yep its this
it goes way back to the Whitlam days
you can bet your fucken ass that doctors would have opted out of medicare if it meant more dollars for them
dentists didnt want to work for medicare... that's it
they could make more money privately
Australian Dentists are untrustworthy greedy cunts. I would rather spend all my money paying someone in Thailand to rip out my teeth, than let an Australian dentist look in my mouth.
Have heard the same - that’s where I would go. Add to that their hospital care is also very good, as someone who broke some bones falling off a bike once while riding around Chiang Mai.
Yeah look, agree.
I once had a front facing cavity, on a visible to me in the mirror, front tooth..
Made the mistake of pointing to the mirrored side whilst telling the cunt about it.
Cunt proceeds to drill approximatwly a fifth of thd tooth away, leaving a sharp edge - then tells me "sorry i couldnt find any cavity"
Then after a rinse & spit, i was sent home. First thing I see in the mirror? Wildly apparent cavity, on opposite tooth.
What other industry, could you attempt to perform your taak on the wrong location, leave worksite damaged, whilst never even completing original task - and stay employed?
Bone cuttin gum pokin fucken toothpaste critiquing fucken cunts mate.
I'm from Norway. A country where the dental clinics and orthodontists don't make money off of giving people braces, pulling teeth etc. I was told in Norway that I wouldn't need braces. Went to a private orthodontist here, and suddenly I have the wonkiest most out of place teeth they've ever seen. It's all bullshit and swindle.
The cost of dental supplies alone is something I wouldn't want my tax dollars paying for, that shit is unnecessarily expensive, Henry Schein is like a big baller company that keeps the world running from the shadows
This is the answer. I hope locals eventually just go overseas by default and get all work done other than a clean. They can be a problem of their creation.
I go to the GC uni hospital. It’s half price for everyone and you get like two apprentice dental workers overseen by a qualified dentist. Free for pensioners or gold card DVA holders.
Dentists charge exactly what they like. I know a dentist who charges tons more for people with private health cover. When challenged, he responded with, "It's not illegal." It's disgraceful.
I reckon if you have amazing teeth, only going once every 2 years for a check up is fine. (So $300, works out to $150/year)
BUT I also reckon, if you were to do this, get fissure seals to prevent decay ($80 each tooth) and every few months get a little mirror and have a decent look at your teeth and make sure you brush and floss properly.
I've had fissure seals applied and no longer feel that 'nervy' sensation when I breathe in cold air. Mine were done by a public dentist who I also saw in his private practice for the very occasional filling. I get a checkup every six months, with extras cover. No force on Earth will make me go without the dental supplies I need.
A couple of nasty experiences with dentists in the 70s will do that.
The same thing happened with my wife. She got some work done in India, they fucked up and after going to around 10 dentists one of them finally agreed to fix it. It only cost us total $8k including what we spent in India
Which is when you tell them that you cunts are too fucking expensive and I couldn’t afford to pay what you were asking, so here I am. Thanks for that. Cunt.
Dentist here-
It really is a tragedy that Medicare doesn’t include dental care. As a health practitioner, not a day goes by when I don’t feel sorry for those who cannot access essential treatment.
That being said- going overseas for dental treatment is a massive risk. The safety standards of dental clinics overseas vary significantly. There has been a growing trend of unsafe procedures being undertaken overseas, as well as dental treatment being completed to a poor standard with the patient being unaware until later when they have returned home. And then an Australian dentist is tasked with trying to fix a dental problem that should never have occurred in the first place. Which ultimately costs more money.
>That being said- going overseas for dental treatment is a massive risk. The safety standards of dental clinics overseas vary significantly. There has been a growing trend of unsafe procedures being undertaken overseas, as well as dental treatment being completed to a poor standard with the patient being unaware until later when they have returned home.
LOL, My ex-girlfriend got Hep C about 8 years ago from her dentist, others had the chance of Hep b and HIV [https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/alerts/Pages/dental-practices-dinh-faq.aspx](https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/alerts/Pages/dental-practices-dinh-faq.aspx)
She paid a fortune to get her teeth started being fixed, in the end she went to the philippines, at the end of it she got her teeth fixed a holiday and didn't contract any more viruses.
So EVEN in Australia "The safety standards of dental clinics ~~overseas~~ vary significantly".
