AIBU re dentist suddenly adding on £240 to cost of teeth?

[Thump]

I might be BU, but it's a lot of money on top of a lot of money, so I was really deflated yesterday.
I'll explain.
I went to the dentist a week ago re cosmetic dentistry as my teeth (top 6 teeth at the front) are badly decayed and discoloured - also gums are receding so the newly exposed pieces of tooth are brown.
So the dentist explained various options.

1. Home bleaching kit - £299 (due to lifestyle and insomnia I can't see myself being able to sleep with gum shield thing on and also results take 6 weeks)
2. In-house 'Zoom' bleaching - £399 instant results with home treatment thing given to take home for maintenance.
3. Air brush cleaning - £99

After either of these, I would need composite fillings which she explained and this is the important part involved taking a mould of the tooth and then working up the new shape of the tooth. Cost: £299 per tooth.
Ideally I would need 6 done, but I could stretch to having 4 done using finance on credit card.

So, I opted for option 3, which I had done yesterday. The result was nada - zero noticeable whitening.
So I then discussed options 1 & 2 further and decided I'd have to go for the inhouse treatment, as to get the new fillings matched to the current colour of my teeth would mean I'd have a mouthful of faintly yellow teeth. Hence needing to bleach first in order to then get the fillings matched to hopefully whiter teeth.

All good (though bloody £400 more than I had expected).

So I said, I'd go for the bleaching and the 4 composite fillings - so £399 plus £299 x 4.

So dentist proceeded to take a mould of my teeth - top and bottom for some reason which needed to be sent to a lab, to form the basis of the moulds for the fillings - now this is where my AIBU comes in - I presumed this mould process was included in the £299 per tooth.

Go down to pay, get invoice of £299 per tooth. Then receptionist says, the dentist wants £240 for the mould. I asked was that part of the £299 per tooth and she said No - it's in ADDITION to the £299 per tooth.

Now - I could stretch myself to the very ends of my credit ability by paying this as well, but AIBU in thinking this was a very underhand way of explaining costs? Have I ANY remote leg to stand on in terms of saying that the £240 was a figure they arbitrarily pulled out of their arses and to try to push for that cost to be waived?

As it is, given the lack of result from the cleaning, I was already going to have to spend an extra £400 on the bleaching and for them then to come up with a further £240 is just adding insult to injury?

For full disclosure, I rang practice manager and he said that it depends on the work that needs to be done by the dentist and it could be 'bespoke' work. I was less than polite (he in fact told me to not be rude ) and told him that everyone's teeth are going to be bespoke and this was a bespoke cost added on for no good reason.

Who IBU? Me? Cos I'm skint? Or dentist for adding on costs and telling me she had told me about this extra cost - which she UNEQUIVOCALLY HAD NOT!

Sorry for the way too long post about £240. It's just it's a lot of money to add on when I'm already stretching myself to the max....

It’s really bad you weren’t giving a costed treatment plan to sign.

I don't think YABU at all and I too would certainly question this. 😡

I too have a private dentist and have quite a bit of cosmetic work done and the prices are very clear and reasonable.

IMO, your situation is not acceptable at all.

When our dentist suggests work, they print out a quote with all the different elements on it.

I think you may have had more luck with getting them to waive the cost if you hadn’t been rude, but they may allow deferred payment because of the misunderstanding (if you ask nicely)!

Pay what you agreed only, i.e. what you were advised. They've nothing in writing and you need to repeat ad nauseam that you were not informed of that cost and will only pay the agreed costs.

Thanks for the replies. I'm just so deflated as I was so looking forward to hopefully finally getting my teeth sorted. I have zero confidence as a result of the state of them and this sort of money is not money I would typically spend on anything. The most expensive car I've ever bought was cheaper than these blooming teeth!

Complain to the very best of your ability. All costs should have been laid out and explained clearly and in writing before treatment began.

