Can our dentist just remove us as NHS patients for no reason?

[MerylSqueak]

I've just had three letters from my dentist, one each for me and my two children, saying we're no longer NHS patients and giving us QR codes to sign up for private dental treatment.

We have kept all our appointments religiously as I understood that they're entitled to remove NHS patients who don't attend.

Can they just decide we're not NHS patients any more?

I think they can. Our dentist did just that many years ago.

That's awful.

I listened to a Radio 4 interview with a dentist describing the funding structure for NHS patients just yhe other day. It's obviously unsustainable . So, the government have effectively privatised dentistry by stealth. It's awful.

Yes. “High street” Dentists are private businesses some agree to provide services and recharge the NHS. But what they can charge the NHS for procedures is set by the NHS and often doesn’t cover the actual cost of the dentisit practice. Before they would supplement this with private work but nowadays between the loss they make on nhs work and the hassle of claiming (and delay in paying) means many are stepping away.

I’m sorry OP but yes, as I understand it you aren’t entitled to stay on their books in between treatment/check ups. Has your surgery become private as lots are changing that way?

Yes they can sadly.This happened to us been with them for 20 years no choice but to pay privately.Just to say NHS and private care is not the same treatments the difference is notable.Our practice is still seeing children on the NHS at present if previously registered.

My NHS dentist removed me from their list because I didn't go during lockdown. Well, no. I had emailed and phoned trying to get an appointment afterwards but they never replied.

When they finally answered the phone and complained, they said they could review the decision but genuinely told me my notes were in the cellar right at the back and it could take some time to find them.

Tbh, I just couldn't be bothered to start the process. I knew there was no point.

It's the children I'm aghast about really. There will be many, many families who won't be able to pay. Dentistry for children seems like such a basic thing a society should have to me.

My new private dentist sees my daughter as an NHS patient.

My dentist removed me as we didn't attend for two years, after they had spent 18 months cancelling our appointments and then COVID happened. Our dentist retired so they removed all adults from the books starting with those that hadn't attended and transferring children over to a different dentist at the surgery.

Most dentists will take children as nhs if parents are private patients, but of course this depends on the parents being able to afford to pay private

It’s appalling isn’t it. Just another example how the UK infrastructure is falling apart.

Exactly why my dh and ds were removed, fortunately I had a phone appt on lockdown so it meant I stayed on the books.

I think they can do what they like though,sadly.

It's actually the other way round. The dentist becomes private. It happened to my DD, grandkids dentist,at some points they were going 3 monthly. Then she was informed they were going private. She signed up to a monthly plan for them, I thought this covered treatment, but DGD had a filling about 8 years ago, and she still had to pay over £100. I had the same dental practice for over 30 years,then we moved
The one we then registered with went private after our dentist retired. My youngest son who is registered disabled had the same thing. Appointment cancelled during lockdown,told to wait until they contacted him. He had toothache for 6 months!!! They treated him badly. I paid for a check up at a private dentist I know through being friends with his nurse, he paid himself recently £100 for extraction. No-one should have toothache for 6 months! Ironically,DH had toothache 3 weeks ago, our dentist is on maternity leave,saw a partner,NHS. He said it was a complicated extraction, would have to be surgical. Guess what,he had it removed the following week,at our previous dental practice,NHS and no cost!

Yes - the dentist has probably handed back their NHS contract and is no longer seeing NHS patients at all. Very common everywhere now.

Yes

Will they not see the children for free if you pay? Our dentist is private and always has been(there is little choice here) but they see children for free if the parent pays. I thought children were free even if private but from what I've seen on here, maybe that's not the case and it depends on the practice.

This happens so often these days. I'm on a local FB group and so many practices near me have done this in recent months.

DS is at school with children who have never been to the dentist (age 9)

Yup, got the same letter last week. They did say they’d keep my kids as NHS. Thankfully we found another local NHS dentist who took the whole family on. Though fully expecting a letter from them in the future today as just seems to be the way it’s going

Ours did this, I’ve been with the practice for 46 years. I had a letter a year ago saying that from April 2023 I could go private or leave. No other dentists within a 20 mile radius were taking NHS patients, so I had no choice.
paying DenPlan and a single filling cost me £250 last week.

Fillings are free with Denplan. That's the point! You pay a set amount per month to cover for everything you need. I didn't even pay for my root canal earlier in the year. I think crowns need contributing to but the vast majority of things and certainly simple fillings are free ( should say included!)
You need to check that out. It's not like pet insurance.

Not really by stealth. The dismantling of the NHS has been in the news for over a decade. They haven't been funding NHS dentistry for the majority of the population for years.

We voted for this (not me personally but a majority of the public).

My DD5 is NHS but I'm private. The only practice in 30 miles taking on any new patients. Feel really lucky to have got in there! To my shame, I hadn't been in 10 years as I couldn't afford it. DD didn't have her first dental appointment until she was 4! I was racked with guilt but didn't have the Funds.

Yes, mine did the same. No NHS dentist within about a 40 mile radius now.

100% of NHS dentists in my county are not taking on new patients. My dentist went private 2 years ago. Put myself on a waiting list for a local NHS surgery, 800 in front on me, that's now gone private. So put myself on another list.

2 more NHS surgeries have gone private since. There must be 1000s in my area who are going without dental care.

I am so angry about it. I'm in my 50s and only now am I starting to need treatment, just as I can't access NHS.