Driver

Wow its great to be back, got fed up of reading others bashing NZ and went to another site. So to help keep this one going here is another question for anyone who might be able to help.
My son is about to have his "Train tracks" fitted, u no the modern type of brace on your teeth.
When we move to NZ he will still have them as they have to be in place for about 2yrs.
We saw millions of dentist surgeries when we visited but are there many specialists in this subject as he will need monitoring. Am I likely to be driving to big cities for this or are they available in most large towns? I know the hospitals are well equipped do they have a dental department attached? Anyone elses experiences will be greatly appreciated as I have another son with the same problem who will also need the treatment. I am expecting to have to pay, am I correct?

Gill and Rob

Yes, unfortunately you have to pay.

Where are you heading to live? We live in a small'ish town and we have a great orthodontist, who has come highly reccommended to us. Our oldest daughter {11}, needs two types of braces over the forthcoming years. We have been quoted $1800 for the first lot of treatment, then $5500 !!! for the second lot of work...... we do however qualifiy for a discount of $800 dollars for having the first brace.

For that sort of money I WANT HER TO HAVE TEETH LIKE AN OSMOND !!!!

Gill

Driver

Oh my goodness, just converted that to GBP! Better put some aside before we come to cope with that. I might make enquiries about the younger son to see if we can get things started with him too before we arrive.
Thanks for the quick reply. We are hoping to settle in the BOP which I see is where you are. Visited Tauranga last year and thought it was the best place for us. Lets hope so. Coming on a LTBV, just filling out medical forms now.

Anita.

binman

Yes you will have to pay. However you may get a substantial discount if you pay in advance and just hope that that the good doctor doesn't kark it during the period your child is having treatment. I am always embarrassed when I have dental treatment abroad [Germany. Australia and NZ] as they always quickly point to shoddy NHS treatment [and private UK treatment]. Be careful though always seek a second opinion in countries such as Australia and NZ for major work as not all dentists like lawyers are ethical and it might be just surgery for surgery's sake. Cheers binman

Driver

I am sure they both need the work. Not looking forward to the bill though.
Thanks for the advice about double checking and discounts these are the things we blindly go ahead and pay full whack for without knowing about good stuff like discounts. I'll remember about the lawyers too. It seems we have to watch our back where ever we go.