filz

Is it possible as a newly arriving PR to Alberta to get dental cover for the first 3 months (assuming not covered by a work policy) I'm principally thinking of emergency dental work required.

I might be missing something but as far as I can ascertain

1.The standard Alberta health plan does not cover standard dental work i.e. fillings check ups emergency extractions (i.e. tooth ache) etc (I've just had a tooth pulled in the last few days for that very reason hence the questions).

2.The supplementary blue cross non group insurance has a 90 day no claim period if I read things correctley (I'm not clear if it covers normal dentistry anyway)

3.All the private policies I have checked up have the same 3 month no claim clause.

4. A newly arriving PR would not be able in principal to have normal travel insurance cover from their previous country of residence for emergency dental work.

So the question is .
Is it possible to get above board cover for emergency dental work for the first 90 days coming to Alberta as a PR.?

iaink

Probably not. Why wouldnt you just pay whatever it costs for a filling or extraction as necessary? Many / Most dentist have payment plans if its too much for one go, but fillings etc are not bancrupting events generally.


I came off my bike and smashed my face in pretty good, 2 and a half lost teeth, extensive root canal / crown work... that ran to about $2k (8 years ago, so more now), but I was lucky that my work policy covered it 100% under "accidental dental" Unless something similar were to happen to you I dont see why insurance would be worth seeking out...do you often need acute dental care?

filz

Well I try not to make a habit of emergency dental work (twice in 40 odd years).

However I guess I just don't have any feeling for how much basic dentistry costs other than I get the impression that dental costs in Canada generally, are much higher than the UK (I have no evidence to support this mind, other than Canadians I have worked with in the past telling me about the cost of braces for their children).

As an example I recentley paid private in the UK £65 for an emergency extraction which I thought was very reasonable (I would have said yes to any fee at the time).

If anyone has any info on typical charges for standard stuff like check up, fillings extractions that would be helpful, or even or recomendation for a good, reasonably priced dental practice in the calgary area.

iaink

In Ontario the ODA list price (ie the level the insurance companies pay out to) for a regular clean, scale and check up (Most of an hour with the hygeneist, 5 minutes with the dentist) is about $130. I would expect Alberta is similar. Im guessing a couple of hundred bux for a filling / extraction, more for root canal type stuff.

Dentists are not cheap, but they are a level or two below the extortion of orthodentists, where 5-10k over a course of kids teeth straightening is not unexpected. And few benefit packages now seem to cover orthodentic charges

filz

thanks for that iaink, it at least gives me a feel for basic dentistry charges.It sounds like prices for the basic stuff, while more than europe generally are not sufficient to want to insure against for 3 months.

val50

I've just had a tooth abcess and been told by our dentist that I need root canal treatment and a crown. We submitted the quote to our insurance providers (covered by OH's work plan)
The root canal therapy is C$826, of which Sun Life will pay $786
Crown is C$1225 - the amount they will pay is zero!

filz

Is it possible to get reasonably priced dental insurance for that kind of thing (crowns , root canals) or does everyone not covered by a work policy just have to pay.?

iaink

Googling (Canada dental insurance) throws up some good leads, but its still going to cost you just as much...you either pay the dentist cash, pay the dentist through a payment plan and add their interest, or pay monthly into a insurance policy to cover the cost , plus their profit margin.

Heads you lose, Tails they win.

You would perhaps be better off to put whatever amount you want to pay as a premium away in a savings account every month if you dont find a job with benefits. If the amount your dental treatment costs is excessive enough (more than 3% of annual income from memory) you can claim tax relief on medical expenses at least...

Lloydies

My OH had to have a tooth extracted just after we arrived last year, and I think it was $138 (Alberta).

Cookie

Val, we have Group Benefits by Sun Life. Our dental plan maximum is $1000 per person per year. eg if you have already had a check-up and clean this year, then include the price of the root canal, this may bring you to your annual max. Therefore, they will not cover your crown.

Normally, they cover around 50% of the price of a crown. Their annual year runs from January 1 to December 31.

Just to add that I have had a 30 minute hygenist clean and check-up and only paid $21 because my insurance picked up the remaining 80%. I find my dental treatment here has been cheaper than private dental treatment back in the UK.

My son had 4 wisdom teeth removed at a cost of $1800 - $1000 was paid by insurance and he had max'd out his plan for the remainder of his year.

val50

No, haven't had any dental treatment this year, apart from seeing detist to have antibiotics prescribed. We know we have a limit and try to plan it so we maximise it's use every year, but when I sent in quote before starting treatment, Sun Life sent back the statement showing they wont cover cost of crowns or implants.

Simon Legree

If you are considering implants or other major dental work you could save you self a ton of money and have a holiday at the same time. Dentistry is a major industry in Los Algadonos, Mexico. There a literally hundreds of dental offices in this small border town. It's a 15 minute drive from Yuma AZ.
The facilities are state of the art and the dentists that we have been using for the last seven years were trained in the US. A root canal can be had for $360 and a crown for $280. My wife had these two procedures done last winter and was very happy with the work. I can't remember what they implants cost but I do remember thinking how reasonable it was. I waited in line to get back into the US one day behind a lady that had just had four implants done !
Thousands of people plan their major dental work around a holiday in Arizona or California. You see hundreds them crossing the border every day.
A crown alone, no root canal, at a dentist in Yuma would have been $875 !

Cdnshaz

I think people forget dentisty and medicine in general is expensive. IN UK NHS covers most medical procedures and some dentistry...I personally am used to canadian standards of dentistry and probably be reamed for this, but canadian dentistry is head and shoulders above UK dentists.
I go private in UK, and in Canada I well paid for my families dental (sometimes hub had ins sometimes he didn't )
The standards in UK are not the same, even my own UK dentist has said this, and that canadian dentistry has higher standards. I go private my cleaning alone cost more then my husband would pay in a year at NHS dentist. BUT my teeth are in much better shape. One cannot have a proper cleaning in 10 or 15 mins...NHS that is what you get.
So unless you have a employer willing to provide insurance, it will cost you dearly. God help you if you don't have insurance for prescriptions, they can cost a small fortune as well..

filz

Thanks for everyones replies.It has given me a good idea of the range of costs.

I like the idea of the dental holiday in Mexico.

Juliew

I agree with you on this. I remember getting an NHS dentist when we lived in the UK. Initially I was happy to get an NHS dentist until I saw the quality. The cleaning was insufficient - 10 minutes maximum!! She charged me about $10 pounds or so. I felt that I had overpaid! I grew up in Canada and was use to 1 hour cleaning appointments. I finally went to a private South African dentist in the UK. He charged about 70 pounds but did a much better job. He also commented that the service was better in North America, but this is debatable. The good thing about Canada, is that many employers will offer dental coverage. You can usually go for a cleaning twice a year for a very small fee. The only difficulty is that many employers make you wait about 3 months for coverage - mine made me wait a year!