Dentist Prices

[stuartm]

The dentist now gets paid to do a 'filling'.  What (s)he fills it with is up to him and you. (within reason)
Most NHS dentists won't do tooth coloured fillings on back teeth on the NHS as the materials cost too much and the fillings take too long to do.  As long as the filling material is clinically appropriate, he doesn't have to offer one that looks pretty.  As far as the NHS is concerned, they don't care whether it's tooth coloured or metal - just that it is approved as a material for that particular tooth and that it is used appropriately.
(There's nothing to stop a dentist offering tooth coloured fillings on any tooth under the NHS - other than basic business - ie he'd go bust if he did it)

If your dentist won't do a tooth coloured filling for a front tooth - it's time to find a new dentist.

Stuart

what should I expect to pay for a white filling in a front tooth on NHS.  I have heard that only amalgam fillings are included and that white ones are extra.  I thought that if the tooth was visible at the front any fillings should be white and covered on NHS.

[stuartm]

If you can't afford the new crown - just be honest with your dentist.

He could order an NHS standard crown for you, which would cost around £40 to £50.  Alternatively he might let you pay the lab-bill over a few months, or patch the old crown up and make it last a little longer.

He won't be making a profit on doing your crown - that's just how much nice crowns cost to have made now - in fact preparing a new crown takes much longer than patching the old one together for a while, and he's not paid for his time (just the set denplan payment for looking after you).

See what options he can give you ;-)

Stuart

Hi,

I visited the dentist yesterday to get what I thought would be a filling replaced in the back of one of my front teeth which has had a crown fitted & also root canal treatment.

I have Den Plan Insurance with my dental practice so I believed I would not have to make any payment on this visit. Unfortunatley I am advised that I need the crown replacing & although this is covered by insurance which I pay £24 for per month (based on my past dentistry work) I have to pay the lab technicians fee of £99 to make the crown. I was rather shocked at this high price being that I pay £288 already per year for my Den Plan although this does pay for all my check ups, fillings, x rays & a general clean up each year

I was offered a cheaper price for a lab fee of £67.50 but that would not be a porcelain veneer & apparently would not look as nice.

The last time I payed a lab fee for a crown was in 2003 approx £50 & now 4 years later it has doubled to £99, I find this rather a large leap in cost, their rate of inflation must be high. Reason I came on this website was to see how much I would pay out to return to NHS dentist if I can find one but looks like I would be paying £194 for the crown so am best off paying this lab fee.

Den Plan is certainly good in some aspects but I think the lab fees should be covered as well, I'd rather pay a few pounds more a month for my insurance to include it than have to fork out £99 in one hit.

Well I left the dentist just hoping that my crown will last a while cause I am not able to afford the £99 in one hit so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Any comments or questions re Den Plan ask away.

[stuartm]

Unfortunately, you may have had a tooth removed that your old dentist could have saved - it was just more cost effective for the NHS dentist to remove it with a glorified pair of pliers.

If you're happy having a tooth removed each time one breaks and leaving gaps instead, that's fine, but it's a slippery slope to having plastic ones instead (and don't believe the adverts for denture fixatives either)

Stuart

I have recently visited my private dentist who has looked after my family's teeth since 1987, I was in need of some treatment - 2 possible fillings and some bridge work.  The dentist had retired and his practice had been taken over, the surgery had been brought up-to-date cosmetically and computers had been installed.  The visit (a check-up and a hygenist session) came to £57.00 and I was presented with an estimate totalling £168.00 for the 2 fillings - we never got to the cost of the bridge work.  I have discovered that there is at least one dental practice in my area taking on NHS patients and registered with them for a initial examination which was due tomorrow.  Unfortunately, one of the troublesome teeth broke yesterday.  I saw my new dentist yesterday afternoon, had an extraction and check-up complete with x-ray of the affected area and came out less than an hour later smiling once more (but a little sore) and richer for the experience (only £43.60 lighter!).  My experiences with my original dentist - who was considering switching to Denplan some years ago, but changed his mind when he discovered that most of his patients would vote with their feet - and the recent tale (above) have convinced me and my family that we were paying far too much for treatment that was not exceptional and I for one will be staying with my new-found Polish friend and her colleagues.  

