Periodontist charges - do they sound reasonable?
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hi, everyone - new poster with a question about private periodontal charges.
I've been quoted £2,500 to have a tooth implant done by a private dentist with a number of glowing reviews for his work. This seems to be in the same ballpark as other quotes I've seen and heard about, if the best materials are used.
He has shown me on scans and X-rays that I have quite bad gum disease, which my NHS dentist has also mentioned previously. He referred me to a periodontist who works in his practice. She charged me £149 for a half-hour appointment, during which she prodded the gaps/pockets between my teeth and gums, all the while calling out numbers varying from 2 to 7 to her assistant (I understand that these reference the depth of the pockets around my teeth).
At the end, she said she could treat and arrest my gum disease in two one-hour sessions under local anaesthetic, prior to the implant. The charge for this would be £950. I'm now waiting to see my NHS dentist for a second opinion (and to ask if the work could be done cheaper on the NHS), but this sounds to me like an awful lot of money for 2 hours' work.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts or feedback.
1 like, 4 replies
Supertractorman patrick38104
Posted
The only way to deal with implants is get quotes. I went to one Dentist who said my mouth was so bad I would need cleaning done which would require local anaesthetic like yourself and it would be above £600, and was charged £130 for the quote, and not a firm figure for the implants. The specialist Dentist who is doing my implants just now asked me to see his Hygieneist who told me if everyones teeth was as good as yours I would be out of a job. My estimates are £8000 for removal of two teeth, and replace with bridge of 4 on 2 implants plus another implant at the back to improve my bite. It appears that you can get away with 4 implants above and 4 below for all teeth to be removed, therefore costs are based on the implants and ball park seems to be £2000 per implant in Scotland.
My advice would be spend time on the internet looking at who is specialising in this work in your area, remember it is likely if your Dentist like a Dr will get a reward for giving a private introduction in my opinion. You can get cheaper abroad, but their warranties are based on going for regular check ups, so air and hotel bills to pay.
Hoping for new teeth next month so anxious to see end result but so far the specialist I found is really good.
patrick38104 Supertractorman
Posted
Thanks for your response, Supertractorman. I'm fine with the quote for the implant, and mentioned it just to give background info and context. I've weighed up the pros and cons of going abroad, and decided on balance that for the small saving involved it's not worth the risk, given the need for follow-up appointments.
As per the title of my thread, it's specifically the periodontal charges I'm curious about, so your mention of £600 for work similar to what I'm supposed to need doing is a help. I'm due to see my NHS dentist next week, so I'll see what he says.
All the best with your treatment.
Supertractorman patrick38104
Posted
Patrick, The problem is the NHS do not do implants, and I believe may do in the event of accidental damage and done maybe at a Dental Hospital. Implants are only done by specialist Dentists as well. Many practices doing Implants seem now to solely do that work. I think your Dentist may well be concerned about the work required as if it needs it, then it is a bad reflection on his work. As the same happened to me, I now think it could be a con to make more money and we can't see in our mouths.
David
patrick38104 Supertractorman
Posted
Thanks again, Supertractorman - I KNOW the NHS don't do implants! Do you really think I'd be considering a quote of £2.5K to have it done privately if they did?!
That's why I'm going to the private dentist for mine (he is a specialist, with many glowing testimonials on the web), and wondering (a) whether the periodontal treatment estimate I've had as a result of that sounds reasonable to others, and (b) whether I can get the periodontal work done on the NHS. BTW, the private dentist is not my usual dentist, so the current state of my mouth isn't his fault (it's mostly, if not completely, mine), so it doesn't reflect on him.
All the best!