Medical Cards - Dental Care?

blahblah06

Just back from my gp and the receptionist said that i cant get a medical on the medical card I wanted this done amongst a new prespription i needed but she said i had to pay now the reason I have a medical card is because I cant pay. is she correct in what she is saying

hawthorne

Unfortunately all medical card holders do have to pay now for their dental care.
As a medical card patient you have the right to the following free treatments:
a.) One free examination of your dentals per year. Any idiot can do that at home in front of a mirror.
b.) Two emergency fillings per year. NOTE: Emergency fillings only- that is the white stuff which falls out after 24 hours with the first brushing. You have to pay for the real ones yourself.
c.) One emergency extraction per year- means your gums are already half rotten when the doctor does something....
All treatment only at parcitipating dentist- and there are not many around !
This is all what is left for us !
Does anybody remember Mary Harney being on TV sometimes in the end of the ninetees, cheering "Hey- the celtic tiger is here-and it is here to stay. Everybody is getting a job "!
Or the incredible bull**** spin in the news some years back about Ireland overtaking Britain in the standard of living in the year 2010.
It seems to me that we are slowly overtaking countries like Bangladesh or Cambodia in the race to the bottom when it comes to health care.
And who is protesting ? A handfull of people in front of Dail Eireann- the rest is sitting at home whinging teethless.
This what we are deserving people !

tenchi-fan

hawthorne wrote: »

Unfortunately all medical card holders do have to pay now for their dental care.
As a medical card patient you have the right to the following free treatments:
a.) One free examination of your dentals per year. Any idiot can do that at home in front of a mirror.

this isn't true. A dental profession knows what to look out for, not just holes in teeth but also gum disease and possible problems with wisdom teeth, etc.

It could be argued if you take good care of your teeth by avoiding certain food and drink you will not need fillings and extractions.

Ciaram123

Heya can anyone help, every few months i get an infection in my gums which causes a lot of pain.. I was just told by the dentist that its 75 euro just to be seen even though i have a medical card.. Aparantly its free if its an emergency.. Is pain and infection classed as an emergency?? Basically i now have to suffer on with this because i dont have 75 euro to go to the dentist as i am currently out of work with a broken leg.. Can anyone give me some suggestions?? The pain is unreal and painkillers are not helping..

tommy21

Ciaram123 wrote: »

Heya can anyone help, every few months i get an infection in my gums which causes a lot of pain.. I was just told by the dentist that its 75 euro just to be seen even though i have a medical card.. Aparantly its free if its an emergency.. Is pain and infection classed as an emergency?? Basically i now have to suffer on with this because i dont have 75 euro to go to the dentist as i am currently out of work with a broken leg.. Can anyone give me some suggestions?? The pain is unreal and painkillers are not helping..

If the gum looks infected and is causing you pain, I would classify this as an emergency. Ring your dentist and say so - they will ask your symptoms and will decide on that basis.

Failing that/In addition to that, Cordosyl mouthwash will clear up any infection presuming it is not a cavity or a very serious infection.

Ciaram123

tommy21 wrote: »

If the gum looks infected and is causing you pain, I would classify this as an emergency. Ring your dentist and say so - they will ask your symptoms and will decide on that basis.

Failing that/In addition to that, Cordosyl mouthwash will clear up any infection presuming it is not a cavity or a very serious infection.

