Dentists again

Our dentist did the same thing earlier this year.
After seeing the new charges, we have decided to "Pay as you go".
I need regular check ups, as I have bone cancer, but I did wonder whether a regular check up should now be part of my treatment?

I am fortunate my dentist is still taking NHS patients. He wanted to crown one of my teeth last week but I am 80, and that would be very expensive as well as painful so I went for the cheapest option but even so, my bill came to around £78.

Could you look around for an NHS dentist or have they all vanished?

I've been with Denplan since a lot of dentists fell out with the govt in mid-2000s (was that the beginning of the end?). It's just over £1/day, and I get everything included, except if I have a new crown, I have to pay the company who make it.
When I moved house, I needed a new Denplan dentist, my previous dentist had to get my teeth up to a certain standard before the new dentist would take me.

Hi ExDancer Sorry to hear that. I am with Denplan but they won't accept you until your teeth are "up to scratch".

Does the scheme your own dentist is offering cover actual work such as fillings, extractions, etc? What happens if one of the checkups reveals you need treatment?

sparklefiz no fillings or extractions mentioned - so I assume these would be extra.

Why is there no public outcry about the fact that so many people can no longer afford basic dental treatment? It’s like a ticking time bomb because our dental health can affect our overall health. People are concerned about the erosion of our NHS and yet we’ve lost an important part of it and it’s just been accepted as inevitable. We’ll be in a situation soon whereby people have all of their teeth out in their twenties so they won’t have to pay extortionate dental charges in later life!

Not all Dentists will use Denplan and prefer their own system.

Chardy, Dentists fell out with the government(s) a lot earlier than that. Governments of all varieties have mostly refused to honour the recommendations of the independent review body on dentists' pay. And, have continued to impose ridiculous contracts on GDPs.

Privatisation by the back door.

No nhs dentist within 25miles. We joined denplan when our dentist stopped doing nhs work. £30 a month covers 4hygienist visits a year 2 checkups xrays fillings. I had a bridge recently and all i had to pay was the lab fee. Extractions are covered and emergency treatments. We have an excellent dentist. (Ive always had rubbish teeth).
As someone else above has said dental health is so important as it can affect various medical conditions. The Government any Government should be concentrating on nhs dental health.

Dental care in the UK is disgraceful. My daughter had to go to Turkey to get some treatment as it was cheaper than trying to get it done here. I'm fortunate enough to be still NHS but I don't know how much longer it will last. I have a full top denture and 6 permanent teeth at the bottom. I had to have two bottom ones out in February and one right at the front so I had a gap. The dentist said I needed to make an appointment for July to get a bottom denture but by May I tried to see her. I was struggling to eat but she refused to see me until my appointment. On the day of the appointment my dentist rang to say the appointment had been cancelled as the dentist had left and they couldn't fit me in until November. I told them how disappointed I was but all they said was that they were sorry and couldn't do anything about it. Now the gap at the front has closed up so much that it will be a struggle to fill it in and another tooth has become very loose. It's very upsetting because I know if I make too much fuss they might stop treating me and if they'd have sorted me out sooner this could have been avoided. I'm 71 and it would be difficult to find another dentist to take me on. I'm now waiting to see my dentist next month and I was quoted £306 in February but if they make me go private it could cost from £400 to £1365.

my dentist went private earlier this year. I pay £17.50 per month. This covers two check ups, cleaning, 2 xrays and 10% off any work done. I have poor teeth and already the side of a molar broke off and a filling cost me £96 less 10%.

I know treatments, staff and overheads have to be paid for especially with the increase in everything but I wonder how some of the private treatment costs are justified.

That is a very reasonable monthly cost OP. It is up to you to pay the extra treatment you would need to get a healthy mouth and then you could look at denplan

My dentist ceased to treat patients under the NHS at the beginning of this year and there are no dentists accepting NHS patients in my town or the surrounding areas. My denplan contract costs £29 pm and covers 4 hygiene appointments and 2 checkups per year. I believe annual X-rays are included but no other treatments or investigations.

Our NHS dentist went private last year. It took me nearly a year to find us an NHS dentist. I just struck lucky with a practice who had just taken on a new dentist.

Norfolk is one of the worst places in the whole country for NHS dentists. i was reading today that over 600 people have been to our main hospital A and E this year with mouth abscesses, a similar number at the next largest and about 500 at the smaller hospital. That is shocking.

