NHS dentistry

I have been having ongoing dental treatment for a year. This has been under the NHS in the UK. Recent problems have meant that I have now changed my dentist after about 20 years. With changes to my previous dental centre it appears all may have not been what it seemed. So here is what I have learned and I hope it helps.

If you have treatment, for perhaps a new dental crown the current NHS charge is £198. This crown is guaranteed for one year. If it fails in that period of time it is up to the dentist to provide repair work at no extra cost.

If you feel your dentist may not be playing fair with you, for example asking for a further payment, after such a dental problem then contact your local PCT, primary care trust. For me it was the Family Practitioners locally. Yours could be something similar. It turned out that my dentist was wrongly trying to bill me a further £198 when there should have been no further charge.

We all worry these days that if you challenge your dentist you may find it nigh on impossible to receive good dental treatment. However if a change of dentist is advisable this Family Practitioner or PCT should be able to tell you which dentists locally are taking on new patients.

The person you need to speak to is the dental commissioner. Hope this helps someone out there.