Private Dental Treatment ridiculously expensive.

[Tootsie321]

Went to the dentist last week as I had large filling come out and I had toothache. Dentist just put a temporary filling in as said that is all he can do on the NHS. Temporary filling lasted less than a day, so bought some Dentek and filled it myself.

I have really struggled over the weekend, so phoned dentist first thing this morning. He spoke to me and said that he couldn’t do anything else on the NHS, but if I wanted to be treated privately he could prepare and fill the tooth. I said that would be great and how much extra would I have to pay? He said the treatment would cost approx £400 plus I would also have to pay for the ppe required, which would be an extra £70! I think the normal NHS cost, for this type of treatment, is £60-70.

AIBU to say it is ridiculous that, if you have toothache, a dentist cannot treat you on the NHS, due to COVID. However he can treat you privately for a cost of £470, which is totally out of reach for many people?

Because of COVID it is not just a case of paying for PPE. If there is an aerosol generating procédure the treatment room needs to be left for around an hour to allow everything to settle and then the room is cleaned. So because each patient (and associated cleaning time) takes much longer, for private dental work, this cost of PPE and time is being passed on to the patient. Some private dental surgeries are worried about going out of business because then cannot do enough treatments safely to cover their costs.

Most NHS dentists are closed to new patients at the moment as their lists are too big to cope with given the COVID restrictions. I shattered a tooth and was temp filled and its split again - been offered a lookseeand tempsort on Tuesday and treatment in October if needed - didn't think int he circumstances that its too bad. Oh and removal if nec can be done Tue, but would rather not as think that could lead to more expensive longer term treatment due to lack of root (post and crown without root as its a major molar)

My last regular NHS dental checkup (March) was cancelled by dentist because of lockdown; since then two large old fillings fell out Last week I got a letter from the healthboard saying sorry, no appts yet, NHS dentists can still not to any work involving "aerosols" . So no fillings. Neither cavity was causing any pain yet but more bits kept breaking off the worst tooth leaving ominous black stump.. Convinced I was about to either get raging toothache or lose at least one tooth I made first ever appt at a very posh modern private dental clinic..

First appointment; 2 staff wearing standard PPE, long and a very thorough exam, 2 xrays, more dental maintenance advice than I;ve ever received in my life, and an explanation of what needed doing.

Relaxed, unhurried, calm. Bill, . 75 quid.

Second appt, 2 staff wearing maximum PPE ( unnervingly similar to slaughterhouse). Total mouth clean. Then teeth clean and polish, and three fillings two of them whoppers. Heroic dentist rebuilt the black wrecked stump and its now an all- white tooth shaped tooth. Local anaesthetic was different from any in my NHS experience and vastly superior. Bill, £385.
Total time, just under 2 hours, total cost £460.

My fillings appt was at 10 am; left after 11, and because it included a lot of aerosols (drills, air and water sprays etc) that means that room then had to be left unoccupied for 3 hours to clear the air before staff went in to deep-clean it. So not usable again that day. Private clinic has multiple treatment rooms.

So, no wonder my overworked one-dentist one treatment room NHS practice can't do aerosol work; when the covid cleanup after means they could only treat one patient daily at NHS rates. Hope that factor goes some way to explain your bill, OP.

 I totally recognise that  many people can't afford  £460.  All I can say is,   for me  it was worth every penny and  now   I'm kicking myself  I stuck with ""mostly okay at least it's cheap"  NHS dentistry all my life.  Every thing about  the private treatment was  an absolute eyeopener to what I've been missing.  Wish I'd gone private decades ago  and  won't go back to NHS.  

DH immediately made himself an appt with same dentist and was equally pleased

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This sounds very strange. Our dentist makes an extra charge for those going in for one-off treatment, ie not regular patients but pretty desperate. It is absolutely nowhere near what you have quoted.

Last year, I had an emergency extraction. I had been considering root canal, but more had broken off. When dentist had a look he said it really wasnt saveable. He took it out there and then for £76.

My dd never goes to the dentist and has been warned about the precarious state of her teeth. I suggested she went to our dentist and remarkably, her work paid. I think it was around £120 for a one off appointment.

My dentist is a surgeon and takes work that other private dentists refer to him.

This cannot be right op. If you make a decision to go private, please go somewhere else. You do have a choice.

YANBU

If he is already treating you as an NHS patient, there is no reason (other than his personal business model) that he can’t treat your filling on the NHS.
A filling is band 2 (I’m just going through it myself), which I think is about £60 ... I had my first appointment last week (no extra PPE charge), and have my second in a couple of weeks (all covered by the Band 2 charge)
My husband is in the middle of root canal treatment, which is also Band 2.

