Cant afford dental care

Have several problems with my teeth and since I quit smoking things have got worse. Have had toothache for 3 weeks and taking pain killers every 6 hours. Problem is that I simply cannot afford to pay for fillings or extractions and I dont qualify for free dental.
Any suggestions on getting really cheap dental care?

DublinDilbert

You need to get that sorted and not be taking pain killers continuously, which cost you money anyway.

I'm not sure if they do it here, but maybe some of the dental colleges look for people to practice on?

Either way, get it looked at, you can't be in pain continuously.

Dianthus

Shop around, ask a friend/family member for a loan,divert the money that was originally being spent on cigarettes into a fund for your teeth (cigarettes are expensive too!). Continually taking painkillers is crazy,there's a quick fix if you choose to avail of it....see a dentist.

helimachoptor

Agree with all of the above. Taking over the counter painkillers will mask the problem until its really bad.

If you've been taking OTC pain killers at lets sat 3 euro for a box of 12 and taking 2 at a time, you're taking 8 each day.. that adds up and also isnt good for you.

helimachoptor

helimachoptor wrote: »

Agree with all of the above. Taking over the counter painkillers will mask the problem until its really bad.

If you've been taking OTC pain killers at lets sat 3 euro for a box of 12 and taking 2 at a time, you're taking 8 each day.. that adds up and also isnt good for you.

The cigarettes were quit as i could no longer afford to smoke them. The painkillers are dirt cheap anyway and costing about 50c per day. My Anti-depressants knock me out at night so that helps cut down on the painkillers.
Why do dentists charge to just take a look at your mouth and give an estimate on repairs? When ever i get a quote for work to be carried out the assessment is usually free.
I tried asking one dentist if I could get a reduction on the cost of an extraction if I opted to go without anesthetic and they toldme no. They don't accept any form of payment plan as they insist all work carried out must be paid for at the visit.
Saving up will take a few months to cover the checkup, obligatory xray and first filling. They seem to be very unwilling to negotiate on price and refuse to discuss treatment options until after a checkup.

dearg lady

Deleted User wrote: »

Saving up will take a few months to cover the checkup, obligatory xray and first filling. They seem to be very unwilling to negotiate on price and refuse to discuss treatment options until after a checkup.

It's rare that I ever have to get an x-ray. If you're working you should be entitled to one check up a year for free. If you're not working can you apply for a medical card? Or try the Dental Hospital.

helimachoptor

Deleted User wrote: »

Why do dentists charge to just take a look at your mouth and give an estimate on repairs? When ever i get a quote for work to be carried out the assessment is usually free.
I tried asking one dentist if I could get a reduction on the cost of an extraction if I opted to go without anesthetic and they toldme no. They don't accept any form of payment plan as they insist all work carried out must be paid for at the visit.
Saving up will take a few months to cover the checkup, obligatory xray and first filling. They seem to be very unwilling to negotiate on price and refuse to discuss treatment options until after a checkup.

unforunately they are providing a service and if they werent seeing you, they may be getting paid for work on someone else at that time.

A dentist will not put you through an extraction without a local (i presume they take the hypocratic oath :eek:) and frankly no decent human (never mind dentist) would do something like that.

Not to get into costs on this OP, but they are what they are. Also a dentist will not give a payment plan on a filling as tbh you(people) arent likely to pay once the filling is done.

Can you get a loan from a family member?

KindOfIrish

Deleted User wrote: »

Any suggestions on getting really cheap dental care?

I would emigrate to an EU country, where dental care is free or very cheap.

digzy

KindOfIrish wrote: »

I would emigrate to an EU country, where dental care is free or very cheap.

Could you elaborate on this oasis of free dental care....wonder would i be able to get free accountancy, insurance, oil, electricity.................:rolleyes:

Squiggle

Deleted User wrote: »

Problem is that I simply cannot afford to pay for fillings or extractions and I dont qualify for free dental.
Any suggestions on getting really cheap dental care?

You might be better off spending the €229 on your gob ! :pac:

Oral Surgeon

Deleted User wrote: »

Have several problems with my teeth and since I quit smoking things have got worse. Have had toothache for 3 weeks and taking pain killers every 6 hours. Problem is that I simply cannot afford to pay for fillings or extractions and I dont qualify for free dental.
Any suggestions on getting really cheap dental care?

