Dentists! :(
 

Hi everyone, wondering if you could help me?

For the past few months now I've had a problem with one of my teeth. I went for a check up back in January here in Canada and they gave me some bad news. I need a root canal that is going to cost over $1000. They prescribed me anti-biotics to get rid of the infection and it calmed down a bit. Now it's flared back up again and it looks like I'm going to have to go back.

Thing is, I can't in any way afford that root canal (I'm living in Whistler so dental fees along with everything else are sky high). I'm visiting home in July where I plan to get it seen to for much cheaper so if I can get some more anti-biotics to hold it off until then, that's what I'm going to do.

My question is, does anybody know of any reduced fee dental clinics, preferably based on income, in the Vancouver area I could try if the worst comes to the worst and I can't go without treatment until I go home? I'm on an IEC WHV too.

Any advice would be very much appreciated. I've contacted my travel insurance and they only cover dental care for up to £100 :(

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Try these ones:

Reduced Fee Services - Adults - Vancouver Community Dental Health - Programs & Services - Vancouver Coastal Health

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Are you sure it will be cheaper there? $1000 is about what I paid for a root canal in the UK.

Re: Dentists! :(
 

NHS is about 225 quid including a crown.

Seriously though, I would bite the bullet and get it done here as soon as possible. Have you got any space on a credit card or any relatives at home who could lend you the money?

Infections like this can actually result in blood poisoning and can be FATAL.

Re: Dentists! :(
 

This is a long shot, but look into the dental schools in your area. Sometimes you can get dental care at one of the dental training schools for much cheaper rates. Long shot, but might be worth looking into!

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Yeah, but is someone living in Canada going to be able to get NHS dental treatment? Even living in the UK, there was no NHS dentist near me that I'd have trusted with my teeth.

Re: Dentists! :(
 

I doubt it either!

I would just suck it up and get it done! the longer its left the worst it's going to be!

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Agreed, root canals are nothing to screw around with. Leaving them can be awful. And yeah, they're expensive, but leaving it untreated and then letting it get worse is going to cost more.

Re: Dentists! :(
 

She is going home to the UK in July. She was considering leaving it until then.

Not all NHS dentists are bad. Only most of them...

Dentists here are far superior. And I hate dentists.

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Agreed 100%. I went for a "cleaning" with an NHS dentist, it was pretty comical.

My husband then changed jobs and got private dental coverage, so we were going to a private dentist for a few years. That was much closer to Canadian standards but still not quite as good. But acceptable.

My husband's first dentist appointment in Canada was hilarious, he was shocked. It also resulted in him getting two of his four wisdom teeth removed... the dentist here told him first of all that he only had two of his four, which he never knew, and then also that the two he did have were growing sideways, and while it was not currently causing an issue was likely to cause a problem down the road and thus the recommendation was to have them removed while he could control the timing and recovery, instead of being forced into it if they were to become infected or whatever. He had them out not long after that first appointment.

I just had my teeth cleaned about two weeks ago. It was awesome - I'd forgotten that my teeth actually hurt for most of the day after a cleaning, something that never happened in the UK. Happy to be back here as far as tooth care goes!

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Thanks for all of the advice guys. I'm going to apply for a credit card today at the bank and pay for a check up on Monday.

I'm going to a different dentist to the one I went to last time to see if the quote I get is any better and I may just have to get it done on the credit card. You guys are right about if I leave it it could get worse. That's the last thing I want.

I'm lucky I have a secure job with full time hours which will allow me to pay the card off month by month.

Just sucks so much that it had to come to this. I ha my tooth checked out in the UK before I came to Canada and the dentist told me it was nothing to worry about >:(

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Not overly surprising, if I'm honest -- read what I just posted about my husband's experience with CA vs UK dentists!

Glad you are getting it sorted, though, it's far worse to leave it. Sucks a bit for sure, but will suck far more if you put it off and it gets worse!

Re: Dentists! :(
 

I don't have medical insurance at the moment.