Find out why he’s not providing Band 2 treatment, I’d be tempted to talk to PALS or the BDA.

Sounds highly dodgy that he’s signing people up by using the NHS carrot, then charging private prices for treatments that the NHS pays for

I’m pregnant and meant to be having free NHS treatment but my check up and hygienist appointment has been cancelled.

That is similar to what I paid for my root canal filling. Is that what you’re having done?

I am paying £3000 for my daughter's braces . I have no choice, it's a 2 year waiting list on the NHS and she is now self conscious about her looks.

I’ve just paid £1400 for a wisdom tooth extraction and two molar crowns. I am lucky to have it in savings but to be fair, it took over all around five hours of dentist and her nurse (plus receptionist present), lots of PPE and no one else using the other practice room at the same time. Expensive but given how long and expensive it is to train as a dentist, it did seem fair enough. They would have London rents and costs too.

Shop around. Are you prepared to travel? Find a less posh area within reach and contact dental practices there. Where I am, the difference in price with practices just a few miles away can be considerable.

I have tried for a long time to get an NHS dentist but it’s just impossible.

So unfortunately I pay private treatment.

My dentist told me the root of my front tooth is wilting away after it was bashed 10 years ago.
I asked how much for a new tooth thinking maybe £500
Nope it’s £3500
So as I have no chance of having that money ever unless I win the lotto I have to live every day expecting my tooth to fall out and end up looking like a pirate.

That seems expensive for an implant which I would expect to pay £2000 for with the crown. Still costly but not £3500.

Also couldn’t the dentist Bridge it to the adjoining teeth? That wouldn’t be as much surely and better than a denture.

@shartsi I paid £2500 for dd’s braces which was the cheapest we could get.
One dentist even quoted £4000.
DD. was also self conscious about her teeth and as a result refused to smile

@areyoubeingserved £2500 is still really expensive considering these are children we are paying for. It's sad really.

The dentist said some orthodontists may charge less, however the quality of braces would be poor.
My 9 year old DD is also going to need braces in the next 2 years and looks like I have to save for it now.

Dh went to the (private and nhs) dentist a couple of weeks ago (wasn't doing nhs work at the time)

Tooth couldn't be filled so offer £950 for a root canal or £150 to have it out

I argued with Dh that everyone I've known have a root canal it's failed and had to be taken out anyway and it's a waste of a £1000 quid

So he had it out - and the dentist said lucky he did as was mush underneath and impossible to do a root canal

So we could have paid all that money to have it out anyway

I had a crown that was less than a year old loosen and the front fell off another tooth. They were on opposite sides, so I had nowhere to chew. My NHS practice, although I’m a private patient, offered me an appointment in November.

I got an appointment at the one DH goes to and had the loose crown removed. It’ll be replaced with a small denture which will be about £350. The broken tooth has been crowned at a cost of £617 plus £70 for a consultation. Not ideal, but I needed to be able to eat and not nibble like a rabbit.

I've just paid £700 for a check up, a filling and a crown. Total time I was in the surgery was about 2 hours - but there is the fallow time afterwards. My dentist did not quote separately for PPE - the cost is higher than the last time I had similar, but not outrageously so when you factor in the fallow period as well as the extra PPE.

I think it’s stories like this that should make us really, really appreciate the NHS and make sure it’s protected.

Do you have an out of hours dental hospital?

Could you try there?

My teeth need major work but I just cannot afford it. I joke I’ll have another baby when it gets too bad for the free dental 😂😂

My dentist is a bupa dentist they only do nhs on those who are 100% exempt from paying everyone else is independent or private prices.

Oh and it’s been sold three times since I joined as a child On nhs so not like I picked it. Can’t even get on anywhere else all full.

You're definitely being 'had' there. Jersey has no NHS at all (we have our own health system - eg pay £48 for GP appointment, but all hospital care free if referrals needed) and all dentists here are private. Mine would only ever charge £400 for a root canal and crown. Fillings (white ones) are between £80 and £120 depending on the size of tooth. Amalgam are cheaper.

We've been saying this over here for ages - those of us who have lived in the UK for a bit know that UK 'private' is extortionate because they seem to get away with it compared to the NHS. In Jersey, although many people take a deep breath when they first arrive, they realise our prices aren't that bad, even when private is normal, and most dentists do interest free if it's over £100.

You really need to shop around - but, to be honest, for that price you could get a flight from London to Jersey see the dentist and still not pay what your dentist's quoted you!

On the contrary, I am beginning to see the NHS as a liability. I would rather pay my NI contributions to a private provider if it meant I would not go on a waiting list🤷‍♀️