Dentists costs

[Bea]

Had to go to have a filling today,to replace one that fell out last week .
No drilling,just needed the gap filled .
Cost £120!!!!!!.Put it on my credit card.
I know rent,salaries etc are high over here,but it got me thinking .
How can people on low incomes budget for dentistry ?
Have any surveys been done on the State of the Islands teeth,compared to other areas.
I needed extensive treatment a while ago,and was much cheaper to go abroad for it .
An average family,must not be able to budget for treatment like root canals..
When you look in phone book, a lot of dentists working over here considering the size of the population.
Wonder how they all manage to keep going ,and are some of them slack for work?
I was quoted £13,000 few years ago for some specialised dental work.
Went abroad and got the same done for just over £3000.
Had to get a loan out even to cover that.
When things are tight,check ups and routine dentistry must be one of the first things to go.
People must be having to make decisions to get teeth pulled because it is cheaper than having remedial work done on them.

[eastrock]

I'm in total agreement with you there. Although I would say, you can get an appointment within 24hrs whereas in the UK you'd be lucky to get one in the next 24 days. But, boy do you have to pay a heftie price for it. I opted for an extraction rather than remedial work and it still cost me £120!!! One injection, a pair of pliers (£5 in B&Q) 8 mins work and £120? It has put me off going since. Subsequently, I don't smile as often as I'd like to. A lot of people seem to be going abroad these days. Thailand is supposed to be good.

[Benjamin Langlois]

I posted a short rant on my blog last month on this exact subject! My last experience has quite literally put me off the dentist for life; it seems that all they want (at least the dentist I used) is as much money as they can possibly squeeze from their customers. Consequently I have vowed never to visit the chair of doom unless the pain becomes overwhelming - I simply cannot afford it.

[crappogre]

At least the yellow pages are full of dentists and you're free to shop around for the best deal?