Well we all hear that our American and Canadian cousins dont care much for our British teeth and I fear, as I have a powerful dentist phobia, I will come to NS with a great set of my own!!

I certainly need a crown, several tiny fillings and some serious whitening!!!

So, my question is - how easy is it to get a dentist? And as I appreciate that they are likely private, when you get dental plans through employment, how much is still payed for by us?? And will my pre-existing stuff cost me +++ like with any insurance, because it wont be covered?

(And has anyone had their teeth whitened?? How much was it and is it a one off session???)

Thanks!

Dentists are easy to find but expensive (if you have typical British teeth like mine ). Obviously costs will depend on the dental plan you get but there are annual limits on various treatments and coverage will range from 0% to 100% depending on the treatment in question, plan and amount paid for that sort of treatment for you in the last year.

With the insurance coverage, some examples are $15-$20 for a clean, $20-$30 for a regular filling (a whole lot more if it's a white one, especially on a back tooth), $20-$30 for a wisdom tooth removal. They'll charge you per x-ray too, but I don't remember those costs being too outrageous.

Be sure to ask them "how much?" before any treatment, I had a referral for a redo on a root canal, apparantly root canal redos are not covered under my policy and for some reason they wanted about $1k for the procedure (which is obviously not going to get done!) - a regular root canal with insurance coverage is probably around $50...

I think my dentist told me it was around $800-$1000 for bleaching, but I can't remember for sure as I'd already switched off after she said "not covered by insurance..."

If you don't have a dental plan, things tend to be a lot cheaper as they know people won't cough up the same kind of money that insurers will.

Seriously, get them done b4 u come over.
Had my sons teeth cleaned last week and it cost me $210 !!! This is a 15 year old that has never had a cavity (filling) in his life. BTW his braces cost me $5000. SMILE :-)

Get your teeth whitened over here before you go.

There are places that will do it for around £300-400 but I got mine done by a company for £200. (didn't really need doing, I just fancied trying it!!) but it worked!

They are called "the bright white company" (google for their web site) and are a mobile company so may come near your area..

Sadly cant reep the benefit of UK dentistry as we are in New Zealand where we pay an arm and a leg for private dentistry, and my dentist scares the jeepers out of me. Talk about hormonal and lack of empathy

I wonder if these internet bleach products that I have seen on ebay might do the trick?? I mean to say, how much does a splash of bleach cost???

Thanks!!

It's easy to find a dentist but they are private. Dental insurance is a worthwhile perk but it won't cover everything. I am covered by Souvette's plan, which I have been told by a dentist's secretary is a good one. Even that does not provide 100% coverage and the total annual limit is about $1500.

I recently went to the dentist for the first time in several years. The examination, including X-rays, was $85. The scaling and other cleaning was $80. My insurance covered $125 of the total.

I need to go back for a couple of fillings. They will likely cost about $100 a pop. I also need a crown replaced. The dentist told me she needs to get a quote for that

Worryingly, the dentist has also referred me to a peridontist. That, I was told, "is a bit more expensive than a dentist".

My stepson recently had all four wisdom teeth taken out. I think I wrote a cheque for $2000 for that one.

Moral of the story? If yo've an NHS dentist, make full use of him/her before moving to Canada.

Hi,

If they are anything like the "off the shelf" products that you can buy in supermarkets/Boots etc.. over here, then they *do* work, but they have very low concentrations of the active chemical in them, meaning that you have to used them every day, for a few weeks, before you notice results.

Would you seriously by bleach, that you put in your mouth, off some shyster on eBay? Are you quite mad?

Bazz, your shy and genteel manner always makes me feel so warm and fluffy ....

Me three.

My other half got referred to a great dentist in Dartmouth (NS) because there is no way he was going to sit in a dentist's chair to have his root canals done

The do something called conscious sedation, which just seems to make you extremely forgetful for about 5 or 6 hours. We have used up our $2k dental insurance in two separate annual visits, but it is well worth it.

What is quite amusing are the constant hiccups when they bring him round, and the repeated conversations all evening because he can't remember what I said ten minutes before.

Gets the job done though

I search back and found this info I had previously posted:

Mr Y-C-D has a family health plan (2 adults, 2 kids) through his work. He pays $40 every 2 weeks (people tend to get paid every 2 weeks here). Our plan gives approximately 80% off full price - some health plans give 100% off. Percentage of cover are reduced to 50-60% for certain things eg dental crowns.

Here are some examples I have experienced in the past 6 months.

Dr
Consultation - free
Prescription drugs cost me $8 - full cost $42

Dentist
Check-up and 5 x-rays = $19
Work done to the root of an existing crown, plus one filling = $46
Hygenist 1 hour appointment = $16

Children over the age of 10 pay for dental treatment

We applied for our health card straight away - we are here on a WP. They have to be shown when you visit the Dr/hospital and when you register with a dentist.

Whilst at the dentist this morning I enquired about teeth whitening and was told it costs around $320 for both upper and lower teeth. A mould it taken of you teeth and you actually use the whitening treatment at home over a period of around 7-10 days depending on the whitening level you want to attain

I'm the voice of reason in a world gone mad.

Before you try an expensive whitenening treatment I suggest you try Crest Vivid White toothpaste. You can get a night one that takes stains off while you are asleep and a daytime one, both are safe and were recommended by my hygenist. I had tried all the other whitening toothpastes on the market and found them all to be ineffective but the Crest is very good.