Student: no insurance and a bit of work needed. Any experience with a dentist abroad?

Eoin_Eamon

I'm a foreign student (American) with no health or dental coverage and a few things I've put off for lack of money really need sorting out.

Does anyone have experience with dentists abroad? Some of my former housemates were German and Hungarian and they both said the cost is less and the quality better in their countries.

I've got 4 wisdom teeth that need to come out, at least one of which is impacted and caused a crack only yesterday from the pressure. I can't put it off any longer so I'm just going to have everything done in one go as my student loan's come through.

I considered going up to the North but I think there's enough to do that it might be cheaper in the end just to catch a flight somewhere.

Any information would be immensely helpful!

livemusic4life

Have you looked into a local dental hospital? I got 2 root canal and 2 crowns done for a third of the cost of going to a dentist. Yes its done mostly by students but they are excellently supervised. I couldn't recommend it highly enough. You get much better treatment and are thoroughly checked for mouth and neck cancer too along with thorough gum checks.

Oral Surgeon

Eoin_Eamon wrote: »

I'm a foreign student (American) with no health or dental coverage and a few things I've put off for lack of money really need sorting out.

Does anyone have experience with dentists abroad? Some of my former housemates were German and Hungarian and they both said the cost is less and the quality better in their countries.

I've got 4 wisdom teeth that need to come out, at least one of which is impacted and caused a crack only yesterday from the pressure. I can't put it off any longer so I'm just going to have everything done in one go as my student loan's come through.

I considered going up to the North but I think there's enough to do that it might be cheaper in the end just to catch a flight somewhere.

Any information would be immensely helpful!

Yes it can be cheaper to catch a flight 1000 miles away and get surgery on your jaws but contrary to what your mates say, it is not better.
In no situation is it better to travel hours away for surgery with someone you have not met before and then fly home away from their aftercare. The legal systems in other countries is vastly different too so you have little comeback if you have issues.

If you just need your wisdom teeth out, then you will not spend enough with them to qualify for the free flights and night accommodation.. So you pay the extra costs yourself and therefore pay the same as if you had the job done here or
You get the upsell and therefore come home with really cheap crowns on every tooth in your head unnecessarily. Here's the bit that most people don't get- 20 really cheap crowns costs a lot of money!! And if done badly (it will be because it was done so quick) will lead to the early failure of the crowns, need for root canal treatment and often extraction...

Don't do it...

percy212

That sounds good. Which hospital did you call?

livemusic4life wrote: »

Have you looked into a local dental hospital? I got 2 root canal and 2 crowns done for a third of the cost of going to a dentist. Yes its done mostly by students but they are excellently supervised. I couldn't recommend it highly enough. You get much better treatment and are thoroughly checked for mouth and neck cancer too along with thorough gum checks.

Oral Surgeon

You get much better treatment and are thoroughly checked for mouth and neck cancer too along with thorough gum checks.

In fairness, this is not true... How are you going to get better treatment from an inexperienced student as compared to a dentist with his/her full qualifications and years of experience??

As for the oral cancer check, that's a look in the mouth and a feel around the neck, we all do that....

livemusic4life

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

You get much better treatment and are thoroughly checked for mouth and neck cancer too along with thorough gum checks.

In fairness, this is not true... How are you going to get better treatment from an inexperienced student as compared to a dentist with his/her full qualifications and years of experience??

As for the oral cancer check, that's a look in the mouth and a feel around the neck, we all do that....

i am 32 years old, i have been to 6 different dentists and i have never had a dentist feel around or check gum health, gum depth or gum bleeding. Every step the students make is checked thoroughly and all minute mistake is checked by the top dog. More that i can say for my last dentist which is why i needed the rc treatment. It takes longer but there is no sacrifice in treatment because its done by a student.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Having 4 wisdom teeth removed by a private oral surgeon will cost between 600-1000 euro. Flying abroad to get a general dentist to do the job doesnt make any sense, as the flights and accommodation will soak up money you could be spending on treatment. Gross unnecessary over-treatment is how these places make their dough. There are some considerable risks both short term and long term, dont make foolish long term decisions based on your current financial state.

The Dublin Dental Hospital will see students on some sort of student scheme they have. Treatment is good quality and detailed, however extremely time consuming.

Oral Surgeon

livemusic4life wrote: »

i am 32 years old, i have been to 6 different dentists and i have never had a dentist feel around or check gum health, gum depth or gum bleeding. Every step the students make is checked thoroughly and all minute mistake is checked by the top dog. More that i can say for my last dentist which is why i needed the rc treatment. It takes longer but there is no sacrifice in treatment because its done by a student.

They may be feeling around all day but most likely don't really know what they are feeling for...!!

I was a dental student before... and supervised hundreds of them throughout the years... but you know better....

livemusic4life

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

They may be feeling around all day but most likely don't really know what they are feeling for...!!

I was a dental student before... and supervised hundreds of them throughout the years... but you know better....

if I could have afforded the 4k+ to go private then I would have, but I didn't and was pleasantly surprised.

Students need guinea pigs to learn their trade. the service I received in CUDH was top class and better than the treatment I have received from fully qualified dentists with their diplomas hanging on the wall, and certainly a much more courteous service, with no condescension.