Deleted User wrote: »

Anyone had experience of the Blackberry tablet? Had a quick demo in pc world today and it seems really fast and responsive to use. Only €229 which seems a good price. I have only ever used Android so know nothing of Blackberry.

You need to get your priorities straight. I have great sympathy for people who are in pain and really cannot afford necessary treatment but this is taking the p***

srsly78

Go to Community Welfare Officer, surely this counts as a valid reason for an exceptional payment.

Just don't tell them you blow all your money on expensive gadgets.

Mr Benevolent

Deleted User wrote: »

Problem is that I simply cannot afford to pay for fillings or extractions and I dont qualify for free dental.
Any suggestions on getting really cheap dental care?

There's no such thing as 'free dental' in Ireland.

ballsymchugh

Confab wrote: »

There's no such thing as 'free dental' in Ireland.

or anywhere else. someone always pays for it.

wilson10

I go to Northern Ireland where dental work is considerably cheaper.

My experience of dentists in the south is of being ripped off.

My son went for a check up about five or six years ago, on my advice, as he was heading to Australia for six months.

Check and clean, about 10 or 12 minutes, 80 euro, absolute rip off.

He wasn't happy with me and still ribs me about it.

srsly78

There are lots of cheap dental surgeries in Ireland these days, shop around. Eastern European dentists :pac:

helimachoptor

wilson10 wrote: »

I go to Northern Ireland where dental work is considerably cheaper.

My experience of dentists in the south is of being ripped off.

My son went for a check up about five or six years ago, on my advice, as he was heading to Australia for six months.

Check and clean, about 10 or 12 minutes, 80 euro, absolute rip off.

He wasn't happy with me and still ribs me about it.

tbh if he's going to Oz he should be well able to make his own decisions about his dental care or lack of. When you consider say 2 check ups a year

so €160... €3.07c a week.. honestly a less than a pint of beer, a couple of bottles of coke, a bag and a half of chips.

It's not a lot and when you consider it will most likely detect any major issues before they become major.

Dianthus

wilson10 wrote: »

about five or six years ago
Check and clean, about 10 or 12 minutes, 80 euro, absolute rip off.

Celtic Tiger years? Would be interesting to revisit the same place nowadays, I'd imagine you'd have a slightly difference experience;)

The Tablet is not for me and its not my money. Its my son who is getting it.
It does appear that if you go outside the major urban areas, some of the dentists are a lot more open to negotiation and prices can vary hugely as i am discovering.
As for the comments about extraction without anesthesia.... I don't understand why not. I am scared sh1tless of the dentist needle, dont mind any of the other stuff. Many years ago I had a great dentist in the UK and had many fillings done without anesthesia. Its not barbaric by any means.

helimachoptor

Deleted User wrote: »

The Tablet is not for me and its not my money. Its my son who is getting it.
It does appear that if you go outside the major urban areas, some of the dentists are a lot more open to negotiation and prices can vary hugely as i am discovering.
As for the comments about extraction without anesthesia.... I don't understand why not. I am scared sh1tless of the dentist needle, dont mind any of the other stuff. Many years ago I had a great dentist in the UK and had many failings done without anesthesia. Its not barbaric by any means.

I'm not a dentist and tbh needles dont bother me but... (one of the dentists can correct me) if they hit a root with a drill i''m sure you'd know about it.

Also an extraction is a lot more traumatic than a filling.

queensinead

Paying for dental care is a real problem for many people who are struggling with mortgages, childcare, paycuts.

This is especially true of emergency dental care. If you need a crown or a root canal, where in God's name are you expected to get that kind of money, given what dentists charge in Ireland?

People complain about paying household charges. You hear a lot of "Where will I get the money when I've paid all my other household bills?"

Wait until you have a serious dental problem, and get a quote from your dentist. At least you won't be worrying about the household charge for a while.

helimachoptor

queensinead wrote: »

Paying for dental care is a real problem for many people who are struggling with mortgages, childcare, paycuts.

This is especially true of emergency dental care. If you need a crown or a root canal, where in God's name are you expected to get that kind of money, given what dentists charge in Ireland?

People complain about paying household charges. You hear a lot of "Where will I get the money when I've paid all my other household bills?"

Wait until you have a serious dental problem, and get a quote from your dentist. At least you won't be worrying about the household charge for a while.

Preventative maintenance is always cheaper that emergency work, this is the same if its a plumbing issue, car issue etc it's not exclusive to dentistry.

however I guarantee you most people would go around toothless than car-less.

