Health Chat
Dentist Changes

From April 2006 there wa a new contract for dentists which simplified the charging system. Some people pay more in the new scheme but some people pay less.

Instead of being paid for each NHS treatment they carry out, dentists, under the new contract are given a guaranteed income based on their historical income for three years for providing services to the local community.

It means dentists no longer have to carry out treatment to be paid - (some people claimed dentists were over-treating their patients in order to make money from the NHS). This should enable dentists to spend more time on preventative measures and still be paid.

Under the new system, treatment falls into one of three bands - £15 for a check up, £41 for a filling and £183 for more complex work - replacing the complex system of over 400 different charges. The top band of £183 is about half of the previous top charge.

What do you think about the new proposals?

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