You should have been given a detailed treatment plan before any work started
With a total bill. So you know exactly what you’re paying for and getting
I think you need to speak to the practice manager if you didn’t get a total cost break down of everything
This is poor customer service Yes do complain

I've asked for a breakdown of what the £299 per tooth covers, and the manager said they don't have a price list as such.......

And this is exactly why you get quotes etc in writing. Unfortunately you’ve had the work done and it’s now word against word as to wether it’s bespoke or CF dentist without anything in writing so unless you want to go through small claims etc you’ll probably have to pay.

That's the thing - they took the mould of the teeth, then printed out an invoice with just £299 x 4 Composite Fillings on it. There was nothing on the bill for £240 extra.

Practice manager said yesterday he'd call me back once he had spoken to the dentist. I've called again this morning and left a message asking him to call back.... Not sure what to do now.

And given the disagreement now, I'd be hesitant to proceed with any work with them now in case they'd purposely make a haims of it to spite me!

Incidentally are those figures fairly typical for a run of the mill dentist for cosmetic dentistry? Perhaps I should shop around. If they're fairly standard prices (minus the £240 pulled from thin air), then I'll have a ring around other dentists.

Firstly, I would politely ask for a written statement to ensure there are no additional costs and ask them why you weren't given this before. Don't book any appointments.

I would then approach another dentist locally for whom you can get some recommendations and ask them what they recommend and the prices. I've not needed a mould for a composite filling though I'm not a dentist.

Only go to your current dentist if they are cheapest and if the other dentist recommends the same course of treatment as your current dentist.

If you subsequently go with your current dentist, politely ask them to wave the mould fees as this wasn't mentioned when you were originally quoted.

Finally, and I don't recommend this, work out the total cost you would be paying then see how much a holiday to a country with good weather and good, cheap dentistry together with the treatment you want would be. If this would be cheaper (possibly not for the scale of work you've mentioned) and if you go down this route, you will want recommendations for the individual clinic and dentist you want as returning for work you are not happy with would be problematic. I've just googles and dental.org sets out some prices. I've no idea if these are current or realistic.

Good luck.

I think it's appalling. And I think they should knock off the first £99 air brush since it didn't work, unless they made it clear it might not ()
Refuse point blank and walk away if necessary without paying anything else. They should have given you a printed quote. It's really poor service.

Hmm. My dad just had a dentist appt and needs some work. His dentist used some sort of mapping tool and said moulds aren't really used anymore. This, coupled with not really having a price list makes me think your dentist is less than professional. I think a second opinion could be worth a try.

I've already paid the £99 for the air brush. They said, that must just be the colour of my teeth . Apparently it just removes surface staining, whereas the bleaching penetrates the teeth.

I haven't paid anything further and I also haven't signed anything.
I was about to sign the £299 x 4, until the matter of the £240 came up.

Thanks - will have a look at dentist.org now.

Ok, that looks to be a US website.

Just looked at NHS choices website and this bloody practice has a 5 star rating with glowing reviews

That is incredibly shit on the part of your dentist. They should have outlined ALL costs and garnered your agreement BEFORE they even went anywhere near your mouth. In your position I'd tell them to jog on - and that they should have given you the full price with all additional costs, which were not mentioned and, as such, you will not be paying the additional £240.

Oops - just re-read and realised you haven't agreed yet. I wouldn't unless they waive the £240.

Sorry, Thump. the URL autocorrected to Dental from Dentaly. This is the full URL - it says it's for implants but has prices for veneers and at least shows the relative pricing in different countries.

www.dentaly.org/en/dental-implants-abroad/

I had a similar experience. I walked away and got a second opinion and much reduced costs.

Part of my reasoning was I had lost trust and didn’t want to give the first dentist another penny. How much would a second opinion cost?

I'm registered with this dentist you see, so the consultation was free - I suppose I could register with a different dentist, and then get a free consultation? I don't know.

I'd be furious. You should have had a hosted treatment plan. I've had crowns that needed a mould and it wasn't an added cost, you cant make the crown without it.