What happens at dentist if you have treatment but no money to pay after?

[HighlyOptimistic]

Need emergency dental treatment wisdom tooth acute pain.

Furloughed on about £200 month absolutely zero money in bank until next pay day. Nobody to borrow from, work won’t sub me, don’t have credit for loans, not eligible for free dental.

If I just have the appointment and afterwards present my debit card for payment, it will be declined as there’s about £3 in my bank, what happens next?

Will dentist just invoice me? Keep my bank card as security? Call police?
I have no way of paying but the pain is making me nearly faint and I’m already at the limit of how many paracetamols I can take in this 24 hour period.

I’m not trying to defraud or steal, I just genuinely have no money in my bank until pay day in 2 weeks time (work pays early at Christmas so it will be Christmas Eve , too late to wait).

Is there a dental receptionist or dentist/assistant on here that can advise?

I don’t want to risk saying before my appointment I can’t afford to pay as they won’t take me in. My whole face is throbbing. I’m not wasting A&E time as 111 said only go if you’re having breathing difficulties. I am but that’s me trying to keep a panic attack away because of the pain (I’m managing the panic attack).

I've seen an emergency dentist after phoning 111. Didn't have to pay anything but they only did the very basic treatment to last until I could see my normal dentist.

If it’s a wisdom tooth there is a high chance it’s an infection that can be solved with antibiotics—I would go to A&E and hopefully they can provide you with antibiotics there.

Have you rang 111 yet? They may be able to be find a solution.

Sympathy as I know the agony

I once went to the emergency dentist at the walk in centre with an abcess. I was crying in pain. My card was declined, even though I had money (turned out to be a fault with their machine) but they made me sit there and ring various family members until one answered (they were all at work) to get their card details over the phone. For context, it was £17.50!!

Surely if you call 111 they’d put you in touch with an emergency NHS dentist and you wouldn’t have to pay? You can’t be expected to sit in agony like this, it could potentially be infected too which is dangerous. Call 111 and ask for help.

You can apply for HC1 or HC2 form. You would qualify if you only get £200. Is that 80% of your wage? I am in Scotland and got an hc2 certificate to cover dental and optician costs

Emergency dentists exist in the NHS. I would go to A and E and they will see what pain you are in. While you are waiting to see a dentist, doctors can give you the same kind of antibiotics that a dentist would. You sound as if you have an abscess which should be treated quickly.

Good luck getting an NHS dentist!
I would phone 111. Dental pain is the worst

DH forgot his wallet on his last visit to the dentist, they posted an invoice a week later which I paid immediately. They did ring up 2 weeks after that chasing the payment so I sent a screenshot of the payment.
As long as you really will pay them I think you should have 2 weeks before they get nasty but after that they may use a debt recovery service and you could end up paying more and Damage your credit rating

@Bettercallsaul1

Emergency dentists exist in the NHS. I would go to A and E and they will see what pain you are in. While you are waiting to see a dentist, doctors can give you the same kind of antibiotics that a dentist would. You sound as if you have an abscess which should be treated quickly.

I would go via A&E.

Sorry, dental pain is so grim.

Where I live there's no NHS dentists available in the health board (that's three counties in Wales) and the waiting list for one is eighteen months minimum. 111 triage first thing in the morning (they phone 7am if successful) for an appointment which likely will be hours away. They only do two a day. A&E here would only see you for severe breathing issues which they would fix and tell you to phone 111. 111 emergency will do an exam and give antibiotics (if needed) usually and, then refer you to private for treatment, who also have long waiting lists.

I know in my area they check you can pay first, been that way for a long time now.

Free NHS treatment is no use if you live in an area of the U.K. Without NHS provision.

@HighlyOptimistic, I'd try 111 as the first port of call. Is there absolutely no one to borrow from? Do you live with a husband or partner, do they work high income jobs are can you backclaim on benefits? Or there's the old MN fallback of trying to sell something to Cex or similar, like a tablet you could possibly do without if you have one, a pile of dvds etc?

First things first, find a dentist who will do the treatment. Once they have confirmed that they can see you, ask them about payment and be honest about your circumstances. If they say they can’t invoice you for payment later, ask them for advice about how to deal with your acute pain-they any be able to give guidance about how best to present to A&E for example.

There is no point in speculating about what theoretical dentists may do, you need to find actual ones who can treat you and assess your options then.

Pawn something?

@DonkeyMcFluff

Can you go to a NHS dentist instead? If I was in that much pain I’d just do it and to hell with the consequences.

NHS dentist aren't free though.

A&E where I am won't see you for anything dental, nor will GP services. All reception areas have signs saying phone 111 only.

Find the number for your nearest emergency dentist. You might have to travel and they will only do the minimum but it should stop the pain until you can afford it.

@RoseDog

Do you have a dental hospital near you?

This - dental hospitals will treat you for nothing, and the students are well into their training and very carefully supervised.

Emergency dental treatment should be charged at the lowest tier price. No matter what is done. So £20 ish?

But obviously you still need 20 quid

1. Talk to your bank about your situation and overdraft options - they may put something in place for you for this purpose.

2. If your only income is £200 a month then you should be eligible for benefits and free dentistry. Talk to the dentist about it.

Also, if you do just try to pay with your debit card, depending on your bank it might not be declined. It might just go into an "unplanned overdraft". In that case you'd be in some short-term bother with the bank and would have to pay interest/ fees, but at least would get your teeth sorted out.

(Also for those talking about emergency dentists - they still have the same payment system as other dentists. They are just there for people who need a speedy appointment/ aren't already registered with a dentist. They're not free).

I had no dentist when I moved here. 111 will help as long as you don't have a dentist. I had a massive toothache during lock down, it was a huge abcess and no dentist would see me I was in terrible pain for 2-3 months.
I rang 111 and said I had no dentist and they got a dentist to ring me back that day. I got two courses of antibiotics which got rid of the pain until such a time I could find a dentist. But you must say that you are not registered with a dentist.

I had thought in the past when I’ve been pregnant that it’s strange how they require no proof that you are in fact pregnant when you receive free dental treatment. It was just a tick of a box .I’ve often wondered if people do this in financial dire straits .

I dont think its a good idea to let your card be declined. You can probably ask to pay in a couple of weeks. Or pay by credit card. Or borrow the money from a relative. Or try emergency dentist or dental hospital. It's really sneaky to let your card be declined when you know it will be.

My dentist - nhs - has changed the system. I had the check up and was then told I'd have to pay up front before they would even make the appointment!

They take money up front here.
No money paid no appointment

Or they will ( and do successfully) recover it through the small claims court

Dentist here. I think you’d be hard pressed to find an nhs dentist who is not sympathetic to your plight and would not let you pay the nhs urgent fee of £23.80 later so long as you are honest and upfront from the outset. However turning up having treatment when you know you can’t pay and not mentioning it until afterwards will not be well received.
Emergency out of hours dentists which are accessed through 111 will still charge an nhs urgent fee which is £23.80.
Treatment at a dental hospital is however free of charge and is usually undertaken by dental students. They are often very busy.