Scale & Polish, PRSI Cleaning vs Full Price

DJTrump

Quick and general question for any dentists or knowledgeable people out there. I get my teeth checked & cleaned every 6 months approx and usually do so under the PRSI scheme. It works out at €15 after the scheme has been applied.

However the last 2 visits I noticed that the dentist hasn’t given them a particularly deep clean. Before when I have had to pay the price without the scheme (i think you only got one visit a year before) the dentist would take a lot longer and I was much happier with the results. Now it seems I’m in and out in less than 10 minutes and I’m considering rebooking somewhere else to get them cleaned again, properly this time.

So my question is, do dentists normally only do a quick job on PRSI patients or is there less incentive to do the work? I would have thought it makes no difference to them if I’m a PRSI patient or not as they claim the remaining cost from the government I presume, but perhaps someone can enlighten me or is it just my dentist being lazy?

davo10

There are now two types of cleaning on the PRSI, a scale & polish which is a light cleaning to remove the plaque/staining on the parts of the teeth you can see, this usually takes around 10-15mins depending on build up. A protracted cleaning on the other hand is the type a Hygienist does, cleaning plaque from pockets under gums, this costs more and takes more time. The cost is normal private fee charged minus €42.

DJTrump

Ok thanks for the info. I’ve only ever booked a scale & polish usually as that’s all the dentist advertises, it just seems I’m getting a half assed job done when it’s under PRSI. No joke, the last time I got it done I would have done a better job myself if I used a new head on my electric toothbrush.