rossfive5

My kids went to the dentist recently and it was free. We have PR and it was done via their school. I'm told specialist treatment like having braces at the orthodontist is very costly. I have to agree, I have not seen such awful looking teeth as in the UK. My husband and I were asked if we had false teeth as ours look so good in comparison. It's quite a shock to see a good looking face, then they open their mouth to speak .

woogle

Too late once you get toothache Insurance won't cover you straight away & doesn't cover what you already need doing.
-Note to self -Should have spent less time job & house hunting & more time on sorting Medical insurance

simpy

Ahhh with you on that one m8, will sort med ins a.s.a.p. upon arrival


Simpy

Judes2308

Hi Cazzy

No, it was the one in Waurn Ponds. Didn't really like him to be honest, so even if I do need the fillings I won't be going back to him.

I was going to go to one in Belmont for a second opinion...the one across from Fruit Shack...is that the one you went to ?!?

Judy

MELANIE6

You obviously don't live in the same place in oz that I do - a lot of the aussie here don't have any teeth! Or just rotten stumpy things!! :scared:

moneypenny20

By all means get a second opinion, but I took my girls 13 and 11 to the dentist a couple of months ago and they needed between them 5 fillings :scared: Bearing in mind they have had regular checkups in the UK and when we went to usual (very good I thought) dentist just before we left in November, he said they were fine and needed nothing doing. One of the fillings was huge There is no way they only appeared in the last six months.

Ozzidoc

Or Try Dr Steve Mitchell at the Myer Street Dental Clinic in Geelong. We think he is fab and always been honest with us.

suebrennan

Gotta say it made me smile

cazzy

Hi Judy

The one in Waurn Ponds I think is the one in Belmont oppo the fruit shack, he has two surgerys, and yes it is the one we went to!

Ozzidoc - thanks for the recommendation I think I will check it out for our next round of appointments.

Simpy - we do have medical cover, just thought it would be good for others to know how much it costs.

Cazzy

wortho

I'd have to agree that UK dentist have a pretty bad reputation in the industry. My wife is a dental technician (makes crowns,bridge's etc) & was shocked at some of the work UK dentist at done in my gob. It cost me thousands to rectify what the UK dentist had done, mainly because they choose to just pull em out rather than spend the time to fix them. Its costing me $3900 for one bridge to fill a gap that the UK dentist pulled a good tooth from, it was some years ago though so I can't really say there that bad today, although from what my mother has just been through in the UK it seems not much has changed. Anyway my attitude now is do whatever it takes to keep my own teeth as I have heard some horror storys from folk with dentures, its an investment really.....
Aussie dentist are generally bloody good but bloody expensive too.

Ian12

It is a shock when you first use the dentists here. You did not get your dentistry "free" in the UK. You actually paid quite a bit via indirect and direct taxation.

Nicky & Dave

Get a second opinion. It's not just Oz dentists - last time I went to the Dentist, he warned me I urgently needed a filling replacing as it was about to go.......that was nearly six years ago and it's still doing just fine.


Nicky

joho

We joined HCF when we moved and now we go to their own dentist Centre in Sydney, we dont pay anything for checkups and simple fillings or clean and polisheds twice a year. My root canal has cost me a mere $160 and I had to pay a little for one of my sons major fillings, but thats been it, zilch. Would strongly recommend joining a scheme especially with their own centres as they wont do work that doesnt need to be done.

In saying that I have also found a very good dentist locally as she's great for emergencies and simple stuff and she didnt cost the earth and was also very honest, she knows we are in a scheme and usually does temporary fillings which are much cheaper ($30) to keep us going until we get to Sydney where they are free.

Jo

andrew63

Always worth a second opinion if you ask me. I moved in London and a new dentist insisted on 6 urgent fillings so I went back to my old one who gave me the all clear. Dentistry has to be a great scam - if you are inclined to be that way. After all, once the filling is done, you cannot back track. Maybe next time take your USB stick into the dentist and ask for a copy of the x-rays. I may try that.

When I got my private health cover that included dental and optical, there was no waiting period for dental and optical and immediate cover with HCF via iSelect.

Personally, I think the quality of teeth over here is worse but I guess it's really difficult to gauge.

My company sells mercury and some unscrupulous dentists here buy the cheap "dirty" recycled mercury for use in fllings rather than purchasing the expensive specially made mixtures specific for dentistry. Very scary.
Maybe this happens in the UK too but its' worrying either way.

Andrew

Lord Pom Percy

l agree l think you get what you pay for, although OZ dentists are more expensive the quality is good. l would rather an expensive quality job then a crap cheap job.