Common Dental Complaints
- Badly done treatment
- Broken crowns and bridges
- Excessive fees
Was the treatment NHS dental treatment or was it private dental treatment? The process is different.
NHS Dental Treatment
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Complain to the dentist/dental practice. You may do this verbally if you wish but it is much better to do it in writing. According to the NHS Primary Care Trust’s contract with the dentist you should get an acknowledgement of your complaint within 3 days and a full written response within 10 days. Your letter to the dental practice should be brief and concise, use bullet points and headings, do not ramble on and do not accuse anyone at this stage. Stick to the facts – what is wrong, when did you first notice the problem and what do you want the dentist to do to resolve the situation. The dental practice should have a formal complaints procedure – ask to see a copy of this if you would like to. Your complaint should normally be within 12 months of the work or as soon as the problem came to your notice.
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If you cannot resolve your problem with the dental practice then write to your local Primary Care Trust (PCT) who will investigate the complaint.
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If you are still not happy you should then contact The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS www.pals.nhs.uk ) PALS provide help, advice and support on NHS services. There is a PALs associated with every NHS trust and they will make sure your complaint is properly investigated. If necessary they will help you get in touch with the Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS). ICAS is a free service and they will help you to make a formal complaint.
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If you are still not happy then next in line is the Health Service Ombudsman.
[Note: Previously the Healthcare Commission were the people to contact before you went to the Ombudsman with your complaint however they ceased to exist on 1 April 2009. The Care Quality Commission are now the regulators of health and social care (in England) and the complaints system is now different and is listed above]
Private Dental Treatment
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Complain to the dentist/dental practice as detailed above.
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If you are not satisfied then complain to the Dental Complaints Service (this is an independent service funded by the General Dental Council) www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk . You can create a complaint letter online at the above website. The Dental Complaints Service will investigate both sides of the complaint and give their recommendations. Although they have no formal powers and can only offer recommendations they say that their recommendations are almost always followed.
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Then it’s the courts if you still think you have a case against the dentist.
[Note the General Dental Council (the dental regulator) will only investigate complaints that concern serious patient safety issues]
Is it always the dentist’s fault
It is important to remember that when things don’t go according to plan it is not necessarily the dentist’s fault. For instance a particular tooth might be diseased or damaged so much that nothing any dentist can do will save it.
Can you please inform me of an address that I can write to in order to make a formal complaint about a dentist’s behaviour in South London area.
Was the treatment from a private dentist or an NHS dentist?
My NHS Dental Practise does not do Scale & Polish as part of the Band 1 fee as they state it is a cosmetic treatment & charge privately at £50. Do i have grounds to complain?
“Scale and Polish” is specifically mentioned as part of Band 1 treatment. The dentist is wrong.
Exactly what does band 3 cover? I’ve had teeth extracted and an immediate temporary denture (front teeth) but now the dentist is saying that’s all I get under band 3. I will not get the permanent denture unless I pay again. He says I signed a treatment form for this but its’ not what he explained to me and I couldn’t read the form I’m supposed to have signed.
See this article from the NHS Choices website. It explains what constitutes a course of treatment and what you should be paying.
I recommend you get a hard copy of the treatment form you signed and ask the practice to explain it to you. If you are not happy then I suggest making a formal complaint to the practice using the information above. I don’t have enough information to comment further.
3 months ago i had to have a top side tooth removed, i am also missing the one behind it.I work in school and i felt very self concious about the gap. I was advised to wait a couple of months befor, having a fitting for a top front denture with 2 side teeth fixed. The teeth are visible when i smile. I had an impression and a fitting and the denture was terrible, the dentist agreed it wasn’t suitable. i had another impression and last week went for a fitting, the denture fit ok but there was a gap and the teeth were very small,they looked “false”. I asked if the teeth could be made bigger, he said maybe a little bit but it was because of my bite. My own teeth didn’t look like that.He said he would ask the technition if there was anything they could do but if they said no then he wasn’t prepared to do another impression and he would “abandon the treatment, which would mean i wouldn’t have a denture. Would i be allowed to go to another nhs dentist for a denture if this happens.
Christine
If the new denture doesn’t fit properly then complain in writing to the clinic. A dentist can’t just abandon treatment because the lab work (i.e. the denture) is not up to standard.
If the clinic don’t deal with your complaint properly then complain in writing to the PCT.
I have a plate with one tooth on it. It’s one of my front teeth. I wasn’t happy with the false tooth because it was smaller than my other teeth and set further back. The dentist agreed it wasn’t a good match and organised another to be made. When the plate came back with the new tooth the plate was then looser… the dentist says there is nothing else I can do – apart from either bridge work or a implant. Surely i’m within my rights to ask for the plate to be done again because it fitted well before the alternation ws made. Now it slips while I’m eating !
