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At the dentist: You’ll just feel a little sting…

Emma Grey

by Emma Grey

30 Apr 05:55am

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Filed under: Dentist, Health, Society

54 comments

Nearly half of all Australians don’t visit the dentist regularly. Cost and anxiety are the stumbling blocks, and no wonder.

Hold still, this won't hurt a bit. Photo: Thinkstock

I took my kids for a check-up last week.  My 12-year-old, who has never had a moment’s dental drama, leapt smugly into the chair and had the smile wiped from her face when she was told she’d need her first filling. 

The dentist anaesthetised her gum with a large needle and occupied her mouth with his mirror, an amalgam condenser and the hygienist’s suction implement.  You’d think this would have impeded her capacity to talk, but no. 

Her sister wisely tried to camouflage herself against the wall. The dentist took one look in her mouth and ordered six extractions. Her adult teeth are coming in early, at a strange angle, because her baby teeth won’t budge.  Eek!

I was all, “Wow! Six!  It will be fine! You’ll see!” - cleverly disguising myself as a mum who hasn’t spent every day of the last four months dreading my own dental appointment, which was scheduled the next day.

It’s not the pain that scares me.  It’s not the drilling or the implements.  It’s the potential for bad news.
 
Even despite regular check-ups, and being quite a sane person the most of the time, I have these deranged dental scenarios running through my mind where a specialist looks at me gravely and says, “Well. There’s nothing for it. We have to rip out all of your teeth.  Mwahahahahaaaaaa…”

It occurs to me that I need a psychologist, not a dentist. I’m squirming uncomfortably and the dentist, hygienist and kids are all staring at me. 

“Er – pardon?”

“It’s $140 per extraction,” he is saying. “I can probably do you a bulk rate.”

I’m sorry.  Did he say $140 per tooth?  And she has six?  Maybe I could buy a packet of Minties and we could self-treat…

“That’s $240 for today,” the receptionist chimes minutes later.  Who are these people, and why are they being so mean to me?

The next afternoon I’m quivering in the endodontist’s waiting room.  Endodontists are the people who specialise in root canals. 

At what point do you wake up and decide to spend the rest of your working days flushing out diseased nerve pulp?  My eyes wander to a cartoon hanging on the wall depicting an old bloke with half his teeth missing.  Why, why?

“Emma?” the nurse says, unnecessarily brightly in the circumstances. “Come in.”

“I have a phobia of dentists,” I confess to the specialist before I even sit down.  “I think you’re going to tell me you’ll have to extract all of my teeth…”

“Oh, and I’m a gagger.” I add. “A bad one. They tried five times to get an X-ray at my regular dentist then gave up and sent me for one of those surround-the-head ones instead at $250 a pop, so I’ve brought that for you…”

“Hello, we’ve got a live one here…’ the dentist says.  (Or he might have said, “Nice to meet you – I’m Dr Patel”.  I was so keyed up I can’t remember now.)

“We’ll need another X-ray.  I know you don’t like it, but you have to trust us…’”  What? No!

Before I know it, the chair is snapped flat and I’m crushed by a lead apron with no means of escape.  Worse, the hygienist has poured a plastic cup of salt under my tongue and shoved a gag-inducing film in my mouth. 

‘Lift and lower your left leg. That’s it. Lift. Lower. Lift. Lower.  rust us,’ they command, like sadists.

They’re mad, both of them. I have to get out of there. The salt is disgusting. The leg raises are ridiculous.  I want my Mummy!

“Done!” he exclaims, triumphantly.

“Ooh, Wow! That was amazing!” I gush.  “Seriously – thank you!  Nobody’s ever been able to take an X-ray before without me gagging.”

I’m euphoric.  I could conquer the world with this salt-and-leg-raise technique…

“Right.  There’s an infection in your bone,” he explains, in an attempt to wreck my buoyant mood.  “You have three options.  A dental implant: $5,000.  A root canal and crown, which may require extra bone surgery since the filling is close to the gum-line.  That’s also about $5,000, at least, maybe more…  Or you could have the tooth extracted.”

At $140 for an extraction I’d be taking Option Number Three, thanks very much.  “Is there any urgency?” I ask.

