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

Makes sense. I don't think I could get over the ick factor but if I could, I think I'd like removing all that stuff too. It's a shame that the job comes with so many negatives. I'm actually off to the hygienist today. Hope they don't find anything like the above images!

Ours jumped from £50 to £75.

But I get whole family done every 3 months as I have woeful teeth brushes for teens so helped keep their mouths healthy

At my practice the dentist do the scale and polish themselves. It costs £120 for a check up including the clean.

Hard agree. The prices charged are prohibitive in my book. I used to go twice a year but I’ve now cut it down to when I think I need it or if my NHS dentist mentions that it might be a good idea.

I was expecting to be shot down in flames more than I have been..... the consensus seems to be it is a rip off & not clinically indicated. Thank you for the Cochran review link - very interesting.

To reiterate, I do understand that the £178/hr doesn't go into the hygienists pocket & I do recognise there is expensive equipment in the building but it really shouldn't be for me to have to pay for all of it single handed!!😂

@Owtta - it really isn't too late to change career though finances might be restrictive. What would you actually like to do & work towards that. You can always to locum work in between if finances are a hurdle. Make it happen.... Good luck!

I had several increasingly expensive hygienist visits... Appalled when it reached 180 for 40 mins....

Someone recommended a pure waterjet thing.... That was amazing!
Not had 😱 an appt since,

Can't be right hygienist is not at dentist. You still need a check up too.

Please could you post a link to this kit? My friend also bought one from Amazon and she raves about it. Apparently, she doesn’t need to pay a fortune to the hygienist anymore.

Thank you!

theres a few parents and our local private school with dental hygienist parents !

Considering a scale and polish, if needed, is included in the cost of a basic band A NHS treatment plan no dentist should be letting it get as far as a patient that visits twice yearly needing to see the hygienist.

I've been with the same NHS dentist practice for over 30 years and the dentist I was assigned to always finished a check up with a scale if needed but always the polish anyway. The original owner retired 10 years ago and since the new owner took over I've never received a S&P during any check up or treatment

I was advised I needed to see the hygienist a few years ago, £47 per 15 minutes, hygienist took about 7/8 minutes and said I really shouldn't have been referred as nothing the dentist couldn't have seen to.
I'ts now £77 per session.

YANBU.

I live in the Netherlands where dental is entirely private but rates are capped by the government so there is no variation amongst providers.

It's still around €17 per five minute block

Five fecking minutes!

So an hour would cost about what you were quoted. Absolutely mental.

My hygienist uses ultrasound to get plaque and tartar off...

I am on a plan but pay extra £25.00 for what they call the 'car wash', for me it is worth it but do think its a bit cheeky as I am on the surgery plan.

I too think it is cheeky, I mean I am paying £22 ish a month which includes 2 dental appointments per year and 2 hygienist appointments. Surely that should cover the hygienist and all their equipment.

I think I will add water pik flosser thing to my Christmas list.

YANBU - every time I go to the dentist they tell me I should see the hygienist quarterly...at £100 a pop!!

A piss take. mine costs £85 and that's bad enough. How much use can it be when you only have it bi-annually anyway? Another reason to fleece the punter, along with x rays.

Oh I wish I had studied dentistry, instead of political science...🙂

Just have a scale and polish along with your six monthly check up that's what I've just done 27 quid win-win

Crikey! I would be going elsewhere that’s awful. And I have to book mine and now I am going to check their prices.

Quite. And how can you know whether you do or not. In their interests to see you every week if they could.
And mine always invite you a bit earlier than they actually should do.

Same same, mine is £75 a pop and thinks I should go every 4 months! I also can’t bear the lecture about flossing, or how I should brush my teeth or the assistant dragging my mouth with the water pipe thingy. It’s sensory overload for me!!! So much so, that I bought my own professional tooth polisher and the proper polish and do it myself once a month now, my last appointment/ordeal she commented how great my gums and teeth were looking!! 😬

Interestingly my husband saw two different dentists, in two diff practices (long story) over two consecutive days. The second dentist did the treatment he was there for and said I’ll just add a polish on today they look like they could do with a clean. He had them cleaned the day before at the first dentist!!!!!! Needless to say he never went back to the second one 😳😳

I’m so sick of paying through the nose for dental care in the UK. I stopped going to the hygienist because the price went up every time I made an appointment. It was always ludicrously painful too.

It's a practice scam. The hygienist is related to the dentist a lot of the time. All part of a system where the dentist drives an Aston Martin or a Porsche, and teeth cost 1500 per implant. It's actually got worse than America in the UK, the NHS contract stands no chance with this new breed of dentist.

Went for my 6 month checkup with my new dentist
Old one went bust and shut down!!
I'm in Ireland
Scale and polish was €130 dearest it ever was...Madness