UK Dental Insurance, Dental Insurance UK

By: EconomyWatch   Date: 26 May 2010

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UK Dental Insurance provides financial coverage for any emergency and routine dental needs of individuals. Such insurance has become a necessity in our daily life due to the increasing costs of visiting a dentist.

What Does Dental Insurance Cover?

  • Check ups, including examination, scaling and polishing.
  • Simple dental procedures, such as fillings and simple extractions.
  • Complicated dental procedures, such as crowns, bridges and dentures.
  • Emergencies, such as injuries to the face, teeth or jaws.

    • What Does Dental Insurance Not Cover?

  • Cosmetic treatment
  • Orthodontic treatment
  • Dental implants
  • Sports injuries (unless a mouth guard is worn)

    • UK Dental Insurance Providers

    The UK has several dental insurance providers. Some of them are Tesco, Dencover, Denplan, Independent, HSA and WPA, among others. These companies offer insurance that covers both NHS and private treatment.

    The policies offered by each company vary and can be customized as per the requirements of the policyholder. For instance, the plans can be for a single person or a couple or a family with dependent children under the age of 18. The dental services included in the cover can be private or NHS provided. The claim for the dental treatment is obtained by the dental office in most plans and is reimbursed within two weeks.


    The National Health Services (NHS)

    This is the publicly funded healthcare system in the UK, which provides free services to citizens. Charges are associated with eye tests, dental care, prescriptions and some other aspects of personal care. This program caters to a majority of the health care needs in England, while private health care accounts for services used by 8% of the population.

    The NHS dentists provide all clinically necessary treatments and dentures to patients.

    Following the government’s introduction of the new contract in April 2005, NHS dentistry is not as widely available as it earlier was, with 900,000 fewer patients seeing an NHS dentist in 2008. From April 1, 2008, the new dental charges are £16.20 for an examination; £44.60 for a filling; and £198 for more complex procedures such as crowns, bridges or dentures. This move has been criticized by the British Dental Association as having "failed to improve access to care for patients and failed to allow dentists to provide the modern, preventive care they want to deliver."


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