To think Dentists are the new Lawyers/Estate Agents

[dougieroseagain]

ie social pariahs.

I am trying to find a good dentist. Well, any dentist. We moved regions and I left behind my lovely dentist where my kids went free and I paid (as a private patients) really quite reasonable rates.

I am now trying to register in the new area and the rates are extortionate.

£29 for a kid's check up.
£110 for me. For a check up.

I found another dentist where it was £20 for a kid's check up but they wanted to sell me their plan which costs £5 a month. ie £60 a year. But my kids' teeth are fine - they don't have fillings and the previous dentist was delighted with their teeth. So why should I pay £60 a year when 2 check ups will cost £40 a year?

THIS is why sodding American dentists can afford to spend $35,000 killing a lion.

I have found a reasonably priced dentist about 20 miles from where we live, but there is a registration waiting list of 5 months. I'm not suprised - it's the only dentist in the area which still has NHS places for kids and the check ups are only £18 for an adult.

THIS IS WHY THE NATION'S TEETH ARE FALLING APART. Dentists are pricing normal people out of going to the dentist. Yes, I know they have to buy the equipment and keep the place hygienic. But £110 for a check up is ridiculous.

Not much but they've had a tax payer assisted education so it's only fair that they play a part as well.

They could make party political broadcasts?

I absolutely love my dentist, he's a private dentist, but see's me under NHS. I don't pay for my treatment either, because of my tax credits.

I saw him a couple of weeks ago & asked him if he'd recommend being a dentist, he said he wouldn't recommend working for the NHS at all!

But last time I saw him I needed 1
New filling, one chip sorting & 1 replacement filling (I brush my teeth I promise) & he did them all white for me without charging me! I was very pleased with that!

Or tourist information films?

Just to clarify, all dentists are private businesses. They simply subcontract some of their time to the NHS if the NHS want to let them. It's not straightforward!

If you underperform, they clawback the money with no option for you to catch up, if you over perform you have to work for free. There is no leeway at all.

Having lived in the US I am very grateful for our lovely NHS dentist. We are all fairly low maintenance thankfully with annual checks for adults and normal 6 months for DD.

If I needed anything done I would be more than happy to pay my dentist to have whatever I wanted done privately if I felt I wanted that for aesthetic reasons, the charges here are a drop in the ocean compared to those in the US.

I had a problem a couple of years ago and was referred for an ancient root filled tooth removed at hospital because she didn't want to take the risk of it breaking in situ - all dealt with wonderfully.

I do realise that there is a shortage of NHS dentists but think the charges are very reasonable.

Well I don't think they're that bad but I do think it's expensive.

I need a crown. I'm lucky that I have an nhs dentist. Ive paid twice in the last 18 months for fillings in this tooth and I don't think either of them have been done right. New dentist in the practice says it needs a crown and I know he's right. On the nhs this will cost me £222!

If I can't afford £222 I have to either leave a manky, painful tooth in my mouth or pay I think £68 to have it pulled out.

It's a pre molar so I'm worried that the silver nhs crown will be visible as the entire tooth will be silver. Nhs won't do a white crown on a pre molar so I will have to go private and pay £420 for a white one. I need another filling on another tooth which will be £58.

A set of dentures is £800 and I'm thinking this might be a better option (joke)!

Re: working for the state.

When I was at Uni (1st year) I shared with a guy from Nigeria, in his last year. When I asked what he was doing on his return, he said "National service". I said I couldn't see him with a gun, and he laughed.

"No" he said. "In Nigeria, if you go to University, then after you pass you have to work for the government for two years. Because I am an engineer, I will be working to build factories".

It always struck me as something worth thinking about. No grant to repay. Plus the life experience of moving around the country and meeting diverse groups. If everyone had to do it - say when they had reached as far as they could study - it could be a good system. Also, people would acquire that precious "experience" that all employers like employees to have if they can avoid paying for them to get it

You can have a white crown on a premolar on the NHS.

lurkinghusband let's do it then but let's not differentiate. Just because people want the state to fix their teeth doesn't mean dentists should have to suck it up.

Everyone should have to do it. No maternity leave for two years, you should have to at least pay a little bit of tax before can freely decide what to do.

Yeah, unrealistic so I wish people would stop saying it for our profession.

I hate these threads. When will some people get it? That not all dentists are the same: there are good ones and crappy ones, ethical ones and crooked ones? And that the fees you pay your dentist don't go into their pockets. For a practice owner you are paying their rent, equipment and material costs, staff wages. lab bills, insurance etc etc. And for non-practice owners, they probably get less than half of what you pay the receptionist, the rest going to the practice owner to pay the above mentioned items. Oh, and they also have to pay tax.
And finally, the vast vast vast majority of dental disease is preventable. Bullshit to "the baby's teeth came through like that", or "i have weak gums" or "you lose a tooth for each baby you carry" or "I caught the gum disease off a chipped cup" (yes to my own grandfather, I mean you ). Granted there are exceptions, but for the vast majority it's entirely preventable. And yet you want the tax payer to cough up, and then the dentists themselves to further subsidise your treatment, and as happens in many practices, for the people paying privately to partially subsidise your NHS treatment. Because this is what is happening. Seriously, why does the NHS have to pay out for self inflicted disease? Or continue to pay out once the patient has been educated in how to prevent it?
My plan for the future of dentistry: An NHS service that was free to all, but that only provided check ups and preventative care, extraction of painful teeth, management of congenital disease and of trauma in children. Nothing further. An optional low cost service (perhaps that could be paid for by monthly contributions, and be offered by employers) for all further treatment. And full on private dentistry, for which dentists could decide the fees, and patients could decide whether they were prepared to pay. This is the model in Australia. I found myself working under the middle option. It was very affordable, especially if you looked after your teeth.

