Any benefits to an NHS dentist if not entitled to free treatment?

[Lostearrings]

When we moved to a new area 15 years ago, I was pregnant and so pleased to find an NHS dentist in the area who was taking on new patients. The DC subsequently joined this practice too. During Covid, I essentially got thrown off their lists and I haven’t been to the dentist since. A new dentist has opened up in the area and is taking on new NHS patients. I have signed up with them and am due to have an appointment this week. In reading the criteria, I am not entitled to free or reduced treatment as I am a middle aged woman not in receipt of any benefits other than child benefit & my children are teenagers. Is there any point in me signing up to this dentist? Am I right in thinking that they would charge me lower fees than I am likely to find at a private dentist? I am fortunate in that my teeth seem fine and that, whilst they’re not gleaming white & even, I don’t really care.

Paying for NHS treatment is much cheaper than paying for private treatment.

I use paid for NHS dental treatment, and it’s definitely cheaper than private.

I’ve just had a checkup, polish, filling and extraction, split over 3 appointments, all for one Band 2 fee.

There’s no way those things would be that price if I’d gone private.

Most treatments are considerably cheaper for NHS patients.

Depends what you’re having done. If it’s treatment that is covered by NHS, you pay according to the NHS price bands - info available on NHS website, not sure of the details. But anything not covered, such as white fillings are usually charged privately.

If you are a private patient at a practice that also takes NHS patients than it makes not difference. If you are an NHS patient then you pay usually much less (and a fixed price depending on the severity of the procedure). I just looked up the bands and for a check up it should be 27.40 which is much cheaper than most private dentists.

Far far cheaper on the NHS. When I lost my nhs dentist I needed 2 fillings. Check up plus these was over £500 privately. On the nhs I think that would be band 2 which is about £75 I think.

Eh? You’ll pay the NHS band prices, which are waaaay cheaper than private.

Cheaper, possibly much cheaper as capped for expensive treatments. Most nhs dentists offer private treatments as well like hygienists for extra

I think an nhs check up is £27.50. Treatment is also much cheaper.

Having had a look at the different NHS band charges, the cost is substantially less than private treatment. At my own private dentist, for example, a scale and polish would be around £140 and £200ish for X-rays, both of which would be covered under Band 1 (£27.40) with an NHS dentist. The disparity is even greater for more substantial treatments like root canals, crowns, etc though thankfully I’ve never needed any. You’d be a fool not to go OP.

Good! That’s what I thought. A friend I saw earlier today made me doubt myself and, as the dentist isn’t open until tomorrow, I couldn’t check with them.

Have you checked for a bupa dentist locally to you? Their prices are online and not much more than NHS prices if im remembering NHS costs correctly. Small private dentists are often much more expensive.

I just had my NHS checkup, cost me £27.40 which included X-rays.
I have heard from another patient of the practice that they were called recently and told if they wanted to carry on seeing my particular dentist (the practice has 2) they would have to switch to private cover. They declined and have now switched to the other dentist who would take her on as an NHS patient.
now wondering if we will also get the call…

So I am a private patient at a predominantly NHS dentist. The vast majority of patients are NHS (either free, or paying the banded rates) but as a 'new' patient a few years ago they had no NHS spaces available so I pay private rates to see the same dentist my kids see for free.

I was initially skeptical (probably for the same reasons as you...) but he has been excellent with my niggles. He is very slightly cheaper than the private-only clinics but I will stick with him because

1. he has been excellent with my care and my son's;
2. I have more of a relationship with him as im essentially going 6+ times a year (me and kids) rather than just twice .

In terms of quality of treatment, id expect no difference in theory.

I had always been with an NHS dentist until provision at the practice I was registered with became unsatisfactory. Although they had several dentists, only one or two provided NHS appointments, inadequate for the number of patients. The last straw was when I broke a tooth and was told I'd have to wait 6 weeks for an emergency appointment, until the newly qualified dentist they'd recruited from China could start and provide more NHS appointments! I understand that there is something wrong with the model that makes it uneconomic for dental practices to do NHS work, they can't claim back enough to make it worth their while. Luckily my husband was able to opt in to subsidised dental insurance through his employer so I did that. What was a revelation to me, going to my new private dentist, was to learn that they take a more proactive preventative approach. I realised that the poorly paid NHS dentist has to focus on check ups and fixing problems - fillings, crowns, root canals, I'd had all that on the NHS. For example the private dentist recommended refiling two big old rear molars, replacing ancient amalgam with modern composite fillings to future proof the teeth by making them more robust (two others were deemed too risky!). I could totally see the point of that as most of my problems in recent years had involved bits of tooth breaking off from around old metal fillings, and constant patching up. An NHS dentist is unlikely to invest time and expense in replacing a dodgy old filling with a whole fancy new one if they can patch it up, which they will if they can only claim back a set amount. So to answer your original question, at my NHS dentist every treatment fell into one of three price bands, so maybe you could look up online more about that and compare with the rates at a private dentist that locals recommend. It might be less expensive, but it's still not cheap. My takeaway is that whilst all dentists should be of a certain standard, so it's not that you necessarily get better dentistry, you are more likely to get better management of your whole dental health. And fast, responsive appointments, better customer service. My husband no longer has access to that scheme, so I signed up to their dental plan which doesn't give much of a discount off anything big so I hope that gamble pays off. I also just agreed my old NHS dentist could take me off their list, as I definitely feel better cared for at the private dentist. Long rambling answer, hope it helps!

It is cheaper but my NHS dentist wasn’t great. He always just tried to upsell me teeth whitening or implants, which I wouldn’t have there anyway, since it wasn’t a great place. I paid for white fillings, I paid for the hygienist. We’ve recently moved and I think I’ll get a private dentist.

The Bupa dentist near me takes NHS patients too.

Same, I've just left an NHS dentist as they looked in my mouth for about 10 seconds and then said I needed 3 fillings, I could sign up to a payment plan. Got a second opinion and I didn't need any fillings. Not going back there.

Also a lot of the appointments at the NHS one were not fully qualified dentists, they were called dental technicians or something like that. So yes, cheaper, but you don't always get the same treatment.

Dental therapists

This.

Ha ha Bupa dentists are a rip-off. My husband paid well over £100 for a check-up and two x-rays last week! I paid just over £100 for the same last year. The dentist apologised for the cost of the x-rays.

I wish I had an NHS dentist. The only upside of a private dentist is that you generally don't wait, you go in for your appointment on time. Otherwise you need to be really well off.

There is an NHS dentist where I live but I'd never get on its books now.

I went to a NHS dentist when I was in my early/mid 20s, not long into my first proper job after university. My previous dentist had sadly died.

She asked me if I was a chocoholic and said every tooth in my mouth had decay and I needed fillings throughout. I never went back and found a different dentist.

Well, I guess I was about 24. I am 54 next month and I have had ONE filling since then. Well, one new one. I've had a few replacements for fillings that were done in the drill and bill era of the 70s and early 80s. But only one new filling and even that was only a surface one that I didn't need anaesthetic for.

I have no idea what she was talking about. But I don't think NHS dentists are worse than private ones.

I am lucky to still be NHS though some particular dentists at my practice are fully private. I was sat in their reception last week and they were quoting £70 for a private check up whereas I paid £27.
I've got to see hygienist regularly that's £100 now a time as not covered by NHS
I need a crown last year and it was £500 rather than £1-1.5k

Whatever you choose to do, don’t rely on the dentist’s scale and polish. Seeing a hygienist twice a year for decades is the reason I barely ever need any dental work and, at 70+, my teeth are in excellent shape.