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A private dentist is taking on NHS rivals, by offering cheap treatment for all. Dental & Health Studio says it can match NHS prices and still make a profit.
And it says it is providing a much needed service for people who may otherwise be tempted to save money by skipping the dentist chair to carry out DIY repairs.
Jaswinder Singh Jandu works with Polly Bhambra and her husband Amar, who have spent thousands of pounds turning the run-down doctors on Tyburn Road, Wolverhampton, into a modern private dental practice.
They say they meet patients every day who say they cannot afford to pay to look after their teeth.
A check-up plus x-rays and scale and polish at their dentist is £16, white fillings start at £20 and extractions are £45. A set of dentures costs £198 while tooth whitening is £399.
If the enterprise is a success, it may lead to more dentists following suit, helping the shortage of dental treatment in some parts of the region.
And Mr Jandu says he hopes it will stop some of the horror stories he has come across in his work.
He said: “I saw a patient this week who broke his dentures in half and so he stitched it back together by heating a needle up so it would go through the acrylic.
“People often put superglue on bridges or veneers, they say it tastes awful but they didn’t know what else to do.
“Quite a lot of people come to me who only have two teeth left and they still manage to eat.
“Sometimes they don’t go to the dentist because they are worried about the costs, other times it is because they are nervous after having a bad experience.
“But dentistry has progressed a lot in recent years and we can help people who worry about visiting us.”
Mrs Bhambra said: “The building was an old doctor’s surgery and when it came up for auction we bought it and then set about renovating it.
“We knew that we could charge private prices and earn three times as much, but this way we are providing a service to the local community.
“We are surrounded by people on a low income so it would just not work to have a practice where we charged a lot of money.
“A lot of NHS dentists are full but we only opened in April and so are still taking on patients and the list is increasing rapidly.”
Mr Jandu already has his own practice in Bilston and says he is keen to get more nervous patients though the door.
“In 1996 I qualified as a dentist and trained in Halesowen and Black Heath before setting up my own practice on Church Street in Bilston eight years ago,” he says. “I’m really committed to providing affordable dentistry to those who need it. The tooth decay rate in Wolverhampton and Bilston is high, while the oral hygiene knowledge is low.”
Mr Bhambra, who trained as a dental nurse and is now an examiner for dental nurses, says they are committed to keeping their prices low and standards high.
He said: “We have spent thousands of pounds on equipment, such as £9,000 for the cabinet where the instruments are kept and £30,000 for the dentist chair.
“We wanted a clean environment with modern technology for people to enjoy – such as the plasma screen over the chair so patients can watch a film while having an examination or filling.
“When people come to the practice they are shocked because it is quite different to anything they have seen before – there is perfume and aftershave in the toilets and free toothpaste and floss.
“If we are not able to become an NHS dentist we will carry on offering the low prices because it is a service we believe is important in this area,” Mr Bhambra also added.
20 Comments
That is a brilliant story, well done to these people, who are not out to generate as much profit as they can! Good luck to them and i hope they suceed in their new enterprise!!!!
Good for him..at last, someone who puts morals before profit. He should get an award for this.
I am very impressed with this Dental Practice. I have been for an appointment at the practice and it is very good service and value for money. Highly Recommended.
Trouble is NHS fees include the check up and all treatment within two months under one price band. These schemes cannot match that. Also the NHS guarantees treatment and if a crown or denture breaks it is replaced free. I wonder if this applies here. I think not.
Patients must be very careful when comparing prices. On the NHS your charges includes ALL the treatment necessary to make you dentally fit. For example an extraction on the NHS costs £44.60 but this charge also includes your check up, and (if you need them) a scaling, x-rays and any number of fillings, root treatments and other extractions. If you had a private extraction at £45 you would have to pay extra for all of these things. The NHS pays dentists typically £60-£70 for a complete course of treatment-no private dentist can work for those fees. (Which is why dentists are leaving the NHS). Dr Jandu must be careful about making a claim that he can match ‘NHS prices’. This only happens when a course contains a single treatment and this is very rare.
