7/4/10:
Investment in our practice
For the benefit of all our patients and to give the highest possible standards to our patients, we have invested ...
7/4/10:
Implants available through our dental surgery
We are delighted to announce that the first dental implant cases will take place at our dental surgeries this April. ...
19/1/10:
Text message reminder service
We are two days into the start of our new text messaging service to remind our patients of their appointments, ...
1/1/10:
Text message reminder service
At the start of 2010 we will be introducing a new service to remind patients of their dental appointments. If you have ...
1/1/10:
Happy New Year
A very Happy New Year to all our patients.We will continue to try and provide an excellent standard of care ...
All members of the team will be happy to discuss any aspects of treatment costs at any time. In fact we positively encourage you to ask if anything is not completely clear. At first sight the various fee structures can appear confusing so we have outlined below a brief explanation of how things work.
The new dental contract, introduced by the government in 2006, aimed to simplify the way in which NHS patients charges were calculated based on the complexity of the course of treatment. A band one course of treatment, the simplest, would include such items as examination, polishing, oral hygiene instruction and small x-ray films for diagnostic purposes. The patient's charge for this is set at £16.50. A band two course would include more complex items such as fillings, root canal work and the treatment of established gum disease. The patient's charge is set at £45.60. A band three course involves advanced and often intricate work, usually involving the services of a dental technician. Items such as crowns, bridges and veneers fall into this category as well as the provision of dentures. The fee for band three is currently set at £198.00.
Children under the age of eighteen still receive their treatment free under the N.H.S. as well as some groups of adults such as pregnant and nursing mums with a baby under the age of one. If you are on a low income you may be able to claim some or all of the cost of your treatment back. If you are ever in any doubt just ask as we are here to help.
Our Denplan patients pay a fixed monthly fee by direct debit for the peace of mind of knowing that all their routine dental care is paid for. The monthly fee is calculated using a standardised method on initial acceptance. Basically patients with little or no evidence of past dental problems pay the lowest fees whereas a patient with a history of regular fillings, crowns. root canal work, gum disease etc can expect to fall into one of the higher categories. Each patient is assigned a fee category from A to E. Patients in band A in 2008 pay a monthly fee of £9.09p whilst those in band E will pay £28.86. In practice we find that the vast majority of our patients fall into bands B and C which carry monthly fees of £14.22 and £18.52 respectively.
Denplan is an ever increasingly popular way of meeting dental costs for a relatively modest monthly fee. All routine and emergency dental work is covered; the only additional fees are payment of the technician's fees where a laboratory item such as a crown, veneer or denture is involved. More details are available at reception.
Sometimes your dentist may recommend that an item or course of treatment may not be possible under the N.H.S. and many patients requiring the best quality work ask to pay their fees on a private basis. We have a list of private charges available on request and will always give a written quote together with an explanation of the proposed treatment.
Once again good communication is paramount and if anything is not totally clear please ask one of the team.