To think dentists have become unaffordable?

[Eurydice84]

I went for a teeth cleaning today, £98! The hygienist recommended I get it done very frequently, four times a year, and made me feel bad for not doing this already.

Who can afford dentists in these dire financial times?!

Very expensive! Had filling a few weeks back, was £99, went back as it's playing up, told the filings have gone up to £109 (thankfully mine are under guarantee as not been that long so will sort them).

My dentist also changed me from nhs to private patient, and I can't seem to find any other dentist taking nhs patients.

They also told me that if I don't go for regular check-ups once every 6 months I will be taken off the patient list....

Is it just me that thinks you're coming across as cheap!? I thought you were going to say £198.

If you go every six months the going rate is around £65 for hygenist.
They charge more if your teeth are in a state.
Its cheaper than extraction followed by dentures or implants.

I can tell you first hand as someone who works in a dental laboratory that our technicians have never been busier.
It appears that people shouldn't be able to afford dental work, but they absolutely can.

I agree with you, it's expensive. Plus, it's really hard to find an NHS dentist if you move or your current practise goes private. But, with the way dentistry is going in this country I do think we need to prioritise and budget for it going forward. People think nothing of spending a lot of money on their hair, nails, brows, lips, botox etc, quite regularly. I do think we need to put looking after our teeth on our budgets and prioritise it. However, I do think everyone should have access to dentistry and those who need access to more affordable or free dentistry should be given it. It's horrific that people are resorting to pulling their own teeth out etc.

It's awful. My NHS dentist is a butcher but I daren't change as I'll never get another place and the privates round here have waiting lists. I'm hoping she'll leave - I got a couple of years break from her but then the other guy left and she's the only one left doing NHS!

I pay £16ish a month on Denplan and that includes 6 monthly check ups and cleans (plus most treatments if needed). I think
it’s a god deal! But the price is variable
by area and the condition of your teeth. I’m in the cheapest band as have no fillings etc.

*good deal!!

I go to a private clinic as an NHS patient. However, optional treatments like professional cleaning etc fall under private care, even if in reality they are very important.

You are nOt wrong mine was £110 yesterday😳just a hygienist clean

It’s like a post code lottery what you can get

I recently went for a check up (it’s been 4.5 years due to a covid etc🤫) and I got X-rays and a clean for £27. I was asked to make my next appointment in 2 years !

That ^^ mine has gone up slightly just because well everything is! But it's £19 a month
They've also done cosmetic bonding for me under it for free

I pay through den pan- £12 per month. Includes 2 annual checkup and 2 annual cleans and 25% of all treatment. As we had relocated I couldn't get an nhs dentist but this private place took my dc on as nhs.

I have Den Plan too for £26 and that is their top policy. Have been very impressed and will now be seeing the hygienist every 6 months.

It all depends on your teeth and area though. The dentist grades your teeth and your policy is priced accordingly.

I pay £16ish, DH was quoted triple for the same thing but his teeth are shocking so he’s in the most expensive band. I’m in the cheapest.

It’s very good value if you have good teeth, less so if you don’t. But I do find it takes the worry away, I never have to think about the price of going and can always get in and they have great equipment. They see DD for free too.

The first thing a young person should do when they start work is set up with Denplan, Iike @MyLittleEmu says people pay for hair, nails etc, they need to prioritise their teeth first and foremost, yes I know we have an NHS and it is all shades of wrong that any of use have to pay privately for teeth but this is the situation we are in and it is never going to revert back to what dental care was years ago no matter what party are in government, that ship has sailed. Everyone should be advising their adult children to prioritise their teeth, the monthly costs for a young person with healthy teeth should be very affordable and then hopefully they can avoid painful expensive treatment and invest in their health at the same time.

That doesn't help those of us in our 50s with no current dentist. No NHS availability at all, where I live.

£65 for a clean and £98 for check up and clean. She sees the kids under 5 for free and £20 above 5. She is round the corner and I can always get an appt, she'll see the whole family together and she guarantees her work. She filed a chipped tooth for free on her lunch break last month.
She is so busy she only takes people on recommendations of existing customers.

People are so right saying people pay for nails etc. For me teeth are a vital expense. Yes the NHS is there but the literally do the bare minimum and that's if you can even get one.

I do the same, though mine is £26 a month (I know there are different cost bands depending on the state of your teeth - mine is the middle one)

For that I get two hygienist appointments and two check ups a year. It's a cost I could do without but as a PP says, I think it's something we need to budget for going forward. I can't get an NHS dentist now anyway 🙄

I think the problem is dentistry in the UK has always been cheaper than in other countries, partly due to the NHS, and in the last 20 years this has changed hugely. I agree that everyone should ideally have access to affordable dentistry, but with the lack of access to NHS care, it really is not possible.

£98 is still very cheap (for let’s say a 30 minute appointment) considering that has to pay for the hygienists wage, nurses wage, equipment, electricity, reception and administration along with lots of other things. Charging £98 for a hygienist appointment is likely to be making the dental practice a very very small profit (if at all) once everything else has been taken into account. Especially with the increasing costs of everything.

Many people will happily pay £30 for nails every few weeks, £25 for eyebrows, £40 for LVL lashes, £120 for hair every few months, £40 for a meal out, £30 for a takeaway - but spending money taking care of your teeth a couple of times a year seems out of the ordinary?!

And it always seems to come down to the dental professional being ‘greedy’, despite them spending years working hard at school to get the grades required to go to university, and then spending years and years in an academic unit, learning and qualifying in their profession.

It's not cheap. But budgeting for regular check ups and cleans will save a fortune in fillings/crowns/root canals etc. I put aside money each month into a dedicated savings pot for dental work.

My hygienist is £120!

I pay £43 a month on Denplan whereas my DH only pays £5. But I have a lot of problems with my teeth and it's definitely worth it for me.

It's £150 here for the first hygienist appointment and then subsequent ones are cheaper. The crux is that it is expensive to run a dental practice, and the reason NHS places are like hens teeth is because the NHS doesn't fund them adequately. One of my friends is a dentist and they don't have any NHS patients now accept under 5s because for some procedures even with the patient contribution there wasn't enough funding to break even. I think the cost is more shocking to us as we are used to the NHS, but I wouldn't be overly surprised if soon we have to start paying for GP apps and stuff, the actual price of some stuff we get free at point of use would make people's head spin.