“Well – the infection could flare up again.  It could spread.  It could reach your eye.  You might end up on an IV drip in hospital.  It could close off your airways and be fatal…”

“So, I can leave it a couple of months?” I query uselessly.

“That will be $160 for today,” his receptionist beams.

“Three hundred and ninety dollars, please,” her colleague says a day later, while my daughter stands beside me, cheeks stuffed with gauze, clutching six teeth sealed in a vacuum pack for the tooth fairy.

Brave girl.  Not a whimper.  Not a tear.  No hysterics. 

“What’s wrong with the baby?” she asks.  I look at my six-month-old’s bright pink cheeks, his fist rammed into his sore gums and the tell-tale drool… 

Great. Teeth.

Most commented

54 comments

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    • Faybian says:

      07:13am | 30/04/11

      Are you serious about the salt and leg raise??  Last time I got a filling the dentist accidentally shot me up with adrenalin (it’s mixed in with the lignocaine) and I had a panic attack in the chair. Nice. They’ve already mentioned braces for my 10 year old. Gaarh. My husband regularly has to see an endodentist for crap gums. Oh, the cost.

      Reply

    • trey says:

      09:32pm | 30/04/11

      mistake 1 is sending your husband to an endodontist for bad gums….he needs a periodontist

    • Emma says:

      05:13pm | 01/05/11

      Hi Faybian, yes, I am serious about the salt and leg raise.  Apparently salt helps to inhibit the gag reflex and concentrating on your leg lifts takes your mind off what’s happening and distracts you from gagging.  It sounds ludicrous, but it really worked! 

      The other dentist had my daughter wiggle her toes during the extractions, so there must be something to it.

    • TChong says:

      07:39am | 30/04/11

      Dentistry has to be one of the greatest fleecings a person can be subjected to, outside of getting involved with the legal system.
      Unjustifiably expensive, driven by a captive market.
      No wonder the villians in “Marathon Man”, and “Little Shop of Horrors” were dentists.

      Reply

    • Anne_N says:

      12:01pm | 30/04/11

      Human teeth are another obvious design fault.  You’d think the Supreme Being of Intelligent Design would have given us teeth like a shark - they fall out, we grow new ones.

    • nossy says:

      01:08pm | 30/04/11

      @Chongy - dont forget Vets Chongy - our pooches Vet fees are outrageous !

    • Macon Paine says:

      03:28pm | 30/04/11

      I agree the capacity to fleece people is there. It’s not like the patient is in any way able to make a judgement call on what the dentist recommends.
      Ultimately though, Im glad when my dentist spies a tiny cavity and I can get it filled before it has a chance to create not only a hole in my tooth but one in my wallet.
      @ Anne: Stop thinking for yourself, you’ll go to hell for that you know

    • john williams says:

      01:49am | 01/05/11

      @nossy
      damn right.
      Last time our puppy ...name with-held…but yes, she has one according to the vet who mails a letter in the freakin’ dog’s name and our surname reminding us that the pup was / is in need of a serious high level dollar input to sustain it’s life….or was that the vet’s lifestyle.
      Easily confused.
      $393 dollars in fact….for 10 minutes, which involved a cursory look into the pup’s ear and a scrip for ear drops!!!
      I just visited ...two days prior…my cardiologist on a post operative follow-up to a double bypass….20 minutes for $136 which was bulk-billed.
      I get quite murderous at the mere mention of a vet.

    • nossy says:

      12:02pm | 01/05/11

      @john williams - agreed John - fleece merchants 100% !

    • michael j says:

      09:29am | 30/04/11

      Have the kids worked out the % rate as to dentist verses tooth fairy ,,this could end up costing you quite a few dollars,,?

      Reply

    • Shane From Melbourne says:

      10:39am | 30/04/11

      We can find money for a Paid Parental Leave Scheme but not for a National Dental Scheme. And people wonder why this government is useless…..

      Reply

    • Larsen E Whipsnade says:

      11:32am | 30/04/11

      Well not just this government all governments that have gone before have squibbed on this issue. But there is a solution - pay more tax! We could have lots of nice things; high speed trains, six lane freeways, hospitals in every city across the land if people would pay more tax but no wants to so in short stop complaining.

