NHS Dental

Making the most of NHS Dental Services
A Patients Guide


If you want to receive NHS Dental treatment you will need to find a dentist who is able to take on new patients. (A list of dentist can be obtained from West Kent Health Authority. See useful contacts below. When registering with a new practise, be sure to make it clear that you wish to be treated as an NHS patient. If you are told the dentist will only make a dicision after seeing you, ask on what basis the examination is to take place. If it is a private examination, ask how much it will cost you (including any necessary x-rays) and make sure you agree to this before the examination begins.
For most adults a check-up is every six months
Once you have been accepted as an NHS patient you must keep your registration up to date. This means you must have a check up at least once every 15 months. If you do not, your name will automatically be removed from the dentists list and they may not be willing to take you back.
If you not keep your registration, your name will automatically be removed from the dentists list and they may not be able or willing to take you back.


	Once a dentist has accepted you as an NHS patient they are obliged to offer you all appropriate and necessary care and treatment to "secure and maintain oral health". Most treatments are available under the NHS but some are not. See mixing NHS and private treatment. Making the most of NHS Dental Services
Emergency Treatment
If possible, contact your dental surgery during normal hours, as early as possible in the day. Emergency cover includes emergency treatment within 24 hours, if your dentist thinks it necessary. Dentist are not obliged to give emergency treatment to non registered people, although they may do so in some circumstances. There is also DENTALINE the NHS out of hours emergency services. Dentaline is open from 7.30pm - 10.30pm 7 Days a week and also from 9.30am - 11.00am at weekends and on Bank Holidays.	You will find them at: Medway Hospital Accident & Emergency Dept Medway Maritime Hospital Windmill Road Gillingham Tel: 01634 819191 Kent & Canterbury Hospital Ethelbert Road Canterbury Tel: 01227 766877 Kent & Sussex Hospital Mount Ephraim Tunbridge Wells Tel: 01892 517771

Dentures will become loose within a few months of being fitted following extraction of teeth, because the gums have shrunk after the removal of the teeth. This is normal and dentures need to relined or replaced. This counts as a new course of treatment and incurs further charges.

If you are a new patient, your dentist should give you a treatment plan (Form FP17DC), after your first examination and before any treatment starts. This will require your signature.

The plan will show:

Details of the treatment proposed
What choices you have about the treatment
Whether or not you are having NHS and private treatment mixed
Any private alterations to NHS treatment

You can ask for the treatment plan at any time. You must remember that this is just an estimate which might change as the treatment progresses. But your dentist should explain any change in treatment or cost as you go along.

The amount you will asked to pay will vary according to the type and amount of treatment required, but there is a maximum figure. As at December 1999, the most you have to pay for one course of treatment is £348

You may be intitled to free NHS treatment or to some help towards the cost of treatment.

People under 18 years
Students under 19 years and in full time education
Expectant mothers and up to 12 months after the birth
People receiving income support or income based Job Seekers Allowance
People who hold a certificate full help with charges. (HC2)
Working Families tax credit and Disabled persons tax credit. (Where Claimant receives the maximum amount or has less than £70.00 deducted. If in doubt contact the Helpline on Tel: 0845 6095000

If you are on low income you may be able to get help by filling in a form HC1 which you can get from your dentist, DSS Office or Health Authority.

Here are some typical patient costs as at December
1999 (New scales apply April 2000)

Routine checkups	£4.76
Full assessment	£15.00
Checkup & Scale & Polish	£12.28
Small x-rays from	£2.40
Simple extraction - 1 tooth	£8.52
Simple extractions - 3/4 teeth	£13.12 (from)
Fillings - small metal	£5.08
Fillings - large metal	£9.92 (from)
Maximum filling a tooth	£20.28
Crowns from	£40.52 (from)
Small white fillings from	£8.76
Dentures - small plastic partial	£40.52 (from)
Denture upper & lower	£103.60 (from)
Root canal treatment up to	£51.16

For some treatment or for extensive courses of treatment, your dentist has to apply to the Dental Practice Board for approval to carry out the treatment. The Dental Practice Board may ask for you to be seen by an independant dentist (Dental Reference Officer) at a clinic near you. If the Dental Practice Board refuses approval, you or your dentist have the right to appeal against this decision within one month. Details of this procedure are sent to your dentist in these circumstances.

You can normally expect the dentist to repair, free of charge, any filling, inlay or crown provided by them which goes wrong within 12 months. This covers replacements where exactly the same treatment can be provided again.

All treatment considered necessary to make your mouth healthy is available under the NHS. However, you may choose to have some or all of your treatment done privately, this should be stated on the treatment plan with the difference in costs made clear.

If you have a complaint about your dental treatment, you should first talk to your dentist about it. If you are still unhappy, you should contact West Kent Health Authority or your local Community Health Council (CHC). The CHC is also able to provide support and advice to patients making a complaint.

It would be impossible to cover all the issues, problems and queries that patients can have in this leaflet. If you have a query that is not covered, please contact one of the organisations below, who will be happy to give advice and guidance.