Was just onto them and was told they can give me a prescription under the medical card but i would need a cleaning too and that would not be covered.. I think i will get the mouthwash.. Thanks a million

tommy21

Ciaram123 wrote: »

Was just onto them and was told they can give me a prescription under the medical card but i would need a cleaning too and that would not be covered.. I think i will get the mouthwash.. Thanks a million

Will they at least provide the prescription without a cleaning? Get in touch with one of the dental hospitals for a clean, you may have to wait months but it will be free. Make sure to change your toothbrush too as this may harbour any infection. Cordosyl is good but it will stain your teeth - read the directions which essentially tell you to be careful around having tannin containing drinks/foods (e.g. tea, coffee, wine) before and after using. If you don't follow this advice, you really will need a proper clean!

hawthorne

My wife got a toothache just on the day before Christmas. She was limbing over the Christmas and phoned an emergency number after the holidays. Needless to say- all dentists were closed until the 4th of January. No help- the nearest treatment center would be in Galway- 80 kms away. Roads full of ice and snow...She managed to get some painkillers from the local pharmacy. Suffered on until the 4th of January when she stormed into the local dentists office. She had to fill out paperwork that all treatment was done to her satisfaction under the medical card sheme- before any treatment was done at all....
The dentist examined her and told her that the reason for her pain was that she would grind her teeth in her sleep. He started to fool around with a drill and took bits and pieces of her back teeth so " that they fit better against each other"(quote) and will give her less pain. He also drilled a little hole in one of the back teeth and gave it a filling. My wife had examined her teeth many times over the Christmas- but never spotted any cavity.
The doctor told her that the pain will be gone in the morning.
But the pain was not gone in the morning- and neither the next or the one after...
So she took the train and travelled 40 kms to another dentist. The dentist listened to her story and took a set of x-rays. He suspected an infection under one of the back teeth and had thoughts about a moving wisdom tooth besides it. My wife got a prescription for some pain killers and antibiotics to clean up a possible infection. She was charged 50 euros for the xrays- the examination was free under the medical card sheme.
She also had to pay for the drugs in the pharmacy.
The days passed by- but in spite of the antibiotics and the pain killers nothing changed. She could not sleep anymore at night due to the pain and was swallowing any painkiller she could get.
So she travelled back to the dentist she had seen last.He told her that it would be the wisdom tooth which is causing all the pain. He refered her to a collegue 20 kms further away and handed her the x-rays taken the last time. No charge this time.
My wife came home, swallowed more pills and travelled the next day 60 kms to the new dentist. He examined her for some minutes, looked at the x-rays his collegue had made and told her that he has to take out the wisdom tooth. This would be an operation under local anesthetic and would cost her between 400 and 500 euros. Plus the aftercare like pulling the stitches,etc.
A date was set for the extraction of the wisdom tooth- next Thursday.
She was also charged 80 euros for the examination.
She came home in bits- and popped more pills she had bought in the pharmacy.
Costs at the moment are about 300 euros- dentist fees, train journeys, taxis, medication. More costs are looming with the operation and travel costs, aftercare, etc hitting probably another 800 euros.
So much about the medical card sheme and the help in an emergency.
Does anybody know any way to solve this thing quick and without this amount of money?
We are living on my illness benefit- which, by the way- has not been paid for some time due to an appeal. I won the appeal- but the department has not resumed payment yet, although the decision in my favour was taken in early December.
Money is very tight...
Any suggestions or help would be very much appreciated !

donegal11

Wisdom tooth removal is free under the medical card and 500 for one tooth extraction seems a little over the top even privately and why do you need stitches? and why did you have to go to another dentist is he not qualified for a tooth extraction??

Your dentist seems to be very tight charging you for x rays during the consultation, my dentist includes it in the free consultation with the medical card. In my opinion your dentists sound like two money grabbers, but in saying that I don't know how specialist the x rays where i.e panoramic or how specialist the extraction is but for 500 euro l think he's taking advantage of your wives pain for his own benefit, thou I could be wrong.You should post this over on dental issues to get a more qualified response.

hawthorne

The second dentist had no equipment for wisdom tooth removal, that's why my wife was refered to the third dentist.
Wisdom tooth removal is not like ordinary tooth removal. The gum has to be cut, parts of the jaw will be cut as well. The wound has to be closed with stitches afterwards- it will be too big to be left open.
X-rays were panoramic- I had a look at the one my wife brought home.
Dentists were never cheap- that's why the medical card sheme was around for people with no or low income...
Thanks for the tip with the dental issues section.

tenchi-fan

hawthorne wrote: »

Dentists were never cheap- that's why the medical card sheme was around for people with no or low income...

