kindandental Mrs G T Ward BDS & Associates 99 Newington Green Road London N1 4QY 0845 230 9903 info@kindandental.com   Newsletter Information Sheets Payment Plan Private Fee Schedule Your Teeth The Surgery Links

Changes to NHS Dentistry     March 2006

From 1st April 2006, the Government changed the arrangements for NHS dentistry. It introduced a new system of charges that NHS patients pay for their treatment.

At this practice, your dentists have decided to continue to provide NHS care under the new terms, but there will be some changes to the way we work. These are described in this leaflet. Your practice team will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the new arrangements. We always aim to provide a high standard of care and service for patients.

Making appointments
The Government's changes mean that patients will no longer be registered with their dentist, but this does not mean that you cannot continue to see your usual dentist. If you ask us for an appointment, we will try to offer you one as soon as possible at a convenient time within the hours we have set aside for NHS patients. The NHS now asks us to provide a fixed, limited amount of NHS care each year and so we have to allocate our time and our NHS budget accordingly. You can choose which dentist you would like to see at the practice, but it may not always be possible to arrange this because the particular dentist may not have any NHS time available.

Our NHS practice hours are in our patient information leaflet. For urgent treatment out of hours, or if you should need dental advice or care when the practice is closed you should call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47. From the 1st April 2006 Camden and Islington PCT are responsible for out of hours care.

NHS patient charges
From 1st April 2006, Government NHS patient charges changed. If you pay NHS charges, instead of paying a proportion of the cost of your treatment, you will pay one of four fixed charges relating to the type of care and treatment you have had. If you have a check-up and two fillings, for example, you will pay one Band 2 charge. If you need work involving a laboratory charge, you will pay one Band 3 charge.

NHS dental care is still free to children under 18 or under 19 in full-time education as well as pregnant women and new mothers and people on certain state benefits.

The practice team will be happy to answer any questions you have about the new charges.

Reminders and recalls

At the end of your course of treatment, your dentist will discuss with you when you will need to see a dentist again. NHS dentists will now follow guidelines issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on how often patients need to see their dentist, according to their oral health needs. It is no longer the norm for NHS patients to have two NHS check-ups each year, if you do not need them. The Department of Health wishes NHS resources to be allocated to those who need it most. You can of course visit your dentist more often privately if you prefer to talk to your dentist more regularly about your oral health needs, have a regular visit to the hygienist and have the reassurance that all is well.

Reminders at the appropriate interval will be sent out only via email, so make sure we have your email address if you would like us to send you a reminder.

Independent care
NHS patients can opt to have part of their treatment privately. Independent private treatment gives you more time with your dentist as well as personal service, greater choice of materials and higher quality laboratory work for a better aesthetic result. There is also a greater range of treatment options available as cosmetic treatment is excluded from the NHS. Because the charges are changing, some private treatment may even be cheaper.

Cancellations
If you are unable to keep your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can use the appointment for another patient on our waiting list. If you miss appointments or give less than twenty-four hours' notice, we may not be able to complete your treatment or offer you NHS care in the future.

If you have any questions about NHS dental care, please ask a member of the practice team. We will be pleased to help. Should you have any comments or concerns, please talk to our practice manager, Selina.

For more information, see the NHS Direct website www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk