The Student Room Group

any dentist here?

how are you paid. is it per treatment or just a salary.

I feel dentists like to rush all my treatments and get the next patient in
Reply 1
I can answer what I know as a Dentistry student.

On the NHS, you get paid based on the amount of UDAs you complete. UDAs are awarded based on what band of treatment the dentist completes (1, 2, or 3), you can find what treatment is included in which band online. Each UDA is worth a different amount based on the location and what you agree with the practice owner prior to starting work there.

NHS dentistry is very stressful for Dentists, mainly due to the time constraints. For eg, on the NHS a patient who needs 3 fillings will pay the same as for 1 filling, even though it takes x3 the time. Obviously this means the dentist also gets paid the same for both work. This means the dentist may have to 'rush' (although they shouldn't do anything that may harm you). I saw the true scale of the 'rush' when I did work ex; the dentist was working like a machine. They have to meet their UDA contract targets or they may be fined (or not get a good UDA contract next time).

It's completely different in private dentistry though. The dentist charges as much as they wish, purely because they have much more time and can spend more money on the materials they use on you - which equates to you paying more for the private service. There is no bands and UDAs, so 3 fillings would cost more than 1 filling, unlike on the NHS. This means a dentist can afford to spend much more time on each treatment, if ygm.

Very few dentists have a fixed salary. They get paid based on the work they do.

Hope this answers as to why it may seem Dentists are rushing while providing NHS service.

@DrTSR (who is actually an NHS and Private Dentist) can affirm or correct my answer 👌🏽.
(edited 3 years ago)
Reply 2
Original post by Nuttyy
I can answer what I know as a Dentistry student.

On the NHS, you get paid based on the amount of UDAs you complete. UDAs are awarded based on what band of treatment the dentist completes (1, 2, or 3), you can find what treatment is included in which band online. Each UDA is worth a different amount based on the location and what you agree with the practice owner prior to starting work there.

NHS dentistry is very stressful for Dentistry, mainly due to the time constraints. For eg, on the NHS a patient who needs 3 fillings will pay the same as for 1 filling, even though it takes x3 the time. Obviously this means the dentist also gets paid the same for both work. This means the dentist may have to 'rush' (although they shouldn't do anything that may harm you). I saw the true scale of the 'rush' when I did work ex; the dentist was working like a machine. They have to meet their UDA contract targets or they may be fined (or not get a good UDA contract next time).

It's completely different in private dentistry though. The dentist charges as much as they wish, purely because they have much more time and can spend more money on the materials they use on you - which equates to you paying more for the private service. There is no bands and UDAs, so 3 fillings would cost more than 1 filling, unlike on the NHS. This means a dentist can afford to spend much more time on each treatment, if ygm.

Very few dentists have a fixed salary. They get paid based on the work they do.

Hope this answers as to why it may seem Dentists are rushing while providing NHS service.

@DrTSR (who is actually an NHS and Private Dentist) can affirm or correct my answer 👌🏽.

This is correct.

To elaborate on the NHS system, band 1 yields 1 UDA, band 2 yields 3 UDAs and band 3 yields 12 UDAs. The average value of a UDA for the dentist is £11 (depends on your contract with the practice owner). However, at the moment this is not the case. All NHS income is fixed at the moment due to the pandemic. So dentists who would usually do 300 UDAs a month are being paid that as a fixed monthly payment regardless of what they do (this is a good thing for the moment as business is low). It is said that post-covid the NHS system will be different from before covid.

With regards to private dentistry, it is fee per item. So the practicing dentist gets his share of what the patient pays (usually 50% , depends on contract with practice owner) minus 50% of any lab bills.

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