I Pullem: Dentist

Can anyone explain why it is that when your dentist decides to go private you get the exact same treatment but just pay more for the privilege?

We all went en masse today to a new dentist. Our old one decided just before Christmas that he was going to give all his patients the benefit of private dentistry. Now one would assume that there must be something special going on. Maybe he’s going to have drinks and nibbles for you in the waiting room or a comfier chair. Perhaps he’s going to stop drinking coffee and breathing that foul coffee breath all over you from behind a better class of face mask.

No none of the above I’m afraid. In fact no change at all unless you count the prices! The average UK price for a check up on the NHS is £6. The same thing done privately is averagely £35. A filling varies from £6 to £16 on the NHS or £25 to £95 if it’s done privately.

How can they possibly justify such huge differences in the cost? Of course they make it sound like a bargain when they offer you their “carefully chosen” dental plan. A snip at only £15 a month. That’s £180 a year for something that was previously only costing you about £30 if you had a couple of check ups and two small fillings.

The crazy thing is that it’s not as if you have to qualify to be an NHS patient. There are certain categories if you’re looking for free treatment such as under 18’s, the unemployed, pregnant women etc but otherwise it’s available to everyone as long as you can find a dentist who is still accepting NHS patients.

Well we’ve been lucky enough to find another NHS dentist. It would seem that most people are less fortunate. Maybe it’s something you should bring up with your MP. Write him a letter or send him an email. Or better still, go see him in his weekly surgery and give him a smack in the mouth just to make the point!

Night night everybody and don’t forget to brush your teeth!

Mikey