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....

Thump,

I wasn't trying to hijack your thread. Good luck.

I work in a hospital which includes dental treatment so don’t see much of either but know enough

A veneer is something that covers the full front surface of the tooth (kind of like a false nail covers the fingernail)

The white filling material used for normal fillings can be used (composite veneers) which is sounds like what you are getting. This is sometimes referred to as composite bonding. They can also be made out of porcelain.

With white filling there’s no need to remove tooth tissue as it bonds on top. This makes the tooth appear straight from the front, fills in any spaces etc but naturally thickens the tooth slightly from a side profile (unless you’ve got tooth wear then it will bring it back to its natural profile)
You can also use it to fill in holes without covering the entire front of the tooth (but this doesn’t sound like what you’re getting)

With Porcelain veneers you need to remove tooth so that there is space for the porcelain and the tooth ultimately stays the same width as it was before.

With composite bonding the downside is lifespan is shorter and they are prone to fractures or breakages. You are relying on the strength of the bond of the white filling to the tooth. However it’s reversible with no tooth destruction at all. If you don’t want it redone in the future the tooth is the same under the material

With porcelain veneers they are cemented so lifespan is longer and made in a single piece but obviously once done you cannot undo (as tooth has been drilled) this means you are committing to the cost of replacing every 10-20 years whereas with composite bonding as there was no preparation of tooth in the future you could just decide not to replace

There’s no right or wrong answer but most people now lean towards composite bonding due to the fact no tooth tissue is damaged or lost. The results depends on who does it so I would ask to see a portfolio of the person that is going to go ahead with it to see what results they get.

This is all 100% my own experience and all anecdotal, but I had severe damage on my front four upper teeth when I was 6, and by 7 they were holey, blackened, decaying and nearly always incredibly painful. When I was 18, I had them all ripped out and out on a denture (not a viable candidate for implants as one of the four was already on the denture). It changed my life, I'm not understating that.
I know its a nuclear option, but my denture needs no upkeep, and I can't be in pain with them anymore, and no one knows unless I tell them. Just my thoughts as someone with too much experience of this stuff!

I'm a dentist. Im struggling to work out what the mould was for- a wax up for potential crowns?
Or if just to fill in the composites?
Either way, they've handled it poorly, and totally unprofessionally. You need a full estimate with all costs written down. You sign this as part of your consent.
They should also explain the best ways to pay, and whether you can pay in instalments.
Air brushing is basically just a fancy scaling that removes stains. It doesn't bleach your teeth, and £99 for this is really expensive.
And £299 for composite fillings? Wow! I'm obviously in the wrong job. We charge approximately £68 per tooth for this privately, which is competitive for my area ( central Scotland)
Plus, don't go abroad... very bad idea. You don't have the same guarantees or access to help if things go wrong.

If your front teeth are decayed and out of shape you probably qualify for NHS crowns or veneers.

Also, you need to ask about other potential costs this dentist charges? Have they been clear about cost of radiographs? Study models? Etc

You need to go to a different dentist - these ones sound like scammers.
Don't try the home bleaching kits - i paid £350 for 3 tubes of treatment and teeth moulds/gum shield - it made no difference - and my teeth are nowhere near like yours.
I'm getting them bleached with a laser when i can afford it, the only downside to that is tooth sensitivity.

i pay £25 for the scale and polish done by dental hygienist.

Difficult to judge the cost as I don’t actually know the market but for works such as yours you’d normally be offered an estimate which you sign in agreement and then you proceed with the treatment plan. It looks like they did not follow this procedure but I do not know if they are obliged to do so.
As regards the £99 air cleaning, my dentist charges about the same (£90 I think) and it is a jet of air with very fine (flavoured) particles of something which sort of jet washes the teeth. It is not a whitening treatment, it is surface cleaning. My 6 monthly regular hygienist manual treatment which cleans teeth, in between them and under the gum line is charged at £55 where I go. I tend to alternate between the standard clean and jet clean just because I feel he jet clean leaves my teeth really sparkly (I’m not concerned about whiteness).
If anything, they should have suggested the jet clean as an alternative to regular hygienist treatment prior to actual whitening to make sure all plaque, built up is removed so the whitening agent gets to the teeth surface but not as a whitening treatment on its own.

To clarify, I have fillings on the front of my two middle top teeth. Those teeth are also chipped at the bottom. These were half filled at the front as medically necessary under the NHS. It's a pure bollocks of a job but as it was NHS what could I say.

