If you are lucky enough to be able to get an NHS dentist, there are 3 bands for NHS dental treatment.
Band 1
£16.20 – examination, check up, diagnosis of problem, scale and polish, x-rays, advice and discussion regarding further treatment.
Band 2
£44.60 – all treatment in Band 1 plus fillings, root canal treatment, extractions
Band 3
£198 – all treatment in Bands 1 and 2 plus more complicated procedures such as crowns, bridges and dentures
Check up and filling only?
You will only pay the Band 2 charges. You do not pay both Band 1 and Band 2 charges.
More than one visit to complete the treatment?
You only pay the charge applicable to the Band relevant to your treatment. You do not pay each time you have treatment.
Returning for treatment within 2 months?
If the treatment is in the same Band (or lower Band) as before you will not be charged. For example if you have already been charged for a filling (Band 2) then need another filling a month later, you will not be charged.
Written treatment plan
If your treatment is in Bands 2 or 3 treatment you should get a treatment plan from your dentist detailing how much your treatment will cost.
Referral to another dentist?
You only pay one fee to the dentist who refers you. You do not pay both dentists unless the 2nd dentist is considered to be offering a specialist service such as sedation, home visit, or orthodontics.
Stitches
There are no extra charges for removing stitches
Writing a Prescription
If you need a prescription there are no extra charges for this
Missed appointment
If you miss an appointment you cannot be charged, however if you continue to miss appointments your dentist might decide not to treat you any more .
Credit cards
A dentist is allowed to charge a handling charge for credit card payments
Cosmetic work
The NHS do not cover work that is considered simply cosmetic such as white fillings for back teeth and whitening.
Urgent Care Charges £16.20
The fee is £16.20 regardless of how many appointments it takes to complete the work. This fee is charged if you are not attending your normal dental clinic or you are not currently having a course of treatment. The fee covers an examination, x-rays, temporary fillings, refixing crowns and bridges, one permanent filling, adjustment of dentures, extraction of no more than 2 teeth, and simple repairs to dentures.
can you have porcelain fused to metal dentures as a nhs patient
tks for the effort you put in here I appreciate it!
Ive just seen my NHS dentist and I was told I have to have 2 fillings (white) done, each would cost £160. Is not that way too much??
When I go for a NHS checkup and there are no problems and I only need a scale and polish, my new dental practice books me in with the hygienist and charges it as a Band 2 treatment. After this happened a couple of times (and I noticed that all the patients were being booked in separately for scale and polish), I queried it with the practice manager, who told me the published NHS dental charges are ‘misleading’. Is that correct, or have they found a neat way to charge more for a simple Band 1 patient?
If you need more than one crown is that covered by the fixed payment in band 3
I have a broken tooth the nhs dentist charged £41.50 £16.50 for exam and xray and £25 for temporary filling and now wants £45.90 to extract the tooth, is this correct?
The NHS is a fail
Mike,
A simple scale and polish is a Band 1, and you should pay £16.50. If you need a deep clean because you have periodontal disease, then you pay a Band 2 fee. You really ought to know if you have perio disease! And if you do, your dentist or hygienist should be giving you one on one oral hygiene instruction, as simply cleaning the teeth is not going to fix the problem by itself.
Ralph – Your dentist cannot charge you a Band 2 fee twice within a 2 month period. If it has been more than 2 months since you saw him for your temporary filling, then he is correct in charging you what you have paid.
However, if this has all happened within 2 months, your dentist should have charged you £16.50 for providing urgent treatment (an x-ray and a temporary filling) and £45.60 for an examination and the extraction. That £45.60 will also include any other treatment you may need (fillings, root canal treatment, having your teeth cleaned).
I went to get a cast created for a mouth guard as I grind my teeth at night. I also asked the dentist to check my gums as they have started to bleed around 1 tooth when I brush all of which she did.
I have now gone to collect my guard but they have charged me for a check up and clean at £16.20. I didn’t have any cleaning done as I was in a hurry and ended up leaving the surgery with the cast stuff (sorry cannot remember what it was called but it tasted horrible) around my teeth and mouth.
