BDA defends dentists over Citizens Advice report
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- Published: Monday, 20 June 2016 07:59
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Citizens Advice has issued a report saying that patients are being forced to pay hundreds of pounds to fix mistakes by dentists. Mick Armstrong, chairman of the British Dental Association, responded saying: "Over 20 million people are seen by a dentist every year, and official surveys consistently show very high rates of patient satisfaction.” Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Oral Health Foundation, said the Citizens Advice cases were "hugely subjective".
Mick Armstrong, added: "Dentists endeavour to provide high quality, effective, long-lasting treatment, but as in any healthcare procedure, outcomes can never be 100% predictable. Effective communication is essential, and where there is any potential that a patient's expectations may not be met, this should be discussed ahead of treatment. NHS dentists will correct problems that may emerge following a course of treatment, and private dentists have similar legal commitments. We would encourage patients to raise any issues directly with their practitioners."
Citizens Advice said that they are receiving more and more calls about problems with dentistry - both NHS and private - with some dentists refusing to fix their errors. The charity helped people in England and Wales with around 4,000 dental care problems last year, up by 9% on the year before.
Issues included patients querying the charges made by dentists, problems with payments and delays with the complaints process. But substandard service was the biggest issue in 2015 to 2016. An analysis of 354 cases showed around three-quarters involved treatment that actually caused the patient further problems. Issues included dentists cracking healthy teeth during a treatment, fillings that came out and dentures that did not fit. In one case, a patient paid thousands of pounds for a crown that did not fit, could not be removed and which had led to bruising of their face.
In almost a quarter (23%) of these cases, patients said dentists refused to offer a refund or a free-of-charge repair, despite rules saying they should. In one case, a woman in her 70s paid £500 to have her teeth capped. The dentist chipped her two front teeth during the treatment but refused to repair the chips or offer compensation. The woman then had to pay £700 to have the damage fixed by another dentist.
Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: "If a dental treatment causes more problems for the patient, the law states that in most cases the dentist should be offering to repair this at no extra charge. Asking patients to pay could put their health at risk if they are unable to afford the further treatment. Dentists need to make sure that they aren't charging patients for their mistakes and that they provide patients with clear information about how they can claim compensation if something goes wrong."
Under the Consumer Rights Act, patients who go private are entitled to have any problems fixed by their dentist or, if it cannot be put right, at least a partial refund. On the NHS, issues with things like fillings, inlays or crowns must be repaired or replaced within 12 months.
Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Oral Health Foundation, said the Citizens Advice cases were "hugely subjective". He added: "In our experience many of the calls we get to our dental helpline from people who have problems with their treatment fail to take this issue up directly with their dentists to get it sorted. We know for a fact the vast majority of dental professionals in the UK will go to great lengths to correct any issues which may occur during their treatment. We urge anybody who feels they have had a problem to discuss it with their dental team before anybody else."
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