The next ones over on either side have receded gums and brown colouring at the exposed part of the tooth that should be in the gums. The next ones over on either side (incisors) are actually still my baby teeth. They have fillings from when I was about 16 up near the gum line.

What she explained when I queried the extra money was that they will fill in the gaps between teeth it you can imagine them shaped like this /// if each of those lines represents a tooth.

She said (she being the dentist), that they would work up the mould of the teeth, fill the gaps and have them sort of uniform shape/size.

I'd post a pic but they're too awful to put online lol

@Ash39

This is what today's quote states

Course of Treatment 208581 (Private)
Impression For Study Models 20.00
Wax Up Models 240.00
Appointment 1
Composite Filling UR2 299.00
Composite Filling UR1 299.00
Composite Filling UL1 299.00
Composite Filling UL2 299.00
Total £1456.00

Yesterday's quote just had the fillings listed.
Today's quote also made one little mistake which thankfully - their system probably won't allow them to quote from a previous date as it states 'your consultation on the 18th' when my consultation was yesterday - the 17th. So that's proof enough that that is a newly invented quote.

Have you active decay? As a dentist I’d be very concerned about whitening if there are cavities

Their system probably can’t run quotes retrospectively.
If you haven’t signed anything yesterday, then I wouldn’t think you are bound by it. They haven’t handled it well at all.

For clarity, NHS dentists do not register patients. They see them for courses of treatment.

I don't fucking know what I have to be honest. I think they take one look at my teeth and speak to me very slowly as if I'm sort of thick and need the least detail possible in case it explodes my brain or teeth or something. I'm not actually joking.

I'd rather be bound by yesterday's quote than today's!

I don't think I have active decay, she kept saying I was a TWO when examining all teeth. I'm a two all over.

She said she didn't need to see me for 6 months as I need no work done.
What I need done is cosmetic dentistry.

I swear at this stage I wish they'd all just fall out and I could get new teeth

I asked what a TWO was and she said it was plaque build-up around the gum line. She said my teeth are fine.
NO THEY'RE FUCKING NOT - LOOK AT THE STATE OF THEM!

The "2" all over probably was your BPE examination of your gums. It means you have plaque/tartar present but no deep gun pockets or mobility. So a scale and polish recommended. This exam doesn't measure decay etc.

NHS patients are registered with practices. At least in Scotland. You have lifelong registration.

I think the trust is gone OP. If I were you, I'd be getting second opinion. You can request a copy of your notes and radiographs to take to another practice.

I'd also comment on the reason why the trust is gone, that the quote was adjusted retrospectively. Just so this doesn't happen to anyone else

I’ve just had removal and replacement of old composite fillings then composite veneers on my top 6. They were discoloured, quite short and just looked horrible. I was quoted £1800 plus £200 for tray bleaching for 4 weeks. Fully itemised, contract detailing the risks and aftercare which I had to sign to say I agreed before anything was done. Was meant to be 4 hours in the chair but was nearly 6 hours as found underlying decay and then a further 1.5 hrs the next day as dentist wanted to give me a rest but ensure I was perfectly happy and tweak the length and shape. I have to go back next week when I’ve been living with them for a few days. 2 days in and I love them but they can tweak again if needs be and when 100% happy they’ll take a mould for a gum shield to help protect as quite a lot of composite used. No extra costs added on for the extra time or fillings he wasn’t expecting to do. You’re really in their hands when they start and if you’ve lost any trust at all in their ability to explain or tell you something, then I’d say move on and find somewhere else.

I'm a dental nurse and husbands a dentist and I'm always quick to defend the dentist because normally they're right BUT this is terrible. They should of outlined every cost to you. Air brush cleaning only gets rid of stains so that was never going to work. The zoom thing is fine hut you have no control over how white they go- with the home bleaching it's more like 2 weeks and you see results pretty fast and you have the trays so you can buy the Excat same bleach online (it's what I do) Zoom also makes your teeth super sensitive. they took a bottom mould to register the bite but this should of been made clear that it's an extra charge and you shouldn't pay it. Did they ever give you a treatment price list that you agreed?

We charge approximately £68 per tooth for this privately, which is competitive for my area ( central Scotland)

Go on holiday to Scotland and get them done! Your dentist sounds untrustworthy and at those prices your savings will almost cover the trip?

Well ye, logically, £68 per tooth vs £299 per tooth, I could venture up to Scotland!
It was never mentioned that there was an extra £260 charge. Never.