Paying the price to visit the dentist

When it comes to NHS dentistry it’s clear that NHS no longer means a free service. The charges for dental work were first introduced in 1951, and since then have been raised more and more each year. It now works out that patients pay towards 80% of the total cost of their dental treatment, with pregnant women, children and those on benefits receiving free treatment.

At the labour party conference of 1999, Tony Blair pledged that everyone would be able to have access to an NHS dentist, though this never happened. By March 2007, the Department of Health admitted that two million people did not have a dentist. And by the end of last year, less and less patients had access to a dentist despite more money being put into the system, and more NHS dentists being available. This is why the Health Secretary announced an inquiry into the situation.

The report that came about as a result of this inquiry largely looks into the dental changes that were brought about in 2006, where NHS dentists started being paid a fixed annual income for performing a set amount of work, instead of being paid 400 different fees for separate treatments – leading to a number of dentists leaving the NHS.

Since the changes of 2006 there was a sharp fall in the amount of complex work done on the NHS. The recommendations of the new report state that there will be new payments, with the cost of fillings being reduced. This will also help dentists to focus on general oral health rather than specific treatments.

In Europe the trend is more toward patient-funded treatments, making dental insurance almost a necessity.

Dental Disasters - Insanely Bad Teeth

Trawling the web for nasty teeth isn’t something that is for the faint hearted. But here at DentalBuddy.co.uk, we wanted to highlight the importance of looking after your teeth and considering dental insurance. You don’t want to end up with teeth like these…

Men in better position when it comes to dental hygiene

According to the latest research performed by Tesco Dental Insurance, men spend more money when it comes to looking after their dental health.

The survey showed that a third of British women claimed to have spent no money on any dental treatment throughout the year. Just 27% of men made the same claim.

More worryingly, 45% of women who took part in the survey were put off going to the dentist simply because of the cost.

However, other results of the survey showed that men do not always come first in terms of dental health. When it comes to the question of extracting their own teeth, men are three times more likely to do this than women – if they could not afford the cost of extraction at the dentist.

The head of Tesco Dental Insurance, Jeremy Sutton, stated that dental treatment can be expensive. In many cases it can cost £86 for an extraction.

Tesco Dental Insurance cover starts at £9.95 per month. Dental insurance can help men and women to cover the cost of both routine checkups and dental treatment. Insurance covers both NHS costs and the cost of private dental treatment.

Academy to Provide Free Dental Treatment

A new dental centre setup by the University of Portsmouth will provide free NHS dental treatment for up to 3,000 each year. Work has already started on the £9m Dental Academy plans.

The centre, to be built in Ravelin Park, will train 80 students each year who will learn by giving free dental treatment to local patients, including bridges, fillings, crowns, dentures and extractions.

The academy is setup to be in walking distance of some deprived areas of the city, including Portsea and Somers Town, where oral hygiene is, on average, worse than the national average.

The pro-vice chancellor of the university, Dr Davil Arell, said that this new facility will bring huge benefits to the city.

The building will be linked to the School of Professionals Complementary to Dentistry in Ravelin Park, which is where dentists and nurses are already trained. The new academy will house students of dentistry from King’s College London Dental Institute for their final year in which they will study real situations.

One patient has already been treated at the SPCD. The 35-year-old said that his mouth would bleed every time he brushed. After years of trying to find an NHS dentist, he heard about the new school and after examination they found that it was the early stages of gum disease. Since then the problem has ‘completely cleared up’.

The academy is due to open in September 2010. It will included facilities for children as well as larger surgeries with chairs suitable for those who are less mobile or disabled.

DENTAL HEALTH IN THE CITY

Earlier in the year a dental health survey of adults in the city, carried out by Portsmouth City Teaching Primary Care Trust, showed that nearly a third of those who responded hair pain in their mouth, teeth or gums within the past year.

27 percent of those surveyed had not visited a dentist in the past year, and nearly a third of those in care homes had not seen a dentist for 10 years or more.

For 22 percent cost was the main deterrent, and 8 percent were afraid of the dentist.

Free Dental Advice at Shopping Centre

Staff from a city dental surgery have been giving free advice on how to look after your teeth to customers shopping at Meadowhall centre.

Nearly 2,000 children and adults stop to talk to the staff who came from the Thompson and Thomas dental surgery at Langsett Road, Hillsborough. The staff were giving up their time as part of the British Dental Health Foundation’s National Smile Month, which aims at encouraging people to take better care of their teeth and gums.

The manager of Thompson and Thomas, Jane, said that shoppers talked to the dentists about a variety of problems ranging from phobia of the dentist to mouth ulcers and bad breath.

Some of the younger visitors to the staff were asked to take part in a timed teeth cleaning, after which many realised they were not doing it for long enough. The recommended time taken to clean teeth is two minutes in order to remove plaque and stop tooth decay.

Aside from giving advice, staff also showed pictures depicting the damage that plaque can do to teeth. Competitions were help as a way of getting people to think more carefully about the way they look after their teeth. Jane said that the day was a success with a good response.

Dental Insurance Eases Bill Worries

National Smile Month is now in action and is there to highlight the importance of taking care of our teeth. More and more of us are now struggling to find a NHS dentist, meaning that we are failing to get proper treatment.

Simplyhealth state that 35 percent of Brits have had problems finding an NHS dentist in the past year, a 12 percent increase on this time last year.

Thousands have now been forced to go private, yet many claim they put off seeing the dentist simply over the worry of how much it might cost.

Abby Bowmen from Simplyhealth said that ‘the NHS dental contracts introduced three years ago were supposed to give more people access to dentists but, as our research shows, this is only getting worse.’ Private treatment routinely adds up to around £100 for a single visit, and going for recommended six-monthly checkups is simply too expensive for many individuals. In these cases it could be worth considering dental insurance cover.

Dental insurance plans range in value and can start at just £10 per month. These policies generally have a fixed coverage for general treatment as well as a limit for dental emergencies. Policies are often developed to cover different levels including NHS cover or premium cover.

There is also help towards dental costs through health cash plans, which are paid out when you visit a dentist or any other health practitioner, including opticians and physical therapists.

If you decide to get a dental insurance policy Emma Walker, of moneysupermarket.com, recommends to ‘Check the small print of what your dental plan will and will not cover you for’. There may be instances in which you will not be covered for treatment.