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Is this normal?

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  • 17-06-2008 11:40am
    #1
    High&Low
    Closed Accounts Posts: 323 ✭✭


    My wife went to the dentist the other day, she hadn't been for a while and she also brought our 2 1/2 year old daughter along.

    Dentist looked at my wife's teeth, said they were fine but needed a good cleaning, but that he didn't do cleaning and she would have to make an appointment with the dental hygeniest and this will cost €60. She wasn't charged for her visit to the dentist as she has sufficient PRSI. I was under the impression that the PRSI covered two trips to the dentist annually, one for a check up and clean and the other for a clean, that is how my dentist operates and I have only ever been charged for a filing.

    During my wife's appointment he also looked at my daughters teeth, said they were perfect, all there bar two molars which are on the way. He charged €67 for looking at my daughter. This seems a little high in my opinion, seeing as he will be claiming from the PRSI for my wife's visit and the combined visit was only about 25 minutes.

    I have read the charter and I am not complaining about "rip off dentists" I am just curious to know if this is normal practice.


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    #2
    Feebles
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6 ✭Feebles


    Eh....no! You're right...under your PRSI, you're intitled to 1 check-up per annum and a Scale & Polish (clean) every 6 months!! I think this is the case no matter who does it, dentist or hygienist!
    Also, did your wife request the dentist to look at your daughter's teeth or was it his suggestion? I work with a dentist and if a child accompanies a parent and they are interested and it's their first time being in a dental surgery, he'll often give them a spin in the chair and show them their teeth with the camera, as he feels this is a very positive experience for them! And if he does a full check-up....it's 30 euro ...usually accompanied by a new tooth brush and stickers!

    They're not all bad.....


  • Options
    #3
    High&Low
    Closed Accounts Posts: 323 ✭✭High&Low


    Feebles wrote: »
    Eh....no! You're right...under your PRSI, you're intitled to 1 check-up per annum and a Scale & Polish (clean) every 6 months!! I think this is the case no matter who does it, dentist or hygienist!
    Also, did your wife request the dentist to look at your daughter's teeth or was it his suggestion? I work with a dentist and if a child accompanies a parent and they are interested and it's their first time being in a dental surgery, he'll often give them a spin in the chair and show them their teeth with the camera, as he feels this is a very positive experience for them! And if he does a full check-up....it's 30 euro ...usually accompanied by a new tooth brush and stickers!

    They're not all bad.....

    Thanks for the reply. I was thinking I wasn't going to get a reply, maybe "questioning" the dental profession isn't the done thing here...

    When my wife went for her appointment our daughter was with her and my wife asked a question about how many teeth a toddler is meant to have, the dentist suggested that he would check my daughters teeth, he messed about with the water and the air so as to get my daughter familiar with the dentist and had a look around her mouth for a few minutes.

    We didn't expect to get it for free, but €67 did seem a lot, was more agrieved by the fact that he would be billing us, billing the prsi for just 20 mins work and then charging again for a visit to the hygienst.


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