... and that's why the dentists were able to put their prices through the roof.

Hundreds of thousands of people popping in to the dentist without any consideration or contribution towards the cost to the taxpayer. The dentists were raking it in.

As the recession bites, dentists will be forced to offer treatment at lower prices.

girlonfire

Hey, I had two fillings in June 2010. I think I need another filling, but I'm wondering if anyone can clarify something for me.
Medical card holders are entitled to two fillings per year free of charge. Is this within the calendar year (Jan-Dec) or is it from the date of the last filling (June-June)?
I'm in a bit of pain (slight) so I'm going to have to get it done regardless. I just wanted a heads up if possible.

Graces7

I came across the new situation re dental treatment when I accidentally broke my lower denture just before Christmas.. to be told that it would cost over E80 for a simple repair.

NB English and the dentures are over 20 years old. And I have, as a disabled pensioner, an Irish medical card.

There seems to be a wide interpretation as to what constitutes emergency treatment. ( I of course had googled it before I set out, teeth in hand and gumming my way along.. with bad indigestion also by then.)

One dental nurse mentioned another practice; the young dentist mentioned that even though he could get over E30 back on the work, he would still be out of pocket.

He had it done as a charity case, free. Deeply grateful for that; would have tried superglue else.

it concerns that they spare no thought for old ones whose teeth are no longer viable and who cannot get dentures at all now; the cost of around E500 is impossible for many. And old ones need a good diet; this is very hard without teeth, and thus other health issues arise.

And care of teeth depends a great deal on good diet.

It is very care - less legislation. OK; so the servce was being over used, but they could have made a better fist of it than this. While still cutting back.

Sad to see folk blaming patients too...

nikkisclearout

Hi all,

Im due to have root canal done on my front tooth on Tuesday, its being done on the medical card as the dentist said that the treatment qualifys as emergency work.
This is great but the problem i have is: I have already had the 2 free fillings on the medical card this year. Now the dentists receptionist rang me yesterday and said that she spoke to the dentist who told her that the root canal is covered by the medical card but that i will have to pay €60 for the filling of the tooth after :eek:??

To my understanding if you are having emergency root canal work done which involves drilling a hole in the tooth to carry out this work then surely filling that hole at the end is all part and parcel of the treatment?

If anyone knows where i stand with this i would appreciate a bit of advice as i have already gotten stung by the same dentist before (went in for one fillling and she did 2 without asking/telling me and got stuck for €65 when i was leaving :mad:)

gustafo

nikkisclearout wrote: »

Hi all,

Im due to have root canal done on my front tooth on Tuesday, its being done on the medical card as the dentist said that the treatment qualifys as emergency work.
This is great but the problem i have is: I have already had the 2 free fillings on the medical card this year. Now the dentists receptionist rang me yesterday and said that she spoke to the dentist who told her that the root canal is covered by the medical card but that i will have to pay €60 for the filling of the tooth after :eek:??

To my understanding if you are having emergency root canal work done which involves drilling a hole in the tooth to carry out this work then surely filling that hole at the end is all part and parcel of the treatment?

If anyone knows where i stand with this i would appreciate a bit of advice as i have already gotten stung by the same dentist before (went in for one fillling and she did 2 without asking/telling me and got stuck for €65 when i was leaving :mad:)

if i was you i wouldn't be complaining to much what would you rather pay 60 or a couple of hundred euro for the root canal?

the medical card has never really covered root canal treatment even in the good times.

nikkisclearout

gustafo wrote: »

if i was you i wouldn't be complaining to much what would you rather pay 60 or a couple of hundred euro for the root canal?

the medical card has never really covered root canal treatment even in the good times.

