Why are national health dentures made from cheaper material than privately paid for dentures.?

My fathers dentures have broken 5 times, now surely it would be cheaper to give them a proper pair in the first place, have the elderly and poor become second class citizens everyone should be entitled to the same treatment, he`s been told by his dentist if he wants a decent pair that wont break he has to pay for it privately

Once a set of teeth break they are more likely to break again.

Usually the only difference between NHS and private dentures is the teeth part of the dentures.

The fit will be the same and usually the base acrylic is exactly the same.


It depends on the design and how old his current set are and if the break is in exactly the same place each time.

I'm a Dental Nurse and on the NHS cheaper materials ARE used as the materials for private dentures cost more although they could use chrome instead of acrylic or a reinforced acrylic and a NHS dentist would not be able to provide them as the guideline say you cannot carry out treatment if not clinically necessary so if you don't pay private you have lower standard treatment all around including dentures fillings crowns bridges inlays etc its the way of the goverment ripping everyone off again but with out them knowing about it

The difference in quality of dentures available through national health and private can be common knowledge but broken five times points the needle more on mishandling. It would rather be more prudent to start investigation from your own home and also do not hesitage to submit broken ones to authorities for quality review.

It is all about money. The dentist is saying, you get what you pay for. Not everyone has the luxuries of paying for top quality. Yes, seniors on fixed incomes are being ripped off. Everyone should be entitled to a proper set of dentures if they need them.
Anything is possible to get as long as you are willing to pay high prices.

Why do you think???

I absolutely agree the NHS is a joke but I'm afraid that's how NHS dentistry works! I work privately so can't comment on known facts but i would assume the NHS does not pay enough to the labs for them to provide decent materials in which to make your dads dentures i would think it comes down to the dentists time as well because it takes several visits to complete the work and if the dentist is going to make any money he needs to get the work done as quick as possible putting pressure on the lab to provide the dentures quickly!
I would be interested to hear what other people think too especially if I'm wrong. Another point, the NHS have a duty to provide your father with dentures that are practical and won't constantly break.

There is no justification for dental charges. I know they have years of training, but so do many other professions they are dealing with the health of our nation, but what they are saying is , if you are poor, tough. You are a second class citizen and only get second best. If you look at any American chat show and see the state of the teeth the audience have, you will see the way we are heading. Money rules these days!