The greatest marketing spoof going on in Dentistry at the moment are those little 3 letters – NHS. What they mean to a patient is ‘cheap dentistry’. So along some people go for their cheap check-up, possibly with a cheap filling (usually silver – “white fillings on a back tooth gov’? – they’re Private”) or a cheap clean (a quick scale and polish with the dentist, because “the hygienist is Private”); or a cheap crown (usually silver because “a white one is Private”); or tooth whitening – yes, private! ; or a cheap root filling, just imagine; cheap children’s dentistry – I certainly will not suggest supervised neglect.
Sadly for patients the current contract is so confused that they go to an NHS dentist expecting to be treated with modern techniques and materials only to come away to find that their perception was wrong.
This is not at all always the case but I see so many patients who come in clutching their NHS treatment form and apart from the exam, every treatment is private. Can that be right?
Which means that for many the NHS is no more than a marketing spoof. A way to get the unwary into the practice on one pretence to be sold private dentistry. And to all those hard working NHS dentists that offer a full service including white fillings, porcelain onlays and crowns to their patients and a full preventive service run by hygienists you have my everlasting respect. If you exist, I’d love to meet you.