Dental costs are so high

Band 1 does not cost that much. Nor does Band 3.

It is very expensive here, too. More every time you go. You are lucky to get away with under $300 just for the basics, never mind the thousands for building up teeth, root canal work etc. These days most kids don’t need a lot of work because of the fluoride so I figure they make up for it with the rest of us unfortunates!

My dentist charged 49.00 for basic treatment sometimes called band one. I thought this was very reasonable. However reading comments on this post. I will check that price again, my last bill was over 200.00 for a crown. Nhs level 3.

My dentist can’t do root canal treatment , the specialist equipment is too expensive for the practice to buy. He will recommend a specialist which costs. The price reflects the cost of the equipment his salary the dental nurses salary etc…

See link for NHS dental charges. Most anyone should have to pay is £306.80. Any treatment for the same tooth is free within the following 2 months. And some treatment is covered for 12 months. www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/dental-costs/how-much-will-i-pay-for-nhs-dental-treatment/
Here is also a link to find an NHS dentist, just put in your postcode www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist
Hope your tooth gets sorted soon as dental pain tends to get worse the longer it is left.

Exactly kittylester. I couldn't understand where the £49 came from.

NHS dental banding.

How come an NHS check up costs £49? I've been paying £25.80 for Band 1 treatment, which includes a check up.

In the north east, my dentist is part private, part nhs. The receptionist is always making private appointments while telling nhs patients there are none. This must meant there are more people wanting private treatment than nhs patients. A private check up is 50.00 and nhs check up 49.00. Tooth fillings etc are pretty much similar cost to nhs prices but larger more serious treatment the private prices rocket. I asked how much an implant was and was told 1000. Last year, I’ve now been told it has gone up to 2500.00 per tooth. Cheaper to go to turkey. At our surgery it’s nothing special, run of the mill waiting rooms decorating a bit tired, same staff etc
I would have thought that a private practice would have been more luxurious.

Could you not crowd fund? Alot of people are doing that, and that's what I would do. There is no shame in it at all. I believe that those who have plenty should help those who are in need. It's called giving back.

Has anyone looked at the National Health Act 1946. About 15 years ago there wlas a similar situation where I lived in that dentists were going private. I write to my MP quoting the relevant section of the Act re dental provision. I was found a NHS dentist and been there since. The situation now with so many going private only may though mean having to travel further for a NHS practice..

During the pandemic and being CEV I could not go to my dentist so I was taken off their list. I have now found a new dentist he is private but very good. The initial consultation with x rays was £80. He then did a deep scale and polish and carried this out by doing one quarter of my mouth at a time for £25 each and I had a filling today for £55. I bruise very easily and after one clean had severe bruising and he has been so good and gives me a different type of injection (not sure what) and I do get back to normal slowly (think I am strange) My son has just had 2 wisdom and 4 other teeth out as the wisdom teeth were growing into his jaw and that cost £3200 and he may need implants at £2500. It is shocking what we have to pay for dental treatment.

Ive got a temporary crown at the moment, having a permanent one soon...excruciatingly £800.

I had a root canal filling done years ago on a tooth that looked unlikely to be saveable. At the time my tooth was worth more than my car. I went back to my NHS dentist to have it crowned. which saved me quite a lot of money.I don’t think many dentists would have been able to save it and I had to travel quite a way to see him. There’s no way that I can afford my partners private dentist. Even check ups cost a fortune.

I’ve been with my dentist 17yrs and few months ago received a letter saying no longer accepting Nhs patients gone private and moving within 3 months my check was due in sept cant get a new one as no one in area taking any patients I’ve Reg with one I’m 900 on the list

If dentists and doctors train here, they should be made to do nhs work for at least 5 years. As for the dentist leaving you in pain it’s a disgrace. I paid a £1000, privately for root canal work, that failed, it was tortuous, the tooth had to be removed, now I’ve a gap.
I would pay privately and have it removed, root canal work is a gamble as you get older, there should be no difference in the quality of work between a nhs and private treatment but tgere is, they should be regularly inspected to see it is.

LilCatMom, I work in dentistry as a hygienist. Some root canal work can be complicated especially in molars due to many roots , so many dentists refer to an endodontist which can be costly . Firstly because most are private and have undergone further training after qualifying. Secondly root canal is done in two visits, which can take 45 minutes to an hour . The first is to clean out the canals , the second to fill them as the canals have to be free of infection prior to filling .
You can be referred to a dental hospital for root canal but may have a long wait but will be free .
Many nhs dentists will only do basic root canal partly due to time constraints and that they’re confident to do basic ones .
Sorry it’s not what you want to hear. The alternative to paying privately is extraction .
Regarding your pain take whatever pain relief you use and try and get an emergency appointment with your dentist . Nhs dentists have to provide emergency slots.
You could have an abscess which will just need antibiotics.
Good luck

kittylester

^I think it’s the time constraint on NHS work that’s the problem^

Not sure what you mean by this, Maybee.

