Millions Forced To Opt For Private Dental Treatment

This April the Government is forcing a new service contract on dentists that includes a new pay scale, changes to their working hours and surgery arrangements. Now dentists are not a cantankerous profession, but there's widespread irritation and disillusionment amongst them at the Governments seemingly heavy-handed action. And they're determined not to be pushed around.

As a result thousands of dentists are registering their refusal to accept the new contract and have given their notice to quit the NHS at the end of March.

This will create mayhem for clients. Many seeking treatment on the NHS will be simply turned away. Those dentists who do accept the new NHS contract will then face a flood of new clients seeking treatment. The vast majority will again be turned away as even before this bust up, there was a dire shortage of dentists. Waiting lists are bound to be a mile long. No, sorry, two miles long!

As a result, if you are desperate for treatment to a broken tooth or an abscess, you'll be forced to search out a community based dental surgery operated by the NHS itself. Ask your Doctor for directions to the closest to you. The odds are they'll be miles away. This means a long journey plus a hospital style queue on arrival. Getting dental treatment will simply take all day!

For many, private dentistry is the only alternative. Going private means you'll get an appointment when you want one rather than waiting for ages with the NHS, and you can pick and choose your dentist. But it can be expensive. The only good news is that there are solutions to keep costs under control.

You essentially have three key options: dental insurance, capitalisation schemes or cash plans.

Dental Insurance The insurance industry has responded with a whole host of varying dental insurance policies. The following are just some typical examples:

Western Provident has been in the dental insurance market for many years. Its Providential policy provides a basic level of dentistry cover with fixed monthly premiums. For those aged 18 to 49 the premium is