    • Laura says:

      11:54am | 30/04/11

      the cost is, ah, somewhat different.  PPL is a few hundred million a year.  Dental is estimated, conservatively, at more than four billion.  PPL encourages people to have a baby and get back into the workforce.  A national dental scheme is opposed by dentists who don’t want to have their fees capped and earning potential examined by government.  Not that Medicare’s stopped doctors earning a packet, but that’s a side argument.

      So if this Government cut elsewhere or added a tax to implement a 4-6 billion national dental scheme and the dentists went rabid, you’d not call them useless??  You’d still complain.  They’re not stupid.

      And it would be good to note also that a Labor Govt introduced a National “Doctor” Scheme - Medicare - and the Liberal Party opposed it, and tried to repeal it when they got into Government.

    • Shane From Melbourne says:

      01:58pm | 30/04/11

      @Laura- just where did you get those costings? Seems to me that the government can always find money for middle class welfare- PPL, baby bonus, family tax A+B, FHBG etc, but neglects to cover basic health issues of citizens. Also there is strong scientific evidence that proper dental health prevents medical complications in other conditions, so by allowing dental health to deteriorate, you are adding to the costs of medicare in general.

    • Laura says:

      04:25pm | 30/04/11

      Shane - multiple sources will tell you the same thing.  One example is the Parliamentary Library’s research paper http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/bn/sp/Denticare.pdf
      which cites costs of between $5.5 billion (health reform paper’s estimate) and $11 billion (the health insurer’s peak body the Australian Health Insurance Association (AHIA).  The Greens, who support Denticare believe it will cost around $4 billion. 

      Regardless of who’s figures you use, it’s a lot of money.

      I’m perfectly happy for middle class welfare (extensively introduced by Howard in a time of plenty, instead of saving it or doing things like improving hospitals) to be scrapped, but remember the outcry when the baby bonus was means tested?  Or when there were reported moves to means test the childcare rebate?  It’s not going to happen.

      Yes, good dental care helps with good overall health, but my point was not that it wasn’t a good idea - just that it was very, very expensive, and where was the money going to come from? 

      It’s not because this government is ‘useless’ that we don’t have universal dental care.  It’s because it’s prohibitively expensive, and as Larsen noted, we’d have to pay (a lot) more tax to fund it.

      And then we’d get the “Great Big New Tax” one liners.  Ever so helpful in meaningful debate as political leaders try to develop policies that will improve our community.

    • henry mc gill says:

      11:29pm | 30/04/11

      Shane the truth of the matter is that if the government was to implement a national dental scheme,our dental surgeries would be swamped by poeple whom have never visited a dental surgery in their lives, further more there is not a glut of dentists in this country,nor is there an incentive for dentists to work say in the outback.Try and get dental treatment in the North west of queensland like Normanton. I can understand your assertion to implement a National dental scheme and the truth is universities and our government need to train heaps of more dentists, But I suspect that to do so will marginally decrease the incomes of our dentists we have on hand if the government is to do so.. And our current crop of dentists will not like that will they?.

    • Matto says:

      11:09am | 30/04/11

      Not sure if it is still an option, but a few years back I went to the emergency department at a Melbourne hospital where I received 2 root canals in one night, it cost me $15. The catch, I had to let a student work on me. Haven’t regretted it once in the years since I had it done. She was the most caring and gentle dentist I have ever visited, probably because she was a student.

      Reply

    • Faybian says:

      02:18pm | 30/04/11

      My husband goes to the dental school at the gold coast hospital. Same sort of deal.

    • Ben81 says:

      12:17pm | 30/04/11

      Yeah I spent about $3000 at the dentist last year, of course I wouldn’t have had to spend nearly that much if i’d looked after my teeth properly in my late teens/early 20s and had things done sooner.
      It’s exactly as you say, the first time I went in because I just wanted a tooth pulled I was given 3 $35 xrays, some scraping crap for $20 and an $80 checkup before he even started on the damn tooth.

