Is €1,900 expensive for a root canal & crown?

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Quite obviously Irish dentists have a vested interest in scaremongering. Like Irash, the only scare stories that I know about have been bad work by Irish dentists. Indeed, my own UK qualified dentist suggested that Irish practising dentists were better then their UK equivalents, but since she would have been qualified under the UK system I could only assume that she was worried I would be shopping around for the crown she said I needed. The UK medical profession (including dentists) are probably better trained and regulated then their Irish counterparts imo. However, through the restriction on supply in professional numbers and various restrictive practices the Irish customer gets a poor deal. The high prices referred to in this thread are a symptom of this general problem.
 
Had 6 root canals/crowns done, about 10 years ago now. Worth doing, but not at that price. Extraction means roots come out as well which can cause change in facial structure depending on location of roots. Why not investigate 'foreign' dentists and combine your treatment with a holiday. :(
 
markowitzman said:
as a practising Irish dentist the situation with failed treatments abroad is getting worse and worse! Cases of completely infereior quality of work. Cases of complete overtreatment.....clinically I have seen numerous cases of maybe a crown or two needed and the patient returns with 8, 10 crowns!!!!!!!!!!! Cases with advanced prosthodontics rushed into a fortnight which should take a year or more to complete correctly. Cases with completely inferior root canal treatment with persistent bone infections underneath. Cases with implant failures within a year or two of surgery. Cases with failed crown and bridge work due to no attention given to the existing gum condition. I could go on and on..... I could not give a damn where a patient goes for treatment........I am snowed under with work and have never been busier!! What really worries me is the shocking work that I am seeing at an all too frequent basis from abroad. Media are now beginning to cotton on to this and recent interviews with university professors from Dublin and Cork eloquently detailed what I have said above. They are inundated with cases of failed treatment abroad. This situation is getting worse and worse and I feel so sorry for the patients so afflicted. With loosening of the advertising noose on us here in Ireland we should be much more able to deal with this crisis in the media. Get a SECOND OPINION for any case involving proposed treatment which involves multiple crowns etc and implants.
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This explanation contains some good information concerning the dangers of getting dental work done abroad with dubious professionals and I have no issue with that as I think the warning is quite valid.
However, I see no attempt to explain to us why the high cost of dental fees obtains here and very specifically since we are invited to accept that there is no shortage of work to be done.
Give us the true breakdown of costs.
 
over 80% of Irish population are entitled to state subsidised dental care.
For the high end items there is a huge regional variation in fees which obviously depends on the cost/overhead structure of the individual practice so to generalise is nigh impossible.
I think it would be fair to say however that all practices here would have costs of six figures plus (100-200k per chair would be typical).
Overhead of 60-70%+ seems pretty much the norm.
I see no attempt to explain to us why the high cost of dental fees obtains here and very specifically since we are invited to accept that there is no shortage of work to be done.
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Most dentistry required here is routine preventive based work which is still cheap for the patient and mostly state subsidised.
My point is that these foreign outfits seem to skip over this VITAL work so as to overtreat using high end treatments which are in my experience not in the patient's best interest.
I will accept it is very difficult to take seriously anecdotal stories of "clinical success" on a forum like this.
Moreover the human psyche I have found does not like to be told that they made a mistake when informed of failed treatment rendered abroad.
Good luck to all who had complicated treatment in a short time abroad.
To those who are contemplating, by all means get a treatment plan from these outfits but please please go to your local family dentist for a SECOND OPINION before jumping on the plane.
 
As an example of regional variation we charge 600 for crown whereas in urban areas this would be up to double?
 
Hi, ok, I need to get root canal and a crown which I'm told in total will cost 700. I'm on less than 100 a week, working part time. I have a medical card (but my dentist stopped taking them).

I lost my job seekers allowance of 106.50. Will my health board dentist do this for free on my medical card. I'm 33. My own dentist said the tooth might flare up and swell up within 2 weeks and I'm going against her desire to do the work, purely because of the cost.

Do I rob a bank or just shoot myself if the pain gets unreal? Seriously, what are my options?

Thanks.

p.s the tooth is to one side of the mouth, around my cheek. (I heard the HSE only covers front). It had a deep filling which she drilled out, she then hit blood it was that deep. She put in a temp white filling until I make up my mind, with the warning it might flare up within 2 weeks.
 
aircobra19 said:
I the old days they'd just pull it out and leave the gap.
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Yeah, but don't u need to put something back to stop the teeth closing in together? Won't that cause problems later? Fine if it's a back tooth, but if it's on the side or about 6 or 7 in from the center of your mouth, then surely something's going to go wrong there.
 
the main aim is to prevent further tooth loss with simple preventive treatments whereas.............
don't u need to put something back to stop the teeth closing in together?
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some of these foreign outfits would revert to above in double quick time before you get back on the plane!......which in a disease susceptible patient would increase the risk of further tooth loss.
 
markowitzman said:
the main aim is to prevent further tooth loss with simple preventive treatments whereas.............

some of these foreign outfits would revert to above in double quick time before you get back on the plane!......which in a disease susceptible patient would increase the risk of further tooth loss.
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I'm not following you at all. What do you mean?
 
putting something back in to replace missing tooth is doomed to fail in the presence of active disease be it gum disease or active tooth decay.
 
As Irish Dentists don't advertise their prices how do you propose we shop around? I paid €250 for a consultation last week, I would have to pay this or more each time I wanted a second opinion.

markowitzman said:
.
.
Get second opinions etc etc and written estimates etc.
Good luck.
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I could not agree more.
Advertising has to change so as to level the playing field.
We have price lists in waiting rooms but we should be allowed to advertise to the wider public.
 
markowitzman said:
putting something back in to replace missing tooth is doomed to fail in the presence of active disease be it gum disease or active tooth decay.
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Thats a different thing. Do you "have" to put something in to stop the gap closing? Why is the gap closing a bad thing?

Active disease is another issue.
 
Nope you don't have to put something in to stop gap closing as in many cases the preexisting bite is stable.
Teeth can tip into spaces and opposing teeth can overgrow into these spaces which can increase the risk of gum disease, tooth decay and bite problems.
Mechanically putting something in, in the presence of active disease is below the standard of care.
Active disease is the key issue and supercedes all other concerns including gaps closing etc etc.
 
aircobra19 said:
Then why on earth would some one put something in the gap?
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Imagine looking in the mirror, look at your middle tooth and count 5 more to the right. I have tooth with a deep filling that was drilled out and the dentist wants to put something back in to save the tooth, i.e crown and she wants to do root canal too. Total 700. I've said hang on, even though it might flare up and get infected again within 2 weeks!! . She said if I get extraction, I'll have to put in a bridge or something to fill the gap.

I'm working one day a week and have a medical card, but she doesn't take them. And I read here that the HSE will only pay for crowns for front six, upper and bottom.

Will I just get a damn extraction or what and if I win the lotto later, put a bridge .

mal
 
Hang on, step back.

1) I said an alternative to having a root/crown is to have an extraction.

2) You said you need something in the gap to stop them closing together.

3) markowitzman says you don't need anything.

I'm just making the point is that if you can't afford crowns/root canals, you don't have to have them. Yes you have to live with the gap. But you can either afford it or you can't.
 
aircobra19 get yourself 550 points and give five years plus to dental hospital and then you will understand..........
Good luck!
 
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