Hi thanks for your reply, just to clarify though i was not complaining about having to pay, i was wondering if this was common practice or what the situation was as it sounded a bit odd to be honest.

For anyone in the same situation just to let you know i rang the dental benefit section and they said that "of course the filling is covered on the medical card, that is included in the fee that the dentist is being paid to do the root canal"...... guess it pays to double check these things then hey?

davo10

just to clarify a few things about the costs of hawthorn's situation. Wisdom teeth extraction is not routine and few general dentists extract impacted wisdom teeth. The teeth tend to be under the gum encased in bone and quite often are lying sidewards, most importantly the roots of impacted wisdom teeth tend to be in close proximity to the inferior dental nerve which supplies the tongue, lip and teeth. Temporary or permanent damage can be done to this nerve during extractions which can lead to paralysis. This is a surgical procedure rather than a dental procedure so most dentists refer to an Oral Surgeon. Also the €500 may have included general anaesthetic or sedation which requires specialized equipment.

As for the cost of the xray, one of those panoramic x-ray machines costs in the region of €40,000.00 so you cannot expect them to be taken for free.

Incidently Hawthorn your wife would have been entitled to free treatment at a HSE clinic, including extraction by one of their oral surgeons, problem is you would be placed on a waiting list which is approx 1 year in my area.

If you attended this clinic in Enniskillen (http://www.belmoredental.co.uk/fee.htm) where treatment is supposedly cheaper you would have paid £45 for your consultation and £30 for your panoramic xray (£75 = €90)

hawthorne

My wife got the wisdom tooth removed a couple of weeks ago.
We had no choice but to go private. Going for a waiting list would have been too long- a year waiting with continious strong pain was out of the question. Going abroad as mentioned above would have saddled us with a lot of further travelling and accomodation costs.
We paid 520 Euros for the extraction. The service was first class- the doctor phoned us up for the first three days after the operation to ask about any difficulties. He still sends us e-mails asking for updates.
You would not get such a care under the medical card sheme.
The stitches were removed by another dentist working in tandem with the operating doctor under the medical card sheme at no futher costs.It seems to be that the current rules about treatment under the medical card sheme are also up to the decision of the participating dentist. The new rules from the department seem to be strict- but the dentist can have a say in the seriousness of the situation as well and this takes away a bit of the sting of the new rules...
The whole affair has cost us about 850 euros for the operation,x-rays,medicine and travelling,etc.

miss dakota

Hi is there a charge for an x-ray if getting filling on medical card?

hawthorne

miss dakota wrote: »

Hi is there a charge for an x-ray if getting filling on medical card?

Yes- but it is only around 10 euros or so.

miss dakota

hawthorne wrote: »

Yes- but it is only around 10 euros or so.

Tks Hawthorne went to a dentist wants an extra 50 for a big filling is that right the extra charge? On med card
Tks mill

hawthorne

miss dakota wrote: »

Tks Hawthorne went to a dentist wants an extra 50 for a big filling is that right the extra charge? On med card
Tks mill

No- this is not the right charge. If this is a new filling and if this tooth was not treated in the last 5 years, there should be no charge for the filling- regardless of its size. The size of the filling is never an issue.
I pay 50 euros already for a filling at my own dentist without the medical card.
Look around for another dentist on the MC sheme. Unfortunately many are not on the sheme anymore due to the low payment of the department for the service.You might have to travel a good bit- and that is eating into your money as well.

miss dakota

hawthorne wrote: »

No- this is not the right charge. If this is a new filling and if this tooth was not treated in the last 5 years, there should be no charge for the filling- regardless of its size. The size of the filling is never an issue.
I pay 50 euros already for a filling at my own dentist without the medical card.
Look around for another dentist on the MC sheme. Unfortunately many are not on the sheme anymore due to the low payment of the department for the service.You might have to travel a good bit- and that is eating into your money as well.

Tks mill Hawthorne some Greedier than others lol