DENTIST ASKS FOR LOADS OF MONEY TOTALLY UNEXPECTEDLY!!

[charleypops]

Dp is furious and I'm confused...

When I made my initial appointment months ago I told them I was pregnant. Finally had the consultation last week, (had to wait ages because I specifically wanted an NHS dentist as I had received my maternity exemption card). After the consultation I signed a NHS form and wasn't charged. At this point no future payment had been discussed whilst I had the consultation, or indeed before or during the treatment today. Went back today for first of 3 sessions of root canal treatment (joy!) then at the reception desk was charged £80. I was a bit shaky and just wanted to get back home, so I didn't say anything at the time and assumed I must have just paid a contribution towards the cost.

I called them an hour or so later however to ask how the maternity exemption works - ie whether I was expected to claim anything back. The receptionist then told me that the dentist had decided to treat me privately and the subsequent treatments are going to cost an extra £500!!

Dp has to pay for my treatment because I don't work and when I told him, he thought it was outrageous that payment hadn't been discussed even though I was part way through my treatment. He's just called them and gave them a (polite-ish) b*ocking and spoke to the dentist. The dentist said he didn't do root canal work on the NHS. Consequently he is going to refer me to the hospital and said I'll probably have to wait a year for an appointment and get second-rate treatment. I'm worried that I'll lose the tooth by then.

Please, if any of you MNers out there are considering having dental treatment while preggers, make sure you are clear about costs!!

Have any of you had similar experiences? what did you do? Sorry, bit of a rant.

Oh Charleypops, pursue him to the end of the earth, pleaaasssse. What a bas*tard. I once worked for someone for one month who was quite blatantly doing this. (He made me redundant after a month as I made it very obvious I knew what he was up to).

He once had someone in the chair with a large chip off a front tooth, he told the man he was not able to repair it as the treatment wasn't available on the NHS. He repaired it, charged him a fortune and then the man went outside and signed an NHS form (he got paid twice for what he did).

It is illegal for a dentist to 'mix' private and NHS work. If you have signed an NHS form that form stays 'open' until you finish your course when you then sign again to close it. It doesn't matter if that course takes 3 years to complete then it is still free as you signed when you were exempt when you signed. (God forbid anything did take 3 years).

Unfortunately with dentists it's very much your word against theirs (plus their dragon receptionist). I would make the authorities aware of the fact he may be 'mixing' and he may be asking you and the DPB to pay for the same thing.

Pleased to hear you are now getting it sorted out.

Mimsie, you used to be able to have a porcelain crown on a molar on the NHS but I haven't worked in practice for some time so maybe Jasper can update you on this.

There are other reasons for gold crowns though like they can be made thinner to save more of the tooth underneath but obviously they aren't as aesthetic.

Message withdrawn

I have a WONDERFUL nhs dentist. I have had several fillings replaced and 2 crowns done by her. The nhs will not pay for molar crowns to be done in white. They have to be done in metal. I had the one furthest back done in metal on the nhs and paid a nominal amount (£45?) to have the other one which was a little more forward and sort of showed when I smile (big mouth) done in white. She did my dh's bridge on the nhs (he had a tooth pulled privately by another dentist who didn't do nhs work and dh coudln't afford the bridge). She has done a root canal for my friend on the nhs and looked at my step daughter's teeth for us when she visiting for the weekend...(dentist is open on sat. mornings!).

Hi everyone! My Dp broke the computer on Friday afternoon and I've only just fixed it otherwise I'd have posted earlier

FFS Secondhandrose - what a story!! How blatant of that horrible dentist! How does he sleep at night?? I hope he's been long since caught out

I spoke to the Primary Care Trust and gave them his name and address. Mimsie - I I have crown on two of my front teeth which look a bit "greyish" because they are finished in a dark amalgam at the back - I'd love to have them changed to white - if you find out about yours, please let me know, although gold doesn't sound as bad as mine).

Secur - I think I more or less got that message across to him, and actually told the receptionist I'd be copying the letter to the ombudsman! I think this particular dentist was scared

SofiaAmes - your dentist sounds like a dream - don't suppose she's is in Surrey is she??

No, she's in Harlesden, London NW10, but I'm sure she'd be happy to take you on if you are willing to do the drive.

Charleypops I have just found this and am horrified.
You have been given lots of great advice.

The dentist has quite seriously stepped out of line.

In getting you to sign an NHS form he is accepting you for treatment UNLESS HE MAKES IT CLEAR that you are being treated privately.

It is allowable for a dentist to examine a patient and state that they will only do the work privately,for whatever reason. This must be made quite clear to the patient and an estimate given.However if you are already registered with a dentist under the NHS the detist cannot pick and chose which items of treatment he/she wants to provide privately and which he/she will provide under the NHS. The rules about this are very strict but I will say in his defence that a lot of perfectly ethical and good dentists are not fully aware of this.

I am not 100% sure at what point you are officially registered under the NHS - whether it is the moment you sign the form or when the dentist signs it . I will examine the wording of the form and the small print on my terms of service document.

This is NOT what happened in your case. you made it clear you were looking to be treated on the NHS and you commenced treatment under that assumption.

Perhaps the practice is disorganised and all the discussion about maternity exemption was with the receptionist and the dentist did not receive the same info but that is no excuse and the buck stops with the dentist.

If he decided he was unwilling to accept you as an NHS patient (acceptable) as opposed to have you reg. as an NHS patient but only provide a root filling privately (NOT acceptable)he should have made this clear.

There was a similar discussion here before Christmas when someone was charges to have their child's filling redone as the dentist made out that was not available on the NHS.

Please let us know what happens.

yes it is true that white crowns on molars are no longer allowed under the NHS.(has been the case for about 7 years)

The reason some dentists won't do root fllings under the NHS is because the fees are so low.

The fee for a molar root filling is about £75.
A straightforward case might take an hour.A tricky case might take three but the fee would be the same. Surgery overheads could easily cost more than the NHS fee in anything other than a straightforward case.

It's not just root fillings.
It sometimes costs more in lab fees alone (never mind surgery running costs) to make a denture than the dentist get paid for it.

ks - I'm in Weybridge

SofiaAmes, I've got an appoinment with another dentist tomorrow so I'll see how I get on there. I do know Harlesden as it happens, so I might ask you for an address if I have no joy tomorrow if that's ok.

Hi jasper, thanks for posting! I would have liked to think it was simply due to a breakdown in communication within this practice, sadly I don't think it is, particularly because today I discovered that a friend of mine had a very similar experience with the same dentist. She arranged with the receptionist to come and have her teeth polished and was told it would cost £50. After she had had it done she went to the reception and was asked for £120!! She's a bit fiestier than me and complained, The receptionist told her that it that price because she had been given a "full clean". (Bearing in mind this was the same receptionist that had quoted her £50 on the phone in the first place, although she denied it was her), she had never been told there was different prices for different approaches to the treatment. Anyway, the receptionist (who we suspect is the dentist's wife) went into the treatment room (supposedly) to speak with the dentist and then came out and said he was willing to reduce the fee to £90 . She paid and left fuming.