Hi, I would like to ask if anyone knows anything to help me.
Problem is this, I have a tooth that bridge tooth is irritated and I went to the dentist told me to open the bridge from below and to undergo nerve take my nerves, but after 4 hours became abscess and swollen horribly, leaving the dentist have informed me that I have to pay 200 pounds for the procedure, told them that I have a valid certificate of credit charges, but they convinced me that I have to pay, and I registered myself with them as nhs patient, so I paid £ 100 for half the work, the other should pay them on Tuesday. They made me sign a blank form with which money claim nhs, signed it and then I wanted the certificate, which sounded strange to pay 200 for extraction of nerve and filling channels, the site says that nhs treatment is free. If anyone has faced similar problem, please advice, Thank you in advance
What is a “valid certificate of credit charges”?
“the site says that nhs treatment is free” NHS dental treatment is not free unless you meet certain requirements, for example you are under 18, receiving income support.
You do not have to pay for NHS dental treatment if, when the treatment starts, you are:
•aged under 18
•under 19 and receiving full-time education
•pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months
•staying in an NHS hospital and your treatment is carried out by the hospital dentist
•an NHS hospital dental service outpatient (however, you may have to pay for your dentures or bridges).
You also do not have to pay if, when the treatment starts, you are receiving:
•Income Support
•Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
•Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
•Pension Credit guarantee credit
or
—here •you are named on a valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate or you are entitled to an NHS tax credit exemption certificate
•you are named on a valid HC2 certificate
first time they ask me to sign blank form , that i’m nhs patient after i sign they told me that i have to pay for this treatment , ok if i’m nhs registered i have to pay for this treatment no 200 paunds , i have to pay 47 paunds band 2 , its that correct or not ?
NHS dental treatments
All the treatment necessary, in the opinion of your dentist to achieve and maintain good oral health is available on the NHS. This means that the NHS provides any treatment that you need to keep your mouth, teeth and gums healthy and free of pain. It does not include treatments such as teeth whitening or veneers, which you might want to make your teeth more attractive but are not clinically necessary.
Here is a list of what your treatment can include:
Band 1 course of treatment: £17.00
•clinical examination, case assessment and report
•orthodontic case assessment and report
•advice, dental charting, diagnosis and treatment planning
•radiographic examination, including panoral and lateral headplates, and radiological report
•study casts including in association with occlusal analysis
•colour photographs
•instruction in the prevention of dental and oral disease including dietary advice and dental hygiene instruction
•surface application as primary preventive measures of sealants and topical fluoride preparations
•scaling, polishing and marginal correction of fillings
•taking material for pathological examination
•adjustments to and easing of dentures or orthodontic appliances
•treatment of sensitive cementum
Band 2 course of treatment: £47.00
•non-surgical periodontal treatment including root-planing, deep scaling, irrigation of periodontal pockets and subgingival curettage and all necessary scaling and polishing
•surgical periodontal treatment, including gingivectomy, gingivoplasty or removal of an operculum
•surgical periodontal treatment, including raising and replacement of a mucoperiostal flap, curettage, root planning and bone resection
•free gingival grafts
•permanent fillings in amalgam, composite resin, synthetic resin, glass ionomer, compomers, silicate or silico-phosphate, including acid etch retention
•sealant restorations
•endodontic treatment of permanent or retained deciduous teeth
•pulpotomy
•apicectomy
•extraction of teeth
•transplantation of teeth
•oral surgery including surgical removal of cyst, buried root, unerupted tooth, impacted tooth or exostosed tooth and alveolectomy
•soft tissue surgery in relation to the buccal cavity and lips
•frenectomy, frenoplasty, frenotomy
•relining and rebasing dentures including soft linings
•addition of tooth, clasp, labial or buccal flange to dentures
•splints (other than laboratory fabricated splints) in relation to periodontally compromised teeth and in connection with external trauma
•bit raising appliances (other than laboratory fabricated appliances)
You need to go back to your dental practice and ask them if they treated you as a private patient or as an NHS patient.
Not all dentists offer NHS dental treatment. If you are entitled to free NHS dental treatment you need to go to a dentist who offers NHS treatment. You can’t get free NHS treatment from a private dentist
i’m registered like a nhs patient , and the dentist offer nhs treatment , also they currently accept new nhs patients , i dont understand why they treat me like a privet , if my registration its not valid , they have to send me 3 monhts letter to inform me that i’m not longer registred whit them . First time i sign the form , after that when i go back up to a dentist becouse i have abscess they treat me like nhs patient i didn’t pay nothing and sign another form , I’s that right , if i’m private patient i have to pay for this visit and a the prescriptions that they give me .So I do not know is that so?
