Dental work abroad v UK

brook2jack

I and Welsh mentioned a Swedish dentist. I have had extensive knowledge of Swedish dentists because for a few years many if them came here to do a years vocational training. Why? Because in Sweden 80% of the population see a dentist regularly as opposed to 50% of the population here. They came here because they saw and treated decay and gum disease they would never see in Sweden. They were horrified at how people neglected their dental health. It gave them experience they would never get in Sweden.

There are very few purely private dentists in Sweden , but the help available from the state is limited and treatment costs are very expensive for locals as they pay eg for a denture related course of treatment around £750 plus lab costs on their equivalent of the nhs. People value their health though and heed the preventative advice given to them. Yes there is some Swedish dental tourism but much, much less than uk even though the putative savings would be even greater.

Toothsmith

I believe that the Scandanavian countries pay a much bigger % of their income in tax as well.

brook2jack

58% above eur 40,000 in Sweden.

Mark2spark

Once again thank you for all the posts, they are all useful.
I'm pushed for time tonight but i'd just like to say to brookjack that it's not that i'm unwilling to go around and get treatment plans and different opinions from different uk dentists, there is a time and cost factor. One )recommended) practice which can be searched for called woodborough house in pangbourne wanted ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY POUNDS just to have a look and give a quote!
Perhaps I should see ten of those then?
Just pointing out that there is a cost factor that uk dentists (generally) don't seem to grasp.

On Weds i'm going to my uk dentist and whilst he hasn't really explained himself properly as to what he's going to do, for £500 i'm going to walk out with a tempory bridge/denture (on the upper) of approx 10 teeth as it's just ridiculous now as pinned crowns on UR1 & UR2 fall out on a daily basis. This will buy me a couple of months whilst I decide what to do.
I'm going to ask about just straightforward dentures... something that I really wanted to avoid as I thought 21st century dentistry would be able to offer more options than that (that were affordable to ordinary people on ordinary wages).

(Yes i'm an electrician, about 25k - 30k a year are my earnings)

Whilst the www contains many inacuracies and potential scams, the fact is it's the new IT over encyclopedias, and you can't ask me to research research research on one hand and then warn me away from anything on the www on the other?
I'm just trying to get something that will work and is affordable without me feeling like i've got a mouthfull of gobstoppers

Toothsmith

Mark2spark wrote: »

I'm going to ask about just straightforward dentures... something that I really wanted to avoid as I thought 21st century dentistry would be able to offer more options than that

21st century dentistry can be fantastic.

Unfortunately it needs 21st century patients.

Those that appreciate and understand that dentistry is a partnership between a highly qualified practitioner, and a compliant, motivated patient who understands the processes involved.

That patient realises that they're not paying for nuts and bolts and off the shelf parts, but for the skill and time of the person turning those parts into a new functioning dynamic engineering miracle. This can both look good and functions well in an environment where forces can be enormous and temperature differences can go from 0oc or lower to 70oC or higher in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea!

For the really lucky 21st century patients - the ones that have been born since about 1990, if they listen to their dentist's advice, and are prepared to pay for proper preventative dentistry (Or have parents with the foresight to do that for them) then they can easily get through their life with no fillings whatsoever!

Imagine that! Paying a dentist to NOT actually ever pick up their drill!!!!

How much is that worth???

Would people travel abroad for that????? :think:


If you're not a 21st century patient Mark, then stick with the simple stuff. It'll save you a lot of time, trouble and money in the long run.

brook2jack

[QUOTE=Mark2spark there is a time and cost factor. One )recommended)
Perhaps I should see ten of those then?
Just pointing out that there is a cost factor that uk dentists (generally) don't seem to grasp.This will buy me a couple of months whilst I decide what to do.
I'm going to ask about just straightforward dentures... something that I really wanted to avoid as I thought 21st century dentistry would be able to offer more options than that (that were affordable to ordinary people on ordinary wages).

(Yes i'm an electrician, about 25k - 30k a year are my earnings)research research on one hand and then warn me away from anything on the www on the other?
[/QUOTE]


The best thing about this is that you are giving dentures a try..... Good. The worst is that you don't appear to be asking locally for recommendations ( follow toothsmiths signature for NO COST ideas) for a dentist who will explain things to you and help you to avoid more invasive treatment. The best way is to ask workmates, friends etc. For a good general dentist before getting exotic.

Yes dental quotes are expensive because it is hideously expensive to provide dentistry. Somewhere that provides free quotes has a vested interest in getting you to have treatment to offset the cost of the "free quote" as opposed to giving you the right treatment plan for you which might not involve implants!

As to value of money £30,000 per year is less than I was earning as a nhs dentist when I left 4 years ago ,and due to the less than inflation fee increases(1% cut this year ,0.01% increase last year) , and the massive increase in expenses ( dental inflation is around 10 to 15% at the moment) I'd be earning less than that now. Dentists do know very well the value of money to ordinary people , they are ordinary people. The day you pick up your degree (normally with £40,000 debt) you don't suddenly turn into some bloodthirsty,moneygrabbing monster but remain a member of the human race like everyone else.

Implants are expensive,we know but few of us are willing to make ourselves bankrupt to provide them cheaper. Medicine/dentistry is expensive to provide and even private dental practices provide treatment much cheaper than similar placed in a nhs hospital or clinic enviroment.
The average cost of treatment in a nhs practice is £36,

brook2jack

Sorry didn't finish thought off, the average cost of treatment in a nhs practice is £36, how much 21st century treatment will that buy?

Alternatively if to do implants well it cost £250,000 in training and equipment on top of the costs of running a practice and the costs of the implants, lab work itself, and ongoing training to keep up to date etc and this implantologist places about 10 a week what sort of cost do you think they should be?

Mark2spark

Toothsmith wrote: »

21st century dentistry can be fantastic.

Unfortunately it needs 21st century patients.

Give it to me straight toothsmith lol

I'm not frightened to hear it said bluntly. I like the above.
I have to concede that my initial posts were probably made with an edge to them based on the fact that I was still reeling from having a dental quote that was more than my first house cost to purchase.

Mark2spark

Brookjack, I have asked around friends & family... unfortunately we all use either the same dentist practice or none of the others have ever required treatment as 'major' as mine. Certainly no-one has had any implants.

Whether my now retired dentist was 'good' is now in question, but one thing he did say some years ago was that he was leaving a lot of these 'stumps' in as the bone won't recede back whilst it's (the stump) still in place, giving more options later for a more complicated procedure than what i'll get on the nhs.

As i say, soon i'll have about two months to decide what to do... but just cos i'm on up to £30k a year before tax doesn't mean i've got £12k or more gathering dust.

Why hasn't anyone suggested 'just' dentures so far?

welshdent

Mark2spark wrote: »

Why hasn't anyone suggested 'just' dentures so far?

BEcause you were asking about implants LOL.

But yes a suitable option certainly initially:A