£70 for a small non-mercury filling !!!

[Guest guest]

Given my own history of health problems, I've opted to lower the

risks for my children and have always refused mercury amalgam

fillings. Over the years this has worked out quite costly as,

unfortunately, all of us are cursed with poor enamel and have a

tendency to develop holes in our teeth in spite of taking excellent

care of our oral hygiene.

So today's bombshell is that my 10 year old needs a very small hole

filled in the biting surface of his very back molar. The cost will

be £70 - eeek!! No way can I afford that on income support! The

dentist has urged me to stop fussing and simply accept the free NHS

filling for him. If it were in my mouth I probably would have given

in as my health is totally f*cked now in any case. However, my

children, though future candidates for the family thyroid issues,

are currently in excellent health and I do not want to compromise my

son's health in any way.

I cannot believe that the cost of the filling has gone up from £42

to £70!! It seems impossible. The dentist assures me that all the

prices have gone up recently because of government policy - great!

What can I do? Apparently the social fund does not pay out for

private dental work. Family history of thyroid problems does not

help in getting non-mercury fillings.

Is there anywhere I can get my son's filling done for much less? I'd

do it myself with a blooming dremel if I had access to materials (

Thanks, Tracey.

[Guest guest]

What would happen if you asked around at different dental surgeries.

Lilian

So today's bombshell is that my 10 year old needs a very small hole filled in the biting surface of his very back molar. The cost will be £70 - eeek!! No way can I afford that on income support! The

[Guest guest]

Hi Tracey,

Not what you want to hear, but that sounds cheap in comparison with my dentist. She charges £75 for a small filling up to £155 for a large one. It is worth checking what white filling material he is going to use as for a back tooth it needs to be one of the stronger ones - you do not want to have it crack in a few months.

You can probably delay the filling for a while without it becoming a much larger filling, and in my opinion this would be loads better than having an amalgam. Can you get any relatives to help with the cost?

Val

I cannot believe that the cost of the filling has gone up from £42 to £70!! It seems impossible. The dentist assures me that all the prices have gone up recently because of government policy - great!

[Guest guest]

I paid £40 28 months ago but it cracked 2 months later and I ended up

with amalgam to save the tooth (I was not as aware then of the

problems) so he must have used the wrong stuff. I had no idea of

different strengths otherwise I would have mentioned it. Anyway, cheap

or not it ended up a complete waste of money so was in fact expensive

if you look at it that way. £75 if had lasted would have been better.

lotsa luv

Dawn

[Guest guest]

I would phone the relevant 'bod' at the PCT

My 21 year old has NO mercury fillings because I told the dentist

that I had concerns about my chronic fatuge (pre any sensible

diagnosis) being passed on to my child. No problem.

I also have my dentist give my white fillings only on the same basis.

Where I ran into problems was last year when I need a

bridge/expensive metal plate. The dentist told me that I would have

to pay for these privately - huge sum - and so I rang the PCT to

express my dissatisfaction at this only to be told that the dentist

was fleecing me and all of these things were available on the NHS if

there were good clinical reasons, which there were.

I really would urge you to talk to your Primary Care Trust as some of

these dentists seem happy to rip us off if they can.

Interestingly, the dentist would tried to fleece me is no longer

employed by that particular practice. Hmmm......

Mo

>

> Given my own history of health problems, I've opted to lower the

> risks for my children and have always refused mercury amalgam

> fillings. Over the years this has worked out quite costly as,

> unfortunately, all of us are cursed with poor enamel and have a

> tendency to develop holes in our teeth in spite of taking excellent

> care of our oral hygiene.

>

> So today's bombshell is that my 10 year old needs a very small hole

> filled in the biting surface of his very back molar. The cost will

> be £70 - eeek!! No way can I afford that on income support! The

> dentist has urged me to stop fussing and simply accept the free NHS

> filling for him. If it were in my mouth I probably would have given

> in as my health is totally f*cked now in any case. However, my

> children, though future candidates for the family thyroid issues,

> are currently in excellent health and I do not want to compromise

my

> son's health in any way.

>

> I cannot believe that the cost of the filling has gone up from £42

> to £70!! It seems impossible. The dentist assures me that all the

> prices have gone up recently because of government policy - great!

>

> What can I do? Apparently the social fund does not pay out for

> private dental work. Family history of thyroid problems does not

> help in getting non-mercury fillings.

>

> Is there anywhere I can get my son's filling done for much less?

I'd

> do it myself with a blooming dremel if I had access to materials (

> Thanks, Tracey.

>