mrsmorton that's interesting? Maybe it's not a premolar then? Ive been looking at a tooth diagram trying to work it out. It's l6? Is that a molar or a premolar?

Looking again I think it is a molar. One of my colleagues had a white crown on the nhs on her l6. Shen says the dentist never mentioned a metal crown or paying privately for the White one.

6 is a molar. The whole system is shite because there's no "ban" tonhaving White crowns on molars on the NHS.

Anyway, Bonzo I think I heart you a little bit more now. Excellent post.

Most lawyers don't earn much, by the way. If you want to pick on the overpaid, go for doctors (and bankers, obviously).

"Reallytired I know this, I've been a dentist for quite some time, I'm just concerned that your child's tooth was filled with something you were told was mercury free amalgam when there is no such thing."

It would not surprise if the particular dentist in question was a lying toe rag. However he is one dentist out of thousands. I had a lovely NHS dentist when I at university.

"My plan for the future of dentistry: An NHS service that was free to all, but that only provided check ups and preventative care, extraction of painful teeth, management of congenital disease and of trauma in children. Nothing further. An optional low cost service (perhaps that could be paid for by monthly contributions, and be offered by employers) for all further treatment. And full on private dentistry, for which dentists could decide the fees, and patients could decide whether they were prepared to pay. This is the model in Australia. I found myself working under the middle option. It was very affordable, especially if you looked after your teeth."

The cost of education is trival compared with the cost of fixing a small child's teeth under GA.

bonzo77 you are incredibly judgemental. Life is more complex and there is an element of luck with having good dental health.If you feel that dental education is the parents' job then you need to make sure that the parents themselves are educated. It is not realistic to tell parents to read the internet and delve through conflicting information. Many parents don't know about how to best brush their own teeth and they need help to educate their children.

I managed to break the cycle of tooth decay with my son. It took quite a bit of money, but it has been worth every penny. My son is lucky that I can afford private dentistry.

I feel that parents of any child who needs a filling in a baby tooth should be made to attend a complusory eduation programme. (Ie. fined if they fail to attend.) There should be more use of fissure sealents and fluoride varnish for children who have tooth decay.

Parents make mistakes like leaving a baby with a bottle or allowing their child to snack to much during the day. Such mistakes can affect someone for a life time.

My ds needed fillings - the enamel didn't form properly on his teeth, leaving them weak and prone to damage. I was scrupulous about brushing and diet when he was little. It's not always the parents fault and I would have been majorly fucked off if I was told to go on a course for something that was in no way my fault!

Why are we all paying different amounts for nhs crowns etc. Mine is costing 185 and is a white crown. I didnt realise silver ones were still done

Are you in England? £185 is not an NHS charge in England.

All dentists nhs and private are running a business. The nhs dentists are only allowed to do the treatments they're told to and use certain ( often not great) materials. All dentists have to by law meet standards set by the GDC and there are only a limited amount of suppliers for dental equipment. Often private dentists have the fee set by another company denplan bupa or similar And anyway after training for 5/6 or more years and having at least 60k worth of student debt around your neck plus business loans and the like who would want/ be able to run a business at a loss.

Ahh. I am in Wales

I'm incredibly grateful we have any nhs dentistry. I've been at the same practice almost my whole life and the same dentist for about 20 years. She's fab. I've always been an nhs patient so get my check ups free and the very rare treatment I've required hasn't been too expensive.

When I compare that with the private root canal and subsequent extraction that cost me several hundred pounds I see how lucky I am.

I think dentists are entitled to make money just as any other graduates are. I appreciate paying a lot for treatment is a blow sometimes but like has been mentioned cars etc cost more in repairs etc and we are not crying out for mechanics to do pro bono work. Although I'd bloody love that

I cannot praise our (NHS) dental practice highly enough. They are fantastic, DD1 had to have a filling due to weak enamel (apparently my hyperemisis may have been the cause) and they used the expensive, white layered filling and she's had no issues since. She's already on their list for potential orthadontic work as she gets older due to overcrowding with her teeth so they want to keep a check on how she progresses.

I dont think it's fair to compare dentists to mechanics. The mechanic isn't getting paid by the nhs

MrsMorton there is no need to use such an aggressive tone. You don't know the details of my daughter's case. I will certainly make a complaint to the practice and if I am not satisfied with their reply, I will certainly escalate it. Why should I care about the cost of the complaint? If someone is not doing their job properly they should be held accountable. I have tried two NHS practices and we will definitely be putting the kids on a private plan from now on.