      It all had to be done in the end though or I would have put off other things and been even worse off, but as someone who rationalises everything I spend by thinking about what I actually got vs how much I had to work to afford it it’s kind of depressing.

      Reply

    • Ben81 says:

      02:26pm | 30/04/11

      nossy thanks for the laugh, but being as vain as I am if I had a problem like that i’d have done something about it ages ago, it’s the ones at the back you can’t see that were screwed up.

      Here’s me when I win the lottery
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fijggq5R6w

    • nossy says:

      03:33pm | 30/04/11

      @Ben81 - your a real sport Ben - you can pay me back another day !

    • Linda says:

      01:49pm | 30/04/11

      Dentists are evil, quite possibly even an alien race. I get a bit vapoury just driving past one (it’s like NO we can’t go that way,  we have to pass a dentist!!! Noooooooo!)  now, let alone actually go IN to be subjected to varying forms of torture, without some form of narcotic administered.

      I have no fillings, but I have bugger all teeth left as well. I looked after my teeth but ancestry and the tooth Gods and a bagpiping incident have conspired against me.

      I’ve been blessed with too many teeth for my head (perhaps I was a twin invitro and took on the twin’s teeth by osmosis)  and THREE yes three sets of wisdom teeth. One set is still up in there somewhere.

      A drunken orthodontist with halitosis (ironic really) in my youth proclaimed I needed to have eleven teeth out to get braces fitted. ELEVEN!! Struth. The eleven were duly removed, painfully and with much difficulty. Braces were fitted and I was in utter agony for weeks, then again every time he tightened the bastard things.  When they came off two years later, I still had an overbite and was scarred for life.  If he was still alive, the drunken sot, I’d likely hunt him down and tap him with the nearest blunt object, after inserting ALL his weapons of torture in his varying orifices crooning “this won’t hurt”.....insert evil laugh here.

      Every big back tooth that had the metal ring around it, rotted away while the braces were on and were removed, others were damaged as were my gums and lips. The top ones are still in existence so stop picturing Snagglepuss or Mrs McGillicuddy….

      Now “they” say I need to spend close to half a year’s wages, offer up my left arm and leg and everyone I’ve ever known’s firstborn getting all sorts of treatments with bizarre names and price tags attached.

      Well, they can bloody go and get well and truly stuffed. I’m living for the day when they all fall out and I can toddle off to the perfectly lovely denture man with the nice aftershave and sweet breath and say “give me removable teeth please”, for an nth of the cost of attempting vainly to keep the few I have left.

      Reply

    • Kate says:

      06:25pm | 01/05/11

      It is truly frustrating when dentists make the wrong call.

      I got told I needed nine teeth out (seven baby teeth and two upper back molars), and then braces to straighten my teeth. My mum asked if they also needed to remove lower molars to create more space. The dentist said ‘nah, probably not’.

      Seven years, two sets of braces, a plate and headgear later, and my top teeth are great. The bottom teeth are MORE crooked than they were to begin with, because my wisdom teeth had no space to come in and pushed everything out of alignment. Now I have to get more crowns to fix the damage my wisdom teeth caused to the back teeth which they should have bloody removed in the first place.

    • bella starkey says:

      01:57pm | 30/04/11

      I have been putting off havig a troublesome wisdom tooth pulled for more than six months. It’s going to cost me 500 bucks in the chair.

      It’s not so much the cost but the thought of having it done, I am lucky enough to have some pretty good teeth and this is the first bit of proper dental work I’ve ever needed. I don’t have insurance so going under for it isn’t an option.. a friend sugested a valium injection before is the way to go.

      Reply

    • Kate says:

      06:22pm | 01/05/11

      You’ll be okay! Just stock up on painkillers because it was the post-surgery pain that really bothered me.
      I had mine out surgically (they had no room to surface so the dentist needed to cut open the gums and find them first), but my dentist said they use Valium on patients who have it done in the chair.

      I also put mine off as long as possible until they started causing migraines. Big mistake - I couldn’t get an appointment for ages and by the time I went into surgery I could hardly open my mouth. I’d get it over with ASAP so you don’t have to worry any more!

