Does England have free dental care?

1. 64

   PhoenixVposted 7 years ago

   Does England have free dental care?

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2. 82

   RoadMonkeyposted 7 years ago

   Not for adults who can afford it. The NHS pays part of the cost, so it's not as expensive as being with a private dentist. All dental work is free for children, pregnant women, nursing mothers and people on welfare benefits but not all dental work is done on the NHS: some treatments are not available at all.

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3. 87

   tamarawilhiteposted 7 years ago

   Sometimes you get what you pay for - long waits for shoddy care so bad you get stories of people pulling their own teeth. No one reports those who die of infections waiting for care.

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4. 81

   peachpurpleposted 7 years ago

   sorry i don't know about england but in malaysia, you can go to the general hospital, under the dentist department, pay $1 to get scaling or extract tooth done

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      poppyrposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      He didn't ask about Malaysia.

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5. 81

   annartposted 7 years ago

   Children have free dental care and I  think some contribution is made to those who are on benefits.  Otherwise we have to pay though there are several 'plans' which work quite well.  If you are in great pain and there is no available dentist immediately, you can go to A&E but only in an emergency.
   I've never experienced any bother or any delay in urgent dental treatment.  Maybe in the cities it's a different matter but I have no complaints.

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6. 93

   Nathanvilleposted 7 years ago

   Yes it is Free if:-
   
   •    Under the age of 18, 19 if still in full time education
   •    Pregnant, and for the first 12 months after giving birth
   •    You visit an NHS dental hospital (except for dentures and bridges)
   •    On Government Benefits e.g. unemployed or low paid.
   
   Otherwise you have to pay, but the fees are modest and capped.
   
   The fees are capped in three bands:-
   
   •    Band 1 course of treatment £19.70 ($24 dollars) twice a year for six monthly check-ups, including advice, scale and polish, preventative care, and emergency care e.g. temporary filling.
   
   •    Band 2 course of treatment – £53.90 ($67) covers everything in Band 1 plus fillings, root canal work, and removing teeth.
   
   •    Band 3 course of treatment – £233.70 ($292) covers everything in Band 1 & 2 plus crowns, dentures and bridges.
   
   So regardless to what work you have done the maximum you’ll pay for NHS dental treatment in any year is less than $300.
   
   If however you don’t want to pay (and you don’t qualify for free treatment) you can always choose to walk into an NHS dental hospital.  Other than dentures and bridges, treatment in an NHS dental hospital is free because that’s where dental students do their training e.g. you become their guinea pig. 
   
   Horror stories of NHS dental care in England stems mainly from the 1990s when the Dental practice has a major bust up with the Conservative Government over their contracts; which led to most dental practices leaving the NHS and going Private.  Albeit under British law they were still legally obliged to offer Free NHS care for all those entitled to the free care. 
   
   However, after 10 years or so NHS practices started popping up again all around Britain, so it’s back to normal; and these days there is no excuse for anyone not to visit their dentist regularly.

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