My husband has terminal cancer - Liposarcoma and has only just managed in September to finally see a dentist. He asked if he should still pay for the treatment as he has done for years, but as he now receives ESA and PIP he was told by the dentist that it was free, so very shocked and upset this week to receive a letter saying that the NHS didn’t think he was eligible for free dental treatment and that there is in fact two types of ESA benefit, one is eligible and one is not. Turns out it looks like he gets the one with no eligibility for free dental care which we had no idea about and took the dental practice’s advice. We now face a fine of £100 on top of the dental fee. Wondered if anybody else had any similar experiences.
Hi West Yorkshire and welcome to the Macmillan Community but so sorry to hear about your husbands diagnosis and prognosis.
A cancer diagnosis like this in the family can be such a challenging and stressful time so things like this can be so challenging.. I was getting PIP and Contribution Based ESA and I did not get free dental treatment but sorry to hear about the fine. Surly this mistake is on your dentists part and you may need to contact the NHS and highlight this to them.
You may want to call the Macmillan Support Line open 8am-8pm (timings may differ across services) 7 days a week on 0808 808 00 00.
This service provides practical information, emotional support, benefits/financial guidance and you can ask your question about the fine.
We also have our Ask an Expert section but do allow a few working days for a reply.
Getting support from others who are dealing with the ‘exact same' support challenges can help a lot.
The Community is actually divided into Support Groups (Discussion Rooms) and when it comes to the practical and emotional challenges of supporting family and friends you may benefit from joining and posting in our Carers only and Supporting someone with incurable cancer support groups where you will connect with others navigating the exact same support challenges.
To connect with a group click on the “Bold Italic Links” I have created above then once the group page opens click on “Click to Join” when the black banner appears or “Join” under “Group Tools” (this all depends on the device you are using)
You can then put up your own post when you’re ready by clicking “+new” or “+” in the top right next to the group title.
Do get back to me if you need further help navigating the community
