David Lock

Hadn't been to the dentist for a while so went along to a local NHS place and started some treatment.

Guy said I need some hygienist work and I am booked in. Now the dental work is charged at the standard NHS scale (very reasonable) but I was told that hygienist is charged at private rate being £46 per visit.

But on looking up what the NHS is obliged to offer I see that hygienist work should be offered on the NHS by an NHS dentist if it is deemed necessary.

So does your NHS dentist include a hygienist at NHS rates?

Difficult to complain to a chap holding a drill so thought I should check first

David

Tidgy

wtf is a dental hygienist? i just see a dentist (private) lol

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1781.aspx?CategoryID=74

According to the letter of his Contract he should include cleaning under one of the 3 NHS pay bands........

You need to know what treatment you are having from the hygienist.

Shaun

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

A jet wash and scrub for your gob.

Chip

Paid £72 last week for a check up and a scale and polish.

Chip

A good friend of mine who is a dentist claims they are hard done by yet drives an Aston Martin Vantage Black Edition. Work that one out then.

David Lock

EFA

d

Bristol98

Why, when they clean your teeth does it always give you a toothache?

Tidgy

holy ****, and i though my dentist was bad at £35 a pop for that

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

...and the sound of the scraping tool as it scapes away the crap between my teeth...along with the enamal....

My teeth hurt from just thinking about it

BTW £35ish last time IIRC. Think I did sign a form, so was probably NHS subsidised.

jonc

Well those Aston's don't run on air, they cost a bit to run and maintain don't you know.

cster

Midlife knows his stuff.
Not too sure about the rest of them though ;-)

RA Dunk

Wire brush and Dettol?

Tidgy

haha, he's still able to drive a new range rover so i think £75 must be ferrari teritory lol

Leslie

I had two fillings and a clean up job from my dentist last week for £38. I thought that was pretty reasonable although I did not enjoy the clean up very much. I would prefer fillings any time.

Les

Tidgy

fillings for £38? on nhs then lol

lordharding

iTrader: (1)

I normally pay £14 for a hygienist clean and polish
Takes about ten minutes
NHS

David Lock

Well I'm even more confused now

If work is done on NHS then a course of treatment costs one of 3 fixed charges as follows (as Midlife link)

There are three standard charges for all NHS dental treatments:

• Band 1 course of treatment – £17.50
  This covers an examination, diagnosis (including X-rays), advice on how to prevent future problems, a scale and polish if needed, and application of fluoride varnish or fissure sealant.
• Band 2 course of treatment – £48.00
  This covers everything listed in Band 1 above, plus any further treatment such as fillings, root canal work or removal of teeth.
• Band 3 course of treatment – £209.00
  This covers everything listed in Bands 1 and 2 above, plus crowns, dentures and bridges.

Band 3 involves laboratory work, hence the big jump. So charges stated in this thread don't make any sense if they are from an NHS dentist.

David

Dr Hu

You never meet a poor dentist... :nods:

Chip

Les,

I thought you may have left your teeth there and collected them later

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

NHS dentist what's that? I paid £86 for a check up scale and polish the last time I went. I did get a free toothbrush though.

cster

Well reading the above, if you were seen on the NHS, I would assume that you had a course of treatment. I would furthermore assume that the visit to the hygienist was not considered "needed" (ie necessary).
Does that make sense?
Wouldn't it be a better idea to get your dentist to explain this to you?

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNH...n-the-NHS.aspx

If the Dentist feels you need hygiene treatment then he is obliged to provide it within one of the 3 fee bands........

For the practice It's all part of taking the kings shilling and providing NHS dental treatment.

Shaun

PS have a stab at the average income of a high street NHS dentist 2011..

zip106

Between £38k - £80k?

Osimabu

iTrader: (2)

Once you've got rid of all the scale, get yourself a decent electric toothbrush and you shouldn't need de-scaling again if you use it correctly. I wish I'd had mine thirty years ago.

lordharding

iTrader: (1)

54k for a dentist ?

pslewis

£17:50 for scale and polish .... any more and you are being shafted.

Dentist I know gets £100k+ for a few days a week ......... implants are a Dentists pot of gold, simple engineering yet £1,000's in return. It's a helicoil insert FFS - nowt to it.

Most Dentists are on way over £100k

Dr Hu

damn right here, i had an implant last year nearly £2.5k for one tooth...!!

I was thinking i reckon i could do this myself!

Main prob is that you *cannot* get implants on the nhs... They are considered cosmetic!

David Lock

OK guys thanks. There is no doubt about my needing some hygienist work and so I will politely discuss charges with the dentist. I am sure he is not playing to the rules.

Re dental salaries yes they do very well indeed. As it happens my wife is a dentist but gave up a lucrative career as she wanted to be with our kids 24/7 as they grew up. A brave choice which has left us poorer than I would want but with two cracking kids This is not something that my new dentist knows btw.

Incidentally I see no point in going private unless you need film star implants so why waste all that money? This assuming there is an NHS dentist in your patch.

David

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

Bog standard NHS dentist shows the taxman £114k as a broad average.......

David, just out of curiosity when did your wife qualify and where from ?

Shaun