I am told that dentists do not want to work in Norfolk. Why dentists? Everybody else seems to want to move here from the Midlands, London etc. Makes no sense to me.

I am a ‘pay as you go’ dental patient. My last appointment cost me £69. ExDancer I don’t have the best teeth either. Rightly or wrongly, I thought this was the best way forward.

My dentist is private and I have a dental plan but went in for a simple filling last week and she charged £198.. that was with a 10% reduction. I was horrified.. it's really worrying how expensive it is.. but there doesn't seem to be any choice..

Areas of the country do seem to vary according to how many NHS dentists there are.
Have you looked to see if you have any near you?

We are with a practice which treats both NHS, which we are, and private patients.

It would certainly be worth investigating.

There are no NHS dentists accepting new patients within 50 miles of our home. We are registered with a practice has provided us with NHS dentistry for the last ten years, latterly from from dentists in their first year of practice. Our November appointments have been cancelled because the dentist we last saw has left. We were not offered an alternative. Asking if we would still remain NHS patients I was told yes if they could recruit someone when we were less than two years post our most recent appointments. If we reach two years we will be removed from their list. Limbo time for us or a move to private dentistry which the same practice would happily provide. We would go elsewhere if we decide not to wait and see.

It seems there are no dentists in Cumbria and N Lancs who are accepting new NHS patients (I should have made this clear before I posted)
My friend who used to be a dental-nurse travels into Lancaster to a private dentist and pays as she goes. She says the plan I've been offered is rubbish because all it offers is check-ups and access to a hygenist, and that the dentist will undoubtably find something to fix at each visit and charge for attention that may not be necessary.
She pays as she goes, even though a tiny filling costs nearly £100.
I think I may follow her example

MayBee70

Why is there no public outcry about the fact that so many people can no longer afford basic dental treatment? It’s like a ticking time bomb because our dental health can affect our overall health. People are concerned about the erosion of our NHS and yet we’ve lost an important part of it and it’s just been accepted as inevitable. We’ll be in a situation soon whereby people have all of their teeth out in their twenties so they won’t have to pay extortionate dental charges in later life!

Why is there no public outcry about the fact that so many people can no longer afford basic dental treatment?

Because we've been acclimatised to accept it as 'inevitable' along with all the other axed health services.

ExDancer

It seems there are no dentists in Cumbria and N Lancs who are accepting new NHS patients (I should have made this clear before I posted)
My friend who used to be a dental-nurse travels into Lancaster to a private dentist and pays as she goes. She says the plan I've been offered is rubbish because all it offers is check-ups and access to a hygenist, and that the dentist will undoubtably find something to fix at each visit and charge for attention that may not be necessary.
She pays as she goes, even though a tiny filling costs nearly £100.
I think I may follow her example

She says the plan I've been offered is rubbish because all it offers is check-ups and access to a hygenist, and that the dentist will undoubtably find something to fix at each visit and charge for attention that may not be necessary.

If you need any major treatment - you will pay through the nose anyway, so those 'plans' are "rubbish" as they don't cover any of the essential costs that you might incur.

I also PAYGO.

I have a top full denture(only in the last 12 months when my bridge failed,🤦‍♀️) and nearly a full set of my own teeth at the bottom, although some are pretty chipped
It is a private dentist and a husband and wife team and they are excellent. I have been paying for their plan which is £18.60 a month but just includes two hygienist visits (which I hate anyway)and two check ups a year but I am seriously thinking of going pay as you go…

Always been obliged to use private dental insurance as we don’t have nhs in the islands.
We use Simply Health they only cover one annual which is sufficient.

I moved to the private side of my practice 6 years ago when my dentist moved across. I’ve always had problems and he had been brilliant so it was a no brainier.
Earlier this year he moved me to an all inclusive contract as I needed more hygienist treatment with the airflow system. Three weeks ago my lower right jaw began to hurt a lot. I was seen the same day by another dentist in the practices. Everything settled down with the treatment done. A week later I saw my dentist. There was an infection so had antibiotics. Last week at my regular check up he did an X-ray and advised that the problem tooth should come out. He did it there and then. Total cost for all this was zero. Without the current contract it would have been approaching £1000……