to think that dental hygienists are wildly overpriced

[exse24Londoner]

saw my dentist and he recommended I see the dental hygienist to scrape the plaque off my teeth - as one side was a concern he said an hour would be best.

when I booked in I was told it would be £178!!! for one hour!!!! WTAF??????

I had to see an osteopath the other month & she charge £60 for 50 mins - that 50 mins included a consultation with a healthcare professional educated to MSc level + diagnosis & treatment who has independent accountability.

how on earth can the dental surgery think that £178 is reasonable???? btw I am pretty certain that the majority of the cost isn't going into the pocket of the dental hygienist

They are on the make and really ripping people off by the sound of it.They do it because they can get away with it.

Still not caught up with Vets.

I go to a private dentist and yes, essentially the hygienist does all the work! I see her twice a year and she checks for skin cancer too.

When I see the dentist she has a good look round, tells me I am not cleaning my teeth properly (the hygienist thinks I do) and will take x-rays once every two years. But it doesn't take very long, 10 minutes I'd say. I aim to just go once a year.

I've had an NHS CLEAN - it's cursory at best . It's not comparable to a proper one.

I've been going to dentists for 68 years both NHS and private . At no point in my life did an NHS dentist ever do a cleaning until the 2010s and then it was cursory. I lived abroad for many years and cleanings were a separate treatment. I believe that many people don't want to invest in their health and/or think all of this should be free.

That being the case, I understand. There were several years between my last two hygienist appointments (Covid was in between and I don’t need to see them regularly). On both occasions, (two different practices/hygienists), I was told my dental hygiene is really good and that I just needed to pay more attention to one area. The first said, behind my bottom front teeth needed more care, the second said the back of one back molar needed more care. I thanked her and mentioned the previous advice about the area behind my front teeth. She said that I’d done the job correctly as they were fine then. This advice has been really useful to me.

I've just registered with a new dentist who apparently is trying to be affordable whilst they see if they can become NHS. They are charging £60/65 (I can't remember which) for hygienist not sure how long appointment is. The dentist appointment was 35 and I nearly had heart failure when they told me dentist, hygienist and going back for fillings was 200and something! Oh and if they do get NHS I can't switch until everything is done

just some tools like this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HOKIN-Remover-Cleaning-Filling-Stainless/dp/B0GZ8C78CD

i only have to really do the front lower teeth so the little mirror helps me see what I’m doing. My NHS dentist will only do us a check up once a year now and rarely will clean a polish for me. My previous dentist did it every 6 months without me having to ask

I have dumped my local dentist for rip off pricing, forced dental plans and insistence that I see the hygienist four times a year at an extortionate price.
I've now found a proper old school dentist. No plans to sign up to and he or she does the cleaning. Oh and they don't tell you off either!

This sounds a good bit of kit.

Can you link please

By the grace of God I managed to get an nhs dentist. Waited 4 months for the initial appointment. Waited another 6 weeks for the next appointment. Had two fillings, one of which fell out after just a week. Was told to book for a hygienist appointment which would be private appointment at £80 despite the fact that I had a deep clean booked with my fillings!