Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

Are Dentists in Ireland more expensive than other Similar Euro Countries

  • 05-01-2015 3:56pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 3,068 ✭✭✭


    Well are they

    80 notes here for a normal filling....

    Why so expensive?


Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,681 ✭✭✭bodice ripper


    the minimum amount of money that 80 notes could be is 400


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 24,465 ✭✭✭✭darkpagandeath


    Yes it the same for all healthcare, If you pay peanuts you get monkeys apparently. Or if you pay loads you get consultants that don't see anyone like we do now.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 19,889 ✭✭✭✭The Moldy Gowl


    the minimum amount of money that 80 notes could be is 400

    Maybe they are notes from his Mother?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,735 ✭✭✭dar100


    Far more expense in Ireland, much cheaper in parts of Europe


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,657 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    But are they any more expensive than other healthcare providers ??

    Our 6yo has some problems with her teeth, she had an extraction today, spent an hour with the dentist for €45.

    I've had reason to visit physio's who charge €40 for 30-40 minute sessions..

    Think of the cost of dental equipment, she had a dental nurse to pay, rent, rates, insurance, electricity, professional registration etc all before she had a bob for herself.. I'd be surprised if she earned much more than €15 for herself for the hour. Put onto that the cost of her education and I wouldn't consider it expensive.


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 4,785 ✭✭✭KungPao


    I just use Polyfilla. And to avoid barber costs, I cut my hair with the Flymo. Saves me a pretty penny.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,735 ✭✭✭dar100


    You seem to have answered your own question!!! Although that's not the one you first asked!!

    It's much cheaper in parts of Europe, to answer your original question


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 41,129 ✭✭✭✭Annasopra


    Of course they are - sure loads and loads of people goto dentists in the North of Ireland and Budapest because they are much cheaper

    It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

    Terry Pratchet



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 41,129 ✭✭✭✭Annasopra


    They even call it Dental tourismh

    ttp://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/irish-go-dental-abroad-holidays-part-of-the-bargain-in-budapest-1.1995059

    It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

    Terry Pratchet



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,249 ✭✭✭Andrewf20


    I know its not Europe, but I got a dental inspection, clean and xray in the USA last year. Cost? $300. Thankfully insurance paid for it but a rip off if I had to foot the bill. A clean recently in Dublin cost me 40euro and the subsequent filling was 90eu. Considering the labour / skills involved, I dont actually think its bad value.


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,180 ✭✭✭hfallada


    We have very few new dentist coming out of college here. Most go abroad for better opportunities. So there is very little competition. Also my dentist has a receptionist and dental nurse. Their wages must be around €25-30 per hour. Plus he has huge rents overhead. But he is worth it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18,299 ✭✭✭✭The Backwards Man


    My dentist is in the North, gave him the guts of £10k in the last four years (an accident with a toilet bowl in Newcastle), and there's no way I could have got it done cheaper anywhere else factoring in flights, accommodation, time off work etc,


  • Posts: 6,025 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    My dentist is in the North, gave him the guts of £10k in the last four years (an accident with a toilet bowl in Newcastle), and there's no way I could have got it done cheaper anywhere else factoring in flights, accommodation, time off work etc,

    Didn't I warn you about drinking out of the toilet? ( joke can't do wink on phone)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18,299 ✭✭✭✭The Backwards Man


    Jake1 wrote: »
    Didn't I warn you about drinking out of the toilet? ( joke can't do wink on phone)
    Ha, I wish, landed in Newcastle sober as a judge (scouts honour), went for a shower, slipped in it, fell full whack of the toilet bowl. The two front teeth that broke clean were the cheapest!

    Still lasted the weekend though, drinking peroni and sweet and sour sauce from straws.

    /Bear Grylys


  • Posts: 6,025 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Ha, I wish, landed in Newcastle sober as a judge (scouts honour), went for a shower, slipped in it, fell full whack of the toilet bowl. The two front teeth that broke clean were the cheapest!

    Still lasted the weekend though, drinking peroni and sweet and sour sauce from straws.

    /Bear Grylys

    Crap , I feel bad now. That sounds awful


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,088 ✭✭✭SpaceTime


    Basically what it comes down to is Ireland (and Britain too) have to compete with very, very overpaid medical posts in the USA and Australia (public spending bubble in Oz).

    Other EU countries generally don't have the same degree of movement to and from those countries due to lingusitic barriers and also lack of familiarity.