    • Paulie says:

      02:30pm | 30/04/11

      I’ve assisted in the funding of my dentist’s wedding, first and second baby, and the skiing honeymoon in Aspen (the dental assistant went as nanny).
      When I first went to him he told me my teeth were in good shape.
      Then mentioned over time fillings would crack and to ensure a trouble free mouth for the rest of my life, he would replace them with gold and porcelain caps.
      $16,000 later, and he still gets to ski in Aspen, and I am saving for the next $300 check-up.

      Reply

    • marley says:

      08:42am | 01/05/11

      Funny, I had a dentist tell me pretty much the same thing 8 or 9 years ago -  all my ancient amalgam fittings should be replaced because they would crack, they would fall out, there would be decay under the fillings.  He suggested we start a program to replace them at two fillings a visit, twice a year. It would have kept him going for about 6 years.

      I didn’t go ahead with it, moved, changed dentists, and asked the new dentist what he thought of the old fillings.  His response:  we’ll replace them if they fall out. 

      I’ve moved again since then, been through two more dentists, and so far, have had one of those fillings replaced - it broke and half of it fell out. Other than that, my fillings, some of them 45 years old, are still going strong.

      Maybe you should get yourself another dentist.

    • malohi says:

      09:23am | 01/05/11

      So he offered you a professional service which you accepted and paid for.
      That bastard, one rule for them and one for us etc.

      How much do you think some uneducated tradie would charge for 45 minutes of their time doing an intricate job. likely to be close to the $300 for your checkup.

      Bogans = bad hygene = bad teeth = govt forced to flurodise the masses = begrudge the educated charging fees = hating dentists = replys on this thread.

    • marley says:

      12:16pm | 01/05/11

      @Malohi - well, I dunno - if I were looking at a repair bill of a few thousand bucks for my car, I might get a second estimate.  Same with teeth - if you think your dentist is doing unnecessary work, get a second opinion.  I did, and saved myself a lot of money without compromising my wonderful toothy smile. 

      And I see my current dentist twice a year and don’t begrudge her fees - but I do have doubts about that first dentist.  Wouldn’t you?

    • fairsfair says:

      03:40pm | 30/04/11

      I absolutely love love love the dentist. I know it makes me weird, but I thoroughly enjoy the feeling of leaving there with super clean teeth.

      I am sure it is mostly due to the fact that I have only ever had a couple of fillings in my life, but I put that down to good care of my teeth which was shocked into me after the school dentist told me she could “eat lunch off my gums” when I was in grade 3. I felt sick and embarassed and have scrubbed my teeth and gums morning and night every day since. Yuck! I

      I know a little bit of luck has probably been thrown in there too (I never stacked my scateboard or had any significant development issues aside from removal of wizzies) but I do save up for my annual visit, which is usually $200 - $250 for a check up and a thorough clean. It is part of my budget just like car rego.

      But Emma - I’d share your pain and fear if I had some kids or serious issues to contend with. I would be all for non-consmetic dentistry dealt with in a medicare type way. I’d like to see the govt rein in all this “middle class welfare” and “family assistance” and make dentistry services available to all Australians.

      Reply

    • Audrey says:

      05:45pm | 30/04/11

      I lived close to the breadline for many years and now that I’m looking for work I’m embarrassed by the state of my teeth which is affecting my self-confidence. My teeth need some basic cosmetic treatment. As a middle-aged woman I have worn dentition, staining, etc (no, I don’t smoke.) Dentists these days want money up front.  And if you can’t pay, they want to sign you up to some kind of payment plan run by a financial institution.  A Dentist recently wanted to charge me $90, just to have a look!!!  What’s going on?  Dentistry is something basic we ALL need.  It’s the 21st century for goodness sake.

      Reply

    • choirboy says:

      10:28pm | 30/04/11

      Audrey,  a Washing machine mechanic wanted $80 to come and tell me my machine was broken~I already knew that~ Thats the 21st Century!!!

    • LC says:

      06:28pm | 30/04/11

      I hate the dentist.

