To think my dentist practice just tricked me out of £50

[roserose1]

They sent me a letter offering free orthodontist treatment for my 10 year old. The orthodontist checked her and asked us to book an appointment with the Hygienist. We did. On the day of the appointment, the practice sent us a text to cancel our appointment 30 mins before we were due to get there. I rang them again to schedule another appointment.

Today, I tried cancelling the appointment as something urgent had come up at work ( I work from home) but I was told that they need a 48hr notice. Its 1 way, they can cancel 30 mins before, but I cant cancel 2 hrs before. Also I was told the next available appointment was in MARCH. I kept the appointment and went there. After the appointment, I was given a £50 bill !! NOWHERE during this whole process were we informed about the payment. Its for a child, so shouldn't they have specifically mentioned??? The hygenist did nothing more than what a dentist would do! I calmly told them all this, and the practice manager agreed and booked in our next one with our dentist !! I paid as my 2yr old was driving me nuts already.

I am totally furious, as I feel completely tricked into taking up this utterly unnecessary "treatment" that was available for free for my child on NHS. Also, if I was paying for the treatment, I would have found an appointment somewhere else at a time more suitable for me.

Please can someone advise what to do?

They should have told you, but it is common knowledge amongst people I know that the hygienist, for adults, isn't NHS. They do a big clean, scale and polish usually whereas my dentist just does a cursory checkup.

I would complain and ask to be refunded, reiterating that you weren't informed.

Thanks for your reply. It wasn’t for me, it was for my 10yr old. She is registered under NHS.

Hello. Even if you are registered under NHS, the hygienist is around £50. However, they should have mentioned a charge at some point

You do have to pay for hygienist under nhs. Always have done but the charge should have been mentioned. I surpose they thought everyone knew this. Polite letter to manager pointing this out op. If you dont get your money back at least they tell the few people who dont know. Good luck op

The NHS charge for a band 1 is £21.60, this includes a scale and polish and NHS treatment for children is free. Many practices only offer hygienist services privately but they have to offer full services under their contract, many don’t though and seem to pick and choose what they offer. You should have been made aware at the time of booking. I’m sure if you made a written complaint and offered to contact the NHS explaining what has happened you will get a refund. Practices can be sneaky about getting round what they are duty bound to offer under their contracts!

Complain to nhs England if you don’t want to complain to the dentist direct

I didn't think that they would do an NHS hygenist appointment for under 18s. DS is "plaquey" like me. He had a brace and the dentist had to get authorisation for a hygenist after his brace as removed. I have paid for subsequent hygenist appointments for him

Wow in the US the cleaning is included in your check up

Did the orthodontist also work for my dentist ?
I’ve worked in many dental practices and we have always booked children who need treatment following orthodontist instructions with their regular dentist whether it be a clean or extraction unless the child had periodontal issues which I’m guessing not because they would want that resolving before even offering a brace.
My dentist are money makers

Yes, I realised the treatment was for your daughter. I meant that most people know the hygienist is private for adults but I wouldn't have been sure for a referral from the NHS for a child hence they should have told you.