Covid Price Increases

[Yel]

I've heard of dentists that are now applying a £20 - £40 ppe surcharge, but £80 is the worst yet. Is that per appointment or per course of treatment?

Ridiculous, the UK is going to have such bad teeth for decades to come.

In fairness it was for a check up and hygienist. But still, I doubt the ppe costs that much and couldn't they use reusable? Although I do get it's the time to put it on and the extra cleaning and all that you're paying for not just the ppe.

I think lots of companies are trying to make up for earnings but I think people will now go to the dentist less and not swim instead.

 

[xfeelingthis]

Hi folks, dentist here. The reason PPE charge is so expensive is the PPE itself can be expensive and hard to source, times 2 for dentist and nurse, but also there’s the fact that after anything involving aerosols - air so even drying teeth for a check up - the surgery has to be left empty and then fully disinfected. Our fallow time is an hour, that can be more depending on the airflow in a surgery. So while it might be a 20 minute appointment for you in the chair, it’s really 1 hour 40 or so between donning the PPE, appointment, fallow time then full surgery disinfection It’s a total nightmare. I’m an NHS dentist so we’re a bit different but where we could previously see 20+ patients a day we’d now be lucky to see 6 if aerosols are involved. Dental practices are businesses and at the minute a lot of them are hugely struggling, so many having to let staff go and running the risk of bankruptcy, especially those that do majority private work. So the term “PPE charge” is maybe a bit misleading as it isn’t just the cost of the PPE itself that’s the problem. I wish the government would share this about a bit more readily rather than everyone assuming that dentists are trying to profiteer from the situation. Not to say there aren’t a few bad eggs as with everything but I know the vast majority are good dentists who aren’t trying to rip people off. They’re just trying to stay afloat.

 

[Ohflogoff]

My childminder has put her prices up by 50p per hour

 

[Interestingbitsnbats]

Can't afford the dentist then everytime i go they don't do anything anyway so not be going there till my teeth are very bad.

 

[TJ90]

I dread to think how much my Dentist will surcharge, it's not NHS so it's going to be shitloads.

Mine isn’t NHS - I go to a private one and surprisingly they haven’t charged me any extra

I did the food shop the other day and said to my husband how much more I’d spent even in places like Home Bargains that what I’d normally spend (I go there for toiletries and cleaning products) food wise Morrison’s has also gone up a lot in price

 

[emmer_moans]

Hi folks, dentist here. The reason PPE charge is so expensive is the PPE itself can be expensive and hard to source, times 2 for dentist and nurse, but also there’s the fact that after anything involving aerosols - air so even drying teeth for a check up - the surgery has to be left empty and then fully disinfected. Our fallow time is an hour, that can be more depending on the airflow in a surgery. So while it might be a 20 minute appointment for you in the chair, it’s really 1 hour 40 or so between donning the PPE, appointment, fallow time then full surgery disinfection It’s a total nightmare. I’m an NHS dentist so we’re a bit different but where we could previously see 20+ patients a day we’d now be lucky to see 6 if aerosols are involved. Dental practices are businesses and at the minute a lot of them are hugely struggling, so many having to let staff go and running the risk of bankruptcy, especially those that do majority private work. So the term “PPE charge” is maybe a bit misleading as it isn’t just the cost of the PPE itself that’s the problem. I wish the government would share this about a bit more readily rather than everyone assuming that dentists are trying to profiteer from the situation. Not to say there aren’t a few bad eggs as with everything but I know the vast majority are good dentists who aren’t trying to rip people off. They’re just trying to stay afloat.

Thanks for the info, I didn't realise the implications of doing the aerosols stuff.

 

[DigiDuino]

I wasn’t charged for just getting my tooth checked but I am going to have to get an aerosol procedure done and it is costing an extra £40.

makes sense, I was considering waiting but I think this extra charge will be around for a long time?

 

[xfeelingthis]

@Interestingbitsnbats - sorry to hear that. Prevention in dentistry is the main thing so if you’re vigilant with your oral hygiene and your diet then you shouldn’t get problems. Make sure you’re brushing 2-3 times a day on a dry toothbrush using a fluoride toothpaste (don’t wet the brush or paste) for around 2 mins 30, when done spit the foam out and don’t rinse your mouth with mouthwash or water (that would rinse the fluoride out). Diet wise tooth decay is caused by sugar so you always want to watch your consumption of high sugar foods - obvious culprits fizzy juice, sweets, chocolate, cakes, biscuits, alcohols. Sure you know all this anyways

@emmer_moans no problem. I get why it’s so frustrating for people because they don’t realise that we aren’t using the same PPE as normal (normal masks don’t cut it unless you’re just looking with no aerosols) and how much our capacity is reduced so I like spreading the word. People tend to be really understand when they get a simple explanation.

