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

Yes so pricey. Dublin anything up to 150e deep clean. I should go more often but cant afford to

I no longer go. TBH I’ve noticed the more I stay away from the dentist the less I need anything doing and the less I’m in pain. As soon I as I start have them digging around in my mouth I start getting problems.

People who think that dental hygienists are expensive should hope that they never need a periodontist. I had to check with the receptionist that she hadn't added another 0 to the estimate.

Agree that hygienists can be useful if you have a lot of plaque but these days they don't seem to do much at all when I go. Hurts less though which is something.

I paid £75 for 20 minutes a couple of weeks ago and actually gasped when I paid the bill. I go once a year and it seems to go up by about a tenner each time.

I go every six months and it goes up by a fiver every time! Last visit was three weeks ago and it was £75.00 for a 30 minute appointment. It was £45.00 before Covid and I’d been paying that for ages. Feels a total rip off but I still go 🫠

That sounds a lot. Also why do they need to take an hour? For cleaning/ scraping plaque off a few teeth?

I would have thought it would take 20 mins to half an hour.

Because the dental industry is hugely profit driven. One hour seems well over the top for a clean, how bad is the plaque build up to justify that! I can understand paying that for technical dental work but this is cleaning teeth.

That sounds extortionate! My dentist's hygienist charges £70 for an hour.

Mine is about 85 pounds for a 30 min apt. SE England. At a private dentist.

Same here. Way more than the dental appointment, but longer.

My old hygienist charged 80 pounds but for that I got a full hours treatment. She was excellent, thorough and delivered a pain free experience. I have anxiety but with her, felt totally calm. Unfortunately, she left to go to Bupa and her replacement is absolutely dire. She charged the same price, but scraped harshly at my teeth, gouged at the gum line, Ignored my cries of pain and did nothing to remove stains. In and out in 20 minutes. I actually questioned whether she was qualified and felt she could do serious damage. God knows where they got her from. I looked up my old hygienist and she now charged five pounds more at Bupa - I'll be booking in with her. Does anyone know where and how you can check if a hygienist is actually qualified and certified? Surely, they must be regulated.

I bought myself a little kit and do my own!

I only struggle with a small area where my teeth are a little wonky and is harder to clean.

Do your teeth need a lot of extra work / will you need numbing for the appointment (which can raise the cost)?? When was the last time you saw the hygienist?

Wow I thought mine was expensive. Mine cost £98 last week. Six months ago, it was £92. This time last year, it was £88.

Before COVID, I used to have a 20 minute appointment and it cost £28.

I know costs have risen but not by that much. And they must have made back the money they lost during COVID by now.

@Autumnalhibernationisthedream if you are in Ireland and pay prsi you can get a checkup, scale and polish for €15. Obviously I dont know your personal situation but just incase you were unaware.

In my experience dentists talk about numbing but hygienists never give it to you. My teeth and gums were pretty bad too when I first started going apparently but still got no numbing despite the dentist saying that's what I needed.

This is so true. My dentist is desperate to drill into one of my teeth because she's convinced there's decay in it. X-rays show nothing (two years apart) so I've said no, but she's not happy with me.

I fear we're slowly travelling to the drill and bill days of the 1970s - except that the bill is loads higher!

I just had my gum “pockets” cleaned by the hygienist - half an hour 70.00. Next life I’m coming back as a dentist!

I went for the first time on the request of my dentist, I won’t be returning, £100 for 30 minutes (actually slightly less but I guess they need to wipe down for the next person) the hygienist charges more than my actual dentist

That's interesting. What sort of kit? I thought scale was too hard to get off yourself but I'd be very interested to know if there was a diy method. I clean twice a day but it still seems to form.

My NHS dentist has a small team of hygienists in the practice. Price went up to £90 for 50 minutes. I found an independent in a nearby town charging £60 so now I go there.

Horribly expensive and then you get the condescending lecture. If I am paying £80 for 10 min of tooth polishing I'd like you to keep your opinions to yourself please.

Not to mention the dodgy choice of radio station.

I agree. I question everything now when it comes to the dentist. I recently got a second opinion when my daughter needed some work done before a brace could be fitted.They refused to go ahead with the brace because they claimed she had cavities that needed treating first. However, the second opinion elsewhere with X-rays confirmed there was actually nothing wrong with her teeth! My own dentist has even complained that I ask too many questions, but after falling victim to some awful dentists in the past, I’ve learnt to be cautious and not just blindly trust what I’m being told or rush into anything.

Thank you for this post. I had a reminder today for a hygienist appointment in two weeks and I was undecided about whether to go as it will cost £55. That's for an under the gum line clean. I needed to see sense and now realise that I'm lucky to only be charged £55. Shall keep the appointment and not cancel👍.

One of my DC is a senior intensive care nurse, actually responsible for keeping people alive, not to mention the stress of making a mistake.
They earn £24 and hour.