Go to the dentist every 6 months for a checkup and the number of expensive dental emergencies you suffer will be a lot loss than if you dont go.

Im saying that as a person who's had to cracked molars and faced a bill of 4500 to fix them.

wilson10

helimachoptor wrote: »

tbh if he's going to Oz he should be well able to make his own decisions about his dental care or lack of. When you consider say 2 check ups a year

so €160... €3.07c a week.. honestly a less than a pint of beer, a couple of bottles of coke, a bag and a half of chips.

It's not a lot and when you consider it will most likely detect any major issues before they become major.

The point I was making was €80 euro for 12 minutes work, I mean it's not brain surgery.

helimachoptor

wilson10 wrote: »

The point I was making was €80 euro for 12 minutes work, I mean it's not brain surgery.

I'll be honest, I've never had a check up last 12 mins or less.
Add in a cleaning and tbh you're looking at 30 mins at least

Oral Surgeon

wilson10 wrote: »

The point I was making was €80 euro for 12 minutes work, I mean it's not brain surgery.

True, it's not brain surgery but brain surgeons probably get paid €500 for 30 minutes work so what's your point. A plumber would probably charge as much if not more to unblock a toilet....

Oral Surgeon

Deleted User wrote: »

The Tablet is not for me and its not my money. Its my son who is getting it.
It does appear that if you go outside the major urban areas, some of the dentists are a lot more open to negotiation and prices can vary hugely as i am discovering.
As for the comments about extraction without anesthesia.... I don't understand why not. I am scared sh1tless of the dentist needle, dont mind any of the other stuff. Many years ago I had a great dentist in the UK and had many fillings done without anesthesia. Its not barbaric by any means.

Maybe your son should loan you the money?

A shallow to medium depth filling can be done without LA. An extraction without LA is barbaric and would be ridiculous in a developed country.
Local anaesthetic is not the most expensive part of the job, it is the dentists and clinics time and if they attempted this without LA then it would likely take much longer as they would have all this extra time with you crying and him filling out legal forms.

wilson10

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

True, it's not brain surgery but brain surgeons probably get paid €500 for 30 minutes work so what's your point. A plumber would probably charge as much if not more to unblock a toilet....

I'm not going to argue dental charges with a dentist.

It would be like debating politics with Gerry Adams, we live in parallel universes.

Pain gone, temporary filling in place which hopefully will last a few months til i can afford a real dentist! All for less than €10.

How? Temporary filling is available from many chemists like boots. DIY job and not ideal but worked for me temporarily. Thanks to a friendly student for the advice.

helimachoptor

Deleted User wrote: »

Pain gone, temporary filling in place which hopefully will last a few months til i can afford a real dentist! All for less than €10.

How? Temporary filling is available from many chemists like boots. DIY job and not ideal but worked for me temporarily. Thanks to a friendly student for the advice.

Sorry OP, but you're essentially covering the problem. These fixes are basically a very very very short stop gap measure.
It will not last months (though i presume you will keep re-applying).
The decay has not been treated so will get worse, the pain will get worse and by the time you get to an actual dentist , what may have been a standard filling could be a RC.

Boots wrote:

This is a temporary remedy meant to replace a lost filling or inlay until you have a chance to visit your dentist. Read all of the directions carefully before use.To avoid infection and/or serious injury, this product should not be used if there is throbbing pain, ulceration or swelling in the affected area. If any of these symptoms exist, consult your dentist immediately.

Oral Surgeon

Deleted User wrote: »

Pain gone, temporary filling in place which hopefully will last a few months til i can afford a real dentist! All for less than €10.

How? Temporary filling is available from many chemists like boots. DIY job and not ideal but worked for me temporarily. Thanks to a friendly student for the advice.

Good to hear but don't expect the temp filling to last too long and indefinitly re-doing temp fillings does not work so try to get seen as soon as you can.
OS

snuggles09

glad you got it sorted out

I've had an estimate from my dentist today for 1055 euro for work i need to get done ( extractions, covered with my medical card). I need periodontic work, x rays and a whole host of fillings

I have sorted out a schedule where I will get things done but by bit, the most important things first, then the rest bit by bit as we go, to give me a chance to put away the money and also for my gums and teeth to recover between each treatment

Most dentists, if you let them know your siutation, especially if your in pain, i would imagine would be someway sympathetic and try their best to accommodate once possible