Refused NHS scale & polish, need to pay for hygienist?

[cantthinkofaname2021]

Has anyone else had this?
I'm 24 weeks, had my check up on Monday, changed dentist as my old practice is still not taking appointments since before covid
She said I have tartar & plaque which I knew and said I need to go to the hygienist, I asked at the reception can I have that as a scale & polish by the dentist & she said no, you need the hygienist which is £50
My previous practice said the same thing at my last appointment just before covid started, and wouldn't do the scale & polish. I never ended up getting my teeth cleaned, I could have just gone to the hygienist last year as they were taking appointments
What is the point of the maternity exemption then? I thought it was more important during pregnancy for good dental care, has anyone else had this?

@cantthinkofaname2021 if the dentist has put it on your treatment plan and it’s not just an elective/cosmetic treatment then yes, it’s clinically necessary. Ie if they said “you need to book in for a scale and polish”, then one should be done for you as part of your check up (usually it’s more cost effective to just do it there and then when you’re in the chair). NHS dentists are buggers for avoiding anything more than minimum treatment. They will get paid the same amount whether you have an exam only, or and exam and a scale and polish. They can’t force you to have treatment done privately that you’re entitled to on the NHS.

I was planning on switching to NHS next week for the duration of the free treatment but this thread has really put me off! Really don’t fancy battling with this kind of thing for the sake of saving £13 a month!

3 weeks ago i had scale and polish for free as part of my exemption

@cantthinkofaname2021 I’m with an NHS dentist and at routine check ups they will do a quick scale and polish if necessary, so understand why you would question this not falling under your exemption.

Before I started going to the hygienist (who also works in the same dentist) my dentist said to me that the hygienist cleaning is much more thorough and really gives your teeth a deeper clean, much more than the dentist would in your check up appointment. However, hygienist services are not covered under NHS and so you have to pay for this. I think I pay roughly £50 for 20 mins and it’s so worth it!

Maybe every dental surgery is different though, I’m just speaking from my own experience

Ex dental nurse
Scale would be deemed for clinical purpose - polish not necessary so wouldn’t be done especially given the current circumstances.
Periodontal treatment is a deeper scale which would also be covered by maternity exemption- nhs band 2.
I had a scale at my appointment a month ago but it was a hand scale. Not quite the same but better than nothing.
I could be wrong but sounds like your dentist doesn’t want to do the work and would rather refer to the hygienist who will be working under a private plan..

Had an emergency appointment back in January where coz of being pregnant ai was in pain and have subsequently had a tooth out.

At the time they said I needed a scale and polish and this was available on nhs but they insisted I try to have a private one at the cost of £106 which I declined. The dentist then said they wouldn’t do the scale and polish now. 🙄

Just been to the hygienist now (that was my first time going) and only took 20 minutes, she said my gums were very inflamed with a lot of tartar and needed a good clean (so I assume clinically necessary ) but I'm very happy and definitely going to switch to private dentist now

Ahh I'm glad everything went well! I genuinely believe that hygienists are worth their weight in gold, they do such a fab and thorough job!