I attend the Steel Workers Union Dentist in Toronto that is a non-profit. Not only am I spared ridiculous up sells but knowing that I don't have medical insurance they cut me slack on my routine cleaning and check up cost.

If I were you I'd look up something similar in Van. Once the profit element is gone you can probably shave $300 to $400 of the cost you have been quoted. I'd rather get it over with than live with the pain. It won't be as fancy a clinic but you'll get the same end result and expertise.

Re: Dentists! :(
 

I don't want to get drawn in a debate on this but in Canada the policy is for everyone to have their wisdom teeth removed. I'm not sure if it is for health reasons or simply cash.

In your husbands case it sounds like good advice.

But having had four wisdom teeth removed here in 2005 and returning to the UK I had several dentists from different dental systems (UK and Sweden) tell me that taking out all 4 wisdom teeth was unnecessary and old fashioned.

You don't need your wisdom teeth but whether that is grounds to get them removed is odd.

I do agree that in Canada they give you a good thorough cleaning at the dentist but that is by the hygienist. The dentist usually just pops in for a couple of minutes at the end.

In the UK you have a quick scraping with the dentist and are on your way.

Now the fine people of BE may question my post but let me tell you all this. My dentist in Canada says I have the best teeth in the practice and I've done the NHS proud. I am fortunate having been a braces kid for some years that I have always exposed myself to high quality dental treatments.

None the less be very weary of private dental advice which is the morale of this long winded post. Prevention is indeed better than cure but unnecessary prevention equals unnecessary cost or profit for the other side.

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Oh I agree about wisdom teeth. As I said, the dentist actually said to my husband it was NOT required for him to have them out - they were not really causing any problems and he'd clearly lived with it for ages. However, because they were sideways and close-ish to the surface, an infection down the road would for sure result in them having to be removed... of course, there was a chance he'd never develop said infection and he'd be totally fine, but in the end he opted to have them removed mainly to do it on his own schedule, not to mention that if there was an infection, he'd have to clear the infection before going in for surgery, which would have just been far worse, so we opted to have them removed now instead. It also helped he didn't need general anaesthetic to have them removed, just deep sedation, then a few days to recover. He took a half-day off on a Friday, and was back at work on Monday feeling generally fine albeit a bit swollen.

I also had mine out when I was 18. Mine were way down and impacted and were actually causing some pain in my jaw. I had to have general anaesthetic and my bottom teeth had to be broken in half to be taken out - there was not enough room in my jaw to pull the bottom teeth out in one piece. Took about a week to recover from that. Again, that was deemed to be a required surgery because of how deeply impacted they were.

But I do generally agree that some people seem to have them pulled for the fun of it.

I like that our dentist seems to be pretty sensible when it comes to treatment. My husband's bottom teeth are a tiny bit crooked, and he was worried when he went for his first checkup that they were going to harp on about it. The dentist ended up just saying that if he was self-conscious about it then he could have something done including very discrete solutions, but in terms of dental health, the teeth were not causing any issues and were otherwise just fine. My husband appreciated that approach. They don't really bother him at all, so the dentist just gave him some pointers on making sure he cleans in there quite well, and that was that. He's pretty sensible that way, which is nice. :)

Re: Dentists! :(
 

When I was 12 I had 4 teeth removed. It was done using needles to numb the mouth then pliers. The injections were the most pain I've ever felt in my life. Such is with being young that I healed surprisingly fast.

The next time round, in Canada, on sharing my previous experience they laughing gassed me. If only I could get my hands on laughing gas for recreational purposes now! Even having teeth drilled out felt like the coolest sensation in the world. I was tripping and it was goooooood!

I was not back at work on the Monday. I needed a good week for the swelling and pain to go. In actual fact I only felt completely normal after two. The painkillers were industrial strength, the first 4/5 days I just slept. It was a strange existence.

Re: Dentists! :(
 

I've had a total of 9 teeth removed. I am well-versed, haha. (My mouth is kind of a mess.)

A few were pulled with just injections. Those sucked.

