Unfortunately the British government is trying to privatise dentistry and is deliberately paying dentists less than the actual cost of treatment so that (very reluctantly) they give up on the NHS and go private to get a decent income.
Our first NHS dentist in Belfast retired and sold her practice to another dentist who promptly went private. Our second NHS dental practice has just announced that the whole practice of seven dentists is going private from the end of July. We've found a new NHS dentist, but how long will it be before he goes private as well?
Our current dentist's charges for private treatment will be hefty - for example, new patient examination £75 ($95), fillings £80 to £120 ($102 to $152). There's no dental insurance, only a scheme to spread your payments rather than pay them upfront.
The situation is worse in England, where many people can't even find an NHS dentist willing to take on new patients. Or an available dentist is so far away (like 50 miles), it's impractical to sign on with them.
There are reports of people in horrendous pain extracting their own teeth, or using over-the-counter emergency fillings, such is their desperation. But the government does nothing to make NHS treatment more viable for dentists and is happy to let NHS dentistry (the proud achievement of Health Secretary Aneurin Bevan in 1948) slowly collapse.
This is terrible! I'm so sorry.
ReplyDeleteColette: It's a dire situation. The only hope is a change of government at the next general election, though who knows whether they'll make dentistry a priority.
DeleteWe don't have dental as part of our health care here but I have advocated incessantly for it especially for impoverished seniors.
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www: You would think dentistry was automatically a part of health care, especially for hard-up seniors as you say.
DeleteAnd you know we are no better off over here. Tomorrow I go at noon to my wonderful dentist who gave up her lunch hour to do something for my bridge cap that came loose, over a decayed tooth it supports that needs pulled. It's a mess she inherited from my previous, incompetent dentist.
ReplyDeleteJoanne: Sorry to hear you fell into the clutches of an incompetent dentist. I hope your new dentist can sort things out.
DeleteAnything dental is way too expensive and dental pain can cause misery - and adversely affect overall health. Something has to be done so that people can have access to decent dentists.
ReplyDeleteAlso, people must be taught how to clean their teeth properly - that would be a start!!
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Ms Scarlet: Private fees are way higher than NHS fees and unaffordable for many people. It would help if there wasn't so much food and drink with absurd amounts of teeth-rotting sugar.
DeleteCoincidentally, both Grenville and myself were at the dentist in the past 2 weeks for checkups. I have them far more often, 4X a year as no matter what methods i use - regular brushing, flossing, irrigator - I am still prone to tarter buildup. I believe this is inherited as my late mother and brother have also been frequent dental patients. We "self-insure" in that we do not have any form of dental coverage currently. We did years ago as part of Grenville's retirement package, but that plan expired. Now, we just put aside social security payments to pay for the dental visits, which can be costly as you noted, but still the prices you listed as less than what we have paid.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: Wow, your dental fees are even higher than the ones I quoted. Lucky that you can afford them. Strange about the tartar build-up. If I needed a scale and polish by our newly-privatised dentist it would be £48 ($62)!
DeleteDental insurance is really expensive here and there are high co pays. Most people don't have dental insurance and have to pay out of pocket which is really expensive. One of my brothers took a pair of pliers and pulled his own tooth because it was going to cost $350 to pull one tooth.
ReplyDeleteMary: Wow, $350 to pull one tooth, that's outrageous. Someone somewhere is making a fortune.
DeleteIt took us ages to find a new dentist when ours retired. The one we use now seems to be a training base for eastern Europeans who stay awhile and just as you're getting used to them they get up and leave.
ReplyDeleteLiz: Well, at least you now have NHS dentists, even if they don't stay too long. NHS dentists seem to be like gold dust in England.
DeleteWe’ve been fortunate to always have dental insurance, but they deductible is high.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Your "deductible" is our "excess" I think. But as I say, I don't know of any dental insurance in the UK, only schemes to spread payments.
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