Dental work - Cost of a crown

I broke a tooth last night (the tooth had a filling in it), anyway went to the dentist today and was charged £174 for services. YIKES!!! for 20 mins of work.  I have to go back in Sept and get a crown put on the tooth at a cost of £530! Breakdown - prep for crown £300, crown itself £230.

I have never had a crown before and this sounds OTT expensive to me.

Has anyone had a crown put on a tooth in the UK and if so what was the cost? I am not sure if I should just go with this or shop around since I have a bit of time. I know, sounds silly to "shop around for dental services" but I am shocked at the cost...

Thanks for any feedback!

was the £174 for a temporary crown?  this wasn't on NHS, but privatly, right?  and you don't have dental supplemental insurance (denplan or the like)....

I had a root canal with my NHS dentist and it was around £200 tops.
When I went for an emergency crown to a clinic, it was £95.

This surely must be private, because as I understand it- NHS dentists have only three charges now, and the most you would have to pay for that kind of work would be 180 GBP.  This would be for as many visits as it took to solve the problem.
At those rates, I would definitely plan a trip to Budapest and get it done there!

Private dentist and I have insurance.

No £174 was not for the temp crown...breakdown for today was £130 for a composite (1 surface) filing. £8 for a small xray and £36 for an emergency. I have no idea how much I will be reinbursed for today's huge bill? What is interesting is when I was in the chair he said the bill for today would be £130...then I go downstairs to pay and I see I was billed for the xray and an "emergency service" so I asked to speak with him again and he said "oh yeah, it was an emergency" you called with pain. I said "no I didn't have any pain, I just called to book a slot to see you about it and you were able to see me today". He made me feel like I was being cheap or something...I wasn't, I was just shocked that the bill went from £130 to £174.

The next treatment is £300 for a crown bonded porcelain prep (includes impressions and fabrication of temp crown), then the actual crown (a separate appt £230).

I do have BUPA and I called this morning to ask how much they would cover for a crown and they said "up to £216". So while I have cover I will still pay £314. I just wonder if I am being taken to the cleaners or if this is truly the "market" rate for a crown?

Should have mentioned, there are no NHS dentists where we live that take on new patients.

£95 would be great!!

are you eligible for the NHS?

I understand if you want to pursue private treatment, but.....ouch.

oops, our posts crossed- sorry about that

I can't comment on the cost of a crown...but £130 for a composite filling (i.e. the white ones and I assume a fairly large one?) sounds steep.  I go to a private dentist and I recently had two composite fillings and the large one was about £60 and the little one was £45.  This was in central London.  I would definitely get some other quotes.  The temporary one is done now and there is nothing you can do, but you have some time.  Shop around.  See if BUPA can recommend dentists they have worked with before in  your area.

Thanks for that Karin! I had a feeling I was being ripped off. When he said it would be £130 for today I looked a bit surprised (in a quiet way) and he said "would you like to leave and think about it"......what an ass and then to charge me £174! I should have walked out but you don't want to look like a fool. This came from a very young guy a couple of years out of dental school.  There is no need to talk to a patient like that....guess he needs to sharpen up on his people skills. Also he shot me up with so much novocaine that the left side of my tongue, my face and my ear were numb.....it was very unpleasant.

This experience today has really put me off. I will definitely find another dentist.

Good idea to ask BUPA for a referral.