@DigiDuino That sounds about right to be fair. It depends what you’re getting done tbh on how urgent it is but it looks like this is here to stay for a very long time. We don’t foresee normal NHS dentistry this side of Christmas and I’ve heard rumours the dental students are getting taught to do drilling procedures on phantom heads while wearing full PPE which would indicate the higher ups expect them to be doing so after graduation We honestly get such little information though, we found out the same time as the public when we were going to be allowed to start seeing patients in practice and again when we could start doing minimal AGPs during the First Minister’s briefing!

I know there are so many other sectors in terrible positions and lots of people just generally having an awful time but yeah, things are not rosy in dentistry. Who knows if it will ever be quite the same

 

[Mustard]

I need a trip to the dental hygienist and the different surgeries round here used to charge different prices so will have a ring round to see what the prices are now. All separate from seeing the dentist. What do others pay?

 

[Yel]

Hi folks, dentist here. The reason PPE charge is so expensive is the PPE itself can be expensive and hard to source, times 2 for dentist and nurse, but also there’s the fact that after anything involving aerosols - air so even drying teeth for a check up - the surgery has to be left empty and then fully disinfected. Our fallow time is an hour, that can be more depending on the airflow in a surgery. So while it might be a 20 minute appointment for you in the chair, it’s really 1 hour 40 or so between donning the PPE, appointment, fallow time then full surgery disinfection It’s a total nightmare. I’m an NHS dentist so we’re a bit different but where we could previously see 20+ patients a day we’d now be lucky to see 6 if aerosols are involved. Dental practices are businesses and at the minute a lot of them are hugely struggling, so many having to let staff go and running the risk of bankruptcy, especially those that do majority private work. So the term “PPE charge” is maybe a bit misleading as it isn’t just the cost of the PPE itself that’s the problem. I wish the government would share this about a bit more readily rather than everyone assuming that dentists are trying to profiteer from the situation. Not to say there aren’t a few bad eggs as with everything but I know the vast majority are good dentists who aren’t trying to rip people off. They’re just trying to stay afloat.

I totally get that all. Although I do think it's illogical to treat every patient as if they are at high risk when we now know that those 70+ with health conditions are at risk and the vast majority are not likely to be affected.

Would make sense for most dentists to operate normally and other practices just treat high risk people. But that's very difficult to introduce and every private surgery would want to be the ones that operate normally. I worry about the long term dental health of the nation as it was already pretty bad before.

 

[eSsExBiRd]

I’ve checked and our practice isn’t charging NHS patients, only Private.

£7 non aerosol, £25 is it is an aerosol generating appointment. £21 extra isn’t too bad but some of these prices quoted are obscene. May people wouldn’t afford a check up until this is over

It’s a Bupa surgery and their website states that the Government have made extra allowances to cover the cost - why are some NHS practices charging these high amounts?

Or is Bupa sourcing from Wish and Shein?

Edited to add - Why is the word B U P A not allowed?

 

[rainbowlemon]

I need a trip to the dental hygienist and the different surgeries round here used to charge different prices so will have a ring round to see what the prices are now. All separate from seeing the dentist. What do others pay?

I see a private dentist but I paid £41.00 in august for a hygiene appointment. A 30 min check up is £30. I have a lot of anxiety so could go to someone cheaper, but I really liked my dentist and the staff are super friendly too .

My mother paid £50 in London, but switched to another practice an hour away who charged £35. Her dentist is only open now for emergency cases.

 

[Prodcon21]

Can’t put my finger on individual items - but my weekly shop is definitely more expensive.

I think they’ve started doing it again (could be wrong as I stopped giving them my custom when they did it!) but Asda removed the 3 for £10 from their meat and fish which pushed the price up x

 

[xfeelingthis]

I totally get that all. Although I do think it's illogical to treat every patient as if they are at high risk when we now know that those 70+ with health conditions are at risk and the vast majority are not likely to be affected.

Would make sense for most dentists to operate normally and other practices just treat high risk people. But that's very difficult to introduce and every private surgery would want to be the ones that operate normally. I worry about the long term dental health of the nation as it was already pretty bad before.

I totally agree. As far as I know there are almost no other countries imposing these restrictions in dentistry. The risk is so so minimal, but it is a risk. It’s not worth our registration to not adhere to the protocols etc - one of our health boards literally told dentists that if they were found to be in breach of the rules given they would report the dentists to the dental council AND to the police because it’s a public health concern

I’ve checked and our practice isn’t charging NHS patients, only Private.

£7 non aerosol, £25 is it is an aerosol generating appointment. £21 extra isn’t too bad but some of these prices quoted are obscene. May people wouldn’t afford a check up until this is over

It’s a private healthcare surgery and their website states that the Government have made extra allowances to cover the cost - why are some NHS practices charging these high amounts?

