DT News - UK - Large dental fee gap identified

Search Dental Tribune

Large dental fee gap identified

(Photograph: Li Xuejun/Shutterstock)

Thu. 19 November 2015

save

DUBLIN, Ireland: Private fees for dental services have seen another 30 per cent increase in the last few months. A new survey conducted by Irish health care website WhatClinic.com has now found that patients in some parts of the UK have to pay up to twice as much for check-ups and other dental services than do patients in the rest of the country.

Among all areas surveyed, Milton Keynes stood out as the most expensive, with dental check-ups costing an average of £62 compared with only £31 charged by dentists in Birmingham, for example.

Other cities with high average fees in the same category were London (£53), Glasgow (£50) and Cardiff (£45). In Cambridge (£32), Manchester (£34) and Southampton (£35), patients pay the least for a dental check-up.

The national average for a dental check-up is £46, according to Whatclinic.com. However, over 80 per cent of all of the cities and towns surveyed charge less than that, the results indicate.

The nationwide survey was conducted among 13,000 private dentists across Britain. In addition to basic services like dental general check-ups, it compared average prices for four different speciality treatments, such as root canal therapy and implants.

For such treatments, patients in London and Cambridge generally pay the most, while the rest of the country showed no distinguishable geographic pattern regarding the fees charged. For example, root canal therapy costs the least north of the border in Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as in Manchester and Belfast, where dentists also charge the least amount for implant treatment and tooth whitening.

Fees for those treatments were also at the lower end in Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne and Glasgow.

To post a reply please login or register
advertisement
advertisement