The dentist did have a quick look at the gum that bleeds but it was only a quick look before the cast went in. I did refuse to pay this charge as I didn’t have the cleaning done but I was told that as I had signed a form I had too pay or I could end up in court!
Is this correct, can a quick look at a gum cost £16.20 even though the dentist didn’t actually touch the tooth or gum? Is there any course of action for a complaint, should I just write to the practice manger or is there an ombudsman group?
Thanks,
For complaints procedures see this post http://dentistforum.co.uk/nhs-dentistry/how-to-make-a-complaint-about-dental-treatment/
Thank you for the link.
I am unemployed (JSA) and the NHS dentist that I saw put into 2 temporary filings (which took about 2mins) however he then said that he wont do root canal (and all the other work) under the nhs.
he said that he will do it privately for £81 per root canal – which is 1 1/2 weeks jsa money!
is this legal? if so, what i am meant to do?
It seems mad as now it is causing mental health issues and stopping me gaining employment – even with a degree – which is obviously costing far more than dental work..
I saw my dentist in Sept when he had to extract a tooth that was near the front, he gave me a tooth on a pallet which he said would only last 6 months and told me a bridge would be better. When I asked would bridges be included in the £198 that I have already paid, he said that he only does them privately and would cost £800 for one tooth! can’t I get a bridge done on the NHS? or is this classed as cosmetic?
Hi
I got made redundant 2 months ago and im earning silly money signing on at job centre, i have a molar tooth come through and now have to many teeth in my mouth, this is causing me alot of pain and i think i definatley need at least 2 teeth out,
what can i expect to pay
Thanks
over 60s do they have to pay for dental treatment
How much do porcelain inlays cost. Can i get these on the NHS?
As a private dentist is telling me it costs £900 that is very expensive or is this normal?
Thank you for any expert advice.
I just had two front teeth out from a broken bridge . The dentist gave me an immediate temporary plastic denture with 3 teeth on, just until my gums had healed. I understood quite clearly from him that after that he would replace the temporary denture with a permanent one. They are now demanding payment and saying my treatment is finished and the temp denture is all I will get unless I pay another £198. Surely that can’t be right? They didn’t give me a copy of the treatment plan but were following one recommended by a dental specialist at hospital which clearly stated I need a chrome denture. The temp denture falls out when I open my mouth and because of other health problems makes my mouth raw. It was agreed that plastic wouldn’t be suitable. The practice manager is now saying that I should have opted to go without front teeth at all until my guns had healed in 3 months then I would have got the proper denture and only the temporary non fitting thing is what I’m allowed.
Yes over 60s do have to pay Boden unless you get certain benefits such as pension credit.
Hi can someone clarify on the 2 month rule whether it matters how many times you go back for a filling, as i have just been to the dentist this will be third time within a month due on the first occasion my filling had cracked,next a part of the tooth attached to the filling came away then the same thing happened again. But on the third visit i was charged £45.60 again. Can anyone help with this? Thanks
It sounds like there are many unhappy patients. The problem is that though you are entitled to a good service the charges you are paying would not pay for a plumber to come to fix a leaking tap. Think about the extra overheads a dentist has sterilisation, equipment, registration, nurse, receptionist, premises etc.etc. and you may start to see that you should start asking the government to fund dentistry better.
If i require more than 1 crown do i have to pay £198 per crown?
If it is within the same course of treatment, £198 is the maximum you pay whether you have one crown, two crowns or more.
If you need one crown and then several months later you need another crown you will pay the £198 again.
I have just been to the dentist i knew that my last tooth at the back would need filling but my dentist as told me that i have to have an inlay at the cost of 180 pounds and says that i cant just have a filling will this be true and if so why arnt dentists doing fillings anymore
Annette
You need to talk to your dentist and find out why he thinks an inlay is the appropriate treatment for you. It isn’t that dentists don’t do fillings any more. It will be that the dentist thinks this is the best treatment option for you.