      Reply

    • Cam says:

      06:34pm | 30/04/11

      The cost of dental care in this country is a national disgrace! They keep coming up with reasons why kids teeth are so bad, eg, soft drinks, bad diet, but let’s face it, the cost of a dentist visit is so over the top it’s not funny! I broke a back molar over 8 months ago and it will stay that way until I can find room in my budget to have it fixed.

      The fact that you can get all sorts of non-essential medical procedures done covered by Medicare and yet our teeth aren’t covered is dispicable.  Until dentists start being fair about their fees, Australians by the thousands are just going to put up with bad teeth. You’ve either got enough money to pay and you’re fine or be on benefits and sit on a waiting list for years to get to the Dental Clinic. Anyone in the middle just goes without. And many people can’t afford health insurance either. Not that it covers the cost anyway!

      My husband went to our local dentist for a clean. He just about had a stand up argument with them because they wanted to charge him for an ‘assessment’ . He didn’t want a bloody examination, just a clean by the hygienist.

      And by the way we have a friend who is a retired dentist (and yes he retired early). Even he thinks dentistry is far too expensive. Many of the dental clinics in my state are owned by a cartel of dentists.

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      07:03pm | 30/04/11

      These incendiaries cost me a fortune : dentist, 400 bucks.
      Haircut, 30. That’s for 5 minutes works, cause Luigi’s only got 4 hairs to cut, so then he goes for me nose, ears, down me back and between me toes.
      The hem on me new pants : 20.
      And check out the price of batteries !
      Next thing yer know, the price of fish-fingers will outstrip the price of bananas.
      (Incendiaries just kill the working classes. Soon, there’ll be none of us left, and every comedian in town will really have to get to the next Royal Wedding for the next big comedy festival.)

      Reply

    • Alicia says:

      07:24pm | 30/04/11

      I hate the dentist - the cost is the most painful aspect. When I was young I only ever went to the school dentist, and by 2009 I hadn’t been for nearly 12 years. I finally decided to go and get a check-up.

      I needed 9 fillings, a clean and four wisdom teeth pulled. $5,000 later I’m still paying off the bank loan I got to afford it. If I didn’t get that loan, I can easily say that I would still have those wisdom teeth in my head.

      I’m supposed to be going back for my third clean in May but I can’t afford it. It’ll just have to wait. I do agree that the Government should do more to have some dental services covered by Medicare.

      I honestly believe that if preventative dental was more accessible that less children would require treatment in the future. I hope that when I have kids I’ll be able to afford to take them to the dentist annually.

      Reply

    • Ryan says:

      07:46pm | 30/04/11

      Isn’t it cheaper to book a flight over to Malaysia and have your teeth done there.

      Reply

    • amanda says:

      01:55pm | 01/05/11

      Pretty much Ryan, i am 34 and i have had an amazing amount of work done, ultimately i keep my teeth very clean, tooth mousse, floss daily, twice a day brushing, non alcoholic gargle- the works, but at the end of the day they are on the turn, my dentist informs me - my calcium levels are no good and my tooth are weak- he is right- lifetime cost- $15K - for another 10k i can go to KL and get a full mouth of screw in screw out implants, i am thinking about it!

    • Nearly paid for my dentists new BMW says:

      08:09pm | 30/04/11

      I went to a new dentist for convienience.  $200,  3 visits and multiple x-rays later I left with a “dental treatment plan” for $6600 involving 3 crowns and 4 fillings.

      So I went back to my normal dentist of 20+ years who is 90 minutes drive away.

      Answer - a routine clean for $130.  Fresh minty teeth.

      These greedy grubs are taking the public for a ride.  Be very very careful with what they tell you and why they push certain treatments.

      Reply

    • Jane2 says:

      09:01pm | 30/04/11

      Are dentists really that expensive? I got 60% back from my private health which is more than I get back from medicare for the GP, true the dentist bill is larger but I also spend longer on a dental visit than a GP (actually seeing them, not waiting to see them, with waiting the GP wins hand down). 5 mins with my GP costs me $80, 20 mins with my dentist costs me $240 so dentists have a cheaper hourly rate.

      Add to that the instant health care claim for the dentist verses the “pay in full and electronic credit you” later medicare and yes i dont mind visiting a dentist…besides which I want my own teeth for as long as possible.