    If medical wages in Ireland are too low, we basically lose all our doctors.

    What's happening at the moment is that the career paths are lousy and the jobs are too difficult due to lack of resources and short staffing so Irish medics are going abroad in large numbers to countries with extremely expensive private systems (USA) or the Aussie bubble where public services are being funded from mineral boom revenues.

    The NHS is bleeding staff too. Not as dramatically but it's happening.

    Not my fave paper :

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10995371/Thousands-of-doctors-planning-to-leave-NHS-to-work-abroad.html


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18,299 ✭✭✭✭The Backwards Man


    Jake1 wrote: »
    Crap , I feel bad now. That sounds awful
    Ah don't on the plus side I had to pay fcuk all tax that year!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,938 ✭✭✭ballsymchugh


    Of course they are - sure loads and loads of people goto dentists in the North of Ireland and Budapest because they are much cheaper

    most things in ireland are more expensive than in eastern europe. the cost of doing business here is the problem.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,068 ✭✭✭Nesta99


    Specialun wrote: »

    Why so expensive?

    One major overhead is insurance cover for any medical practioner in private practice. The joys of living in a litigious society or at least insurance companies using this as an excuse to load premiums. My aunt retired as a consultant obstertician as to cover her insurance would have meant really crazy fees (and she hadnt any case taken against her). Ok its a particularly 'high risk' discipline when things go wrong but this would influence premiums in other medical areas including dentistry.

    High levels of water usage in dentistry for example is a big overhead + equipment (especially xray) are major costs certainly in relation to say a GP/physio practice. So bit of a vicious cycle occurs in that dentistry practice running costs in an expensive country means pricey fees meaning suppliers of equipment feel they can load their prices and so on and the patient carrys a good proportion of the burden....the dentist is hardly going to be happy with a net income of 30k or there abouts to keep their fees down...


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,299 ✭✭✭✭MadsL


    Andrewf20 wrote: »
    I know its not Europe, but I got a dental inspection, clean and xray in the USA last year. Cost? $300. Thankfully insurance paid for it but a rip off if I had to foot the bill. A clean recently in Dublin cost me 40euro and the subsequent filling was 90eu. Considering the labour / skills involved, I dont actually think its bad value.

    40+90 = 130 euro = 170 USD in 2013. Not far off, and most people have some dental cover.

    Personally I'd pay the extra, my dentist here has got far superior equipment. A Drip anesthetic machine that only numbs the tooth she's working on, and a 3D X-ray machine that lets her judge exactly the length of screw for the implant I had done. She also gave me far better advice than any dentist is saw in Ireland, Irish or Polish :)


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,122 ✭✭✭BeerWolf


    Definitely --- Spain's really cheap.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,713 ✭✭✭✭osarusan


    Cost me (by today's exchange rate) about 60 euro to have 4 wisdom teeth removed here, in two different visits*. Maybe the same again in prescription painkillers.

    *Never worked out if it was cheaper because I was sent to a dental university clinic instead of a regular clinic, because of how close the teeth were to the nerve. Maybe the roomful of dental students observing my contortions was in lieu of cash. If so, great!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,409 ✭✭✭✭Grayson


    Nesta99 wrote: »
    One major overhead is insurance cover for any medical practioner in private practice. The joys of living in a litigious society or at least insurance companies using this as an excuse to load premiums. My aunt retired as a consultant obstertician as to cover her insurance would have meant really crazy fees (and she hadnt any case taken against her). Ok its a particularly 'high risk' discipline when things go wrong but this would influence premiums in other medical areas including dentistry.

    High levels of water usage in dentistry for example is a big overhead + equipment (especially xray) are major costs certainly in relation to say a GP/physio practice. So bit of a vicious cycle occurs in that dentistry practice running costs in an expensive country means pricey fees meaning suppliers of equipment feel they can load their prices and so on and the patient carrys a good proportion of the burden....the dentist is hardly going to be happy with a net income of 30k or there abouts to keep their fees down...

    It's still cheaper in the north. They'd have comparable insurance costs.

    There's a dentistry forum or something like it on boards. I stumbled across it looking for reviews of foreign dentists. The mod automatically slaps down anyone who has anything good to say about foreign dentists. According the that forum everywhere else in the world has substandard dental care and we should be grateful we don't pay twice as much as we do here.