Then I had 3 removed with laughing gas. My experience was much like yours. That was AWESOME. A few days to recover from that - I think I was about 15 or so at the time, so young enough for a quick(ish) recovery.

Wisdom teeth as I said was full anaesthetic. That took about a week to really recover. I did unfortunately end up with some other complications after that as a result of them having to dislocate my jaw after the surgery. That was over 10 years ago and still causes me some issues to this day. (Temporomandibular Joint Disorders (TMJ, TMD): Symptoms, Treatment and More if you fancy some bedtime reading. I now have to wear a nightguard to stop me from clenching, I can't chew gum, and eating really chewy stuff usually ends up with quite a sore jaw.)

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Reduced Cost Dental Clinics in BC

check out this web site

BC Dental Association | British Columbia Dental Care

but note .........

Most seem to be aimed at the homeless, very low income, and are staffed by volunteer dentists, often dental students.


Dental Clinic at UBC ...

About the Dental Clinic | Faculty of Dentistry

The dental clinic at UBC operates at reduced fees ....... approximately 20 to 40 percent less than those in the BC Dental Association Fee Guide. There are different guides governing students, graduate students and faculty members


It can be difficult to be accepted into the programme ........... they do pick and choose depending on the treatments that the students need to master. The site tells you which programmes are accepting patients.

How to Become a Patient | Faculty of Dentistry


They are much more "picky" than the Dental Clinic that I went to in the 60s at Liverpool, which accepted anyone for any kind of treatment!

Re: Dentists! :(
 

I had a lot of teeth extracted at the School Dental Clinic in my home town in the late 40s and 50s ................ do they even still exist??????????

It was "remove, no fillings"

Most were done with laughing gas.


I have not had one single tooth extracted since I stopped going to that place of purgatory


I find the dental treatment here to be excellent.


Though I have to say that the gold crowns put on 4 molars at the Liverpool Dental Clinic (by my dental student roommate) lasted one heck of a long time .............. the first one fell off about 40 years after she did the work :lol:

It was then decided that they should all come off, the tooth remnants be cleaned up, and new crowns put on.

The work she did back then was done well enough that there was little wrong with the underlying teeth, and the new crowns are working just fine!

Re: Dentists! :(
 

There are some low cost dental places, but just beware the wait time can be long at times, and depending on the clinic may not do root canals and other procedures other then basic care like fillings and extractions, but this varies based on clinic.

If you can try Squamish dentists, you may find they charge less then a Whistler dentist.

I go here:

Squamish Dental Clinic
Dentist
Address: 37979 Cleveland Ave, Squamish, BC V8B 0A6
Phone:(604) 892-3548

They are 2 brothers, the one I see is friendly as are the staff, they don't have a super fancy office but its clean and modern equipment wise.

I don't know what their cash prices are, but they might be lower then what you find in Whistler but I have no clue.


I needed a root canal once about 10 years ago, had no dental and ended up with a blood infection from it, luckily it was a back tooth so it was just pulled since the root canal was too much, had another back pulled for the same reason about 6 years ago.

Extractions are the poor persons solution to dental care and sometimes the only option in North America when it comes to dental unfortunately.

My wisdom teeth came in okay, but recently have been causing me pain and discomfort, so even when those things come in okay and sit there for years okay, doesn't mean they will not cause issues down the road.

Re: Dentists! :(
 

If you need a root canal done, don't wait. I had a hellish time with dentists back in Scotland before I emigrated; I had a veneer replaced at a private dentist who did such a bad job he managed to damage the root of the tooth. But he was relaxed about it, 'wait and see', and it was only when I saw another dentist (I wasn't going back to see him for many reasons!) they said I should really get a root canal done as it was still painful. Got a root canal done, but then had to have it redone because the guy didn't clean it out well enough - possibly because it had been infected for a couple of months before I had the root canal. And this was all on one of my top front teeth - removal not really an option!

