Will the VHI cover me

imeddyhobbs

I was with my dentist yesterday to see what work i need done on my front teeth
In a nutshell he recommended that i get four crowns on my front teeth
The cost is a bit of a problem at about €4000 but he said that i could get dental insurance from the VHI and it would cover about €2500 after i was with them for 3 months
One of my front teeth is effectively dead and i need some root treatment done with the endodontist before the dentist will put a crown on it,im not sure exactly what work the endodontist has to do
If you look here mid page 10 http://www.vhi.ie/pdf/products/dentalrules.pdf do you know if this is the treatment i need?and is it as easy as that to save paying the endodontist €1200(€1000 after i pay VHI)?

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Humm dont know a lot about this insurance.....I took a look and it really seems a bit off the me. 18 mths waiting period for crown and bridge work? Maybe somebody else knows more than me about this Big_G pr Lomb. I will take a look oer the rules over the weekend though.

The Content is not intended as a substitute for professional medical/dental advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician, dental professional, or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical/dental condition. Never disregard professional medical/dental advice or delay in seeking it because of Content found on this forum.

tk123

VHI dont cover crowns until youve been with them 12 months and there a max payment of 500 for them and they have a max payout of something like 2500 a year. I want to get 2 for my front teeth to cover the gap between them. Hopefully its not going to cost 2k thou?!

Saruman

You sure you need it all done? If you are in any doubt go get a second oppinion.
I know someone who was told he needed 8 fillings, he went for a second oppinion and was told his teeth were fine and just needed to be cleaned etc.

Even with dental insurance here i think you are better off getting it done up north or somewhere.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Saruman wrote:

Even with dental insurance here i think you are better off getting it done up north or somewhere.

Argh.....what are you talking about. Dont get cheapy dentistry done anywhere, if you want to know why look at this thread.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055003666

lomb

Saruman wrote:

You sure you need it all done? If you are in any doubt go get a second oppinion.
I know someone who was told he needed 8 fillings, he went for a second oppinion and was told his teeth were fine and just needed to be cleaned etc.

Even with dental insurance here i think you are better off getting it done up north or somewhere.

dentists are ethically and legally bound to do advise and provide treatment to standard of care. this varies, could it be that your friend had cavities near the gum line caused by tooth brush abrasion, or wear on the teeth? many dentists recommend treatment for these and many dont. if your friend has a problem with the above then he/she should put a letter in writing to the original dentist asking which teeth needed to be filled and why. i am sure there is a reasonable explanation. i personally would refuse to treat anyone who has no confidence after a consultation/explanation and a second opinion if needed . i think attaching xray copies/colour photographs and information leaflets to written treatment plans is a great idea that all dentists should do for anything major after a verbal consultation. if the patient still has no confidence/doesnt accept your fees(after a second consult if the patient deems it appropriate) then i think the relationship has broken down irretrievably.
in any case having cheap complicated dentistry especially crown, bridge and implant work where it needs to be done properly takes time. otherwise it will probably need to be redone again.
to the previous poster crowns are quite an aggresive step to closing spaces, sometime veneers or orthodontics provides a less destructive result. if you crown teeth at a young age , then by the time 20-30 years passes those teeth may have failed and then you would need something more drastic.

The Content is not intended as a substitute for professional medical/dental advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician, dental professional, or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical/dental condition. Never disregard professional medical/dental advice or delay in seeking it because of Content found on this forum.

imeddyhobbs

Saruman wrote:

You sure you need it all done? If you are in any doubt go get a second oppinion.
I know someone who was told he needed 8 fillings, he went for a second oppinion and was told his teeth were fine and just needed to be cleaned etc.

Even with dental insurance here i think you are better off getting it done up north or somewhere.

I agree with what you say but i do need the work done,i only have one noticeably bad tooth but the others have had extensive filling done 9 years ago(my top 4 front teeth) and if i only get one done then the others are going to stick out like the preverbally sore thumb.I want to get to a dentist that is local,i want a dentist that knows what he is doing,if i have any problems with any work done on my teeth i want it to relativity easy to get it checked with someone that is local,i know its expensive for dental work in the republic but im not sure if its worth working your life around travelling to and from long distance dental surgons just to save money.
Its bad enough having to go see a dentist,its worse if you have to spend a few hours getting to him or her
We all like to think that we live in the age of convenience
but i fail to see convenience
in long distance dentistry.It reminds me of an old saying...if you pay cheap..you pay twice,(let it be financial or pain)

tk123

lomb wrote:

to the previous poster crowns are quite an aggresive step to closing spaces, sometime veneers or orthodontics provides a less destructive result. if you crown teeth at a young age , then by the time 20-30 years passes those teeth may have failed and then you would need something more drastic.

Thanks lomb! The dentist is going away on his travels so i have to go back and see the other guy next week. I was told to expect to pay 900 each thou!

tk123

Update on this - t'other dentist said that the crown route was v.agressive like lomb and bonded the teeth instead and reshaped some of them - it was 600 and he adjusted my night guard so I didnt need to get a new one of those either!! I've been like this -> since I got it done this morning now that I don't feel weird abt having the gap there!