Petkula73 Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Hi Can anyone offer any advice here please? My wife had a check up and has been told she needs two crowns plus other work, for a grand total of $5500. We have no medical insurance so this wouldn't be subsidised. We will return to Europe in June/July for a holiday and I'm suspecting holding off and getting this done there will be a lot less expensive. My questions are: 1. Can anyone give a ball park figure on the cost of a crown in the UK (molar) with a private practitioner? 2. Has anyone ever used the Dental School at the University of Melbourne and is this significantly cheaper than a normal dentist in Melbourne? 3. Has anyone got any personal experience of dental tourism, for example having work done in Thailand or Singapore? I'm guessing a crown in the UK costs around 400-500 pounds, so I'd be surprised if the course of treatment comes to more than $2500 (1750 pounds). I'm buggered if we're going to pay nearly four thousand pounds for some pretty routine work like this to be done here! I've suggested I whip them out with a pair of pliers, but she wasn't keen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacaranda Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Can you not take out private dental insurance now,and then your wife has the work done in Australia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memmymooch Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Hi there is a place here in Wolverhampton also have branch near Luton that does crowns for £245, must admit I've been thinking the same thing about dental work will only have absolute minimum necessary over there and anything bigger wait til on trip home. Can't advise you on other points I would say my concern in Thailand would be the level of sterility and potential for picking up something like Hep C, friend of a friend picked it up after being treated in hospital there following an accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petkula73 Posted March 27, 2013 Author Share Posted March 27, 2013 Can you not take out private dental insurance now,and then your wife has the work done in Australia? We looked in to this, but decided not to bother as it doesn't offer any real value until you have PR (we are on a 457 still). The quotation from BUPA (through work) came back at $550 a month for Hospital and Extras cover. The main issue was that on a 457 you need to pay a $120 (or so) surcharge to be exempt from paying the Medicare Levy. On a PR, the same plan would have been around $400 a month, so taking in to account the tax breaks available it makes a lot of sense. The second reason is that major dental work is not covered until you've been in the plan for 12 months, so the outlay would be $6600 to get a $1500 maximum benefit. Oddly enough, the dentist who saw my wife was from the UK. He had absolutely nothing positive to say about the NHS and the level of dental care in the UK. I don't suppose his bank balance has suffered from moving over here though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Can you not take out private dental insurance now,and then your wife has the work done in Australia? There is an advert on TV, might be HBF , that show a guy getting insurance and going into the dentist as soon as he's rung. Depends on how much you value your teeth, your looks and how long you want the work to last. At least if you find a good dentist here you will have somewhere to g back to if they hurt or if something else is wrong. To be fair doing a good job of a crown is not routine work. When I had mine done (2 like your wife) the dentist spent ages taking measurements and moulds, working on my teeth so he could put temporary caps on, return visit when the caps came, explanation from dentist about what they were and why they cost so much. Titanium and porcelain I think. Another hour or so to fit them and make sure they were perfect. That was about 5 years ago and they haven't given me any problems at all. You only get one set of teeth and I am happy to pay a decent sum to get them done properly. If you want to take the chance in Thailand or Singapore then you've got the extra costs of hotels and flights plus the worry of if something isn't right after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chris955 Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 I would hold off and get it done here and save yourself a lot of money. Dentistry in Australia is ridiculously expensive and cant be justified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 I would hold off and get it done here and save yourself a lot of money. Dentistry in Australia is ridiculously expensive and cant be justified. What would it cost in the UK Homeward. I'm not trying to make it a UK v Oz post I genuinely haven't a clue what dental costs are there. I only know that I didnt' go for years because of the cost and then went a couple of times when I was a student, as it was free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Unfortunately the dental costs are not great But I will say for myself especially I actually think If I'd have been here and had the std of dentistry here some of my teeth would still be in my mouth now... I've had 3 crowns done here roughly $1,650 each but I was able to claim around 40% back through my extra's policy If going back to the UK you might as well wait But for me I've just accepted that whatever the price is I'll have to pay it cos I live here now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Last work I had done in UK it was in 3 pricing stages Dearest was £130.00 Not private 3 years ago so prolly changed since Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chris955 Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 What would it cost in the UK Homeward. I'm not trying to make it a UK v Oz post I genuinely haven't a clue what dental costs are there. I only know that I didnt' go for years because of the cost and then went a couple of times when I was a student, as it was free. Around £300-500. Dentistry has moved on a huge amount from years ago, most dentists here now have drills powered by electrickery and some even wash their tools between patients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Around £300-500. Dentistry has moved on a huge amount from years ago, most dentists here now have drills powered by electrickery and some even wash their tools between patients. Glad to hear that. The butcher I went to see just took out a couple of wisdom teeth with a hammer and chisel. That's what it felt like anyhow. Had to go to a wedding the day after and I looked like I had been to interview for the godfather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chris955 Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 The thing is whether someone is a good or bad dentist or doctor or plumber is down to the individual not the country they are in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt95045AAAA Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 Get all dental work done in uk if poss. Dental work here is still extremely expensive even if you have private health cover. I needed a crown redoing and here for one tooth it costs $2600 to $3000 as you have to go to a specialist. In uk they will redo a crown and re root fill for 400 pounds. They don't always give you good rebates and this amount was what I was going to have to pay with my private health cover as major dental is capped at a max of $1000 per year per person even if you have top cover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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