Tuesday, May 16, 2006
LONDON - NHS dentists are all becoming a dying breed and patients are increasingly being forced to pay for private work that many are finding could be a very expensive business.
A survey of dental professionals this month by the British Dental Association (BDA) found that 91 percent of those responding predicted access to NHS treatment would worsen.
A BDA spokesman said: "It is not a case of not being able to register with an NHS dentist -- there is no registration now. It is more the case that it will prove very difficult to get an NHS appointment. There are just inadequate numbers of NHS practitioners."
All of which has been good news for providers of dental insurance.
One of the biggest, Denplan, says that by so far this year, over 210,000 patients have registered with it, roughly the same number as in the whole of 2005.
The cost of dental care varies from patient to patient actually depending on the work required but even routine courses of treatment run into hundreds of pounds.
David Wylie, a marketing consultant is working in the City of London, is one who had to fund emergency dental work himself as he had no dental cover to fall back on.
"I was quoted a bill from a City dental practice of just over 1,000 pounds for a porcelain inlay for two broken back teeth," he said
A survey of dental professionals this month by the British Dental Association (BDA) found that 91 percent of those responding predicted access to NHS treatment would worsen.
A BDA spokesman said: "It is not a case of not being able to register with an NHS dentist -- there is no registration now. It is more the case that it will prove very difficult to get an NHS appointment. There are just inadequate numbers of NHS practitioners."
All of which has been good news for providers of dental insurance.
One of the biggest, Denplan, says that by so far this year, over 210,000 patients have registered with it, roughly the same number as in the whole of 2005.
The cost of dental care varies from patient to patient actually depending on the work required but even routine courses of treatment run into hundreds of pounds.
David Wylie, a marketing consultant is working in the City of London, is one who had to fund emergency dental work himself as he had no dental cover to fall back on.
"I was quoted a bill from a City dental practice of just over 1,000 pounds for a porcelain inlay for two broken back teeth," he said
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home