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Hi folks,
My dentist has decided they no longer wish to provide an NHS service. As an NHS patient they were uming and ahhing whether my wisdom teeth need to come out. I suspect that if I now return for a check up as a private patient all of a sudden they will need to come out.
Call me cynical.
Are dental plans worth the money? Or arevtheu so full of exclusions that I'll end up paying just as much for any dental work, if not more?
Any experience or recommendations from the hive mind?
*pulls up a chair*
matt_outandabout
*pulls up a chair*
As long as your pliers a clean I'm happy to sit in it!
I pay insurance and am happy to do so. The service is way better than I ever got from the nhs. No pressure for unnecessary treatment with my dentist. Yes, I could do without the cost, but knowing treatment is available when i need it is extremely reassuring.
Family denplan here. 2x checkups and 2x hygienist appts included plus discount on treatment. appointments when you want/need them and consistent treatment with the same dentist.
I’d rather that I didn’t have to pay for it but I can so I do.
A simple extraction is not very costly, its of you need a cap, root canal, bridge etc that the costs are as eye watering as the treatment
Was with Denplan and then Bupa for 25 years with the same dentist - regular treatment, no worries until COVID. Move to Scotland and can only get private appointment - new dentist estimates that I now need £10k of work to ‘fix’ my teeth.
Last time I saw them in November they suggested I also needed an urgent hygienist appointment - next one available was September.
I'm with Denplan, I have to pay lab fees (so far that's making up crowns, not sure what else could be in the same category) so there's rarely any cost over that of the premiums.
The dentist can do quite a bit more reconstructive stuff than the NHS covers, he rebuilt about half of a broken tooth using composite and it's been sound for getting on for 10 years now. I don't know what the NHS option would be but maybe a full crown or extraction?
I'm happy to pay for the service I get so it's worth it to me. Whether it's value for money is a tricky one, I think I could have covered the private care I've had over the years with the money I paid on premiums but that could easily not have been the case - that's the nature of insurance for you!
I have a Denplan membership. I think it’s about £18/month but does rise each year. Covers two checkups and two hygienist visits each year, and minor work. I’ve had two small composite fillings replaced under the plan.
Quite happy with with it.
Look at Simplyhealth, for 3 of us it's around £50 a month, but we get up to £160 each a year for dental and the same for optical, as we also all wear glasses and contact lenses were usually in profit by the end of the year, and that's before we claim for any of the other items. Also great service, never had a claim rejected and usually paid out in a week.
I pay £28 pm on denplan and had a few fillings . Was with an NHS practice but sick of shoddy work/rushed/bad advice. If you can afford it, go private. The NHS only get paid enough to do a bare minimum.
You'll have to be passed as not needing work to go on the insurance which means probably needing to pay for their extraction. I had to have my wisdom teeth out last year before joining denplan. was about £1k. But I hadnt been to the dentist for 15 years (teeth were fine!) so saved plenty of premiums anyway.