€165 per filling

NervousNude · 14-05-2009 09:42PM #1

I went to a dentist in D4 today and was quoted €165 per filling. These are all largish fillings, and are being done because of decay underneath existing fillings so not particularly straightforward I guess. Unfortunately I've only been working for 20 months so I can't qualify for PRSI cover and I'll have to pay the full whack myself. I really liked the dentist and he spent nearly an hour explaining all my options to me with photos, x-rays etc. I don't mind paying a little extra for this service but €165 seems like a LOT to pay for fillings. I need 3 in total so it's the guts of €500.

I realise that I also pay a little extra for a D4 practice, I understand that he must have higher overheads.

What's the average charge?

kleefarr · 14-05-2009 09:51PM

Try and get some quotes from the North. Then see if anyone in Dub is prepared to match it or make it worth your while not traveling North.

4Sheets · 17-05-2009 12:07AM

Stuff him,go up North..if it being said once then its being said a million times on these forums..Dentists in the republic have being riding the gravy train far too long..youd think they where brain surgeons the prices they charge

brian ireland · 17-05-2009 12:19AM

NervousNude wrote: »

I went to a dentist in D4 today and was quoted €165 per filling. These are all largish fillings, and are being done because of decay underneath existing fillings so not particularly straightforward I guess. Unfortunately I've only been working for 20 months so I can't qualify for PRSI cover and I'll have to pay the full whack myself. I really liked the dentist and he spent nearly an hour explaining all my options to me with photos, x-rays etc. I don't mind paying a little extra for this service but €165 seems like a LOT to pay for fillings. I need 3 in total so it's the guts of €500.

I realise that I also pay a little extra for a D4 practice, I understand that he must have higher overheads.

What's the average charge?

I went to the Czech Republic last year , got two fillings in my front teeth (white). a filling done by an irish dentist removed and fixed, and scaled 86 euro all in. went back this year for a check up. all is ok! back next year for a check up. sorry paid 15 euro for the check up this year

davo10 · 17-05-2009 11:51AM

Before considering 4sheets drivel, perhaps you could post the type of filling your dentist is planning to place, if it is a large composite (white) filling which will require a number of supporting pins, extends over all surfaces of tooth and will take a considerable amount of time to place, then the price is not bad. If it is a straight forward amalgam filling then it is on the high side.

4sheets, what did your last visit to a brain surgeon cost you?

NervousNude · 18-05-2009 12:01PM

Thanks for the responses.

They are all amalgam (non white) fillings. One is my back molar and requires pins. I can understand that this would be more expensive. The other 2 are straightforward replacement fillings, as the dentists suspects the tooth is decaying underneath the existing filling.

However, he quoted me €165 charge per filling regardless of the differences between them. I rang around a few recommended dentists last week and got some quotes for the same work. The average came in at €250 for all 3 fillings. I then rang the dentist I'd first gone to to find out if there was something particularly specialist about the fillings that these other dentists wouldn't have known about. His answer was "you're paying for me". I don't know what sort of a magic touch his hands have that justify charging €200 extra for 3 fillings, but they won't be going anywhere near my mouth or my pockets.

BryanL · 20-05-2009 04:25PM

Price varies, before and afters

fiddlemeragged · 25-05-2009 12:06PM

I had some work done in the city centre recently (Dublin) and paid 90 Euro for a standard amalgum filling (non-white) and 140 for a front tooth white filling.
I was pretty happy with that price as it included a couple of X-rays.

kleefarr · 25-05-2009 02:06PM

Is €1600 a bit expensive for a replacement screw in tooth?

My brother-in-law is about to pay that for one.

niceirishfella · 25-05-2009 02:08PM

I had a filling last week - €80.

Frankiestylee · 25-05-2009 07:03PM

I think I need a check up asap... I'm pretty sure my last filling was €35! :eek:

niceirishfella · 25-05-2009 07:11PM

Frankiestylee wrote: »

I think I need a check up asap... I'm pretty sure my last filling was €35! :eek:

Yes, you pay €35 and your prsi covers the rest if you are a paye worker.

georgieporgy · 25-05-2009 07:32PM

What do you think you are paying for when you go for dental treatment? Is it the skill of the operator or the commodity?

You stated in your first post that he spent an hour explaining things to you and that you liked him. Sounds pretty good. He has been upfront and told you that you are paying for his skill. He seems to know the value of his work. The guy/gal down the road also know the value of their work........

If you think all fillings are more or less the same then why do you think the ones in your mouth need replacing?

I hope I don't come accross as argumentative. I'm just talking to you like I would talk to my kids.

NervousNude · 25-05-2009 08:36PM

georgieporgy wrote: »

What do you think you are paying for when you go for dental treatment? Is it the skill of the operator or the commodity?

You stated in your first post that he spent an hour explaining things to you and that you liked him. Sounds pretty good. He has been upfront and told you that you are paying for his skill. He seems to know the value of his work. The guy/gal down the road also know the value of their work........

If you think all fillings are more or less the same then why do you think the ones in your mouth need replacing?

I hope I don't come accross as argumentative. I'm just talking to you like I would talk to my kids.

Do you need to justify taking €165 per filling out of your kids pocket money?!

I would imagine that the variation in the price of the filling materials doesn't vary half as much as dentist's opinions of themselves. Like I said, I don't mind paying a bit extra for service and skill but how do you quantify what good value is? What I don't want to be paying for is his fancy sofa, polished floor, D4 address and flash car! It's a bit like only buying brand name goods in the belief that because they cost more, they must be better. I'm not going to know until a long way down the road whether or not he's been worth the money.

I would imagine that about 70% of dentist's work is fillings. Therefore, any reputable dentist with a bit of experience must be pretty proficient at them. Seeing as it's not specialist work, how do you justify an extra €200?

The fillings he wants to replace are ones that he suspects have decay underneath them. I've had these for about 10 years now, I don't think this means that they were poor quality fillings to start with.

My problem is that there's just no way to determine the quality before coughing up the money.

georgieporgy · 25-05-2009 08:51PM

My kids don't listen to me either.

However I do understand your point. It is hard for the consumer to know the difference in quality.

And for all we know the D4 guy may be a real quack.

I think at the end of the day you have to get references from people you know.

BryanL · 26-05-2009 11:41AM

The other issue is that property in D4 was selling for the highest prices in Europe per square metre, before the tiger was found dead

kimberlyw · 28-05-2009 04:05PM

have you ever considered going to Poland for your treatment? I've been couple of times myself. It's way cheaper and a service is outstanding!! I can give you their contact details if anyone interested

NervousNude · 28-05-2009 05:09PM

For the amount of work I need to get done I don't think it's worth travelling abroad. If you included flights and accommodation I reckon I'd save €100 max. I'd pay that to have the convenience of not flying, not being in a strange city, not being on my own afterwards (I'm a serious wimp!) etc.

I've got another recommendation so I'm going to try him. Does anyone know what the chances of getting a copy of my x-rays (for free) off the original dentist are?

georgieporgy · 28-05-2009 06:06PM

kimberlyw wrote: »

have you ever considered going to Poland for your treatment? I've been couple of times myself. It's way cheaper and a service is outstanding!! I can give you their contact details if anyone interested

I have treated a lot of Polish patients in my office over the past few years when the country was full of them. Invariably they had mouthfuls of really bad dental work which had been done back home before they came to Ireland.
Lots of badly done white fillings (leaking with decay underneath) and LOTS of very bad root canal treatments. They would turn up at my door in great pain and were surprised to hear their teeth were in poor shape.

aero2k · 28-05-2009 10:14PM

NervousNude wrote: »

Does anyone know what the chances of getting a copy of my x-rays (for free) off the original dentist are?

I had a panoramic X-ray done in Newry in December '08. When I was preparing to meet my Hungarian dentist, they said to bring along a copy. I rang the surgery and they were happy to post me a copy FOC. If you've paid for it, I don't see why they shouldn't give it to you.
I try to minimise the amount of x-rays I get.

davo10 · 28-05-2009 10:22PM

If x-ray is digital, it is no problem to print a copy off or email it to a patient. If it is a film, they must be sent to a film copying laboratory which takes time and is expensive. it is unlikely that your dentist will give you the original as it forms part of your clinical chart and the basis on which a particular treatment may have been provided.

Zeppi · 28-05-2009 10:37PM

I do not want to derail this thread, but I have a question to ask. This is my first time that I need dental attention in this country since I always lived abroad. I have full medical card and I need some small filling to be done, now my question is as follows ....Does every dental clinic accept medical cards or I need to go through the local health center?

thanks,
Zeppi

the-lad · 29-05-2009 12:19AM

Zeppi only some practices accept med cards, ask when you ring to make an appointment. It also only covers certain treatment options.

Zeppi · 29-05-2009 09:20AM

thank you for your answer

Fran Costello · 29-05-2009 09:22AM

There's a guy in Dalkey who's much much cheaper

NervousNude wrote: »

I went to a dentist in D4 today and was quoted €165 per filling. These are all largish fillings, and are being done because of decay underneath existing fillings so not particularly straightforward I guess. Unfortunately I've only been working for 20 months so I can't qualify for PRSI cover and I'll have to pay the full whack myself. I really liked the dentist and he spent nearly an hour explaining all my options to me with photos, x-rays etc. I don't mind paying a little extra for this service but €165 seems like a LOT to pay for fillings. I need 3 in total so it's the guts of €500.

I realise that I also pay a little extra for a D4 practice, I understand that he must have higher overheads.

What's the average charge?

tbh · 29-05-2009 11:00AM

Fran Costello wrote: »

There's a guy in Dalkey who's much much cheaper

Funnily enough, someone was asking me if I'd seen this show yesterday. Anyway, Fran, if you want to publicise your link, do it in your sig. If you pimp a link again, you'll be sitebanned.

NickyNin · 09-06-2009 11:35AM

Hi All,

I just got a quote for 130 per filling

Posterior Composite Filling in two molars. The Dentist said they were very small but now was the time to have it done. They are white fillings but that seems really expensive to me. It's in the Dublin City Centre

Anyone know a better quote than this?

Thanks,
Nicky

15-06-2009 10:45PM

My parents live in Poland as my dad is working there for the next few years, I got root canal for 60 Euro, and 2 white fillings for 48 Euro.

The dentist I went to for is a brand new place called Sdent, they have much more advanced stuff in their surgery than any dentist ive ever been to in Ireland, and I've never felt so calm and relaxed in the dentist chair!

Its just so cheap because they arent money hungry bastards over there :rolleyes:

BryanL · 15-06-2009 11:22PM

Just out of interest, how much is a loaf of bread in Poland?

gwhiz · 15-06-2009 11:28PM

NervousNude wrote: »

I went to a dentist in D4 today and was quoted €165 per filling. These are all largish fillings, and are being done because of decay underneath existing fillings so not particularly straightforward I guess. Unfortunately I've only been working for 20 months so I can't qualify for PRSI cover and I'll have to pay the full whack myself. I really liked the dentist and he spent nearly an hour explaining all my options to me with photos, x-rays etc. I don't mind paying a little extra for this service but €165 seems like a LOT to pay for fillings. I need 3 in total so it's the guts of €500.

I realise that I also pay a little extra for a D4 practice, I understand that he must have higher overheads.

What's the average charge?

I had same type of deep root filing up in Newry for £40 about four weeks go. I can pm you the name of the dentist.
I also got the following work done about three years ago:
10 veneers on top, bottom teeth zoom bleached, a few fillings, two root canals and a crown for £3,000stg. The exchange was really bad at the time but it was still worth it. Dentists are rip off merchants in Dublin. :mad:

Morlar · 15-06-2009 11:37PM

gwhiz wrote: »

Dentists are rip off merchants in Dublin. :mad:

Couldn't agree more. Does anyone know are Polish Dental qualifications recognised here ? Is there a reason why more of them do not come over here to setup shop ?

€165 per filling

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