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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to want dentist to stop trying to upsell!

61 replies

VelvetSpoon · 29/05/2017 09:30

Hoping upsell is the right phrase!

I have reasonable teeth for my age (mid 40s). The top set are reasonably straight, bottom set less so. Only 1 filling. Never had a brace so they've never been straightened. They are average teeth, so nothing like a set of Towie veneered gleaming white gnashers.

I'm an NHS patient at my dentist. I go for a check up every 12 months. Each time they tell me I need a hygiene treatment which they charge £70 plus the basic bottom rate NHS fee.

This was enough (I have refused the hygiene treatment once when i couldn't afford it but they were really funny with me) but the last couple of times they're now promoting braces with leaflets handed to you, asking you if you're interested etc.

At my most recent appt, i was asked again. Said I'm not interested, joked I was too old for braces. Response was Oh lots of our patients are in their 50s...so did i want to think about it, it was ONLY £3k (!). I said I couldn't afford that. To which the response was we'll do you a payment plan .

I then got a hard sell about how my teeth were overcrowded and will decay because I can't clean them properly...although a brace won't make any difference unless i have teeth out which isn't included in the £3k! And my teeth aren't level, and this will be more obvious when they're straight, dentist points this out and tells me then I'd need veneers as well or they'll look wrong!

Thankfully that was the end of appt so i could leave. But i have to go back for a filling in 2 weeks and am already dreading a repeat of the whole convo!

Why have they got to sell me stuff? I don't have £3k for teeth, let alone what this would actually cost with veneers etc!

OP posts:

peaceout · 29/05/2017 12:49

I never used retainers either, plus it was all free as I was a child

Pemba · 29/05/2017 15:24

I only pay £45 for a session with the hygienist, and that's at a private dentist's.

Pemba · 29/05/2017 15:43

Having been to many different dentists over the years, I do find that most of them are very reluctant to give you an itemised bill or be very clear about what is covered by the NHS. They should warn you about future costs of a plan of treatment too, usually you just go to the desk and they just say that is X amount to pay today.

delilahbucket · 29/05/2017 15:50

The upsell I kept getting was that I needed a root canal on a particular tooth. One dentist attempted it but couldn't get any anesthetic to work so referred me to hospital. Hospital said it was totally unnecessary and there was nothing wrong with the tooth other than a botched filling.
Next NHS dentist decided I also needed a root canal on that tooth after I mentioned what had happened previously.
I have a private dentist now who have given the tooth a good once over and declared it perfectly fine.
We pay £36 a month for two of us with denplan and that includes check ups, hygienist appointments, x-rays and most treatments excluding lab fees. They treat DS as an NHS patient.

SocksRock · 29/05/2017 15:55

I have a private dentist, it's £50 for a checkup and scale/polish and then £37.50 for the hygienist. I haven't been to hygienist for about 2 years as dentist hasn't recommended it in that time.

mtpaektu · 29/05/2017 16:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 29/05/2017 16:05

£35 for the hygienist here. I don't think I've had any upselling at all.

They always seem to be very up front about costs and what treatment might be needed in the future.

Bellabooboo · 29/05/2017 16:07

The hygiene appointment sounds over priced.

The scale and polish thing the dentist should give you whats medically necessary on NHS but often they will just do it quickly and you won't get the super clean feeling you get with a hygienist.

NHS dentistry is all due to change the back end of this year the rumour is. Its already been cut and the fear is that it is likely to get worse.

DH was an NHS dentist, it wasn't viable as a business anymore as we were actually losing money if he was to do his job properly (the equipment and costs were high and not completely met by NHS funding) so we had no option but for him to go private and have a more unstable income.

If you are happy with your teeth the way they are just make it clear, I can't afford it and repeat.

Bellabooboo · 29/05/2017 16:07

PS. Read DH the OP and he said it does sound a bit pushy - not how he does it.

QuinionsRainbow · 29/05/2017 16:54

Just snipped from the NH Choices site. Don't see where the £ 70 comes from, and anyway you're meant to get any hygienist treatment that you NEED in your basic Band 1 £20.60.

Understanding NHS dental charges

Dentistry is one of the few NHS services where you have to pay a contribution towards the cost of your care. The information on this page explains what you may have to pay for your NHS dental treatment.

Emergency dental treatment – £20.60 
This covers emergency care in a primary care NHS dental practice such as pain relief or a temporary filling.

Band 1 course of treatment – £20.60
This covers an examination, diagnosis (including X-rays), advice on how to prevent future problems, a scale and polish if clinically needed, and preventative care such as the application of fluoride varnish or fissure sealant if appropriate.

Band 2 course of treatment – £56.30
This covers everything listed in Band 1 above, plus any further treatment such as fillings, root canal work or removal of teeth but not more complex items covered by Band 3.

Band 3 course of treatment – £244.30
This covers everything listed in Bands 1 and 2 above, plus crowns, dentures, bridges and other laboratory work.