      Reply

    • Toothy Grin says:

      10:59pm | 30/04/11

      No wonder people are booking teeth-tours to the Philippines! Good dental work can be done there for a fraction of the cost here.

      Reply

    • marley says:

      08:48am | 01/05/11

      One thing I find interesting here is that the dentist does the cleaning of your teeth.  At least, all the dentists I’ve been to in ACT and NSW operate that way.  In Canada, hygienists, not dentists, do the cleaning and of course their time is less costly than the dentists.  There are in fact dental hygienists who operate practices of their own, completely separate from dentists.  It’s one way of getting an essential service at a lower cost than seems to be the case here.

      Reply

    • Synical says:

      10:10am | 01/05/11

      Nearly paid for my dentists new BMW .. you might want a third opinion. I used to go the local dentist. Quick clean and checkup. He would plaster over cracked front fillings and reassure me that the marks and staining were ‘fine’. Was more interested in arguing with John Laws and his listeners than in dentistry I think.

      I decided to toddle off to a new dentist for a second opinion. Result - 6 crowns on my front teeth which had been happily rotting away under the disguise of the porcelain fillings that other dentist had been plastering on. Tthe new guy has all the nifty cameras where he can show you the destruction going on. Yes, I had to get a personal loan to pay them off and I’m sure I’ve paid for his kids private schools over the past few years. But I am much much more confident in the condition of my teeth nowadays. As another dental phobic I love love love the fact that these days it doesn’t hurt! (Had my teeth drilled as a kid with no needles cos that dentist didn’t believe in them!)

      Now to start saving for the couple of implants I need .................

      Reply

    • Quozl says:

      04:02pm | 01/05/11

      It is a lot cheaper, and you get better care and better trained dentists by going overseas to get the work done. I was quoted over 10k for one bridge here and could get the same work done OS, and have a nice holiday at the same time for less than half the cost and that includes airfares and accom.

      Coming from Canada originally the health system in this country is a poor joke and akin to the charges in the States for both medical and dental work.

      Reply

    • marley says:

      02:10pm | 02/05/11

      Umm, last time I went to a dentist in Canada, the charges were comparable to what I pay here.  Might even have been a bit more.

    • Maxload says:

      04:45pm | 01/05/11

      What exactly are people comparing the costs of dentistry to? A GP has a receptionist, a box of gloves and a pen to write a script. A dentist has a whole range of materials, hand pieces that need to be maintained, mechanical chair, autoclave for sterilisation etc….A plumber has a $100 drill set from Bunnings yet still charges $400/hr. It costs $300 to visit a dentist for basic maintenance, less than servicing your car. What sort of bill would you expect if you never took your car to the mechanic for 10 years?

      Reply

    • Kate says:

      06:17pm | 01/05/11

      In my lifetime I’ve had six extractions, two sets of braces, headgear, a plate, nine fillings, three root canals (intended to be one, but the dentist stuffed it up), a crown, and surgical extraction of all four wisdom teeth.
      I HATE the dentist. I’m very lucky that, as a 22 year old full-time student, I am still covered by my parents’ health insurance. It’s horribly expensive if you happen to be unlucky enough to have problematic teeth.

      I get very jealous of those people who brush their teeth only once a day, stroll into the dentist once every two years for a quick clean and checkup and that’s all there is. I take really good care of my teeth but it doesn’t stop them from cracking, or in the case of my wisdom teeth, growing backwards into my gums (that one was painful).

      Reply

    • BTT says:

      04:58am | 02/05/11

      The best thing I ever did was to have all my teeth extracted at age 21. I am now 74 years of age and have never had any trouble with dentures. The fees dentist’s charge are outrageous and discourage people to seek unurgent treatment on cost alone. Dentist’s are abusing a god given talent and should be investigated re their outlandish fee structure.

      Reply

    • katherine says:

      11:22am | 02/05/11

      After spending $1500 on a crown for a broken tooth (a different dentist’s fault), my husband is spending the same amount for the same problem.
      $3000 of our hard earned savings gone in a couple of bites.
      Sigh.