At last! I’ve always thought it appalling how people on the NHS who cant afford pleasant looking white fillings are forced to have ugly metallic ones like some kind of stamp of lower class status!
And there’s not even an option to pay a little to have the upgrade to white from the NHS. Do you see Gordon brown with a mouth full of metal when he opens his mouth? NO.
WELL DONE!!
Steve and Derek Watson, I think you should encourage this process as opposed to putting a negative spin. It is better to have tried and failed then not to have tried at all. Stop hindering the process, unfortunately the economic state of the healthcare system is so diabolical that you have members of the community who are prepared and trying to make a positive difference however small you may consider this to be. Unless you two have anything better to offer as service providers I suggest you watch and take note and you may just learn something!!
I think it’s a very positive approach these people are taking and I only wish some of the Dentists in our area would follow this example. I accept that it is virtually impossible to have a private service which can price match the NHS across the board as people do need to try and earn a living but at least this service is making better dental health care in first class facilities more accessible to the average member of the public. For a start its clean, its new, its state of the art and more importantly is cheap without having the levels of service compromised……… well done and keep up the good work!
Steve and Derek Watson sound like two disgruntled dentists!!!
This is pure marketing.
If you look around, there are loads of dentists outside the NHS doing exactly the same thing.
As others have said, these prices are only cheaper than NHS if sngle items are compared. If you need more than one thing doing, this place will be a lot dearer than NHS.
But if in makes you feel better about private dentists………
Here is another one!
Superb.To many people have dreadful teeth.
If only they knew that negelecting the teeth allowing them to rot can lead to jaw problems.face defects.
I have dentures due to a hockey accident at 14.Lost all my top front teeth.16 years of being looked after by Army dentists did me no good.My NHS dentist has treated me superbly.I am no longer scared of the dentist.I have treatments done by him without painkilling injections,so no mumb lips or tongue.
3 fillings replaced a crown mended.brace adjustments clean and polish…just over £40.well worth the money.Tooth ache…id rather give birth again!
I think this is a terrific idea and I wish them the best of luck. I am glad I’ve managed to get an appointment and get on the patient list.
I am a local resident and this area is deprived. I think this is a great idea as I have had difficulty signing up with a local dentist as they have been full. This is at a good price too. I hope this dentist can become an NHS practice as I am out of work and I am exempt. Being on a low income, I have not been to a dentist for 9 years believe it or not !
Terrfic idea, I am finding it hard to find a local NHS dentist at the moment.
More dentists should follow suit - high quality dental care at a reasonable price. Well done guys.
Looks like there is only one common agreement here, this is a good idea. State of the art practice with high quality care and at NHS prices. Keep it up.
I don’t believe that there is ever a time that you are able to receive something for nothing, the claim that they are able to make profit from charging NHS prices, i find to be highly unlikely, especially after we have him commenting on how much his chair cost (gotta make that money back somehow).
There are many dentista around my region who are offering the same kind of service, and believe me there is always a catch. We must all remember that dentistry is a business, and although many of us don’t like to think of it, individuals such as those featured in this article, see a gap in the market and run with it.
There are always hidden costs with these competitive ‘we can match the NHS’ dentists, your check ups are more regular (therefore costing more in the long run), there isn’t one standard cost, so you are charged for each item individually (I think the last time i went to one of these, i had to pay for the mouth rinse), and lastly there is a liklihood that you’ll be returning in a few months to have the same work carried out, the reason being that so many of these more ‘affordable’ dentists don’t come with any form of garantee!!
And another, who cant spell!!
I strongly disagree with Extra.
With regards to checkups they are normally every 6 months (not every week like extra seems to think so !), this is recommended by dentists. This practice is very good, there should be more of these around.
I am finding it very difficult to find a NHS dentist, and therefore will be signing up with this practice as I cannot afford a purely private practice.
Well done guys. Highly recommended.
to all them haters out there, what would you rather have, a dentist that exists in the areo or not?
this guy should be applauded for his business acumen, he spotted a gap in the market, took advantga, whilst also providing a quality service to the area.
I’m very impressed Polly. You’ve done very well for yourself!