The waiting room was also chock-a-block with repeat customers. I am currently a repeat customer myself.

Eoin_Eamon

Just to clarify, it's not that I would be flying all the way from Dublin to Budapest for the dentist. I'm travelling over the winter break and will be in Lithuania, Germany, and possibly Budapest anyway. So I guess perhaps the question is rather 'Does anyone know anything about costs & quality of dentists in Germany, Lithuania, or Hungary?' I have a mate who lives in Budapest who I'd like to see anyway. So if I'm already going there I was wondering if anyone had knowledge about the dentists.

This is what needs doing:

removal of 4 wisdom teeth
tiny crack in another tooth which I suspect is caused by impacted molar
refitting a crown which came loose.

I've not been to a dentist in more than 4 years so there could be more.

If it were just the pulling of wisdom teeth I probably would have gone to the north.


Thanks for the suggestions and comments.

hfallada

If its an emergency, the tcd dental hospital is excellent. My mother need a tooth removed in an emergency and the local dentist wasnt sure which tooth he needed to remove even with an xray( he wanted to remove the wrong tooth) and wanted nearly €400.

But the dentist in dental hospital removed the correct one with no issues and it was fairly cheap. A large amount of Irish people have tested positive for hepatitis in recent years and all of them had used eastern european dentists.

Eoin_Eamon

hfallada wrote: »

the local dentist wasnt sure which tooth he needed to remove even with an xray( he wanted to remove the wrong tooth) and wanted nearly €400.

Reasons like this are why my mates from Galway, Clare, and Dublin have told me I should go abroad, especially as it's not just something simple like removing 1 wisdom tooth. Each one of them has some story about something going wrong or needing to go back a second time. This never happened to myself or my family when seeing the dentist in America, hence my apprehension.


And yeah, it is an emergency (the cracked tooth definitely is at least), but was in the middle of exams so wouldn't've had time until now to have anything done. ...I didn't even know Trinity had a dental hospital. If I don't get it sorted in the next week or two I'll definitely try them.

Thanks for that tip.

helimachoptor

Eoin_Eamon wrote: »

Reasons like this are why my mates from Galway, Clare, and Dublin have told me I should go abroad, especially as it's not just something simple like removing 1 wisdom tooth. Each one of them has some story about something going wrong or needing to go back a second time. This never happened to myself or my family when seeing the dentist in America, hence my apprehension.


And yeah, it is an emergency (the cracked tooth definitely is at least), but was in the middle of exams so wouldn't've had time until now to have anything done. ...I didn't even know Trinity had a dental hospital. If I don't get it sorted in the next week or two I'll definitely try them.

Thanks for that tip.

Which is fine.. if the dentist is down the road, less so if its in another country.

Also like a lot of things the majority of people are apprehensive about visiting the chair and as such when something unexpected happens it gets magnified.

I say this as a non Dentist but as someone who's spent a lot of time in the chair, you are going to get to whatever country, rock up and say to a dentist who you have no history whatsoever with, who'll know they'll never have to see you again, you dont have any idea of what exact treatment you need and say "get to work buddy and let me know when its done"

This is not smart.

If you have concerns about the quality of your dental work then see specialists.

Get a general dentist to give you a once over, get a treatment plan and then ask for a referral to specialists based off that, if you dont agree with the plan then get a 2nd opinion.


Also from a couple of mates who work in the States (NYC, Cali, Houston) they generally get most of their work done when they come home to their regular/family dentist unless its an emergency

MisterAnarchy

Eoin_Eamon wrote: »

Just to clarify, it's not that I would be flying all the way from Dublin to Budapest for the dentist. I'm travelling over the winter break and will be in Lithuania, Germany, and possibly Budapest anyway. So I guess perhaps the question is rather 'Does anyone know anything about costs & quality of dentists in Germany, Lithuania, or Hungary?' I have a mate who lives in Budapest who I'd like to see anyway. So if I'm already going there I was wondering if anyone had knowledge about the dentists.

A friend of mine goes to Lithuania for about 4 months every year and he gets all his dental work done there.
He needed to get a couple of root canals done and was quoted 700-800 euro here but had them done by an Endodontist in Lithuania using a surgical microscope.It was less than 150 euro per tooth.

He said the dentists out there are "space age" compared to here .

btkm8unsl0w5r4

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

A friend of mine goes to Lithuania for about 4 months every year and he gets all his dental work done there.
He needed to get a couple of root canals done and was quoted 700-800 euro here but had them done by an Endodontist in Lithuania using a surgical microscope.It was less than 150 euro per tooth.

He said the dentists out there are "space age" compared to here .

Microscopes are standard stuff for an endodontist, even endodontists in caves in Afghanistan have them, but I suppose if you have never been to one before if would look better than your average dentist.

pillphil

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

A friend of mine goes to Lithuania for about 4 months every year and he gets all his dental work done there.
He needed to get a couple of root canals done and was quoted 700-800 euro here but had them done by an Endodontist in Lithuania using a surgical microscope.It was less than 150 euro per tooth.

He said the dentists out there are "space age" compared to here .

Wasn't the space age in the 60's?