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

I've seen the hygienist once in my life and it was hideous. I'd want them to pay me if I had to go again. I don't have plaque though.

I have a private dentist and he said that there was no need to see him regularly as I take great care of my teeth but instead I see the hygienist every 6 months. I'm in and out in probably 15 minutes max as there's nothing to be done. My dentist says that the hygienist will refer me to the dentist if necessary. I pay a monthly fee to cover everything. I haven't needed any treatment for the past 14 years. Long may it continue. Investing in your oral hygiene is a good move to help maintain your general health in my opinion.

I’m a hygienist. I absolutely do not earn what the practice charges. Also, it’s normally the dental practice that set the price not the hygienist. I’ve never set the fee in over 20 years doing this job and no one I know ever has. I get paid a percentage of the fee. Currently at my 2 jobs I get 30% in one and 33% in the other. I obviously get 0 if someone cancels last min or doesn’t show up or the practice can’t fill a slot. I used to be at a job that was paid hourly. My % jobs I get around £43-45 an hour (if fully booked only). My last hourly job I got £38 an hour. When I qualified 22 years ago I was on £32 an hour. So in 22 years my fee hasn’t increased much at all compared to what practices are charging. My GDC and indemnity fees and fees for my CPD have obviously gone up though. I’m also self employed so no sick pay or holiday pay or maternity pay or employer pension contributions etc.

There has been a few threads on here about cleaners charging like £35 an hour and everyone argues that they deserve it because they don’t get sick pay or pension etc and they work hard. But apparently despite having a degree in dental hygiene that took 3 years and earning not that much more and being self employed as well I don’t deserve it at all and all I do is scrape teeth.

I pay £15.45 a month and see my hygienist four times a year privately (Pembrokeshire ) I have gum disease and I doubt I'd have all the teeth I have if it weren't for her. Definitely more important to me than my dentist. I've been seeing her for about 20 years now.

She won’t be just a hygienist then. She’ll likely be a dentist working as a hygienist. Until recently hygienists could not give local anaesthetic without a prescription from a dentist. In fact hygienists couldn’t do anything without the patient seeing a dentist first until about 2013 I think it was.

I was quoted £400 for an hour by mine, when I enquired about dealing with some minor staining on my teeth.
I bought some Oral B whitening toothpaste instead and it’s not doing a bad job getting rid of the stains!

£115 for half an hour. £50 for the appointment. That you don’t see again because they book you another.
I find hygienists more uncomfortable than the actual dentist. And you don’t always get half an hour. Five mins settling in, then ten minutes chat and walking you out to the receptionist to book you in again at the end.

"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"

An osteopath uses no equipment and can work in any room with a suitable chair/bed.

A dental hygenist uses equipment and needs specific facilities, meaning it's impractical to work outside a dental surgery.

I'd expect these factors to significantly affect the costs of practice, which must them affect what they charge for their services.

Mine went from £58 in February to £84 in August. That’s nearly a 50% increase in six months. Having to think really seriously about going back.

Had a dentist who I had for years, he was brilliant, never over-charged or made you had things you didn’t need. Then he retired, sold the practice and the new owner is just money obsessed, sadly.

I've got a hygienist appointment booked end of November, I have receeding gums. It was originally booked for July then that was cancelled. My September appointment was also cancelled due to hygienist being ill, working every other week, on holiday. Now I've had a text that the hygienist no longer charges the NHS price but a private charge of £118. I'm on minimum wage and would have to dip into my savings to pay for it but it's ok, I can always take out their Denplan policy of £13 a month to pay for 2 visits in 12 months! But will I get 2 appointments a year with the hygienist's track record? I've bought myself a water flosser so I think I might cancel.

When I was going to the hygienist, gums were bleeding when brushed, and they were doing deep cleans under the gums it was more expensive as took longer and needed local anaesthetic.

Now gums are in much better shape, bleeding and inflammation under control, it’s a quick appointment and around £60,

My hygienist charges £108 for 30 minutes and they try to get me to go every 6 months. It's not even like I'm having a good time!