Or is private healthcare sourcing from Wish and Shein?

Edited to add - Why is the word B U P A not allowed?

I’m in Scotland so us NHS practices are being provided with (a very limited amount) of PPE. So we can’t and won’t charge a surcharge on the NHS patients. I can’t speak for England, things run very differently down south. Incidentally, lots of the masks we’ve been given are past their expiry date - health board etc continue to tell us they’ve been revalidated and are fit for use, actual manufacturers of said masks say that there isn’t a way to revalidate them and they may be unsafe for us to wear, health board basically say it’s tough and if you don’t want them source your own and pay for them - couldn’t make it up. If we got caught using materials that were 2 months out of date we’d be hung out to dry but some given masks that expired in like 2012. You couldn’t make it up

I see a private dentist but I paid £41.00 in august for a hygiene appointment. A 30 min check up is £30. I have a lot of anxiety so could go to someone cheaper, but I really liked my dentist and the staff are super friendly too .

My mother paid £50 in London, but switched to another practice an hour away who charged £35. Her dentist is only open now for emergency cases.

I think everything in life is more expensive in London! That’s so lovely you’ve found a dentist and practice you like, it makes such a difference if you can relax and trust the staff And I think a £30 private exam is pretty reasonable compared to some others!

 

[openbook1]

Yes, I have! Even my hairdresser - you’d have highlights done and the cut and blow dry would be included in the price. Not anymore. You have to pay extra.

Wow. You are lucky. Lol. My hairdresser has never included the cut and blow-dry with highlights. It is separate and totals close to $300+ and that isn't with a tip - tips are a big deal here.

Thankfully my benefits cover the dentist cost 100% - they are way more expensive than UK ones, I think. For example, seeing the dentist which includes Xrays (which is once a year), and then having the cleaning done would cost upwards of $800 without benefits, sometimes close to $900. We are very lucky to have 100% coverage, many people do not even have 50%. My dentist is not charging extra for PPE which is good of them.

 

[emmer_moans]

It will be interesting to see what the typical commercial Christmas confectionary and trimmings cost this year. Usually the price of a tin of Celebrations or Quality Street chocolates is a topic of conversation. I haven’t seen any yet.

 

[xfeelingthis]

Thankfully my benefits cover the dentist cost 100% - they are way more expensive than UK ones, I think. For example, seeing the dentist which includes Xrays (which is once a year), and then having the cleaning done would cost upwards of $800 without benefits, sometimes close to $900. We are very lucky to have 100% coverage, many people do not even have 50%. My dentist is not charging extra for PPE which is good of them.

Hahaha yeah everytime I’m on holiday in the States or meet Americans or Canadians and they find out I’m a dentist they immediately think I’m a LOT wealthier than I actually am... a lot of money to be made overseas! I think that maybe people in the US are more accepting of dentistry being expensive because you have to pay for all healthcare in general, while here the NHS is “free” (you pay for it in your tax but it’s free at point of service) so people don’t realise how much a visit to the doctor or a blood test etc would actually cost if you had to pay it outright... then we’re like £80 for an NHS root canal and people balk at the fee but it really makes almost no profit.

To stick to the topic, only things I’ve really come across being more are dentistry as above, hairdressers and I’ve seen some beauticians charging a little bit extra. I can’t say I’ve noticed much difference in my shopping but then I’ve switched to Aldi and feel like it’s cheap as chips!

 

[Chablis1]

Wow. You are lucky. Lol. My hairdresser has never included the cut and blow-dry with highlights. It is separate and totals close to $300+ and that isn't with a tip - tips are a big deal here.

Thankfully my benefits cover the dentist cost 100% - they are way more expensive than UK ones, I think. For example, seeing the dentist which includes Xrays (which is once a year), and then having the cleaning done would cost upwards of $800 without benefits, sometimes close to $900. We are very lucky to have 100% coverage, many people do not even have 50%. My dentist is not charging extra for PPE which is good of them.

Goodness! I’ll still be going to the hair salon, obviously. But, I must admit it was quite a surprise!

 

[Mustard]

The basics such as milk, bread, eggs, toilet roll have significantly risen in my local Co-Op. Even more so in the local corner shop to the point I cannot shop there now as it is far more expensive than it was.

I have noticed in the past few months my usual tobacco has risen by around £1.50.

My local hairdresser has signs out stating due to Covid she has added an extra 20% on all her services. However she still offers use of her sunbeds for the usual price.

Hard to believe anyone uses sunbeds now.

 

[ChloChlo]

Hard to believe anyone uses sunbeds now.

I had a blast. But it is very at your own peril as she doesn't tend to it anymore at all, it straight up takes pound coins, she just leaves the cleaning stuff out for it and reminds all customers now that they are solely responsible for cleaning it before and after.