Bangor teacher worries for the future after spending over £1,000 on dental treatment
A teacher from Bangor said that he is worried about being able to afford to pay for dental treatment in the future after spending more than £1,000 on bills.
Adam Faries, a supply teacher, begrudgingly signed up for a dental plan after his practice switched to private dental care. Adam tried to find another practice, which offered NHS services, at the time but after calling more than 20 surgeries, gave up hope of finding one. Every practice within 30 miles of Bangor told him he would have to join a waiting list, with waiting times up to two years.
Since Adam’s dental practice confirmed that it would be going private, he has spent more than £1,200 on dental bills and he is now concerned that he won’t be able to afford to go to the dentist in the future.
Adam found the practice in 2019 after a year of looking for a local surgery, but in August 2020, he received an email, which outlined plans to go private. He was encouraged to sign up for a dental plan at a cost of £10 per month. At the time, Adam was part-way through a course of treatment.
Before signing up for the plan, Adam tried to find an alternative NHS provider, but he had no joy. Practices all over Wales had waiting lists and none were accepting new NHS patients. Adam reluctantly signed up for the private care plan at his existing practice, but he has already spent almost £1,000 on dental treatment and over £200 on membership fees.
Adam’s case was raised by the Welsh Conservatives at the Senedd recently, as Andrew Davies highlighted the implications for patients of “chronic waits” and services that are “at risk of collapse.”
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