 The cost of a check-up could double |
A new system of charging for NHS dental treatment is expected to be unveiled by the government next month. Banded charges could mean a hike in treatment costs for check-ups and fillings, according to media reports.
But it would include a ceiling limit to ensure no one would pay more than �120 for treatment, no matter how extensive, reports say.
Ministers are examining a report compiled by the government's patients' tsar Harry Cayton.
The new system would replace the current fee per item of service, branded the "treadmill" by dentists, under which dentists are paid for each piece of work done on a patient.
Under the current system, patients can pay up to a maximum of �378 for a course of treatment.
It is hoped the new system will encourage more people to see a dentist and cut paperwork.
Currently, dentists have to fill in forms to claim back up to 20% of their costs for check-ups from the Dental Practice Board, with patients paying the other 80%.
Higher charges
Under the new system, patients could pay about �12 for a check-up rather than about �6, according to reports.
The cost of a filling could go up from about �17.50 to �40.
The rises are intended to simplify the pricing structure into several flat rates rather than the hundreds of different charges that exist at present.
This is part of a major overhaul to dentistry. From April next year, the dental budget currently held by central government will be given to local primary care trusts.
These trusts will have contracts with dentists or will provide dental services themselves.
The British Dental Association welcomed such changes
A spokeswoman said: "At present, dentists are faced with a 90-page schedule of over 400 separate dental charges.
"Dealing with this complex system of red tape adds extra time onto the dentists' working day and takes them away from actually treating patients.
"Any new system that allows dentists to spend more time with patients, as well as making the system easier to understand for dentists and patients alike, is welcomed by the BDA."
"Whatever the outcome of this review, it is vital that the Department of Health finds an effective way of communicating any changes to patients," she added.
The Department of Health said ministers were considering the proposals.
Mr Paul Burstow, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, said: "These proposals are yet another kick in the teeth for dental patients. This hike in charges will further set back the dental health of the nation.
"The real problem is the chronic shortage of NHS dentists. Finding an NHS dentist is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Now it seems that those lucky enough to find an NHS dentist will have to pay more for the privilege of doing so."
Shadow Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, said: "The Prime Minster promised that everyone who wanted a dentist by the end of 2001 would get one.
"Over half the population now are not registered with an NHS dentist at all and Labour's only answer is to raise the charges for those who do. The Government's policy on dentistry has been nothing short of a disaster," he said.
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Any new system that allows dentists to spend more time with patients, as well as making the system easier to understand for dentists and patients alike, is welcomed 
