Which? Survey Reveals That Dental Costs are Unclear for Patients
A survey conducted by Which? has revealed that patients could be paying too much for dental treatment because dentists are not making their pricing policy clear.
Consumer group Which? found that one fifth of people were overcharged for dental treatment and 50% of survey participants claimed that there was no list of fees displayed in the clinic they visited. The survey involved 1,000 consumers in England.
In response to the findings, Which? has urged dentists to be clearer about costs so that consumers understand how much they are expected to pay for certain treatments and services.
According to the Department of Health, dentists are obliged to display up to date fees and make pricing strategies clear so that patients are not confronted with bills, which are higher than anticipated.
All the survey participants had visited a dentist within the last 6 months. Of the 1,000 respondents, 80% said that trusted their dentist’s treatment recommendations, but 40% said they were unclear about which treatments were available on the NHS.
NHS fees cover a course of treatment and patients should therefore pay one set fee, regardless of the number of visits they require to complete their treatment. Despite this, 19% of survey participants said that they had paid for the same course of treatment more than once.
Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which? said that some dentists are failing to inform patients about treatment fees and this is contributing to confusion and overcharging. As part of an undercover investigation, Which? visited 25 dental practices in England and found that 12 were either poor or very poor in terms of displaying dental costs.
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