He might be concerned the tooth will break up if he uses a filling and an inlay will offer more longevity for the tooth because it is a stronger option.
i need to see the dentist as i have a hole in my tooth but i am not registered to any dentist,and my local one wont let me register before i have had my treatment as thats the reason i want to join, so how much should emergency care be for non members?
Sarah
It really depends on whether the dentist is an NHS dentist or a private dentist.
If it is an NHS dentist then as I have detailed above the cost for urgent care is £16.20. This fee is charged if you are not attending your normal dental clinic or you are not currently having a course of treatment. The fee covers an examination, x-rays, temporary fillings, refixing crowns and bridges, one permanent filling, adjustment of dentures, extraction of no more than 2 teeth, and simple repairs to dentures.
If you mean a private dentist then their level of charges should be clearly stated somewhere in the clinic.
You should bear in mind that to repair a “hole” in your tooth might not be as simple as it sounds. The “hole” might be small and can therefore easily be repaired with a small filling. On the other hand the “hole” might be extremely large and there might be infection in the area. If this is the case you might need root canal treatment in an attempt to save the tooth and a crown afterwards, or if the tooth is not saveable an extraction might be necessary. And if this leaves a gap and the gap is at the front of your mouth then obviously something has to be put there.
You need to get to a dentist as soon as possible. Do not leave “holes” in your teeth or you might need more treatment than you realise.
I have just been to the dentist and paid £16.50 for an examination and x-ray. I have to return in 6 weeks for a clean/polish and a small filling. What will I have to pay on that visit ? Thanks.
Hi Roy
I am presuming you are being treated on NHS. If so your complete total for the 1st and 2nd appointments should be no more than Band 2 which is £44.60.
However if some of the work is being done privately then . . . You need to ask your dentist.
I have problems with three back teeth since the 31st March 2010. I was having to take pain killers every four hours. My dentist was excellent and x-rayed them and took what he felt was necessary action. One of the teeth had previously been root canaled and therefore he felt that this one wasn’t causing the problem, the other two were on this occasion filled and root filled. Although I am only taking pain killers once a day I am still have pain. How can root filled teeth give me so much pain?
I took my children for there 6 month check up and my 15yr daughter required 3 small fillings, she has never had any before. My daughter has recently had a brace and before this she would not smile showing her teeth and now she smiles with her teeth on show. Having her teeth done has helped her confidence, unfortunately today the dentist said she was putting in silver fillings and my daughter burst into tears. The Dentist explained that if we wanted white ones we would have to pay £45 per filing, so I paid £135 for 3 very smal fillings, is this correct??
I’ve recently had NHS dentist treatment; I have nothing but praise to those involved. Since being laid off in February, and signing on to JSA, I got the following done: two upper front crowns, extraction, filling, and a gold inlay. From start to finish, it has taken just over nine weeks, I dread to think what it would’ve cost privately. There are now more NHS dentists within my PCT than ever before. That’s one of the very few plus’s of living in Hull.
When I have a problem my dentist charges the £16.50 NHS fee for what he calls an ‘emergency appointment’ even though he gives no treatment at that appointment but simply advises on what treatment will be needed and tells me to make another appointment for the treatment, for which he charges the appropriate band charge in full (i.e. I am paying bothe the Band 1 charge AND the next charge.
Three examples are:
1. A crown came off and I made an appointment to see if it could be fixed back. The dentist looked at it, told me it would not be possible but I could have a new crown on a titanium spike (privately) for a large amount of money. I suggested he extracted what was left of the tooth, which he agreed to do and asked me to make a further appointment for this. I was charged £16.50 for this advice (even though I had received no treatment)and the full £45.50 for the extraction.
2. My wife’s (private) crown came away 3 weeks after fitting. Not realising it was the crown and suspecting it might be another piece of tooth broken away she made an appointment. The dentist looked at it, told her it was the crown that had come away but that if she could bring it in he would glue it back (but if she’d lost it, then it would cost another £650 for a new one!). She was charged £16.50 for this appointment, which again had no treatment but merely the advice that his own crown had come away and to make a further appointment for it to be re-fixed.