So when we had to choose a dentist here I was really picky - we went and met with several before deciding on one. I also have what I would call 'suspect' wisdom teeth.. the bottom 2 are impacted and ache every now and then (usually when I'm stressed). The UK dentist (that I liked) said there was no way they would take them out in the position they were in, unless they were giving me issues. I was really worried every Canadian dentist was going to insist on it because of their policy of taking them out, but our current dentist is happy to leave them where they are if that's what I want.

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Thanks again guys. Update on the situation... My bank doesn't do credit cards without me having to put $1000 on it first because I'm not a PR :(

I heard that Scotiabank are doing free credit cards for non PR's at the moment. Can anybody confirm this? They're closed now so I can't call.

Trying to get myself a check up for this Saturday and see what he says.

Re: Dentists! :(
 

You won't get more than $500 out of Scotiabank. They are pretty pathetic.

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Will a dentist let you set up instalment payments? Maybe offer to pay 30% up front (or more). We did it with daughter's braces. Maybe we were less of a flight risk but it's worth asking.

Or try and appeal to a bank's better nature - there might be one in there somewhere. ;)

Re: Dentists! :(
 

I have an appointment with CIBC on Monday, they do the card with $1000 dollar limit. I just have to show him my visa so there's hope yet. My dentist is closed until Monday but I'm going to try and get an appointment for a different one for tomorrow, I don't think I can cope with the pain until Monday :(

Just going to bite the bullet and put the treatment on card but I'm definitely going to ask about a payment plan first. Long shot but I can only try.

Re: Dentists! :(
 

You don't have a credit card from your home country you can use????

Re: Dentists! :(
 

you can get personal dental insurance with pacific blue cross, it's like 21 a month for one person, from what I understand you do have to wait 3 months before you can claim and you only get 500 or 700 dollars covered, which isnt great but it would take a bit of sting out of the final bill.


I was mistaken it is 27 per month http://www.pac.bluecross.ca/individual/dentalonly.aspx

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Slightly off topic but good to know. Is that a secured card though?

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Thanks again everybody for all of your advice. You've been so helpful.

My dentist today was kind enough to fax over a repeat prescription for antibiotics to the pharmacy rather than me wait until Monday so I started the course this morning. I hope they kick in soon as I'm currently lying here in agony. I've booked myself in for treatment in early May when the infection will hopefully have been well cleared by then.

I asked the guy at the bank if I have to put money on the card first in order to be able to use it and he said no which is good. I just have to take in my passport and visa to the appointment. Never again am I putting off anything like this because of expense. It's not worth the pain :(

Re: Dentists! :(
 

So that's $324 a year and hopefully you have nothing done. Or it might pay for a filling or two.

It doesn't sound too appealing unless you're looking at several fillings or crowns, or something. Or maybe the root canal. But that level of treatment is quite unusual isn't it?

Five years worth of premiums are $1600 and might very well pay for it.

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Dental insurance when you have to pay for it on your own is usually a rip off. Same with most extended benefits.

Not bad to have if an employer offers them though at the usually discounted group rates.

I am on the government yank the tooth out plan now...lol... 1,000 every other year, but it doesn't cover things like crowns and root canals, just cleanings, fillings, extractions and other low cost dental services.

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Just in case someone new is reading this... Don't forget to claim treatment costs as an expense when filling in your Canadian tax form! (Medical insurance premiums too.) Softens the blow a little bit, eventually!

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Where are you going? I'd recommend creekside dental if you must use a dentist in whistler. Creekside and aram both charge BC recommended fees. Whistler dental does not and is much more expensive than the other options.
It must be a molar at that price? You could get the root canal done and a crown put on in the UK maybe

Re: Dentists! :(
 

Yes tee, Creekside is who I'm going with. I had my checkup there last time and they were very good and helpful (albeit I almost vomited at the shock of the price and news that I need a root canal)

I can now feel a lump up near my gum (great) which I suspect at be an abscess :( Day 3 of antibiotics tomorrow so I'm going go see if they help with the swelling. The pain is less severe than yesterday so that's something. Going to call up the dentists on Monday though and ask about the lump, I'm getting panicky and scared. I'm terrified of major dental work but I know it must be done.