Almost Canadian

It was. As seems to be the norm over here, dentist would not even look at the teeth until all manner of photographs and x-rays had been performed. Expensive but, now that it's done and unless something silly happens, it shouldn't need doing again until the dentist decides he needs another foreign holiday

woofwoof

That must be the painkillers (drugs) they gave you ..........got any going spare

sans

Cost too much to post to the UK heehe

peachgary

If its any consolation i am going to the dentist on Monday to get a tooth out, it a bit complicated as its my eye tooth and here in the UK its going to cost me £320 because i had to go private to be seen to quickly and this has taking 7 days of pain............ :curse:

£40 check up
£80 clean
£100 sedation
£100 extraction

Total £320

So you could say I'm looking forward to having dental insurance over in Canada............................................ ..............

Coffeepot

Hi Wannabe
We are heading for Ottawa i hope very soon how do you like it there, we were there at easter in the snow, How do you find it ? cheers susan

Cookie

I am going to post this again because no-one seems to be reflecting any 'actual' costs AFTER insurance deductions. It seems that SOME insurance companies make you pay up front, then you claim back a percentage on the fees you paid. With OUR policy, we actually only pay the 20% and the dental office claim the rest direct from the insurance company. For crowns, bridge work etc, insurance only covers up to 56-60%.

Our dental charges have been much cheaper in Canada than the UK so far. These are the actual bills I paid upon completion of our treatment. The remainder of the bills was picked up the our insurance company.

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

Solarfish

I agree Yes Can Do

The actual costs after the insurance have paid their part is what counts to us. I went to the dentist two weeks ago. $211 for two x-rays and an hour long clean. Paid all up front and the dentist processed the forms to our insurance company. Received back $209 a week later.

Took the two kids last week for check up, x ray and a clean. Check up for me also. $386 and the dentist could tell me that we would get back $384

So all in all not bad at all.
Alro

sans

So you will only of paid $2?? for above treatment Sounds good to me. I will have to book my 2 kids in and will check back with their costs.

The reason i started this thread was to hopefully dampen any fears people may be carrying, that hav'nt arrived yet. I was lead to believe treatment usually ran into $1000'S over here and allowed it to be of concern before i came, as i did the 6 mthly thing in the UK without fail. Not everyone is going to be lucky enough to have medical & dental insurance paid through their employer and just thought if i gave costs before insurance it hopefully would help those who where having concerns.

Almost Canadian

My figures were stated as being after the insurance payments were deducted. I receive 80/20 coverage with my benefits so you can see what the dentist actually charged.

I was fully private in England with no insurance at all and never did we receive a bill for the amounts quoted purely for a check up, initial or otherwise. I am not complaining about it, I just posted to show that not everything is as cheap as your post made out.

The person in Canmore that only had to pay $2 must have exceptional benefits to such an extent that one wonders why the $2 wasn't covered as well

dingbat

Costs can vary from dentist to dentist, and whether they stick to the "list" of "recommended" charges issued by the province. Most don't these days, over the last decade I have noticed that dentists are charging quite a bit more, and insurance companies don't always cover the difference between "the list" and the actual charge. All in all, I find dental charges to be OK and I am happy with the quality of the work and the service. I have extraordinarily high dental bills (lots of kids) and I have a crown that has cracked three times. The last time, Blue Cross (:curse refused to cover it. $800+ with the appointment fee.

MarkG

Weird. My dentist in the UK just stuck an X-Ray thingy by my cheek, pressed a button and the X-ray was straight there on the computer a few seconds later... no need for expensive film processing and an instant result. In fact, he took a couple of X-rays while drilling into one of my teeth one time to check he'd drilled out everything that needed to come out.

Sounds like moving to Canada is going back into the 70s dentistry-wise .

Cookie

Don't think so. Same thing happens here. We even get gel to freeze our gums before they give an injection.

Almost Canadian

I don't think that is the case. My wife was very impressed with the treatment she and the kids received but it appears that none of them in Calgary will take an initial look without all manner of photographs and x-rays being taken. Probably to give them a really good understanding of the state of the teeth but, back in Blighty, the only x-rays that we ever taken were taken prior to beginning a procedure rather than as a matter of course.

My wife said that the oral hygienist took an hour with her teeth (her's are immaculate) and about 20 mins with each of the kids. I had heard that they were very thorough prior to them all attending.

It's my turn later this week

Cookie

That's very true. When my kids had their checkup they are sent to the hygenist first for a clean, then examined by the dentist. It's how the kids are checked over here.

I was at the dentist the other day (again) and was enquiring about teeth whitening. Now, this is not covered by insurance but he spent 20 mins examining my teeth and gums then discussed options. He advised that in my case I should consider Crest Dental Strips Premier, as amongst other things, I have several sensitive teeth. He said that he could have just gone ahead and taken my $300 but the stronger chemical content of his whitening treatment may have been painful for me. Dental strips kit cost around $45 at Walmart.

Cost of consultation - $7.

I am now on day 4 of treatment. I can actually see a bit of difference already so fingers crossed I will get a good result. I am not expecting 'American' teeth as they were never that colour in the first place Dentist said that our teeth changes colour as we get older .....humphhhhhh!

Alro

Morning all,

One thing that I forgotten to mention is that both my OH and I were offered a health and dental plan. I wasn't going to take mine as OH had practically 100% cover. Then I was told by dentist that my policy would sweep up anything that his (OH) policy did not. I took our work policy as I am sure that 100% cover only applied to "standard" treatment. Anything out of the ordinary may not be covered fully. This was also told to us at the pharmacy with regard to prescription costs. Both plans would cover it all in total.

One last thing while I remember. I am not sure of this is normal but OH company / plan covers the $88 per month Alberta health care plan. Worth checking though.

Alro