    There was one thread where someone replied and said that the supplies they use in Eastern Europe are substandard. One poster found out what they use and showed that it's the exact same stuff as here. Just here there's something like an 800% markup here.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,741 ✭✭✭Piliger


    Specialun wrote: »
    Well are they

    80 notes here for a normal filling....

    Why so expensive?

    One major reason is simply because they can .... They act like a closed shop and coordinate their fees.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,022 ✭✭✭conorhal


    Because we like closed shops and cosy professional cartels in this country.

    Another reason prices are high is down to the fact that it was largely the professional classes (lawyers, bankers, doctors and dentists) that invested heavily in property and 'partied' the hardest during the boom years. This is why I reccomeded both my folks to visit the dentist while abroad on holidays after both were reccomended expensive and largely unnecessary treatments for dental problems. That second opinion was invaluable in saving them thousands.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,741 ✭✭✭Piliger


    About five years ago I had long overdue work done on my teeth. I had had a massive amount of work done when I was a kid, in the Dental Hospital here in Dublin. I had been visiting Poland a lot for business and personal reasons so I asked them to recommend a dentist in the local biggest city - which was a city called Kielce in central Poland.
    When I went to him I discovered he was absolutely bloody fantastic. His clinic was super modern with the latest equipment and he himself was a hoot.
    I had 80% of my teeth beautifully crowned, including ceramics and four veneers, over a period of several months. I flew there on about six visits overall. The total cost including hotels and flights was €3,800. I priced the work here in Dublin and it would have been €15,000+ !


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,794 ✭✭✭Aongus Von Bismarck


    Dentists tend to charge well in Ireland for their services and expertise. The standards are high though. You wouldn't think it though with the state of some of the mouths you see out in public in Ireland.
    I was home for Christmas and the state of some people. Stained teeth jutting out at all sorts of angles. Not a care in the world. A routine examination, clean and polish every 6 months is the very least you should be doing.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,264 ✭✭✭✭jester77


    I paid €120 here for a filling with no anasthetic. My health insurance, which costs around €500 a month, doesn't cover it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,208 ✭✭✭keithclancy




  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,043 ✭✭✭Wabbit Ears


    Dentists tend to charge well in Ireland for their services and expertise. The standards are high though.


    This is a massive irish lie we tell ourselves that is being extended to dentists. Ive had dental work done in Poland, Hungary and up north as well as several places in Ireland and the standards of the practices themselves, knowledge of the profession, equipment and materials used made most Irish dentists look like they are still in the dark ages.

    One example was a dentist in Poland recommended that I have a dark ugly filling replaced and commented that I must have had it years. He was truly shocked that It had only been done the year before.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 16,655 CMod ✭✭✭✭faceman


    I get all my dental work done in Spain. The dentist is Norweigan and her husband is an Ortadontist.

    I got 2 fillings, a deep clean and polish and 4 X-Rays for €180 the last time I was there.

    I'm in Spain regularly though so I factor in dental visits when I'm there


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 27,290 CMod ✭✭✭✭spurious


    My partner visits a Latvian dentist who flies in regularly and works out of a Dublin surgery. Not quite Latvian prices, but cheaper than the usual Dublin prices.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 27 wahesh32


    MadsL wrote: »
    40+90 = 130 euro = 170 USD in 2013. Not far off, and most people have some dental cover.

    Personally I'd pay the extra, my dentist here has got far superior equipment. A Drip anesthetic machine that only numbs the tooth she's working on, and a 3D X-ray machine that lets her judge exactly the length of screw for the implant I had done. She also gave me far better advice than any dentist is saw in Ireland, Irish or Polish :)

    I found dental prices to be at least 150% and usually closer to 200% higher In the USA than here in Ireland if you don't have insurance. Insurance in the USA brings the costs closer to Irish prices. (I had a root canal done in the USA that was $1100 before insurance, and I paid $700 with insurance. Smiles Dental would have charged me 355eur). I'm getting the crown down here in Ireland, and was quoted 500eur at Smile Dental, but in US I remember it was over $1000 (I don't remember what the insurance would have covered, but it wasn't much).

    The percentage of people in the USA with private dental coverage is just at 50% (although if you include medicare/medicaid it's closer to 60%)
    http ://www .gao .gov/products/GAO-13-754 (I can't post the link because of my low post-count)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 891 ✭✭✭Falcon L


    In my experience, Ireland is definitely more expensive than most of Europe. I've had work done in France and Spain much cheaper than I would get here,and the quality of the work isn't sub-standard.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,208 ✭✭✭keithclancy


    This is a massive irish lie we tell ourselves that is being extended to dentists. Ive had dental work done in Poland, Hungary and up north as well as several places in Ireland and the standards of the practices themselves, knowledge of the profession, equipment and materials used made most Irish dentists look like they are still in the dark ages.

