Dentist refusing NHS treatment unless parent signs up for private

[Tixylixa]

Never made a thread on here before, but this has me so annoyed it inspired me to do so.

I had a call from our dentist this afternoon. My 10-year-old daughter has a check-up appointment there tomorrow. The dentist's receptionist called to tell me that it's their policy now that if my daughter wants to receive a free NHS check-up, either myself or my husband has to have a check up at the same time. But of course ours will be private.

I told her that because my husband and I had check ups recently at another surgery (he gets private cover from his job) we don't need one. I said I'd have to think about what to do and ended the call. Then, and I can hardly believe this, the same woman called my husband at work and gave him the same story! After I'd already said we aren't interested.

So, 1) Giving us the hard sell on private dentistry and using the threat of withdrawing our daughter's NHS treatment to blackmail us and 2) After I had already said no, calling my spouse and trying the same routine.

I've half a mind to write to the General Dentistry Council to report this as it seems unethical to blackmail patients with the threat of NHS dentistry, which all under 18s in education are entitled to by law, to force private services on us. But before I did that, I wanted to see if this is a common practice now and other Mums have had the same experience.

Thing is, I think the practice would argue that they aren't forcing anything on you and you are perfectly free to go elsewhere for your dd's care if you wish, and it isn't their fault if Government policy over the last 30 years or so has made being an NHS dentist borderline financially impossible, with the result that there are almost certainly no NHS practices near you taking on patients.

I'm not unsympathetic, it is shit, but you're angry at the wrong person.

I think the practice should be banned if it isn't already. I would report for sure.

That is ridiculous. It's a right faff trying to get on the books of an NHS dentist these days. I stayed with my old one for about 12 years after I moved 60 miles away because it was so hard to get in anywhere. The system is mad. Everyone should have access to NHS care.

My dentist went private but kept their previous NHS kids until their age related exemption ran out and still treats the kids of new private patients on the NHS.

Children would need to be provided by a NHS dentist, but I don't know if you have the right to stay at the same practice if they go private. I would call the local health board dentistry section to see what they say. I'm sure adults have the right to an NHS dentist too.

Just a thought, in the fist instance why not call the practice to speak to the dentist rather than receptionist to explain why you weren't happy. You never know the dentist might also not be impressed by what happened!

This happened to us at our dentists about 10 years ago. They told us they could no longer see the adults on the NHS and when I enquired about our children I was told they would only see them on the NHS if we paid the private fees. We moved to a different practice where we were all seen on the NHS. It was inconvenient though as we lived about 4 minutes walk away from the original dentist.

It’s totally standard around here for private dentists to only treat children of their clients on the NHS. I doubt there’s anything to report.

Yep, local Dentist said would only take our kids in if we paid a monthly "plan" with them which a member of staff would be happy to discuss with us.....

Thanks all for the responses! Sadly, it seems like this is the new normal. What annoyed me most about this though was the way she insisted I had to have a check up tomorrow, completely uneccessary because I had one last month, simply to keep my daughter's already booked appointment with the thread of charging us for it if I didn't.

Regardless of how bad the system has got on the NHS, that's just plain wrong forcing a parent to take treatement they don't need and using their child as blackmail.

I pay into a denplan. My dentist is really good, known in the practice for their expertise in expensive cosmetic dentistry. I asked if I could register DC as an NHS patient with them. When DC goes for their check up they are literally in the chair 60 seconds. The dentist looks in DCs mouth and says they all look fine. No charting or anything.
I think the dentist takes the attitude DC is taking up time when they could be making more money from seeing private patients.
Unfortunately it seems to be all about the money these days.

I think it's fair enough to only see adults privately, as a lot of practices do. Especially as it is becoming more and more difficult to treat under NHS terms these days. Dentistry will always be the last NHS service the government will fund. It's s total joke. I'm earning less for NHS dentistry now than I did fifteen/twenty years ago.
However it is totally wrong to refuse to see a child on the NHS unless the parent was registered privately. Sounds bonkers. And very greedy.

100% you should report the practice to your local nhs board. Completely unethical for the surgery to say that and against NHS guidelines. The practice are paid for their NHS quota for the year (worked for the NHS in a dental surgery for over 10 years before going private)

I think that's quite common, depending on the area. I've lived places where NHS treatment was impossible to find and paid private fees for years.

Out dental practice went fully private and while I left for an nhs one-my teeth require a lot of maintenance-my DH stayed and pays £8 (I think) a month to the dentist for an annual dental exam, a hygienist visit and a few other small things. You can have one child per private parent at the surgery but it's not on the nhs, it's free but it's basically the basic private package free.

So two check ups a year and the stuff painted on the back teeth and whatever is the basic kids get generally. We have our son there as the care is excellent and he's only 7 with equally excellent teeth. We will move him when he's a young teen I think to an nhs place when we start thinking about braces or not etc.

This has been normal here since I moved here nearly 20 years ago. I was just thankful to find one that would do that much because db has now lived in three different areas and still goes back to my parents' dentist as he hasn't found one in any reasonable distance of any of those areas that still takes on adult or child NHS patients.

Our dentist is the same and I thought it was standard at any private dental practice.

I think it was wrong to call your husband after calling you, but I wouldn’t bother making a complaint about it.

Completely normal, they don't have to offer NHS dentistry at all if they don't want to. I am the only one to have NHS dentistry here, both my DH and my DD are at the same private dentist (who did refer her for NHS orthodontic work though!). DD gets a free checkup and I think any treatment is half-price.

It really is NOT completely normal, the fact that so many people believe it is shows exactly how rogue practices get away with this. If they are registered to see patients on the NHS they have an obligation to see under 18s regardless of whether there parents are registered there As NhS or private patients. If your DC are registered and have been seen previously they absolutely should continue to see her, the only exception is if she has missed a few appointments in a row then they may remove her from their NHS listing in which she case she would then need to find another practice but again she should be able to be seen without either of you being registered there!

If they are registered to see patients on the NHS they have an obligation to see under 18s regardless of whether there parents are registered there As NhS or private patients.

If you enforce that, the result will simply be that these dentists won't take anyone on NHS, which won't help anyone.

If they don't take patients on the NHS they lose their NHS funding and it is given to another surgery, so no that would not happen.