[asterix]

The dentist now gets paid to do a 'filling'.  What (s)he fills it with is up to him and you. (within reason)
Most NHS dentists won't do tooth coloured fillings on back teeth on the NHS as the materials cost too much and the fillings take too long to do.  As long as the filling material is clinically appropriate, he doesn't have to offer one that looks pretty.  As far as the NHS is concerned, they don't care whether it's tooth coloured or metal - just that it is approved as a material for that particular tooth and that it is used appropriately.
(There's nothing to stop a dentist offering tooth coloured fillings on any tooth under the NHS - other than basic business - ie he'd go bust if he did it)

If your dentist won't do a tooth coloured filling for a front tooth - it's time to find a new dentist.

Stuart

what should I expect to pay for a white filling in a front tooth on NHS.  I have heard that only amalgam fillings are included and that white ones are extra.  I thought that if the tooth was visible at the front any fillings should be white and covered on NHS.

Completely agree with stuart; 3-3 (canine-canine) upper and lower should be white fills if its visible, anything further back on the biting surfaces is most probably going to be amalgam (metal/dark fillings)
treatment is done in 'courses of treatment': and banded into bands 1,2 & 3,
band 2 in wales is £39 (for checkup, S/P and fillings)
band 2 england is £43.60

[Webmaster]

If you find the price of dentist procedures shocking then may you should think about getting Dentist Insurance (http://mats.silvertap.com/Tracking/Tracking.aspx?a=5975&p=188&u=7900&t=2=). There are several places to purchase Dental Insurance, but Tesco (http://mats.silvertap.com/Tracking/Tracking.aspx?a=5975&p=188&u=7900&t=2) has offers that starts at only £2.30 per week

[Don]

Please enter all comments about our Dentist price pages here.

I am returning to Krakow, Poland to have a 3 Crown Bridge. This will cost £575 including the Anaesthetic.
I have had dental treatment there previously and found them very professional and friendly. They even pickyou up and return you to the airport. If your treatment costs over £1600 they will provide an apartment for you free.
I had all my treatment ie 7 fillings, 2 extractions, peridontic treatment, 3 bridge crown and 1 cap, and a temporary bridge all done in 5 days.

[MartinC]

Hi
Can someone give me some advice please.

I recently had two root canals on two bottom molars and then a crown on each tooth. For this I was charged £1,500.00. I am on a disability living allowance and an NHS registered dental patient.
I asked the dentist if he would give me a discount for cash and he offered me £150 which I accepted, which now meant I had to pay £1,350. He explained to me that the fees were based on time in the chair and obviously the supply of 2 crowns.

This has been niggling me ever since I parted with the money and paid him and which flattened my savings. I can't help feeling that I have been ripped off. Does this sound reasonable?

[HiHo]

Hello Martin,

I'm confused. Are you an NHS patient with the work being carried out under the NHS - if so the prices should have been very different!

Privately. That's about right in terms of overall cost (root canal about £350 each, crowns about £375 each - total £1450). Most of our prices are for people getting individual crowns of root canals done so I don't know what 'discount' is available for having multiple treatments done?

So, for me the question about being ripped off is whether you were entitled to have the work carried out on the NHS? Can any one else comment on this?

Best regards

Jon

[HiHo]

Please enter all comments about our Dentist price pages here.

I am returning to Krakow, Poland to have a 3 Crown Bridge. This will cost £575 including the Anaesthetic.
I have had dental treatment there previously and found them very professional and friendly. They even pickyou up and return you to the airport. If your treatment costs over £1600 they will provide an apartment for you free.
I had all my treatment ie 7 fillings, 2 extractions, peridontic treatment, 3 bridge crown and 1 cap, and a temporary bridge all done in 5 days.

Sounds like a very good price!

Can you give details of the total cost of the trip you we can compare it with UK prices (so it was 3 crowns or a bridge and how much was the flight, apartment , etc)

[MartinC]

Hi Jon

Thank you for your reply you have made the picture much clearer.

I am an NHS patient and should have been treated under the NHS scale of fees. But my dentist at no time advised me that he was converting me to private stratus. He has obviously charged me as a private patient. I shall be writing to him today.

