dentist charges

[tezmand]

after looking online on the nhs website for dental charges i have come to the conclusion that my dentist is trying it on with their prices apparently there are 3 band charges i recently had a filling at the cost of £48 band 2 but was told it if i wanted scale and polish it would be extra but on the website if you have a band 2 treatment band one is included which is a scale and polish also if you go back within 3 months of treatment and need more doing theres no more charge this will be interesting as the tooth i had filled is the wrong one it is the one next to it so lets see if i get charged again when i go back , anyone else shed light on this ?

[boxtops]

It depends if your dentist is wholly NHS, IMO - some treat partly as private, depends how you are registered with them.

How can your dentist possibly have filled the wrong tooth? That would be negligent, you should make a formal complaint.

[mandy22]

following on from what boxtops said about part private/part nhs
I always thought if you went private you were given a treatment plan and costings before treatment started? so if you havent had this i wonder if you are just nhs?? print out the page from the website and take it with you when you next visit and ask for clarification before your appointment, it may be that the receptionist is making a mistake. had a similar thing happen to me, finished my treatment, wanted to pay but she didnt know how much, she was confused about the private/nhs thing. I was NHS band 2, so i paid that. Not sure if the 3 month rule applies to the date you started your original treatment or if its 3 months from the date of your last treatment??

[tezmand]

it ended up being the wrong tooth as couldnt be certain which tooth it was , only hurt when i ate something on that side of the mouth and felt like it was right where the two teeth meet so she replaced the filling in the one that looked the oldest turned out to be wrong one as it still hurts when i eat went back she said give it 3 weeks cos it can take time for filling to settle but deffo wrong tooth but she insisted she cannot see anything wrong with other tooth , going back next week let ya know how i get on with charges will print out that webpage and take with me mandy 22 cheers

[bednobs]

the nhs scale and polish is extremely basic, and not all dentists offer it on the nhs as their contract just states they need to make you orally healthy. you have been quoted a private price for it, so what your dentist is saying is that you dont need it to make your mouth healthy but you can have it if you want but have to pay

[boxtops]

If in doubt, tezmand, get a second opinion from another dentist

[fbg40]

Hi Tezmand
Had a similar problem a couple of years ago and got no satisfaction from the dentist. Eventually I wrote to the Dental Council with a formal complaint, the dentist was investigated and found to be "misappropriating" funds ! Still go to the same practice but with a different dentist. If you are still not satisfied then take it further. Good luck.
FBG40

[tezmand]

hi bedknobs that makes sense what you are saying cheers fbg40 i will see how i get on when i ask at next appointment if not will take it futher as you did thanks for advice they always ask me if i pay for my dental appointments and yes i do but that doesnt make me rich i work 10 hrs a week as i have kids so dont pick up alot of money but hubby works so cannot get any help with charges

[tezmand]

ps be interesting to see if they charge me when i go back for the correct tooth to be filled !!

[tezmand]

hi headwreck my leg still the same but i still havnt been to docs i know im being silly but really dont wanna go and say ive got an ache in my leg sounds so stupid i am due for a blood pressure check in couple weeks will mention it to nurse tho thanks for asking x

[joko]

they didnt fill the 'wrong' tooth! - they filled the tooth YOU told them to fill

you are making it sound like they messed the job up and accidentally did the wrong tooth - they didnt...

why should they do a job twice because you chose the wrong tooth to fill...?

if you were having a window in your house replaced and you told them the left one... so they replaced it... then you said 'oops got mixed up...i meant the one on the right' - should they fit another window for free...?

pretty much the same principle. your mistake.

[tezmand]

joko can you read and who the hell do you think youre talking to like that if you cant answer with manners dont answer at all , was you there when i went dentist ? was you there when i told them if felt like the pain was where the two teeth met it was the dentist who decided which tooth to fill as the one she didnt fill looked ok to her , you come on here telling me YOU told then to fill the wrong tooth was you taught manners as a kid !!