I have made two visits to the dentist and both times mentioned I have an abscess in my gum. Both times the dentist didn’t do anything about it and said it would remain there until I have a root canal done which he plans to do the visit after next. However reading up on absces’s today it clearly states that absces’s should be treated immediately and if left could spread to surrounding areas and the bone. It has now left me quite worried and I can’t get back into the dentist until the 11th July and I don’t want to wait that long after reading the above. What do you suggest I do next?
My son in my view required a filling – he had his 6 month check up – no work carried out – hole in tooth bigger and just before next appointment got infection got medicine from doctors as not able to get into dentists – next visit still had lump around tooth but was told this was ok and no work needed and that would be seen in 6 months – few weeks later face swells like a balloon – ring and asked to been seen by another dentist – now told that this tooth can not be saved and needs to be removed – surely this should of been filled way back. I too am having problems xrays taken Jan, May and yesterday upper right 4 front fell off – cracked and exposed root canal work – surely this damage should of been spotted in the xrays? And the temp filling that I had yesterday morning was very temp – fell off this morning – have had another one this afternoon – lets see how long this one lasts!!
Appears to be seriously unimpressive treatment!
l am having a problem with my bottom teeth l went the dentist on the 14 of june and when he put injection in me mouth it really hurt l screamed the place down and thats the first time its happened after he had done what he did l was in soo much pain l was crying since than l have not been able to eat drink or anything if l eat it puts me in a lot of pain am scared to go back to my dentist in case it happens again what can l do as l dont want to go back and see that same dentist any more plz can someone help me thanks
Not sure what anyone can do to help you if you don’t want to go back to your dentist and tell him about your problem.
I had a tooth removed 7 weeks ago by a new dentist,the tooth had broken but there was no sign of infection.after 3 days I was in severe pain and returned to the dentist who said I had an infection and gave me 5 days of anti biotics.After completeing this course the pain returned with swelling I visited an emergency dentist who said I did not need further antibiotics but put a dressing into the cavity-the next day the pain was even more severe so again my own dentist gave me more antibiotics-still no cure and now had eye pain and faciel swelling-given more antibiotics by a GP who thought I now had a related sinus infection-3 days later symptoms and pain still worsening so returned to dentist but was seen by a different dentist-he did an x ray and said it was “fine” also said “that looks sore but don’t know what it is-come back in 2 days!” I then attended Birmingham Dental Hospital who were just FANTASTIC-they did xrays and said I had a large pocket of infection and gave me different antibiotics.I retured there 2 weeks later and had to have one and a half hours of surgery by a maxfax surgeon.He found that a part of the tooth/root had been left behind and had caused a severe infection.You cannot imagine the pain I have been through in the past 8 weeks and have had to have 2 weeks off work.What can or should I do about the treatment I received from the dentist?
I have 2 back molars missing from my mouth, im in no pain and the roots are still in. They have been this way for many many years, after hearing that I could get some bridges for £204 I jumpped at the idea and found a local NHS dentist. I just returned from an appointment 30 mins ago where I was informed I need “8 units” with a cost of £380 per unit! Private treatment!!?!!
Why when it clearly states on the NHS website that bridges are part of band 3 am I being told I need to go private? Is there a limit on how many “units” can be done on the NHS?>
It seems that these NHS dentists are just cashing in on opportunities to make a quick buck!?!
HELLO I WENT TO A DENTists YESTERDAY THE 27/10 MY FRIENDS ASK TME TO COME WITH HIM BECAUSE BECAUSE HE CANT SPEAK ENGLISH WHEN I WENT THERE IT WAS A PRIVATE CLINIC HE AS AN APPOINTEMENT WITH THE DENTists 17.30PN HE CAME 1745PM THE SECRetary ASK HIM HE HAS TO PAY 75PDS JUST FOR WHAT I DONT KNOW AND THEM MY FRIENDS HAS A TOOTH REMOVE HE BEEN CHARGE 80PDS WHICH IS WRONG HE IS NOT ON NHS IS VERY VERY WRONG TO DO THAT MY FRIENDS BEEN BORROW MONEY FROM ME TO PAY HIS DENTIST THAT REALLY REALLY WRONG
i wish to complain about a dntists treatment and reclaim my costs of nearly £400. who do i complain to and how do i go about it. thanks
Mark, the procedure is detailed in the post at the top. Remember the process is different depending on whether your treatment was NHS or private.
not sure if i should go back to my dentist and tell her that the new crown is two shades darker than my normal teeth.would i get a new crown?paid 204 pounds and i am not happy.