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London private dentists - scammy?
This place in Waterlo… I've been wanting to get my Invisalign treatment started and EVERY London dentist I go to finds and issue with my mouth that "needs to be fixed" before I get into the treatment.
This place in Waterloo charged me a surprise 30 GBP for what was supposed to be a "free Invisalign consultation", and said I had some fillings that came off and needed to get refilled - 300 GBP each + 4000 GBP for the Invisalign.
Then I went to this place in Harley Street that said Invisalign wouldn't work on me and that I'd need full on braces (my teeth are not that crooked and there is no medical issue) and that it would be 8000 GBP. Said I'd need no fillings because my teeth health is fine.
This third place in Shepherds Bush is now telling me I have early stage gingivitis (no dentist's mentioned this before) and in NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM I can wear Invisalign with gingivitis because my teeth could fall out. Said no fillings needed, just a few cleaning appointments. Then charged me a hidden fee of 70 GBP for an "Invisalign consultation". The gingivitis convinced me because tbf my dental hygiene isn't horrible but it isn't the best either and occasionally my gums bleed so I get it. Still, I've been following all instructions and going to all these cleaning appointments in this same place and my mouth's still "not good" enough to get Invisalign.
I've also done my research and you can wear Invisalign if you have gingivitis as it doesn't affect your gums. POINT IS all these places and appointments are inconsistent and just convinced me that these London dentists want to scam people into treatments and hidden fees. It's absolutely tiring - I just want to get my teeth straightened!
Has anyone experienced the same or is it just me? Also any London dentist recs would be appreciated...
yeah london dentists are notorious for this honestly, they all try to upsell you on something before the actual treatment. i went through the same thing before getting my braces sorted.
try The Dental Practice in Clapham common, they were pretty straightforward with me no hidden fees and they actually listened to what i wanted. might be a bit of a trek but worth it
honestly i think some of these places just see Invisalign patients as an easy cash grab. the whole "you need this fixed first" thing is such a common tactic, especially if they can charge you for the consultation too.
fwiw i went to Bayswater Orthodontics and they were pretty chill. told me straight up what needed doing and what didn't, no surprise charges. they did say i needed a clean first but that was like 80 quid and done in one visit. might be worth a look if you're sick of the runaround
ugh that sounds so frustrating honestly. i'd try City Smile in Soho, they did my Invisalign and were super upfront about costs, no hidden fees or extra crap. they just said yeah u need a scale and polish first which is normal and that was it
What are some innovative ways to anonymously compare rental prices in a city?
SpareRoom's "rooms wanted" ads are underrated for this. people post what they're currently paying alongside what they want next, so you can scrape a rough sense of going rates by postcode without anyone knowing you looked. it skews young and flatshare heavy tho, so not much use if you're after 2-beds in zone 2.
Another one is just the depozit or tenancy deposit scheme data. not public-facing, but your council's housing officer can tell you median rents from deposit registrations if you email them under FOI. takes weeks, but its proper anon and nobody clocks u.
Rightmove and Zoopla only show asking rents, which are often 10 to 15 percent above what a place actually goes for, so they're a poor benchmark. The trick I've used is the ONS Price Index of Private Rents, which breaks things down to borough level and is genuinely anonymous since it's aggregate data, no listing or account needed. For something more granular, the London Renters Union runs a rent reporting tool where you submit what you're paying with your postcode and it maps it against others nearby, though the coverage is patchy outside the inner boroughs.
the openrent "rent check" thing is decent for zones 3-4 where the unions tool barely reaches. also worth checking the london.gov.uk planning portal for new build applications, they list "affordable" and market rent figures per unit in the viability assessments, which is basically the developer telling the council what they expect to charge. bit of a faff to dig through but its public, anonymous & nobody knows ur looking
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