OT: How can having one tooth filled cost me £47

[brass monkey]

It equates to takings of >£500k per year. Never mind, we'll stand for it eh?

[ARWadsworth]

How do you work that one out?

[Tim Streater]

£500k, if that's the case, has to cover the overheads too. The building, equipment, training, assistant who hoses the crap out of your gob, front desk ...

[brass monkey]

Judging by how long I was in there he can do >6 per hour.

[brass monkey]

But half a weeks state pension for a filling?

[The Natural Philosopher]

sure. you dont have one every week....

[Robin]

- net taxable earnings *averaged* £89,000 in 2007-08

- for those with contracts with the NHS the *average* was over £126,000

- over 1,000 had taxable income over £200,000

[brass monkey]

They pay you too much ;)

[brass monkey]

O yes, it's fine if you have a mouthfull of tombstones, pretty cheap then. A one-off payment however much work you need. If you simply need one filling you're subsidising the unwashed.

Some weeks back my aunt had all her teeth out and a new gas fire fitted.

I'll get me coat.

[John Rumm]

Here types a man who reads like he has had plenty of anaesthetic tonight ;-)

Would have cost you twice that at my dentist's! Count yourself lucky.

[brass monkey]

You could always change your dentist. At £47 it's NHS approved daylight robbery. Before retirement I'd have loved to receive ~£300 per hour, >£10k per week. You must be doing extremely well, John.

[brass monkey]

But the £100k in the bank + 2 houses is very usefull, right? :D

[ARWadsworth]

And had you had 6 done it would have still cost you £47. Which is why NHS dentists complain.

[MuddyMike]

You should have asked for a few more fillings and perhaps an extraction or two at the same time. Then perhaps you would have felt you got value for your £47 fixed fee.

Mike

[brass monkey]

Next time :)

[MuddyMike]

Same here, in fact our NHS dentist has an "A" board sign out on the pavement advertising for new patients.

Mike

[Tim Streater]

Well, of course you should be going to the hygienist. More likely to keep your teeth that way.

In the early 50s my dad had all his choppers removed (and he was under

50 at the time). This appeared to be normal.

[Man at B&Q]

Do you have toothache? Something's distracting you to the extent that you are typing gibberish again!

MBQ

[fred]

In article , Tim Streater writes

If you clean your teeth and floss or otherwise clean your interdental spaces regularly then I don't see a great necessity in seeing the hygienist. An occasional NHS scale and polish will deal with any buildup. The hygenist can devote more time to the work but if you're on a budget I don't see it as essential.

Mine too but I don't know if he was as handy with a brush as he should have been and they certainly didn't have either floss or hygienists in his day. My mum, born in the same era, still has a full set of her own though.

An old dentist of mine recommended an occasional brush and sloosh with

3% hydrogen peroxide to help kill off anaerobic bacteria. I still do that for a deep clean.

[John Rumm]

Not likely... having had bad experiences with some in the past, now I have found one who is careful, gentle, does not do unnecessary work etc, I will stick with him. I am fortunate in not usually needing any treatment other than an examination, scale, and polish - which usually takes about 30 mins, and for which he charges £48.

(Note this is not a NHS dentist though)

To be fair I was assuming that you were talking about a private dentist not an NHS one. Having had a quick look about, what you paid seems to be normal for the "middle tier" of work. With scale and polish etc at about £15 and complex work at £200.

I am not sure how their fee structure works now. I know when the practice I go to pulled out of doing NHS work many years ago, their main problem was that funding offered by the NHS did not afford enough time to do a job well enough - and they were not allowed to surcharge at the time. Now the system has changed, and they can charge as well as receiving funding from the NHS they now have one dentist that does do NHS work again.

You are making the classic mistake of confusing the income of the practice with that of the dentist. You are also assuming that there is a steady stream of patients with simple quick fix jobs like fillings that can be piped through without their arse touching the seat. Chances are the overall throughput is somewhat less than 6 patients an hour (I would expect 3 is closer to the truth).

I am not saying dentists are badly paid, I expect a good majority earning a reasonably decent wedge, and a few earning over £100K/year. Among top medical people that is not uncommon. Its not a trivial or cheap matter to become a qualified dentist. Startup costs alone for a practice are going to be pretty steep.

Because I choose to stump up £98/year to keep my teeth in good order? Most folks spend a good deal more on matters of less importance, so I am not sure the logic holds.