GoldilocksAndTheThreePears · 29/05/2017 16:58

I just wish I could get a dentist! On the waiting list for about 7 now, no one takes NHS people here it seems.

Pemba · 29/05/2017 17:52

Avoiding so can you clarify would it be OK to be registered with an NHS dentist and also a private one at the same time? And do you need to tell them? I know you couldn't be registered with two NHS ones.

Think I have heard of people being registered at an NHS doctors, but also seeing a private GP from time to time, for convenience, so would this be the same?

Aeroflotgirl · 29/05/2017 17:57

I get you, the dentist is located in quite a deprived area, iam an, NHS patient. My dentist suggested the expensive hygienist, but stopped when I said I can't afford it, which I can't.

Cakescakescakes · 29/05/2017 18:30

I know several dentists well through my work (I dont work in a dental surgery though). Some are excellent caring health professionals and a couple are SO money-orientated it is unbelievable. One in particular has had staff (who I also know) leave her practice because what she was asking them to do in terms of pushing or carrying out unnecessary treatments was borderline illegal. All in the interests of raising the practice's profits.

AvoidingCallenetics · 29/05/2017 21:04

Pemba my dc are registered as nhs at a private dentist, (they will only take kids as nhs patients) and the receptionist told me I could make a one off appt to see the hygienist privately, even though I am not registered there.
Have not really thought about whether you can register at two different places but I wouldn't see why not. A private business isn't claiming anything from the nhs for you in terms of treatment costs, so I can't think why it would be a problem.

LilaBard · 29/05/2017 21:15

Can someone explain to me how NHS dentistry in England works? I mean, I know there are bands etc and treatment falls under each but I can't understand how you can be an NHS patient but are charged privately for scaling?

I work in an NHS dentist in NI and our system doesn't have bands. If someone is an NHS patient and is needs a scaling (allowed every 6 months, patient fee £10.70) it would not be ethical to charge them privately for it.

OP find yourself a better dentist!

Lazybones12 · 29/05/2017 21:20

I'm a private patient in Ireland - no such thing as free dental care more or less. The dentists here are constantly trying to up sell. I have relatively good teeth, constantly being told i need fillings, or being asked do i want whitening, or do i want two very slightly crooked teeth straightened etc. It does my head in. I recently got a filling in an area that caused me zero issues and since i've had oceans of trouble to the point where any recommendation is now being taken with a huge pinch of salt!!

MadisonAvenue · 29/05/2017 21:30

I had this at my last dentist appointment.

I've been going to the same practice for 20+ years. It changed hands a few years ago and I'd seen different dentists there since then, there now seems to be a rapid turnover of staff whereas before I had the same dentist for nearly 20 years.
I saw another new one at my last appointment and before I'd even opened my mouth for him to look he'd started trying to sell me teeth whitening treatments. My teeth are actually quite white so I declined but he still gave me a leaflet about it before I left and the cost listed was £300.

SomethingOnce · 29/05/2017 21:37

I have the feeling that dentists are increasingly business people first, health care professionals second.

A tutor at a well regarded dental school once told me she wouldn't want their recent grads treating her or her family. She'd been in the game a long time and felt uneasy at the way cosmetic dentistry was gaining traction at the expense of oral health.

DJBaggySmalls · 29/05/2017 21:39

I'm not a dentist, but surely if your teeth were at risk from decay it would have shown up by now, as decay? It doesn't take 40 years for decay to show.

llangennith · 29/05/2017 21:54

35 years ago (when everybody had an NHS dentist) mine said a front tooth needed filling. I went to a friend's dentist and he couldn't see any decay. That tooth is still unfilled.
Went private and all ok till I had to change dentists. Then I kept being charged more and more and told a particular tooth wasn't saveable. Got myself an NHS dentist again and have had excellent and inexpensive treatment the last 4 years. He charged NHS rate for hygienist.
There are good and bad dentists in both the private and NHS sectors.
Report your NHS dentist to the local authority health board.

Elphame · 29/05/2017 21:56

Dentists have changed so much - I used to go to a really nice practice but the principal retired and it was bought by one of the chains. I now see a different dentist every time as the turnover is so high and I hate it.

GladAllOver · 29/05/2017 22:18

I used to pay £55 every six months for a hygienist visit at a private dentist. They recommended I tried an electric toothbrush which I bought (not from the dentist as it was cheaper on Amazon).

At the last visit they said there was little cleaning to do and leave it a year before the next visit. My teeth are so much cleaner now I might not even go then.

LadyLoveYourWhat · 29/05/2017 23:01

I've never had a hygienist appointment, my NHS dentist does a scale and polish when necessary. Mind you, she might be making it back on the various differently coloured TiPi brushes she tells me I need!

MackerelOfFact · 29/05/2017 23:21

Yes, this. The difference in quality is usually less to do with NHS/private work and more to do with independent vs corporate owned practices, in my experience.

My DP and many of our friends are dentists and none of them would work for corporates again - there's too much cost cutting, upselling and unethical manipulation of the NHS contract.

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