Ok. I don’t want to be described as facile. So I’ll explain further if you prefer?
The NHS was established after the war, and was free at the point of access for everyone. But within two years the government realised that dentistry was costly. Especially at that time as in think about 80% of the population required dentures.
so that’s why you’ve always had to pay for dentistry on the NHS. I’m NOT a politician and I am not responsible for the lives of the majority of people today. And I am NOT ignorant to it. I do have a social responsibility and I DO treat a majority of NHS people.
however someone else upthread asked why dentistry is so expensive and someone else mentioned an Aston Martin.
I’ll attempt to respond in general. I don’t know any dentists driving Aston Martins. Yes of course there will be implant specialists who have stidied hard and made sacrifices throughout their career to be able to offer these very skilled, very complicated treatments.
they’ve worked hard, they charge appropriately and they deserve it. I don’t see other high earning professions getting such a hard time over their earnings.
However the average dentist has completed five years at university. Recent graduates did six years due to Covid restrictions. Then they do a foundation training year. In some cases extended training beyond this.
for their time in university they accumulate substantial debts, living expenses, course fees etc. it’s not like the majority of other courses, as they can’t really get part time work as they are expected to be on clinics /classes 9-5 every day, including the summer. I only ever got one full summer holiday at the end of my first year.
They graduate, relocate to where the jobs are. They need to pay for indemnity, GDC professional fees, insurance, sickness and critical illness. They are self employed so unlikely to take many holidays as this is unpaid. This leads to burn out.
dentistry has the highest level of suicide amongst young professionals.
they are disliked as is clear on this thread. They are constantly practicing defensive dentistry as there is a real worry about spurious claims, complaints and concerns. The GDC are particularly harsh compared to GMC and other professional bodies. They need to pay for uniforms, loupes, specialist equipment, lab bills, training courses. They give their practice principal 50% of their earnings.
I’ve been practicing for over 30 years and own my own practice. I drive a second hand Volvo.
as a practice owner I have additional expenses- staff wages ( ever increasing), employers natiknal
jmsurance payments, which has taken a huge hike.
I pay for water, electricity ( again HUGE increases), materials ( this has doubled in five years)
we pay for PPE, computer/IT expenses and training/maintenance, pressure vessels such as compressors and sterilisers. Maintenance , repair and inspection.
we pay for engineers to keep chairs working. We need to pay for our x ray machines.
contents, building insurance, banking, card machines, scanners, staff training, well being matters.
in the last year we needed a new roof and had to update all our computers to ensure compatibility with Windows 11. We pay accountancy and legal fees, HR and health and safety support. We have cleaners, waste management fees,
a lot of us train, at our own expense, to gain further qualifications. We then need to register with the professional bodies to maintain registration.
we need to ensure our equipment is up to date and fit for purpose. An average handpiece costs about £600. A small 5 g tube of Ledermix paste that we use for first stage root canal treatment is £100!
it’s a hugely expensive business. I also have a huge mortgage and business loan out on my business currently. At least half my earnings after all of the above go to help pay that off. I can only afford to pay it off over a 25 year period so I have no hope of paying the loans off before I retire.
You’d be surprised how little is left after all of the above. That is the reality.
NHS funding is not a limitless pool. Nowhere near. Dentists do private work for three reasons in my opinion. Firstly to supplement their NHS funding, as sometimes they end up working at a loss. Secondly the NHS only funds health concerns. Anything aesthetic is classed as private. As I mentioned too Ed in my last post it’s my experience that a lot of the population prioritise this.
I even sometimes have patients come in with bleeding gums and mobile teeth and all they want is tooth whitening.
the third reason is because they like it. Not all dentists want to place amalgams and scale teeth all day long. They want to enhance their skills. Nothing wrong with that
as I stated from the outset, I am an NHS dentist predominantly and I do feel a huge responsibility to maintain that service. Even then, that’s tricky. We have to regularly close our books to new patients. When we advertise that we are taking on new clients, we end up with about 800 calls in a couple of days!
I stand by my claims that some folk don’t prioritise dental care, and would rather spend the money on a haircut. But thankfully in general, my patients are great, grateful, compliant and listen to my advice.
if you feel so strongly, please raise this with your MP. Please don’t give us any more grief. Believe me, we get enough