Should there be a charge for nitros oxide

[Guest]

I used to be quite apprehensive about getting dental procedures up until 25 years ago when a friend of mine sugested the combination of Nitros Oxide and a local for any pain. For me the nitros was a magic bullet. From that time on I experience very little fear receiving any dental procedure. I consider myself the perfect patient.

It should be noted that I have had dental surgery two times, several implants and numerous root canals.

Today I had two small cavies taken care of and my dentist charged and extra 100.00/hour for the use of the nitros, and my insurance does not cover this cost. I have never been charged for this in the past.

The front desk person told me that this is a new policy, and is common today? It has been almost two years since I last required any procedure where I needed the nitros. It really came a shock to me.

Should I be looking for a new dentist. Not that it should matter but in the last 4 years my out of pocket dental bills were in excess of 16,000. Like I said, I'm a good patient.

 

[Guest]

My previous dentist was keen on nitrous oxide. She would charge £47 each time (it was a couple of years ago).

Why would you expect it to be free? There is quite a lot of equipment involved plus the two gases plus training. All this costs the dentist money and they will pass the cost on to you.

The dentist should have given you a treatment estimate before he started with a breakdown of the costs. Maybe next time you can ask to be given a breakdown of the costs of the treatment, so that the costs won't come as a shock to you.

 

[Guest]

It came as a shock because first, I was given an estimate and it was not included and second I have never been charged for this as a line item by any dentist.

I called up my insurance carrier and was told that if the cost of the local was a line item, it to would not be covered, except in the case of an extraction. I just love those insurance fly boys.

As far as a lot of expensive equipment for the nitros setup, my dentist uses a small roll out cart unit. I expect her overhead to be reflected in the price of the procedure.

It is helpful knowing that being charged for nitros is not unusual.

 

[Guest]

Hi there,
I have recently just bought a nitrous oxide unit (the roll-out type you decribe). There is a fee for it's use on the NHS which varies from about £16 to £75 depending upon the treatment carried out. On a Private patient basis, I usually charge between £30 and £80 depending upon how long the gas will be running, but this can usually be guessed before hand (I would normally stick to the estimate even if the time runs over a bit.) I find it unusual that a dentist would NOT charge for using nitrous. The unit costs about £3,500 and the cost of the gas can obviously vary depending upon how much is used (but possibly about £400-1000 per year, including delivery costs). Also remember that extra training and revision courses are neccessary if you are a dentist using sedation and you must pay for your nurse to have the trainig too, and these aren't cheap either! Some of the fees from any procedure go towards the running costs of a surgery (salaries, bills, etc.) and remember the dentist must also pay a slice to the taxman!! Obviously we need to earn a living out of what we do as well (and after all the above- there's not much of your original fee left!), and so by considering all the above, the fees are set. The only thing wrong here is that you were not told beforehand that there would be a charge and how much it would be. I would never start or provide a treatment without informing the patient of the charge. Most complaints in surgeries where I have worked have been down to poor communication between dentists and patients. I would let them know that you feel that they should tell people first before charging, but that you are otherwise happy.
Hope this helps,
Mike