My husband gave an interview to the local paper about 35 years ago saying that Governments were trying to privatise dentistry by the back door. Governments of all persuasions have ignored the findings of the review bodies on pay for nhs dentists and have also messed about with the contracts.

I’ll ask my friend when I see her why her dentist advised her to pay for her treatment even though she was a NHS patient. I can only assume that a dentist is losing the money they could be charging a private patient during the time that they’re treating someone on the NHS.

I assume that the rate per new patient consultation and emergency check up or procedure is higher than for one long procedure kittylester. I had a brilliant dentist, who did everything, but he retired during lockdown. I’m still NHS, but the new dentists don’t do complex procedures like root canals. It must be very unsatisfactory as a job role, so the turnover has increased too. I don’t think they can make an NHS practice pay unless they work in this way.

I think it’s the time constraint on NHS work that’s the problem

Not sure what you mean by this, Maybee.

My husband gave an interview to the local paper about 35 years ago saying that Governments were trying to privatise dentistry by the back door. Governments of all persuasions have ignored the findings of the review bodies on pay for nhs dentists and have also messed about with the contracts.

Although I’m entitled to free treatment on the nhs, I have opted to go with Denplan as I have a very complicated denture that needs constant attention and I was unable to access the treatment satisfactorily on the nhs.

Now, if I have a problem or want to be seen by my very efficient and polite long time dentist, I only have to pick up the phone and ask.
He opted to go private some years ago, like many others.

Well worth the money if you can afford it,

I’m in process of having my first denture fitted with about 6 teeth….. it’s costing just under £1,000 NHS…as having a very awkward palatte I was told a metal plate would be better than plastic …. few people ( oldies) in family have plastic ( awful) but the metal ones gets a tremendous thumbs up! Difference in price is about £600….how can that be!?

LilCatMom I had what I thought was appaling dental pain (which after a year of trotting to and fro from my dentist - who could find nothing wrong..... was found to be was trigeminal neuralgia and I wouldn't wish that on anyone).

Oragel was recommended to me by several friends. There is a very strong variety and apparently it can dull the agony of dental pain. You may want to try it.

Secondly, buy some dispersible aspirin. Let it dissolve in water then swill it around the affected tooth.

Thirdly dissolve table salt in water and also swill it around the tooth.

Fourthly, buy some cloves and put the clove on to the gum of the affected tooth. Your mouth should keep it in place. Replace the clove every few hours.

Clove oil can be bought and rubbed in to the gum.

You could also try rubbing in sensitive toothpaste which can help but maybe your pain is too great for this to be effective.

The next piece of information may be out of date but dental hospitals are sometimes attached to general hospitals. It is just possible that they may see you as a 'walk-in' but things have changed in the NHS over the past few years.

I would hope that at least some of the above may help with your pain and I hope that you are able to see a dentist very soon.

Primrose53

MayBee70

A friend of mine still has a NHS dentist but was advised to have her treatment done privately as she wouldn’t have the work done to a high enough standard if she had it done as an NHS patient. Although I had a check up the other day I wasn’t offered the usual scrape and polish that I usually have. Although, to be fair maybe that’s an annual thing and I may have had it done last time ( I was relieved, to be honest, because. I always seem to lose a filling after a a scrape and polish!). I dread to think how many mouth cancers are going to be missed because people aren’t having check up and heart disease is sometimes linked to bad dental hygiene. It’s such a false economy. I also know of a private dentist whose practice was taken over by a larger concern and he moved to another practice because the standard he was expected to work to after the takeover was far too low.

Scale and Polish is a thing of the past MaryBee70. They stopped doing these on the NHS many years ago. You now have to book to see a hygienist which costs about £80.

I got a scale and polish done on my last visit to the dentist, and that was NHS.

Grannyjacql i pay £30 a month for my denplan insurance. This includes 2 check ups with dentist per year and any treatment and fillings (ive had a bridge this last year, couple of root extractions, xrays, same day emergency appointment) 4 dental hygienist visits. The practice was nhs but became private about 12yrs ago so i was a patient. I like knowing if anything happens i can get seen straight away. Sadly weve no nhs dentists within 30miles. Sad state of what UK is rapidly becoming. GP wise here is a disgrace not permitted to make any appointments the only response available is to use/abuse the 111 service. I genuinely think government want to privatise that too.