is.

My dentist does send me to the hygienist on site twice a year for a clean (but not my sons who are in their 20s and don't need it). For some reason our NHS dentist sees the 4 of us twice a year. I don't want to annoy her so just do whatever she says as we don't want to lose her. I think it was once a year a few years ago.

2023shady · 23/10/2023 22:59

I do really try and take care of my teeth as well in between appointments. So interdental brushes, water flosser etc
Colleagues were talking about it and I would say 70% of my colleagues don't floss or use interdental brushes and haven't been to the dentist in years (we were talking after someone had a filling about prices, it wasn't a random thing!)