dentists
 

Hi Everyone, I have just been to the Dentists to get a quote for Work and Income, I am pretty sure i have been to the most expensive Dentists in NZ. Have been quoted $500 for a filling. Was just wondering if there is govt subsidised dental treatment available. They should wear masks and capes and have horses called black Bess. Hope there are other options cheers

Re: dentists
 

Hi Chubnut
The quote does seem a bit high for a filling. They have probably quoted for a composite (white) filling and if you were happy with amalgam instead, it might cut down the cost a bit.

In Wellington there is subsidised dental care at the Wellington People's Centre for those on low incomes. I don't know if your area has anything similar. The local Citizens Advice Bureau would probably know.

Good luck with your return home btw.

Re: dentists
 

I've just taken my daughter in for an x-ray and was told that dental care was free for school aged children only and it is pretty good - treatment that was going to cost stacks in Oz via private dentist is free here simply because we got a referral from the community dentist. Hard to believe my luck as I was going to put off the checkup until we were home in Oz over Christmas as I was worried it would cost a fortune here! The only option for adults is private dental, which costs a lot. The only other thing you could look into is whether there is some sort of government subsidy to help with costs???

Re: dentists
 

Believe it or not it is against Work and income policy to recommend any dentists, I mean why should they try and save the tax payer some money. I have decided against the first Dentist, as i do care about the burden on the tax payer. I have found out that there is a cheaper Dentist in the area called " The tooth fairy" so shall go and see them next week. Thanks for replies

Re: dentists
 

Gives you some free choice though - a dentist is a very personal thing - it could be that they would only reimburse up to a set amount anyway - if you do a thread search, there are some old posts on dentists in Tauranga and Tooth Fairy is mentioned on there.

Re: dentists
 

$500 seems a lot - is it a straight filling? Or are you having IV sedation as well?

Get another quote - i had a filling done recently and it cost me around $190. My mother pays less than that, I know people who pay more.

But not $500. That's loads.

Re: dentists
 

Wellington 'high-end' fillings can be $200-300 - dentists should not be chosen for cheapness though!
A more expensive properly done one will last longer...each time you treat a tooth, you make it more likely you will tip the nerve over the edge...which then means root canal or extraction, so cheap fillings can definitely be false economy long-term.
Agree $500 is a lot unless it's massive and will take an hour to do.

Re: dentists
 

In my next life (hopefully I dont come back as a cat or dog...), I wanna be a dentist!!!

They make WAY too much money!

Re: dentists
 

Even the thought of the dentist is giving me misery at the moment. Well, my wallet misery.

I have a crown, well virtually all crown and no tooth no, that I had fixed up before leaving UK 3 years ago. Its come out and been refixed twice here, each time weakening the ability to adhere next time.

It's loose again and has come to the 'crunch' (sorry). I went to the dentist today and got a quote of $5400 to have an implant. I knew this was coming but really gutted. Can't really let it just fall out and leave it as I do training in my job and don't want to go round looking like a pirate. Thinking of all the things I could do with the money instead of a little piece of porcelain in me gob....

Off to the bank to extend my credit card this week :thumbdown:

By way of comparison, similar treatment back home would cost around $3000-$3500. Though this treatment often has to be done over a period of months while the post takes to the jaw, which means I can't really nick over to the UK to get it done, or elsewhere with cheaper dental care for that matter.

Honestly any thoughts of pain or discomfort of the treatment are eclipsed by the thought of shelling out this money! Still, if it is done well it should last till I'm a pensioner, by which stage I won't give a sh!t

The disparity between the state of nashers of the rich and poor is pretty striking here I think, don't you agree? Lots of Gummy Bears in New Zealand

Lollies anyone??

Re: dentists
 

I feel your pain Turkeys.
Husband had the same sorta problem . The dentist did try and refix etc but it just wasn't working, so we have just shelled out well over $10K for 2 implants for OH. On a kiwi wage, that just aint fun.

It took around 4 months .

Re: dentists
 

Yep I notice this a lot. It costs say $200 to extract a tooth, $1200 to do a root canal plus same again for a crown to protect it.
The need for expensive dental care in middle age thing is maybe mainly an issue for 1960's and 1970's generations (like me). Our kids may be more fortunate, having needed less repair, there's less to go wrong, in the first place.
If you are coming over here though - don't forget to budget for braces for them too!
Bevs, turkeys....it should be money well-spent though so don't beat yourselves up too much.

Re: dentists
 

just had one teeth pulled out....

Hurts.... $150

To get it fixed (root canal etc...) $2K

Re: dentists
 

Just in case anyone is wondering about Thai dentists.........I went there in October and got a load of work done (3 root canals, 8 crowns 1 bridge and 2 fillings) to be exact.

I'm very happy with the results and it was less that a half the cost of the NZ dentist quote and I got 2 weeks holiday thrown in :thumbsup:

I wont post details here because Bev's might tell me off but if you want details you could always PM me :D

Re: dentists
 

Aww that's so sad to hear and often it's false economy - your teeth should last you a lifetime and I'm guessing you are much younger than me. You could have done the root canal and then saved up for the crown.

Re: dentists
 

TBH we thought about doing just this as the costs began to unroll , but husband was already into the treatment by then.

Looking at the work you had done, were /are you a rugby player. :sneaky: