Dental plan for the poor- but-not- on-benefits- poor?

[97876757user]

Not sure if this is the right place.
Haven't been to the dentist in years.
Got an abcess. Need to register and go.
Need to find a plan I can afford.
Can't really afford to pay hundreds of pounds trip after trip. Can anyone advise on dirt cheap ways to afford the dentist when you know you will need lots of werk done but don't qualify for NHS benefits? I've heard there are plans where you pay x a month but I don't know! Can anyone advise about dirt-cheap dental plans so I can get my teeth sorted once and for all? North West if locality makes any difference? Any advice would be magic!

Bump?!

I work in a dental practice. There are various levels of Denplan available, have a look at what they offer. At the surgery I work in we have several patients who just have a standing order set up each month direct to the business bank account and that covers their treatment, you could ask about that? A lot of places offer interest free credit but that may not be what youre after. Good luck!

If you’ve got an abscess, I think a dental clinic at a hospital will offer you emergency treatment. You can call 111 and they’ll refer you, I think - call for advice, anyway.

Private dentists will see you without a plan in the first instance - probably £50-ish for an initial appointment and then whatever for sorting the abscess. Each practice might vary in what they offer/what plan they’re signed up to but DenPlan is a big one. There are different levels of payment for different levels of care. I pay monthly (joint with DH) and my teeth are on a slightly higher ‘band’ than my DH as he’s never had any dental issues whereas my teeth aren’t brilliant. But I get extra hygienist appointments as part of that extra cost.

It’s best to get the appointment to get this emergency sorted then ask what their payment and insurance plan options are and they’ll talk you through it.

What do you mean you don't qualify for nhs benefits? Do you mean you need to pay for treatment because you aren't on benefits?
You can still register with an NHS dentist and just pay as you go surely? It isn't that expensive.

Op you may still be able to register as an nhs patient even if you don't get free dental care. The charges are way lower, fixed in three specific bands. Start by contacting all your local Dentists and ask if taking on
NHS

Keep trying to find an nhs dentist. The charges are banded and not too expensive. It's irrelevant what you earn

Call 111 and explain you need emergency dental care as you are in pain - www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/how-can-i-access-an-nhs-dentist-in-an-emergency-or-out-of-hours/. They will help you access it

If you need an extraction, it will be £65.20 - band 2. Once your immediate issue is sorted, you can look at finding a permanent nhs dentist to get you stabilised if there is local availability (there’s no such thing as registration in the nhs in England for dentistry - it’s just a case of finding a practice with capacity to treat you. The financial year essentially resets on 1 April so it maybe easier to find a practice with available UDAs than it is this week!)

If not, or you want to, you can find a private dentist with Denplan etc. However, my understanding is Denplan do not cover pre-existing conditions such as this abscess.

If you want a private emergency dentist to treat you, you can find some open 24 hours a day in Manchester if you google but it will (understandably) be much more costly than the nhs charge

What do you mean you don't qualify for NHS benefits? Everyone is (theoretically) entitled to NHS dental treatment not just those on benefits (although they get it completely free instead of just reasonably priced like the rest of us).

My area has one of the worst central waiting lists for NHS dentistry in the country but I managed to get OH and I signed up after a few hours of calling a couple of years ago. Obviously it might be harder now with Covid but even if you have to have some private treatment now I would recommend trying to find an NHS dentist asap.

Also if you call 111 you should be able to get emergency NHS treatment for your abscess but this is likely to be antibiotics and then an extraction rather than say a root canal so if you want to keep the tooth you will probably need to go private which will be hundreds at least.

I literally just called every dentist we could feasibly get to if they were taking on adult NHS patients until one said yes.
It is such a relief not having to worry about whether we'll be able to afford treatment we need or not and you can still pay extra for private treatment in top as and when if you want it.

I have a health cash plan with Sovereign. I pay £28 a month and can claim back a percentage of dental, optical, physio, etc. costs. £180 is for dental. However there’s always a wait after getting cover before you can make a claim so you may struggle as you already have the condition.

Thanks everyone. I'm obviously a bit stupid coz I thought that you couldn't have an NHS dentist if you didn't qualify due to state benefits or weren't a child or pregnant. I did have a job with built in dental but I don't now so I'm a bit new to getting a dentist as an adult without being on a plan. Hope that makes sense?

Yes just go to an NHS dentist. They are difficult to find though as lots of dentists have gone private. My dentist has lots of students practicing so they take NHS patients.

A dentist may need to prescribe you antibiotics first
Then return for a more thorough check up at a later date

Please phone dentist or NHS 111 for advice

Watch with interest

I'll update when I have any news. Thanks people!