    One example was a dentist in Poland recommended that I have a dark ugly filling replaced and commented that I must have had it years. He was truly shocked that It had only been done the year before.

    I would agree with you, there are good dentists and bad ones in every country.

    It's just when it goes wrong with anything health related it's difficult to go after them when its an a different country that isn't your native language.

    Assuming a dentist is automatically good or bad because they are in a certain country is a mistake though


  • Advertisement
  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    I was in Bulgaria and developed an abscess on my tooth. Went to Dentist, he did and xray and handed me antibiotics. Charged me €10.
    Am xray on its own here is €30. Then they charge for writing a prescription.
    There was nothing substandard about the dental practice either.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 981 ✭✭✭Stojkovic


    Budapest is the way to go.
    Beautiful city too.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    Ha, I wish, landed in Newcastle sober as a judge (scouts honour), went for a shower, slipped in it, fell full whack of the toilet bowl. The two front teeth that broke clean were the cheapest!

    Still lasted the weekend though, drinking peroni and sweet and sour sauce from straws.

    /Bear Grylys

    Bears out my hatred of showers! Dangerous places;) Commiserations of course..


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    Dentists tend to charge well in Ireland for their services and expertise. The standards are high though. You wouldn't think it though with the state of some of the mouths you see out in public in Ireland.
    I was home for Christmas and the state of some people. Stained teeth jutting out at all sorts of angles. Not a care in the world. A routine examination, clean and polish every 6 months is the very least you should be doing.

    Will never forget the first Irish bishop I met; his teeth are literally green..


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 19,889 ✭✭✭✭The Moldy Gowl


    Graces7 wrote: »
    Will never forget the first Irish bishop I met; his teeth are literally green..

    What does him being a Bishop have to do with anything?

    Were they literally green or just figuratively green?


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,409 ✭✭✭✭Grayson


    Dentists tend to charge well in Ireland for their services and expertise. The standards are high though. You wouldn't think it though with the state of some of the mouths you see out in public in Ireland.
    I was home for Christmas and the state of some people. Stained teeth jutting out at all sorts of angles. Not a care in the world. A routine examination, clean and polish every 6 months is the very least you should be doing.

    I need a few implants, some bridge work and veneers. The reason I haven't got them is price. It'd cost well over 10k for the work here.

    I'd have gotten the work done here except for the price. 10k is not something I have at all. And to be honest, I hate my teeth. I really want the work done.

    When you see someone with bad teeth it might be worth your while remembering that they are probably all too aware they look horrible and would do something if it wasn't for the ridiculous prices charged here.

    but feel free to judge anyway.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,409 ✭✭✭✭Grayson


    One example was a dentist in Poland recommended that I have a dark ugly filling replaced and commented that I must have had it years. He was truly shocked that It had only been done the year before.

    My first fillings were those kind. I was surprised because I thought it was really ugly. The next couple were the same. A few years later I went to the most expensive dentist in the town. He put in a white filling on one of my front teeth. A few days later and it turned yellow from tea/coffee. I had that yellow spot for years until another dentist removed it and replaced it with one that doesn't stain.

    I've probably been to 10 dental surgeries in Ireland over the years. They're all rubbish except for the one I'm at now. He's reasonably priced for the basic stuff too. Unfortunately for the amount I need done I'm going to have to go abroad as it'll be 1/3 the price or about 9k cheaper.


  • Registered Users Posts: 226 ✭✭gqma0


    We've been going to the gentle dental clinic in Warrenpoint in NI over the last 3 years and I don't regret the 1h trip.
    Simply compare the prices from a regular filling to a crown and see by yourself.

    Also, VHI always treated the claims without any issues,


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,086 ✭✭✭TheBeardedLady


    Spain is much cheaper. I was quoted around 2000 for a crown in 2002 in Ireland and I paid 400 for it last year in Spain (after the temporary filling finally fell out) and I was extremely happy with the service and what they'd done; very professional service. I paid 700 quid for that, 6 fillings and a clean (I hadn't gone for a very long time because of the expense). I understand overheads are more expensive in Ireland but it seems the difference is a little bonkers.

    I'll be coming here again for all my major dental work.


Advertisement