to think private dentists just think of a number

[glasgowsteven]

I have porcelian veneers - have had for 25 years since early teens - when I smashed my front teeth.

never any bother - ever, one fell off, and I found it in bed.

A reverse tooth fairy.

so went to my local (sounds like) loopa - dentist - as I am not registered with an nhs one.

Check up first - 25 quid..no problem.

after the check up sales pitch.

Do you have toothache - nope.....

strange because you need --

root treatment, fillings, caps and also both veneers replaced.

Total cost - 2250...........

How much to recement my current veneer

£65 quid...

That will do nicely thank you verymuch..

By 2k ++

for some fillings and root canal

(800 quid of that was two new veneers - nothing wrong with ones i got)

so.....thoughts....

People in the US remortgage to afford diabetes medicine too.

Adding to this, I know a woman whose dh is going through chemotherapy. He also has a lot of a drugs to take at home. The annual cost of which is $4000 (yes, 4 THOUSAND). Their private healthcare will pay them $40 towards it. They are pensioners, they can't afford it.

I am in Australia.

As has already been said on this thread - it's the same with all professions - plumbers, builders, mechanics etc etc etc

If you don't like the assessment made & the price then you go elsewhere surely? Dentists train long & hard to get there in the first place - I imagine paying privately for a doctor would make your eyes water as well, but nobody considers that as we are all lucky enough to have NHS medical care.

My OH is an orthodontist & I dread telling people most of the time as they always seem to be under the impression that we are rolling in cash & he is a money grabbing barsteward who sits around on his ass all day working out how to scam poor unsuspecting members of the public out of their cash. For the record as well my kids are not going to independent school either...

Aberchips my DC both attend an orthodontist (we had to wait about 3 months for their first appointment, fair enough)
But when I'm waiting in the Waiting Room, the number of people who roll up for their appointment and discover.......oh dear. It was yesterday/at 10am not 3pm so they've missed it.

I'm pretty sure they overbook because they know there will be a % wasteage in the appointments.

As an NHS clinician myself (not dental though) I know the patients can be a bit "Well I don't get anything else free" about it.
And non attendance really winds me up. I have to give 10 minutes 'grace' then decide . If the next patient is there, I take them in. But if the latecomer turns up, it's awkward.

When I was a child a new dentist moved into our town to take over the practice of our regular one who retired. Dad took the three of us into his offices to get a routine clean which had only cost us $30 each previously (this was in the mid-80s). The dentist looked at my teeth and said that I urgently needed braces due to overbite. He didn't even clean our teeth but charged $70 each for a 'consultation'. My dad protested and he said that a clean would be a further $100 each. Of course, Dad didn't bother. Our previous dentist who still lived in town recommended we go to the publicly funded dental hospital in the city for a second opinion on the braces. Of course, they weren't necessary. About five years later, the dentist was found guilty of getting quite substantial kickbacks from an orthodontist a few towns away if he referred patients to him and he had his license removed. The experience made a powerful impression on me at a young age and I realised that I need to take extreme care with diet/teeth. I've only visited the dentist twice in the 25 years since then and only for cleaning - no cavities etc.

mishi has it spot on. It would be like going for piano lessons once a year and expecting to reach grade 8. It's what you do at home that matters, good brushing and flossing and attention to your diet means that save for trauma, most people wouldn't ever need work.

The thing is that when I say to someone, your diet of 2l full fat coke every day isn't good for your teeth, they walk out saying "I always get told off for drinking coke" erm, well if you didn't then you wouldn't need fillings every year and the fact that you do is your own fault. I'm not telling you off, I couldn't care less what you do but you can't neglect your teeth AND complain that you need dental work! It's self inflicted.

hobby horse this week

MrsMorton well said

My private dentist is great. He does what needs doing, doesn't fuck me around and is a really nice bloke. Reasonable prices too. Happy to recommend him to anyone (he's in Bath).

You get pisstakers in every profession, but it's not fair to tar everyone with the same brush (says the lawyer...).