3. A few days ago part of my tooth broke away. It was a large part so I knew it would require a crown. I telephoned the surgery, explained the position and that I would require a new crown (or temporary crown) and was given an ‘emergency appointment’. At that appointment the dentist examined it, told me it would need a crown, and that I would have to make a further appointment for this to be done. Again, I am being charged £16.50 to be told this(again, no emergency treatment, only telling me something that I knew already and had told the receptionist) plus the full £198 for the crown.
My understanding of the NHS charges is that the full band 2 or 3 charge should include the Band 1 charge for examination and diagnosis, and NOT be charged in addition to it. The exception, as far as I understand it, is that the £16.50 Band 1 charge is only chargeable in addition to any following charges ONLY if it involves urgent treatment or an out of hours appointment (or possibly a dentist that is not your own).
My question, therefore, is whether a dentist can charge the NHS band 1 charge in addition to further full band charges for an appointment that provides no treatment but simply advises another appointment for the treatment simply by calling it ‘an emergency appointment’.
I’d be grateful for any advice
Malcolm
Angela
What would I be asking for – a panoramic x-ray to see exactly what’s going on. Does your dentist have a panoramic x-ray machine, it not, why not?
Questions I would ask your dentist – is there still infection in the area, was the old root canal treatment done properly, has the new root canal treatment been done properly Get him to show you the x-ray.
Connie
You are allowed to have white fillings on front teeth on the NHS. However amalgam is normally used on back teeth. So – sorry – if you want white fillings on back teeth you will normally have to pay for private treatment.
Malcolm
Mmmmm…. It does seem rather odd this one. However if you have had years between appointments and have not been for check ups then maybe it’s justified.
What would I do? Write to the clinic and ask them to clearly explain their thinking behind the emergency charges. If you are not happy with their reply then complain in writing to the clinic. If they don’t deal with your complaint properly your next step is to make a complaint to the PCT.
My wife has a crown that is dropping down due to the tooth underneath decaying.
Our NHS dentist has told her that to have a porcelein bridge will cost her £1500, which to me seems more like a private dentists charge than one on the NHS.
She just had a white porcelein crown fitted at £320 due to her not wanting a normal crown, as it was fitted slightly towards the back. I can understand this, as this is her choice.
Any comments gratefully received.
Should of read my post, before posting.
Should add that the crown that is dropping is top front.
I have just been to the hygienist at a NHS practice and was there for 35 minutes whilst she informed me on how to use an electric toothbrush, she did not clean and polish my teeth but told me that she would have to do a treatment plan which will mean more appointments, to come back in three weeks for a further appointment, she charged me £48 I did not receive any treatment can this be correct?
I consider she was watching the clock thinking about what she was going to say next, I felt she was condescending and patronising and made me feel like I was stupid, she could have explained how to clean your teeth in no more than 10 minutes, so I am assuming used up the allocated appointment time and when I asked why was she not cleaning my teeth which I had thought would happen at this appointment she again did not give me an adequate explanation so again i feel I have been totally misled. Why would you clean dirty teeth for three weeks and then have to go back for a further charge of £48 to again be told go away with another long winded explanation on how to floss your teeth.
On Friday I noticed a front molar on my bottom left jaw was wobbly, so I booked an appointment with the dentist for at 9.30 which was lucky.
They took an x-ray, good news the root is healthy but I’ve fractured my molar under the gum line and that it needs treatment.
At the moment they’ve taken out the broken piece and the filling and filled it flat (or rather slanted) at no cost, which I am grateful. The dentist told me I needed another appointment either way for the tooth to be fully treated.
My dentist told me my options:
To save the tooth it would cost me £920!!! At a moment of distraction with the cost I didn’t really grasp at what the treatment entailed.
I squeaked at the price and he said I should simply save £20 a week and then I would be able to afford it in a couple of months, in a rather dismissive way.
For an extraction it would cost nothing… I think, but it would mean that the root space would close up and it will effect the rest of my teeth and no further treatment can be done in future for that tooth, which I fully understood.
The other option would to be a crown at £198, he told me this was 50/50 effectiveness, it doesn’t cure the problem but just caps the area off, but it gives me the option for further treatment.
