Warning: If you have a NHS Dentist

[Twiglett]

Did you know if you don't go within a FIFTEEN month period they take you off the NHS list

They do not have to pre-warn you of this according

Only found out today, and by the skin of our teeth the whole Twiglett clan luckily retain NHS status

Twiglett, they should have warned you. When I was in NHS dentistry we were told that we HAD to send out a warning letter if their registration was about to laspe. Mind you, that was a few years ago, so maybe it's changed.

I know some dentist's don't warn as a way of "reducing" their lists. Totally dishonest if you ask me.

NHS dentistry is horrible underfunded. I started nursing 15 years ago & you paid a MAXIMUM of £75 for treatment if you had extensive work done. So you could clock up a bill of hundreds & only pay £75.00, the government subsidizing the rest. When I left NHS dentistry 6 or so years ago, you had to pay £300.00.

The dentist gets, say £6.00 (roughly) for a basic examination. That has to pay staff, electricity, rent or mortgage, a huge range of equipment fees & materials.

Some do see 50+ patients a day and I can tell you that it is a nightmare. Especially when you have seconds to tidy, sterlize & disinfect the surgery between patients.

It is easy to see why dentsits opt to go private when you have run a surgery.

As a foot note, you re-register with a dentist at the time of your examination, when you sign for treatment recieved, so your registration will laspe from the treatment start date.

Alicemama, I have never heard of being able to just sign a form without being seen to keep up your registration. You need to see a dentsit to have an examination to keep up your registration. IMO, It sounds to me like your dentist is getting you to sign for treatment being done, without seeing you so he can claim for it. It would be interesting to know what form you are signing. BTW, YOU are not doing anything wrong, just think your dentsit is being less than honest with you.

Mum had a filling about 3 years ago at our NHS dentist and got charged £75!!! What a rip. She chipped a front tooth the other week and went to the local independent dentist (the NHS one has sadly developed Motor Neurones and is very ill) and got charged just £35 for a check up and repair of the tooth. That's not bad is it?

My dentist also went private

in my area their are officialy NO NHS dentist that will take adults at all... Not one....even IF i was prepared to drive a long way away!

as a result im on denplan with my old dentist (she was good enough NOT to charge the assessment fee of about £50)

as a result i pay about £10 per month
this is the LOWEST figure with denplan, and its because my teeth are pretty much perefect!

Melissasmummy, our old dentist used to post us the form out when he sent us our 14 month reminder - we could just sign it and send it back saying that we wanted to remain registered. Nothing underhand; just a simple form saying that we were registered at that practice for dental treatment.

Registered for NHS dental treatment, that should say - it was an NHS form.

Could someone tell me more about denplan and what it is and how it works please?

Denplan is a dental insurance policy. You pay a set amount each month (the better your teeth the less yu have to pay....you dentist assesses them before you sign up). Once that is paid, everything is covered...except cosmetic work (I think)

Thanks. So, could the whole family go on it then?

Yes, everyone would be assessed and you pay for them all....not sure if you get a family package. I was on denplan pre kids

I used to be on it, moved and the local denplan dentist wasn't taking on patients. I'm on a similar thing. My kids, atm , are NHS at the same practice....I had to go private so they would take the kids on IYSWIM

So I pay £10 (or whatever) per month and then dont have to pay at the dentist (unless there is major work to be done) Is that right?

Yes, if you need stuff that needs the lab (Say to make a crown) youd have to pay the lab fees, but everything else is covered. All the basic stuff and emergency work. What isn't covered is stuff that is just cosmetic. Go also get a hygesist, preventative stuff done without having to pay.

but if you have a lot of probelms in your mouth you might have to pay more than £10 a month. The higer the risk yo jhave of needing work done the more you will pay

Wigwambam....Im sure you dentist is on the fiddle. The forms should be completed when you have had teatment and on checking with my sis (who is a dentist in your area) she confirms there are no such NHS forms that you simply complete to say you wish to remain registered with the practice.
My sis knows of one dentist who does this and its just a matter of time before they get themselves in the sticky do dah.

My bar steward dentist went Denplan as well. Same pleading poverty letter as well. Still manages a new Saab every year.

Got a new NHS one by ringing a certain no - had to queue outside for about 3/4 hour though on a Sat morning to register.

So denplan is paying £120 per year (if have good teeth) as opposed to paying for a check-up and polish every 6 months which is about £15 a go?

Jayzmummy, they're the same forms that I had to fill in when I registered with the new dentist - all they say is that you are applying to be registered with that dentist for the next 14 months and that you are either exempt from charges or that you pay normal NHS charges. Honestly, there's nothing else on the form except that. Nothing sinister.

yes, but I doubt that you will find a dentist to take you on. I moved and had to get a new dentist. I phoned every dentist in yellow pages. None would take me on as an NHS patient. Only two dentists would take me on privatly. On (which I went with is 312 a month denplan style) the other was a pay as you go dentist. the latter sounded better. Then I found out that he would only take me on if I had £220 worth of tests, x rays etc before he took me on. The kids would have needed a £75 check up each.

sorry £12 a month!

mb - have just been taken on by a new nhs practice. Young female, x-rayed me, found I need 2 fillings, teeth all cleaned up by hygienist. Doubt my old dentist would have spotted the fillings, never spotted anything! Bonus is I don't pay anything yet, still under maternity exemption

that is great! I'm very

Finding what I did took the bettwe part of the morning. It is insane. The irony is that dh (without a filling in j=his head) gets free dental treatment with the RAF!

These schemes seem very cheap compared to what dh is paying - he pays £19 a month.
It's been ages since I got my 6 month reminder card (I'm with the same NHS dentist I've been with since I was a child, and the kids are too - though it's a 40 mile round trip to see him) must make an appointment. I hate going to the dentist.

our dentist sends out a reminder once it is 6 months since your last visit - saves me having to remember. He is still an NHS dentist but some of the work they do is charged at private rates e.g. scale and polish and other cosmetic dental work.

Tinker...what is the number to ring for an NHS dentist? or shall I CAT you?

You can find details of NHS dentists here