[Matt]

I am in a similar position. I'm currently facing a £950 bill for root canal work, nerve ending removal, in an attempt to save ONE tooth top right, about 2 in fron of the wisdom. I fail to see how this could have happened, and without dental cover it's hard to take the hit. I can't have it out and replaced with a screw in type, as its within 0.5mm of my nasal wall, which was pointed out to me on the xrays, so was able to see for myself. My nerve endings are twisted which m akes it a little more difficult, and are about £130 ea, amounting to £390 before the cap/crown..  is provided, taking the total bill to £950. Not happy, but what can you do? As far as i'm aware, NHS, although less, wouldn't be considerably cheaper either. Why can't dentists be on a fixed salary, and dental treatment free for all. I never go to the doctors, and thats free, so why not the dentist? Feel robbed.
 

[Paratrooper]

I think everybody here should stop bitching

Sounds like you are doing that

about NHs Dentistry, what does everybody expect,

To get a good service and price for all the tax we pay maybe?

nothing is free

We know, I see it evertime a get my payslip and notice the tax they have taken.

and im glad that our dental structure is not like our hospitals where we are in millions of pounds worth of debt because they run the NHS like a business and no business works if its outgoings are more than what it makes!. Dental work in this country is great, sure on the NHS you don't get the best fillings or crowns but at the same time its not the dentists fault, blame the NHS and the companies who make the fillings making them so expensive. How would you feel if you were a dentist, a patient wanted a white filling for a molar (a tooth that if i may remind everybody is NOT normally shown when you talk or smile). This white fillings costs the dentist £200 - (thats right ONE filling), the NHS will only pay about £140 for a filling, if you were the dentists would you want to pay the extra £60 out of your own pocket? No, of course you wouldn't, dentists do what they have to in order to give you the best dental care possible while still maintaining a profit (may i also remind everyone that all dental practices are privately owned, dentists are on contract to the NHS, the NHS does not own or pay for the dental surgery) As well as each dentists having to make an income, because again as you all may forget in your anger, dentists are still people with families and other commitments that you all also have (mortgages, credit card bills etc..)

Another thing is the new rules the NHS have drafted up about NHS dentistry in that basically the NHS will be paying less for each treatment option, its no wonder so many NHS dentists are turning private since they just cannot afford to hold up NHS patients. Again this is NOT the dentists fault, if you want to blame, or just rant and shout at somebody do it at Parliament and the NHS not the dentists.

Plus in return to one member who wrote on this forum about dentists cancellation or missed appointment fees, "How dare they charge me?" well how about this, somebody makes an appointment to see you, this appointment COSTS MONEY, if you cancel or miss the appointment of course YOU should be charged since your the one wasting money.

I think everybody in this country should be grateful for what you've all got,

Whats that, I system where you pay twice, silly.
the NHS is one of the worst health structures in the world

It is not, where have you been living.
yet we get along and manage, dentists don't want to take your wallet - or your health on a rolllercoaster ride they just need to make back what they spend. Before you all start ranting about the NHS again; take a look at yourself and the structure of what your actually getting for your money but also what the dentist/doctor/optician etc.. has to spend, and stop complaining.

Then make a little sence.

[luna]

hello. im 22 and when i was younger i spilt my front tooth in half. i had to have root canal on it and halfthe tooth is now fake. but the whole thing is kind of grey now. not very nice too look at and knocing my confidence alot. i live in Southampton, and wondered what i would have to have done to the tooth and how much i would be looking at? i really cant afford alot. but i was considering getting finacial help.
it really need's to be sorted as im young and its my front tooth. please help.

 

[Plasterer1]

Hi Luna, I had a similar problem when I was about 20, I would suggest getting it capped/crowned but please please please get it done privatley. I had mine crowned with the NHS and it looked awfull!!!! You will probably be looking at around £200-£300. But as you say it is a real confidence knocker. I know £300 is a lot of money in these unsure times but please try to raise the funds otherwise you will wake up every morning looking at your teeth and this will put you on a downer. I eventually had mine crowned privately and WOW What a difference!!!!! - youd never know it was false. 
As you can probably tell by the name im a plasterer not a dentist so 1st of all I would suggest going to a private dentist for a consultation cost approx £60. 

[lamarca7]

Hello Don,

I would like to ask you in which clinic in Krakow you have been treated? Do you thing the price and results worth to fly there?

I would really appreciate your help,

Best regards,

Rodrigo