This is what I’ve opted for at the moment and at least it gives me time to think about the expensive treatment or extraction.
I thought NHS dental work only had 3 bands for dental charges… £920 for one tooth…can this be right???
Anna
It looks to me as thought your dentist is giving you the option of NHS treatment or private treatment however it doesn’t sound as though he is making this very clear to you. Ask for a written treatment plan.
I’ve just returned from the my NHS dentist having made an appointment to revisit for two fillings and an extraction within the same appointment, however I am rather confused and far too embarrased to ask whilst I was there for the price.
I paid my £16.50 for check up, however for my treatment will I have to pay for each filling and the extraction or will all the treatment cost me just the remainder of the £45?
Any help with this appreciated.
My partner has just registered with a dentist, he had a check up and the dentist told him that he needed to have two teeth taken out, as well as having two wisdom teeth that have not yet cut through removed, he also suffers from teeth grinding so the dentist took a mould for a night gaurd.
They said that this would come to a total of ££198. (Band 3)
he has returned for his teeth to be taken out earlier today, they actually just removed 1 tooth, and gave him the night gaurd which is a soft silicone type, and charged him the band 3 price without booking any further appointments.
He was not given a treatment plan at any time.
when he enquired as to how the treatment falls in to band three the receptionist showed him that it was the mouth guard that took it in to band three.
Is this correct, as if he had known that it was the mouth gaurd would effectively cost £150 he would have probably not have had this part done, or found somewhere to get one for much less money.
Hi Sarah
The dentist should have given your partner a written treatment plan – they are required to do so. It also seems odd that at the first visit he was told he needed 4 teeth removing then at the second visit it appears only one tooth needed extracting. So which course of treatment was correct. Does your partner need a second opinion?
Anyway – the night guard. Yes this unfortunately takes it into Band 3. Anything that is lab made is in Band 3.
What would I do? I would complain in writing to the clinic. The grounds for the complaint? No written treatment plan.
My wife has decided to have a bridge fitted after a tooth came out and could not be refixed. The dentist has charged £198 for removing the broken tooth and fitting a temp plate with a copy tooth attached. He then wants her to wait 6 months for the gums to shrink and then charge her another £198 to fit the bridge. The charge schedule say £198 inc bridges.
How come she has to pay twice.
Richard
Have you been given a written treatment plan to cover all the work? If not ask for one immediately. See http://www.dentistforum.co.uk/nhs-dentistry/nhs-dental-treatment-plans/
This appears to me to be one course of treatment for which you should only pay £198. Is the dentist trying to make extra money by saying your wife’s treatment involves 2 treatment plans and 2 courses of treatment – this is not right. Take this further and complain in writing if necessary.
Just had £198 worth of treatment on my teeth (3 fillings and a crown) and asked if I could have a scale & polish. Mainly because there is discolouration near gums which I cannot get rid of myself. I have not had a S & P for years and this is a new practice I’m visiting.
Was told not on NHS unless they considered it necessary, which they didn’t. I was told I could have it done there privately at around £30 though. I don’t feel happy about this.
I am an NHS dental patient. In a recent accident I broke a 3 tooth bridge, which was being anchored on teeth 6 & 8. Unfortunately tooth 8 was also broken in the accident. I have been told the alternative to a denture, is to have an implant inserted in to the tooth 8 gap and then have a bridge re-attached. This treatment will not be carried out by the NHS dentist and is far beyond my budget.
I also currently have a 3 tooth bridge anchored on teeth 9 & 11. Would it not be a possible treatment to have all 6 teeth bridged using 6, 9, & 11? This may not be the most ideal option, but if the treatment is covered under the NHS Scheme, it would at least be a something I could afford.
can anyone help i have been to dentist today and paid £16.20 for check up and xray they have phoned me and said i need to go back in 2 weeks for filling will i have to pay the band 2 charge or will it be band 2 charge minus the band 1 charge i have already paid would be grateful if someone could answer my question thank you
My spending at the dentist since Christmas is £1300. This was for 3 gold inlays on back teeth. I am a private patient and my wife thinks i am being ripped off – Am I?