NHS Dentist Charges?

I have recently seen a new dentist and he told me I needed 4 fillings (I know, naughty boy and all that) at an agreed cost of £46. I went to see him last week, he did 2 of them and I paid for everything.





This week, I go back to find the dentist I saw has left and this other bloke has taken over. He gets me in the chair, messes around for a while then tells me that I need a crown on one of my teeth as after drilling, there's nothing for him to work with and the cost will be an extra £150!





Now, if I was taking my car into the garage for tyres, got back and was told that the exhaust was rotten and brake discs were replaced so it's an extra £150, I'd be fuming which is exactly what I am about this.





Can he do this? We had agreed a price for a set course of treatment. Can my dentist really charge me that much extra for work we didn't agree to and, to be honest, I simply can't afford?

NHS Dentist Charges?
Your treatment plan can change half way through depending on what the dentist finds when he starts the treatment, this in its self is not unusual.


If your tooth is badly broken down then other then taking it out (which i don't recommend) your only option is a crown.


There are 3 treatment band charges, for fillings you are charged a band 2 which is £43.60, if you need a crown which involves a lab bill you are charged band 3 which is £194.


You can request that you have a written quote for your treatment plan but these are also subject to change.


Qualified Dental Nurse


Experience 10yrs+


Charge bands:-


Band 1 £15.90 (check up, x-rays, scale and polish)


Band 2 £43.60 (all of the above and fillings)


Band 3 £194 (all of the above and crowns, bridge work etc)


These charges were changed as of the 1st April 2007
Reply:hell no. my dentist always writes down any treatment needed on a chart BEFORE commencing any work and we both sign it when the price has been agreed!


it seems this bloke is pushing his luck to see how long he can get away with it.


dont know wether it is illegal or not but it is very wrong!!
Reply:Well if you DO need a crown on one of your teeth, then yes, you do have to pay more - it can be difficult sometimes to know how badly decayed the tooth is until the dentist starts drilling, and sometimes it turns out to be more badly affected than it first looked.





But under the new NHS guidelines, you would then have to pay £139, which would include the initial checkup, the fillings AND the crown, and since you've already paid £46, you should only have to pay an extra £93, so it definitely sounds like he's trying to rip you off from that point of view.
Reply:Yes he can do this. The agreement you made was with the other dentist that is no longer there. YOU should have asked the new dentist up front how much he would charge you before allowing him to do any work on your teeth. The new dentist cant be held to another dentist's agreement.
Reply:You had agreed with the previous dentist that he would do a specific amount of work for a specific price and you PAID that price in advance...... when you went back to the dentist, it was a new guy and he found he had to do MORE WORK that was previously not negotiated with the first dentist---and you allowed the second dentist to do the extra work---BINGO---he IS correct in charging you extra money---you verbally agreed to let him or it was verbally INFERRED that you gave him the OK to do the crown---so, therefore--you are out of luck on this one---BUT, you have a new crown for MUCH less then it would have cost you here in the States....