to think private dentists have us over a barrel?

[ginghamstarfish]

Just moved area and no NHS dentists in the whole county. DH just went for a checkup with a private dentist. No problems, but over 2 years since last checkup due to pandemic etc. Lo and behold he's come home with a 'treatment plan' which will cost £400. I had similar a few years back, went to a private dentist who was offering free checkups, told me I could set up a payment plan for all the treatment I needed (had no problems, x rays fine). Then went to a NHS dentist who said there was no problem, and there hasn't been since then. I find it hard to trust what private dentists say .... as clearly you'd have to pay another one a further £100 for a 'new patient' checkup to see if they said the same.

Agreeed. I’ve just had two wisdom teeth out privately and in my dazed out state they suggested some gel to help healing, when I went to pay it was £35 for the tiniest tube!

I'm afraid that many British people have no idea of the true cost of medical/dental treatment and medications.

I used to live in the US, but even though my dental insurance covered over half the treatment cost, my share was always way more than I'd have paid for equivalent treatment in England.

I'm afraid that many British people have no idea of the true cost of medical/dental treatment and medications.

Yep, this.

@ShellsOnTheBeach you’re right. The public have no clue how much their treatment costs. My friend started paying for prescriptions having had them for free since her kids were young, she was outraged that it would cost her £9 odd. I asked her if she knew the actual value of her medication…she was shocked to see it was £75.

I realise that there is a vast difference between NHS and private costs, and if you need something fixing then you have to do it. I meant that they can tell us we need xyz without us knowing it's accurate. There have been cases of dentists fined for unneccessary work.

Of course they have. When at uni I remember speaking to trainee dentists who were treating it as a business - pure and simple.

ShellsOnTheBeach -go in mainland Europe and see that everywhere is a fraction of UK costs, UK dentists are simply just taking the p…s and then they’re shocked when they hear people go to Turkey or Croatia etc for dental treatments

Our private dentist is amazing. He spotted and treated a problem with my husband's gums that the NHS had been overlooking for years, despite our insistence that something was wrong as he was always bleeding.

There are quite a few private dentists in our town and they always have offers on for checkups and treatments as, as someone said above, it's a business, so they want to attract and keep their customers.

If you pay privately they always seem to find lots of things that need doing. I’ve had a mixture of private and NHS treatment. If anything going private puts me off as I don’t want lots of dental treatment unless necessary.
A school mum has private dental treatment and her teeth look awful- all very square and white and too many of them, not sure if they are bad caps or just whitened to Ross Geller levels. She’s said herself that her dentist seems to find stuff that needs doing all the time.

Did your dentist not show you the X-rays and explain what needs dand why?

£400 is really not a huge amount for a private dental treatment plan. Some 12 years ago I had to have a crown and it cost about £750 even then.

Well it depends, if they're telling people you need x procedure or your teeth will fall out/you'll be ill when that's not the case then thats wrong. If they are however suggesting a treatment plan ie hygienist, a filling, whitening would make your teeth look much better then seems reasonable- people can surely then just decide what they want to do.

I agree that in a lot of areas, private dentists do have people over a barrel.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re wrong or lying about your DH needing dental work.

Also yes they usually recommend more 'cosmetic' stuff than the NHS does, doesnt mean it doesnt enhance people's teeth its that nhs goes for a bare minimum approach.

I'm afraid that many British people have no idea of the true cost of medical/dental treatment and medications.

Agree. I grew up in Australia where dentistry isn’t covered by the health service in most cases, and isn’t even included on most basic insurance policies.

Dentistry is expensive, and always has been.

Turkey? Croatia? Really...... you think that's a valid comparison? Try Germany, Switzerland...😱

I've been with a private dentist for years and I've never been told I needed any work doing. I go every year for my check-ups and hygienist and never have an issues.

That's what I mean. As a private dentist I imagine you can set a figure you wish to earn for the year and then make sure your patients 'need' enough treatment to meet that target, whereas an NHS dentist (and yes I realise there is a vast difference) treat the immediate problem, while still doing checkups and x rays etc to see what's going on under the surface. I've had some good NHS dentists over the years and have never been given a 'treatment plan', but many I know always seem to come away from a private dentist with one of these.

IME private dentists always try and sell you treatments you don't need - you have be really vigilant.

Last year my gum was bothering me and my dentist was estimating £3000 for root canal treatment. I held off and about six weeks later it had just healed on its own!

I never agree to additional treatment when I am in the chair - too much pressure!

Just say you need to look at finances and consider it and call back

I agree with that, they have to talk the patient through what they find on the X-rays, if there is nothing wrong then they would just charge for the consult and the X Ray
I don’t think £400 is a lot, they have good quality materials, staff and all of their business overheads to pay for of course they are running a business.

I've had some good NHS dentists over the years and have never been given a 'treatment plan',

I’m with an NHS dentist and while he didn’t use the words ‘treatment plan’ when talking about the dental work that needed doing, that’s essentially what I got after my last checkup (my first checkup since Covid).

Teeth are irreplaceable and worth treasuring IMO 🦷

YANBU @ginghamstarfish And what can you do about it? Nothing sadly. Like many other things, dentistry has gone to shit this past few years........ #sadtimes

NHS isn't free though, we pay for it through our taxes, and we also towards NHS dentist treatment and checkups if not on benefits . . . . . . so if there are hardly any NHS dentists where is that money going now???

@thelobsterquadrille same here, I needed some treatment, they suggested I Joined their denplan, which is now just under £24 a month, I get two check ups and two intensive 40 minute hygienist appointments a year for that and 20% discount on any treatment needed, since the initial treatment I have needed no further treatment, I have every faith in them and I have no problems or pain like I did, and the monthly fee easily covers the fees for the appointments that I get. And it’s also good to have the reassurance that if you a dental emergency they would see you straight away