[boxtops]

tezmand - do see the doc soon about your leg, you can't risk unexpected leg pain, I do't want to suggest it's DVT but you need to get it checked out.

[wykenwizard]

Had a similar problem with my dentist. Charged me £17 for a check up, no scale and polish, then referred me to his hygienist for a scale and polish at a cost of £45. Told me I had a fractured filling and made me an appointment at a cost of a further £47. I cancelled the appointment after checking the NHS charges online.
I complained to the NHS and yesterday I had a letter of apology from the dentist with a refund of my £17 and the offer to complete the treatment, scale and polish and filling free of charge.
Some dentists are obviously overcharging and therefore committing fraud against the NHS.
It is nice to win one, but I am declining the offer of continuing treatment with him...I'm not stupid ! Found another dentist who does the whole job withing the price band.

[tezmand]

thats very interesting wykenwizard so it proves its happening thanks for telling me boxtops i will do as you say was wondering about dvt myself as i do fly at least 4 times a year its just that pain isnt there continuously just comes and goes and i hate to think im wasting doctors time but i will go will keep you informed thanks for you concern x

[joko]

tezmand - i am talking to you and you need to chill out!

i have not been rude at all!
just because you dont like what i have pointed out does not mean i am being rude!

i am merely pointing out that, from their point of view, they have done what you asked them to! - you said 2 teeth were hurting - so they filled one of them.
they could have filled BOTH of them there and then - and charged you for 2 fillings straightaway - but they decided to try one at a time, to save doing extra work that doesnt need doing!

that doesnt mean you only have to pay for one filling - that the other is free!

you are trying to imply they have done something wrong - that they have somehow messed up and drilled the wrong tooth - but you quite clearly state above that they filled one of the teeth you pointed out to them!

that it turned out not to solve the problem is not their fault... sounds like both teeth are bad and like they both need filling - if they are both hurting - in which case they will charge for 2 fillings...

they can only go by what you tell them...they are not psychic

sorry thats not what you wanted to hear.

[tezmand]

joko i am very chilled thanks if you look back at your answer to me you accuse me of poiting out the tooth to them and thats wrong straight away i told the dentist it feels like the pain is where the two teeth meet sh is the professional she is looking in my mouth and while she cant feel the pain im getting when i eat she can see if a tooth looks bad she could of took an xray but didnt so therefore filled the tooth that looked like the filling was older, only on doing that can i now determine its the other tooth by the pain im still getting. if you read my post correctly you will see i am accusing them of trying to charge extra for scale and polish not for doing their job badly! also from what i have read on nhs website she could of done the two fillings anyway as it would be same price wether you have one or more done that is how it reads and that is what i was querying ! your answer to me came back at me as if you are the dentist and stand accused i use answer bank to find out if people have come across same situations as me not to be told off by a complete stranger the other answers i got were not with the attitude you gave off they were all helpful and polite

[joko]

i simply disagreed with your take on it and said something you didnt like - that is not the same as being rude or telling you off

you are having 2 appointments and 2 teeth filled so not sure why you would be shocked to be charged both times.
they may not charge you again - but they might.

like i said you pointed out 2 teeth that were sore - they filled one... the one that presumably looked most like it was in need of treatment, and possibly rotten - that is not a mistake.
they do not just fill healthy looking teeth on the off-chance that that may fix toothache...it must have looked bad ... and would have needed filling sooner or later anyway.
the fact that the pain was in both teeth implies that both teeth needed treatment.
had the tooth looked fine and healthy they would indeed have xrayed to get to the true cause of the pain

either way, hope it gets sorted for you

[tezmand]

joko im not shocked at being charged for a filling my point in this whole thing is that on the nhs website it says if you have treatment in band 2 which is the band that includes fillings that charge of £48 should include the scale and polish which is in band 1 but my dentist wants to charge me another £32 for a scale and polish so i asked in here if anyone knew any better the fact that the wrong tooth got filled is just another factor but at no point did i blame the dentist for filling the wrong tooth maybe you read my post the wrong way anyway thanks it should be sorted next appointment