Treatment/Prices
Please call the surgery for an indication of the costs of dental treatment
PAYING FOR YOUR TREATMENT
This information is designed to explain the different payment options for dental treatment. Its major source material is from moneysaving expert (MSE) an independent site. Please see the end of this document for more info.
Prevention is better than cure
The best way to reduce your dental bills is to take good care of your teeth and gums! At the natural smile we believe that preventative care means teeth for life, and all of our treatments are geared toward the preservation of your natural teeth. Our dentists and hygienists will give you all of the information and encouragement that you need to take the best care of your teeth, and hence reduce the cost of dental treatment, in the long term.
Where ever treatment is indicated by the dentist you will be given a detailed plan and estimate which will also show medium and longer term treatment needs helping you to plan your treatment and decide on payment options that suit you
If you do need dental treatment, we hope that you will find that the quality of care is such that the treatment is excellent value for money and once it is complete that you should only need to come back to us for routine maintenance.
Pay as you go
About three-quarters of all private dental treatment in the UK is paid for on a ìfee per itemî basis, with the patient directly paying the dental practice, so most of us get by quite happily without insurance. Furthermore, if your teeth are generally in good condition with few treatment needs, paying hundreds of pounds a year for dental insurance is money down the drain.
If thatís the case then Pay as you go is a good deal for you. However those likely to need regular, ongoing treatment might like to consider one of the other options explored here.
At the natural smile we will be happy to discuss equal staged payments and treatment planning that suits your cash flow, simply ask at reception.
Dental insurance
Insurance plans cover general dental treatment, injuries and emergency work, plus serious oral diseases, however cosmetic dentistry is excluded, so don’t expect your policy to pay for teeth whitening, porcelain veneers or dental implants.
Many dental insurance policies require you to pay something towards your treatment costs, say a quarter of all spending up to a limit of £500 a year. Also, as with private medical treatment, the cost of, and demand for, private dental treatment increases with age, so older people should be especially keen to double-check every policy.
Please follow the link to the Moneysaving expert website to find the cheapest insurance for you.
Use a healthcare cash plan.
Cash payment plans are the most popular healthcare in the country covering several million people. Most healthcare cashplan operators are non-profit organisations founded prior to the NHS, to help the UK’s ‘ordinary working folk’ meet healthcare costs. Technically the plans are insurance policies which pay out when you incur healthcare costs
Healthcare cash plans are a good low cost way to cover dental costs. With these little publicised schemes, if you pay for NHS or private treatments for a range of things, like osteopathy, hospital stays, dental or optical treatments, you can reclaim the cash up to set limits. These plans are best for those likely to claim for other treatments too. For full details see the MSE link here
Self-Insure.
One sensible alternative to buying dental cover is to self-insure. Instead of paying £20 a month for dental insurance, stash away the same amount in a high-interest savings account When you need to make a ìclaimî, use this cash pot as a Pay as you go (see above) to pay for your treatment. As an added bonus, if you donít need any treatment, you get to hang on to your cash and the accrued interest, too! One risk with self insurance is that if major treatment is required, before significant funds are built up, you may not be able to afford the treatment.
Capitation Schemes such as Denplan
We do not offer a capitation scheme at the Natural Smile dental practice. This is because we believe they cannot compete for value for money with insurance plans, Pay as you go, or Cashplans. We also prefer to leave our patients to choose which payment method suits them best rather than being tied to a payment method designed by the practice.
If you are an existing Denplan (or other capitation scheme customer), your plan is not transferable between practices, you would need to be re-assessed at your initial new patient examination, and then select the best payment option for you, armed with the information here, and dependent on the treatment recommendations.
“Most dentists organise ëcapitationí schemes which spread the cost, but these tend to be beaten by simple dental insurance policies, which have the big advantage that there is no need to have your teeth inspected to get cover.”
A note on the source information
The major source of information for this information is Money Saving Expert (MSE). An independent website run buy Martin Lewis who regularly appears on BBC radio two. His full website is here
All text in italics is a direct quote from the MSE dental insurance article
Other sources of information in this article are the British Dental Health Foundation