I worked at a university that trained dental hygienists. It’s a 2 year foundation degree and they got hundreds of applications per place - which given the remuneration for a 2 year training program isn’t very surprising!

I definitely never lecture anyone but all hygienists are obliged to tell patients how they can improve their oral health and either prevent or stabilise any gum disease. Obviously some will inform patients about this better than others. I have been told by patients before that they do not want any advice from me. Cool I have zero problem with that. I just make sure I write the exact conversation in my notes and tell the patient I’m doing that. I ask at every appointment if they still want no advice. And I record that again. Because legally I would not have a leg to stand on if in 10 years they ask me why their teeth are falling out and cite the often heard “why did no one tell me this???” despite the fact they have been told by both myself and the dentist many many times. One of the biggest sources of litigation in dentistry is periodontal related issues. Which is what hygienists treat. So I do not want to be sued thank you. So just tell your hygienist you do not want any advice about oral hygiene or your gums and that you are happy to sign a form stating that. Then they’ll stop.

bigboykitty Same here! Agonising .I thought it was because I had chemo but not apparently .Once was enough.I have a payment plan but it only covers check cups at the actual dentist apparently

Not anymore. I think they are pretty much all 3 year degrees which require the same entry requirements as other degrees. Except possibly the odd London one. (Eastman maybe) but I haven’t looked into it so I’m not 100% certain. As I said above, when I trained years ago I was on £32 an hour which was great money in the mid 2000s. 20 years later and it’s gone up by £10 an hour (only if fully booked). I would actually not advise anyone to go into any form of dentistry these days. Especially hygienist training.

@Owtta Is it true that most dentists hate their job? I've heard it's a profession with very low job satisfaction. Just curious.

@Owtta Still quite a few places offer Foundation degrees or DipHE over 2 years

https://www.bsdht.org.uk/training-schools/

I think you've answered your own question there, in a way. Most people didn't need to go and see a hygienist when a scale and polish was part of a routine appointment.

It pisses me off greatly because I'm on a low income, have no problems with my actual teeth, but do have a tendency to gum disease if they're not looked after, which as PP have pointed out can lead to some scary health problems.

I looked into it a while back, and it appears that last time the NHS dental contract was revised (under the Tories natch 🙄), dental hygiene and gum care were omitted.

We have a choice of clean, one £65 one £95. I only go once a year due to the cost and the fact I loathe it.

I actually quite enjoyed it when the dentist used to use a metal pick thing to manually scrap off the plaque between the teeth. But the hygienist I have makes me repeatedly gag, and it feels like she's slicing my gums off. It's so so painful and gives me a fingernails down a blackboard feeling too.

The places I work at now no they don’t hate it. I don’t hate mine most of the time. But I would say everyone there if they could go back in time would choose a different career. I certainly would. This job has left me in a whole world of pain physically. My back, neck and shoulders are agony on a daily basis. And if it gets so bad I need time off, I don’t get sick pay plus I get complaints from patients that I was off. I would honestly give anything to do a different career. I’m trying to make it happen but I think I’m too old.

@Owtta I have a fab dentist and sometimes there is a different hygienist but whoever does the scale and polish, it always hurts! Cost is about £85 for 30 mins approx , I go twice a year.
I have good teeth but is there anything I can do to minimise the discomfort?
Someone told me that it hurts more when you are old (like me!) as your gums have receded further.

Yeah, I argued this vigorously with my last dental practice. They dealt with it by....not answering my emails 🤷‍♀️

Thanks @Owtta and sorry to hear that. Hope you find a new career.

Weird I’ve come across this thread because I went to a new dentist, for the first time in a couple of years today, she said my teeth were looking good but my gums are inflamed because of a plaque buildup. I knew this already. She recommended a hygienist appointment, fine. When I went to pay I had to pay for my dentist check up, and then £74 for the hygienist, it’s a mix of nhs and private dentist. I’m so out of touch I just paid, but afterwards I thought “hang on?” 😂