NHS Dentists- Brits only

[jonnytuna]

For the last few years I have been going to the BBC dentist, where I'm registered as a national health patient. Since I have been out of the Beeb for almost 3 years and the BBC dentist itself is soon moving to the nearby shopping mall, Westfields. I thought I'd experiment with elsewhere.
So I have just gone to a local one in Camden for a checkup

Comments

[lucifiction]

Maybe the check-ups are around the same price, but everything else done non-NHS is a massive rip off! The only dental work I've had done is extraction of two wisdom teeth (on separate occasions). The first wisdom tooth I had removed was done on the NHS for about £45. When I had to get the second taken out, I'd moved house and so registered with a different dentist, supposedly as an NHS patient but they were total liars and tried to rip me off, telling me that I would have to pay about £100 for an x-ray plus the cost of the extraction. I knew at this point that although they claimed to be treating me as an NHS patient, they weren't, because the x-ray for the previous extraction was done as part of the cost of the extraction. I've encountered this with more than one dentist, as I went to get a check-up at another place and they wanted to charge me extra for the scale and polish thing, which again contravenes the NHS pricing structure.....

M has had similar problems until he managed to find an actual NHS dentist as he needed a filling and a root canal and the price he was quoted was obscene (can't remember what it was off the top of my head.) So yeah, private dentistry is a rip off, and even worse are the dentists trying to trick people into thinking they're NHS but aren't. It's making me all angry again! I might have to contact Watchdog!

From the NHS website:

If you normally pay for NHS dental treatment, there are three standard charges. The amount you pay will depend on the level of treatment that you need.
NHS dental charges

The three NHS charge bands are as follows:

* Band 1: £16.50. This charge includes an examination, diagnosis and preventive advice. If necessary, it also includes X-rays, scale and polish and planning for further treatment.
* Band 2: £45.60. This charge includes all the necessary treatment covered by the £16.50 charge, plus additional treatment, such as fillings, root canal treatment or extractions.
* Band 3: £198. This charge includes all the necessary treatment that is covered by the £16.50 and £45.60 charges, plus more complex procedures, such as crowns, dentures and bridges.

Dental treatment costs explained

If, within two months of completing a course of treatment, you require further treatment within the same charge band or a lower charge band, e.g. an additional filling, you don't have to pay anything extra.

However, if you need further dental treatment after two months of completing an earlier course of treatment, you will have to pay an additional charge.

If your initial treatment is classed as a separate, urgent treatment, it may not be included in any subsequent course of treatment that you require. For urgent dental treatment (including out-of-hours treatment), you will have to pay a separate charge of £16.50.

You will not have to pay for:

* denture repairs,
* the removal of stitches, or
* if your dentist has to stop blood loss.

There is also no charge if your dentist only has to write out a prescription. However, if you pay for prescriptions, you will have to pay the usual prescription charge when you collect your medicines from the pharmacist.

(http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1781.aspx?categoryid=74&subcategoryid=742)

[jonnytuna]

lucy- many thanks for that informative comment. I think you have made my mind up and I will stay with the NHS option in West London.