Dentist charging for ppe

[stecee]

My wife has recently received a letter off her dentist, stating that whenever treatment is required, they will be making an extra charge to cover the cost of ppe.
The letter doesn’t say how much, but that the cost will vary depending on what treatment is being given.
It’s a private practice, not that that should make any difference.
Has anyone else had something similar?
Surely the practice should stand the cost of their own protective equipment.

[Chilli-pepper]

A lot of dentist are doing this near us - £15 seems to be an average fee

[Mr Tom Morrow]

I think the Practice should absorb the cost. Never met a poor Dentist yet!

I can only relate to where my Wife and I go and it's a modern surgery and the Dentist for many years has been wearing gloves and a full shield face mask if he is drilling. If not then just a paper type one.

One assumes they will be disinfecting surfaces etc after each patient but lets be honest that wont be lasting long as the virus continues to abate.

I am awaiting with interest what my Practice does with my monthly payments as they have now been shut since March. Not good enough. They could have been doing check ups and other treatments as it is only high speed water based procedures that produce spray that are banned.

In summary I don't think any cost should be passed on.

[Chilli-pepper]

Originally Posted by Mr Tom Morrow

I think the Practice should absorb the cost. Never met a poor Dentist yet!

I can only relate to where my Wife and I go and it's a modern surgery and the Dentist for many years has been wearing gloves and a full shield face mask if he is drilling. If not then just a paper type one.

One assumes they will be disinfecting surfaces etc after each patient but lets be honest that wont be lasting long as the virus continues to abate.

I am awaiting with interest what my Practice does with my monthly payments as they have now been shut since March. Not good enough. They could have been doing check ups and other treatments as it is only high speed water based procedures that produce spray that are banned.

In summary I don't think any cost should be passed on.

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Totally agree, this extra cost could prevent someone going to the dentist until absolutely necessary which goes against preventive work

[SuziQz]

I think our dentist has said £7.50 charge for a checkup and £30 if your appointment involves drilling etc. Similar surcharges were mentioned on the BBC when they were talking to people the other day. I think the dentist they spoke to said the cost to them of their normal ppe had increased due to general demand and also they can only see say 1 person per hour instead of 6 due to cleaning in between.

I suppose at least if they do need a contribution to extra running costs/drop in income, then this charge can be dropped or reduced later as capacity goes up. If they just put prices up, particularly the private practices, then they may not put them down again later.

It’s not going to help the lower income homes. I wonder if they are making this charge when seeing children? That could create another problem in a few years if fillings and check ups are missed

[hideinpockets]

I’m at a private practice and in fact went a couple of time’s last week and there was no additional charge for PPE.

[shirley]

Omg, its pricey enough without even more additional costs!

[lovemickey]

Wouldn’t be happy paying that much extra. Our dentist already wears masks and gloves so surely not much more ppe is required. Unlike say a hairdressers that’s had to start it all from scratch.

[dippiedawnie]

We have also had a letter but with no actual costs identified so no idea what it might cost. We were miffed as already pay a hefty monthly fee as have private cover 😳

[Princesa]

My orthodontist told me it would be £7 for adults and no charge for children.