Kerrygold

General question - is dental care free in NZ? If not how expensive is it? What about Orthodontist treatment? Can't seem to find anything about dental care on any of the govt. sites.

garryhg

can only speak from my experience with dentist here,and beleive me since i came here in july had root treatment,2 abcessesand a filling,went regularly to my dentist back home and had everyone checked before we came,so guess i have just been unlucky,but cost of treatment,

root canal treatment...$1,500
filling and 2 back teeth removed due to abcesses about $650..

having said that have a fantastic dentist,i had the same dentist back home for about 20 years and thought he was good until i came here,imho the dentistry here is way more advanced....
had the filling taken out and some decay removed with a lazer,no drilling required at all,didn't feel a thing....hope this helps....jacky

SavBlancGal

My very recent dental costs were

Dental checkup with side x-rays - $80
X-ray around entire face/jaw - $75
Root canal - $1,600
Regular filling (after removing old one, cleaning up tooth etc) $300
Crown required on root canal tooth (at later date) - $700ish

Daughter requires orthodontic work - quoted around $5,000 (work for her is quite extensive apparently!).

I just keep thinking that we could have had a week on the Gold Coast for that amount!

dlmckay

School children get free dental and are called to see the dentist during school hours - they either have a dental clinic in the school grounds or a mobile van turns up to check them.

Adults have to pay - $100 for a check up!

garryhg

[QUOTE=dlmckay;5580701]School children get free dental and are called to see the dentist during school hours - they either have a dental clinic in the school grounds or a mobile van turns up to check them.

Adults have to pay - $100 for a check up![/QUote


we're taking our kids to our dentist next week,heard some horror stories about the school dentist,aparantly,or so the story goes from some of the kids at my daughters school,they just examine the kids without the parents being there and do whatever treatment they think should be done,well i'm sorry, none of my 2 have ever had a filling and if there is something needs done i should be consulted....it might be a lot of rubbish,but i'm not taking the chance,somethings are worth paying a bit extra for...jacky

Kerrygold

Thanks everyone - pretty much as I expected then.

You can't get an NHS dentist here anyway. I have to pay £17 a month just for my private dental care and for that my Dentist will continue to treat our daughters as NHS patients. My Husband pays privately as he goes.

We've just been quoted £1,500.00 for the first year of my daughter's orthadontist treatment as the NHS won't do it because they say her teeth aren't bad enough. No wonder the Americans think we've all got bad teeth!

dlmckay

Whilst the dentist will inspect your child's teeth without you being present, any work that is needed will require your consent. A letter is sent home explaining what is needed to be done and why, along with a bunch of info leaftlets - the parent needs to sign and return the letter before work is commenced - don't worry, they won't be doing anything without you knowing!

minky

We go to a dentist in Howick and the chidren are free but we will have to pay for orthodontic work.Our first visit was $260 for both me and hubby for check up and clean.

garryhg

hi karen,what dentist is it you go to,we are with selwyn road dentist,and they don,t give children free dentistry,we have to pay private they said....they are good dentists...

hope the jobs going well.....jacky

garryhg

thats what i thought,but the stories our daughter has heard don't say the same thing....could just be kids scare mongering..they have a check up next week anyway,not anticipating them having to get any work done...

fingers crossed...jacky

minky

Hi Jacky

Its A+ 3 Walter Macdonald Street hes really good with the children and gave them a tooth box.I found him really good as Im not a lover of the dentist either.
Jobs going well people are good and dont think Im doing too bad as its been a long time out.
How are you going with your new job?

Karen

garryhg

never went back,the girls were lovely and made me feel very welcome,but the salon,well ,2 hairdryers between all the staff,1 pair of clippers that hadn't seen a sterilizer for about 10 years,and the shop was rank...1 toilet out the back between the dairy a kebab shop and the salon,sorry no thanks....i'm just going to wait now until after school holidays...hope to catch up with you for a coffee at some point over holidays......jacky

karonious

Melissa hasn't been impressed with the standard of the school dental care. They don't seem to use a local anasthetic gel rountinely like her old dentist did and the female dentist was quite rough with her apparently. Hopefully the next one (assuming she needs a 'next one') will be a bit more gentle.

Kiwiprincess

I don't think i have ever had an anasthetic gel applied at dentist visit? Maybe I have and just didn't realise it but you may want to check it - it may not be something routinely offered.

garryhg

i never had the gel offered back in uk,but my dentist hear does it and it makes a huge difference...as soon as the needle goes in the gum my eyes start watering uncontrolably....always used to come out with panda eyes

not here....jacky