      Reply

    • John Guru says:

      12:52pm | 02/05/11

      Cost of dental work in Australia is ridiculously expensive, besides taking so many visits, x-rays etc.  Suggest people consider having their dentistry done overseas and save heaps.
      Last year I visited a specialist periodontist at a major private hospital in Thailand - cost about A$25. 
      Recent dental work costs in Thailand - 
      preliminary inspection - free;
      Teeth cleaning/polishing $20 - 25;
      Simple filling $20
      Extraction (molar) $20
      Ceramic Crown (molar) $80
      X-rays - usually included.
      The other benefit is its mostly easy to get treated the same day, plus they do more than one thing at each visit if required, so you can get 2 or 3 fillings and cleaning all done at same time -  not the come back again in 2 weeks or more prevalent in Australia.  Dentists in Thailand are well qualified have the most modern equipment.  As for me, I will never get any dental work done in Australia again - fed up of being ripped off.  Get it done trouble free overseas, and have a holiday with the savings.

      Reply

    • Hayness says:

      11:30am | 31/05/12

      im not sure if you should rellay work somewhere just because of the benefits that the job may provide financially.  you should have a job that you enjoy   i mean it is going to take up 40 hours of your week.  a job in a dental office would be a great job but make sure its rellay for you.  as for your teeth have you tried applying for any type of financial help from your state for health insurance   sometimes even if you cannot be covered they will give you a voucher for emergency help.

      Reply

    • Dr Nicholas says:

      12:07pm | 07/07/12

      Firstly, your ramblings above only uncover your severe lack of respect for health professionals, especially dentists.

      When you present to the surgery, you are presented with a diagnosis and treatment plan. No one forces you to stay, no one forces you go to the dentist. However, like most healthy adults, YOU present yourself to the dentist 6 monthly or so to check the health of your dentition. So please do not make it seem like someone has forced or coerced you out of your money.

      Also in regards to the costs aspect, the knowledge that goes behind the diagnosis you receive in 15 minutes accounts for thousands of hours spend studying at university, doing further education (at the cost and expense of the dentist) and from very expensive materials used in reaching their diagnosis. So if you divided your fee by the thousands of hours spent to make that decision for you, then the pay is a pittance!

      In regards to the treatment needed, once again, it is your choice, to proceed with the options, or to leave it. You are not bound, nor locked, nor gagged in voicing your opinion or situation. I think it was very nice of the dentist to give you a discount, for the service that was provided, is by far extremely dangerous and possibly deadly if done by an inexperienced or poorly trained dentist.

      This leads me to my final point. Should you be worried about cost only, a good follow up article for you to look at would be the ones of patients to who choose to get “cheap” implants and expensive dental work done in foreign countries like Thailand. Only to come back with a far worse problem that costs triple the original amount to fix!

      In summary, cost of a service is determined by its complexity and risk. Dentistry is a field where we deal in millimetres. No room for error, no room for lack in knowledge. Perhaps you should send your brave daughters to dental school (should they be able to complete the herculean task of gaining a place), so they may experience the arduous training involved, the skill needed and the HIGH levels of knowledge and risk involved.

      Perhaps then look back at this article and see the other side of dental health?

      Reply

    • cath delaney says:

      09:40pm | 12/07/12

      Lord save my teeth first then my soul! (quote-me)
      Just make sure u go to reputable! dentist.
      If u suffer under an incompetent dentist u can make official complaint in writing or phone at
      dentalboard.gov.au/
      Im 50 yr old-(i.e fillings upon fillings!) & i went to a random cheaper suburban dentist to save money.
      He caused awful,so called “referred” nerve pain
      (dentist was under 30 yrs old-my bad i should’ve walked out)
      I went in for preventative treatment in no pain.
      He found 1 cavitiy & also decided to quickly? change out an amalgam without checking my xrays id bought in frm previous dentist.(ended up rootcnal needed underneath)
      He was reckless,greedy trying to rush through 2 fillings..
      He disturbed a nerve in the standard filling in the process- $800 & days off work later i ended up having back molar extracted.

      Revenge fantasy on dentist still plays over in my head!
      Im off to Thailand nxt year.

      Reply
 
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