Cost of a dental check-up

Yorky

Is a charge of €30 per person, adult or child, reasonable for a dental check-up which took less than five minutes?

If so, can anyone recommend a N.Ireland dentist in Fermanagh, Armagh or Tyrone?

tommy21

Yorky wrote: »

Is a charge of €30 per person, adult or child, reasonable for a dental check-up which took less than five minutes?

If so, can anyone recommend a N.Ireland dentist in Fermanagh, Armagh or Tyrone?

Well GPs sometimes charge fifty or more for a consult of few minutes so nothing unusal that other professions are similar. €30 sounds lower than the going rate to be honest.

dudara

Interesting article in today's Irish Times re the differences between dental and GP fees

Massive differences in dental and GP fees

PAUL CULLEN Consumer Affairs Correspondent

MASSIVE DIFFERENCES in the fees charged by dentists and GPs have emerged in a survey which also shows that almost 70 per cent of dentists and half of doctors fail to display their prices.

Patients of one GP in Dublin 4 pay €70 for a consultation, twice the lowest fee, which is charged by a doctor in Co Kerry, the survey by the National Consumer Agency reveals.

The biggest cost variations are in dentistry, where fees charged for basic procedures in some parts of the State are almost four times the cheapest fee.

The cost of a simple tooth extraction varies from €40 to €150 depending on where you live, while a scale and polish ranges in cost from €25 to €90, according to the individual dentist.

Lucky patients attending seven of the dentists surveyed get their teeth examined for free, but fees elsewhere range up to a maximum of €86 in one practice in south Dublin.

Overall, Dubliners pay most for their medical and dental services, though there are significant variations in cost within the city.

The NCA has now written to the representative bodies in both professions asking them to draw up a code of practice on pricing.

The survey also identifies large regional variations in the propensity to display fees.

In Tallaght/Walkinstown, for example, 80 per cent of doctors surveyed display a schedule of charges, compared to 22 per cent in Cork.

Some 54 per cent of dentists surveyed in Waterford display prices, versus just 9 per cent in the Cork region.

The NCA does not name the doctors and dentists in the survey, which was based on a representative sample of 251 practices.

Overall, 32 per cent of dentists and 50 per cent of doctors surveyed display their prices.

Consumer agency chief executive Ann Fitzgerald says there is no reason why doctors and dentists should be exempt from the general requirement to display prices for routine services.

Since a proportion of both professions are already doing this, there is no good reason why all doctors and dentists could not do so.

Ms Fitzgerald is also asking Minister for Enterprise and Employment Batt O’Keeffe to support measures for greater price-display transparency.

Prices for GPs range between €70 at one practice in Ballsbridge/Sandymount to €35 in Tralee/Killarney.

The overall average is €51.

Just eight doctors say they charged lower fees for children, though other say they use discretion in charging children.

Prices for a routine examination range from nothing at seven dentists’ practices around the State to €86 charged by one practice in south Dublin.

The overall average is €44.

The overall average for a scale and polish is €61, with fees ranging between €25 at a practice in Dundalk/Drogheda to €90 in south Dublin.

Mel Bates, spokesman for the Irish College of General Practitioners, says patients are able to find out about doctors’ prices in a variety of ways.

Medical services could not be compared to other goods and services such as petrol stations because they were more involved, he told RTÉ.

The Irish Dental Association said the variation in fees showed there was “real competition” in the sector.

Costs for dentists in the Republic are 40 per cent higher than in the North, and costs are higher in urban areas, where fees tend to be higher.

Meanwhile, the dental association claimed 6,000 people who travelled abroad for dental treatment in the last year had received corrective treatment on their return to Ireland.

It said 75 per cent of Irish dentists told a survey they had provided treatment to patients in these circumstances.

91011

Yorky wrote: »

Is a charge of €30 per person, adult or child, reasonable for a dental check-up which took less than five minutes?

If so, can anyone recommend a N.Ireland dentist in Fermanagh, Armagh or Tyrone?

surely the cost of fuel and extra time taken would negate any benefit?

Also, add to the "5 minutes" preparation time, report time & filing time.

Also, if it needed more examination and took 30 minutes, the chances are it would still be €30. - At 5 minutes, it suggests the person had a healthy set of teeth.

penexpers

Yorky wrote: »

Is a charge of €30 per person, adult or child, reasonable for a dental check-up which took less than five minutes?

If so, can anyone recommend a N.Ireland dentist in Fermanagh, Armagh or Tyrone?

You won't get cheaper than 30 euro. My dentist charges 60 euro per check up (70 if there's an x-ray).

itsonlywords

Yorky wrote: »

Is a charge of €30 per person, adult or child, reasonable for a dental check-up which took less than five minutes?

If so, can anyone recommend a N.Ireland dentist in Fermanagh, Armagh or Tyrone?

Yes it is very reasonable. Some if the northern dentists I hear are not very well trained or qualified. I would be careful using north of Ireland dentists. Heard some horror stories about a couple in Belfast. Stay with the more reasonable priced ones here where you can be assured they were trained to world class standards in UCC and UCD.

davido

itsonlywords wrote: »

Yes it is very reasonable. Some if the northern dentists I hear are not very well trained or qualified. I would be careful using north of Ireland dentists. Heard some horror stories about a couple in Belfast. Stay with the more reasonable priced ones here where you can be assured they were trained to world class standards in UCC and UCD.

What a ridiculous statement. That's hilarious!

itsonlywords

davido wrote: »

What a ridiculous statement. That's hilarious!

Yes? Which part is ridiculous? It is a very true statement. Most of the British trained dentists are rubbish.

davido

The scaremongering generalisation about poorly trained and underqualified dentists in Northern Ireland is the ridiculous bit. Is there not one world class school of dentistry in the UK?

itsonlywords

davido wrote: »

The scaremongering generalisation about poorly trained and underqualified dentists in Northern Ireland is the ridiculous bit. Is there not one world class school of dentistry in the UK?

Not scaremongering but a commonly held view.That is my belief also. I trust Irish dentists, more than any otherand I am entitled to that belief.

bcirl03

itsonlywords wrote: »

Not scaremongering but a commonly held view.That is my belief also. I trust Irish dentists, more than any otherand I am entitled to that belief.

Me thinks itsonlywords has connections with dentistry.....

cojomo2

Well, I just had a check up and clean. She took 3 x-rays too. Charged me 150 quid(apparently that was a discounted price so the receptionist said) I felt raped after it:(

narddog

itsonlywords wrote: »

Not scaremongering but a commonly held view.That is my belief also. I trust Irish dentists, more than any otherand I am entitled to that belief.

True, but you're not entitled to your own facts...

ballsymchugh

itsonlywords, queens was voted the best dental school in the UK a few years ago. the majority of dentists that are working in the north are irish trained, be it UCC, TCD or QUB. your statement is, well, bollox.
what about irish dentists that qualify in the UK?

as for the OP, €30 is probably at the lower end of check up rates. it may have taken 5 minutes, but it was probably a 15 minute appointment which most dentists work to. some people have perfect teeth and are a delight to check, while others are full of old/broken fillings/crowns that have to be checked properly, as well as the gingival health and state of the soft tissues. if you were at that end of the scale you'd have been there for a lot longer than 5 mins.