caretaker

Absolutely can't hurt. A few years ago I attended the Trail Brain Injury Association picnic in the park and it kind of expanded my horizons. If you fit their criteria it could be a good thing. Like I said, from their website it doesn't look like a busy organisation, but who knows?

Jsmth321

Some organizations also seem to not put tons on their websites but yes they can also vary location to location, one mental health organization that is Canada wide provides very little in BC, but when I was in Ontario they had all sorts of services and programs of various kinds, some did have some lengthy wait lists however.

BristolUK

And then there are those letters/emails they send at the end of the (insurance) year suggesting you have something done because you've not reached your annual maximum yet.

Vitalstatistix

A lovely post and can I second BEVS sentiments and offer.

Jsmth321

Yes those too.

Guess there is a reason dental offices are so much fsncier vs medical doctor offices. Lol

BristolUK

You know, I'm not sure a major difference between UK and North American dentists has ever been mentioned on BE.

Allow for the fact that I've not been in the UK since 2004 and that all my dentists there were all NHS and never private...the dentists there saw one patient at a time. While waiting for the anaesthetic to kick in, that's what they'd do. Wait. They wouldn't go to another patient to do something.

It came as quite a shock to me whan I saw one in Montreal and I was one of three patients in chairs with just partitions between us, with him popping one to another to do things. Then in Moncton at the next dentist I was one of two and when he moved his practice too far for me to carry on with him, I changed and that one has 2 or 3 on the go too.

Cramming people in probably helps them keep prices so low

Just as long as they don't forget who they're with and drill the wrong tooth - when the anaesthetic has been given to another patient.

Jsmth321

Yes seems pretty standard to have several patients in chairs at once in dental offices, but also dentists don't do every procedure either. Last time I went in April for a check up, I saw the actual dentist for maybe 10 minutes, most of the visit was with the dental assistant who did the x-ray's and photos of the teeth/mouth then dentist came poked around my teeth and mouth, looked at x-ray, and photos, said teeth looked good, might want to replace my old fillings (23 years old now) and pull my wisdom teeth.

I am getting the filling done, but skipping the wisdom teeth being pulled, they are not bothering me, and they came in 15 or so years ago, had room, and have caused no problems, so unless they do they can stay.... and if they ever do need to come out, rather go to a sedating dentist, not having 4 teeth pulled out while awake....lol The dentist couldn't give me a reason to pull them either, just well they might cause problems, well if they do I'l come back. My coverage wont cover the extraction anyhow unless the tooth is causing pain/infected or such.

US dentists are about the same in my experience, although fees seem higher in Canada.

I have a friend who went to Mexico for some major dental work, his flight+hotel+dental cost was cheaper then what the dentists in BC were quoting.

Hardest part for us is finding a dentist who will accept ministry coverage, the ministry pays far lower rate vs what the going fees are so most dentists wont take ministry patients, but my wife eventually found one, in the rich part of town too.

macliam

Yipes, I've never had a production-line dentist, but the UK went through a dark time where there was zip chance of finding an NHS dentist. When I was first in London I had one for a couple of years, then one day he was gone - no explanation and no handover!! Then I could find nowhere that was accepting NHS patients, so I actually went without a dentist for a while. Finally I found one who, although private, tried to peg his charges as close to the NHS as possible. He was very good - in fact, so good that I stayed with him even when I moved 120 miles away.

Then his charges started to go ever higher and the 240-mile round trip became a bit OTT (particularly when I suffered an abscess...)- but there was still no NHS dentist to be found. There followed a second period of no cover until SWMBO got the nod on a new NHS practice opening about 10 miles from us.... and we both registered. Only then did I realise just how much more I had been paying to go private!! I had a root canal and crown done for around £140.... and I'd paid over £600 for the same thinge 5 years earlier! (although local prices were even more eye-watering..... a neighbour was charged over £1000 for the same thing.... plus a £140 examination charge and over £100 for 2 X-rays!!) My NHS dentist is Spanish - a doctor of dentistry from Granada and she is superb, so I haven't seen any advantage in going private. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that we don't lose her.........

Zoe Bell

THanks for all the positive posts and the PMs I've received.
too tired to write much but please know that i really do appreciate it.

caretaker

My main complaint so far today is a sick headache from drinking too many Cuba Libres. Contemplating a lawsuit against Brugal and Co of the Dominican Republic.
Edit: I'm not suing anyone; I take full responsibility for my actions and demonstrate sincere remorse. Ever since I got high blood pressure over-drinking results in a hangover.

Lion in Winter

Hasta la aspirina siempre?

BristolUK

An excellent description for the process.
It angered me when my NHS dentist went private and 'Denplan' coverage was suggested.
I'd had 4 or 5 years of 6 monthly checkups and one filling in all that time. I was paying about £4.60 for checkup and polish but my Denplan rate was to be £15 a month
Going from less than £10 a year to £180 and in the event of needing a crown the lab fee wasn't covered. This was in the 90s and I found another NHS dentist near where I worked and then a year on he went the same way too.

So I found another not too far from home. I wasn't hugely impressed, to be honest. Deprived area and the waiting area also seemed deprived.

I think it wasn't so much finding a dentist that did NHS work that was the problem, it was finding one for patients who were not exempt from fees.
My two dentists who went private were happy to carry on providing NHS treatment for those (low income folk) exempt from paying anything; almost as if those who were not low income should pay privately.

Considering the maximum fees charged for NHS dentistry is so much less than private charges it's worth travelling some distance for NHS treatment.

A maximum of £62.10 for root canal treatment is flabbergasting. $1000 per tooth is typical here.

My old dentist charges £200 per tooth for root canal. That's already 3x the NHS fee and 6x if two teeth. £400 plus per crown.

Imagine going to the dentist and having a shedload of work done, fillings, root canals, crowns and paying a maximum of £269 for NHS work as compared to £2000 privately.

Worth going to a different nearby city for an NHS dentist or somewhere the other side of town by taxi!!

spouse of scouse

While Australia does healthcare quite well, that doesn't include dental. Even with the most expensive private health insurance, the maximum rebate per year for a dental implant is around$1,500, while the actual cost of one is around $6,000

For reasons that aren't worth repeating here, but don't include neglect of my dental hygiene, the teeth in my lower jaw were shot. I got 4 titanium dental implants which support a fixed denture of teeth. The result is fantastic, beautiful fangs and I can eat apples again. Cost? $40,000. No, I'm not joking.

BristolUK

I've read about that. A combination of implants - what I read suggested four total, 2 up 2 down - and then bridges.

I would absolutely go for that if I was young enough. My bridge broke late 2017. Apparently there wasn't enough of an anchor left in my mouth and some combo of implants and bridge was suggested. Likely in excess of $10k. I don't heal well since becoming diabetic so I didn't fancy the surgery and all the follow ups - especially as it wasn't a convenient place to get to. I opted for a partial denture for about $900 instead.

I had my original bridge done in Montreal and the dentist there gave me the choice of that and implants for the same cost, a mere £2400. The more lengthy implants treatment would have got in the way of our move to Moncton so I opted for the bridge. Shame, as I'd still have them now instead of the denture. But I can still eat an apple.

BEVS

You are our herder of cats m'lovely.