Is 260£ for private fillings a normal price?

[E93]

I finally dragged myself to the dentist and was happy to learn that i do not need a root canal(!!!), but i do need three new fillings ( ). The doctor told me that to get the white ones I'll have to pay private fees since they're way in the back, and apparently it's gonna be about 260£ for filling. Is that normal? Last time I had fillings in the uk was about 5 years ago, but I remember paying 150£ a filling? Have the prices really gone this high?

The place seems to have good reviews on google but i'm not sure how good a metric is that. It's a new dentist I've never been before and the guy was really trying to sell the private ones (which i understand, but still, I am informed enough to know the metal ones are functionally good generally), so i don't know, it's giving me a bit of anxiety.

 

[E93]

(By new dentist i mean i've never been to this dentist before btw)

 

[MumOfBoys1985]

If you wanted a white filling then it's likely to be that cost as unless it's near the front of your mouth it wouldn't be covered on the NHS. The NHS band 2 which is for amalgam ones is just under £71 for as many as you need (not including root canal) .

 

[letsconnect]

Some of the cost will depend on the size and complexity of the filling. £260 for an "average" filling in a mixed NHS/private practice seems on the expensive side, from what I've seen. If cost is an issue and you live in an expensive area, you could always check out dentists slightly further afield if you don't mind the travel.

As far as I can make out, prices seem to have gone up about 30% since the start of covid (admittedly, this is based on a handful on practices, which may or may not representative of the whole of the UK - I wonder if there are there any websites which show average price increases year on year?)

The place seems to have good reviews on google but i'm not sure how good a metric is that.

Here are some tips to help figure out whether a dentist is good (in the absence of personal recommendations etc.):

How to find a high-quality dentist

How do you know if a dentist really cares about the quality of their work? Here is what to look for and expect from a high-quality dentist.

www.dentalfearcentral.org

 

[E93]

Some of the cost will depend on the size and complexity of the filling. £260 for an "average" filling in a mixed NHS/private practice seems on the expensive side, from what I've seen. If cost is an issue and you live in an expensive area, you could always check out dentists slightly further afield if you don't mind the travel.

As far as I can make out, prices seem to have gone up about 30% since the start of covid (admittedly, this is based on a handful on practices, which may or may not representative of the whole of the UK - I wonder if there are there any websites which show average price increases year on year?)



Here are some tips to help figure out whether a dentist is good (in the absence of personal recommendations etc.):

How to find a high-quality dentist

How do you know if a dentist really cares about the quality of their work? Here is what to look for and expect from a high-quality dentist.

www.dentalfearcentral.org

Their website is fully dedicated to promote their invisalign and other cosmetic stuff, but the doctor really didn't push any of those to me yet. But he was quite clearly pushing for the private amalgam option for my filling, mentioning how metal could stain teeth and stuff, which, even though I wanted to get amalgam anyway, felt a bit shady.

That was the only real flag i noticed, they were nice about everything else (I felt a tiny bit hurried through the checkup, but I think that's normal for NHS visits, unless you find a really dedicated dentist) I don't know if that's enough to change dentist tbh, since I already gave them a small deposit for the booking and i wouldn't want to go through the anxiety of finding another dentist, but yeah.

 

[letsconnect]

But he was quite clearly pushing for the private amalgam option for my filling, mentioning how metal could stain teeth and stuff, which, even though I wanted to get amalgam anyway, felt a bit shady.

Sorry for being a bit slow here, but I thought you were after the white (composite) fillings rather than amalgam (silver) ? This is getting a little confusing lol

 

[E93]

@letsconnect So. I wanted the composite filling anyway. But before I communicated that, the doctor was selling the composite option pretty hard in a way that didn't felt great.

I think i got mixed up with the words in the original post, sorry