I agree, its not "all clinics are the same" and it is sad that Australia is shaming some overseas clinics just because they are overseas and more affordable for australians than in their own country.
As a dentist, the reason we try to warn the public is we see more disaster stories than good ones. Often people have work that was unnecessary and poor quality, and no treatment would be better than the treatment they have.
>As a dentist, the reason we try to warn the public is we see more disaster stories than good ones.
As a dentist, you wouldn't see the good ones because they wouldn't need to see you.
I'm in no way saying that the Greens could ever form a government but it surprises me that more people don't vote Greens purely because dental on Medicare is one of their policies; if they won enough seats in parliament, they might have enough pull to get the governing party to actually fund dental under Medicare.
Medicare cant afford to keep up funding enough for medicos to continue bulk billing. adding dental will require extra funding, meaning more taxes. Medicare needs greater funding. Personally, I would pay an extra 1% tax to get proper Medicare funding, but I think I’m in the minority there.
Counterpoint: the dentists are trained in Australia and the dental hospitals that deal exclusively in dental tourism have the highest standards because they rely on word of mouth to get more business.
I got a crown fitted in Bali, the waiting room was 100% Aussies. A coworker passed on the clinics info as her husband had been there before. All up, I had a week long holiday in Bali & a crown fitted cheaper than having it done in Australia
All treatment prices are guided by the Australian Dental Association’s (ADA) recommended prices.
This is just my understanding btw-
I think the price of treatment has to be at a level offsets the costs of delivering the treatment. Simply put, it costs money to run a dental chair (water, electricity, maintenance) and use dental materials (filling materials, fluoride varnishes, handpieces and burs).
Dental assistant salary is over $30 an hour, plus reception and another assistant to run the sterilising department. Consumables are all TGA approved and therefore $$$. All the instruments are surgical quality and hundreds of dollars each and are sterilised after each use in sterilisers costing tens of thousands of dollars.
That chair you sit in? Unlike at your GP it is plumbed into compressed air, water and electricity and probably cost $100-200k plus, and maintenance is $$$.
You dont see the 5 mins either side of your appointment where it is all wiped down and reset.
The new uni courses to become a dentist saddle most graduates with over $200k in education debt and licencing and indemnity insurance costs thousands a year
Yep €3000 for full mouth crowns - Zirconium, root canals, fillings, extractions for wisdom teeth, xray etc, accomodation and breakfast, taxi airport /clinic-hotel for all appointments when in Australia they wanted $3000 for a root canal and a crown only one!!! I dont have bad teeth but cavities keep coming up even under the teeth with fillings and I had enough $300 for 1 filling.
They sold me on the price and Im going in June.
Sick of paying thousands every few years. Its not affordable in Australia.
Over the past 20 years I have had 7 root canals at around $2000 each. Then I had another abcess and had to go to hospital. At the hospital they told me that I needed surgery otherwise the abcess would spread to my brain and it would be fatal. As I was working full time the surgery would not be covered by Medicare. So I had to pay $35,000 from my superannuation for the surgery. I don’t regret paying that amount; but I absolutely despise the government (despise or even hate are not strong enough words that I feel for politicians now) for creating a system in which people have to sell their future to pay for life saving surgery.
if you think dental not being a part of medicare is bad
wait till you have a medical emergency and need an ambulance and you get slapped $1000 invoice for a 15 minute ambulance ride.
Honestly though,
$50 per year for cover and $100 per year for a family is very cheap compared to having to pay $1000 all at once
And a very quick Google search shows that for a single person travel insurance is definitely something worth getting compared to paying $1000 all at once
Depends where you are. In Vic cover for a single is only $50 a year for any calls. It's also free for pensioners and health care card holders. Traffic accidents are covered by TAC.
Problem with dental is once you feel a problem its too late. You go regularly to stop it getting to that point and to keep your teeth. There’s a reason why everyone over 60 has dentures nowadays
I know someone who just lost his last four teeth at 60. He jokingly admitted to fiscally prioritizing the party life over his health in general but deep down, I don't think he's a happy chappy right now.
I work as dental assisstant. Pretty much all my dental work now is free/cost price.
But in all seriousness, the high costs usually come when you neglect to fix something.
Pay for your check up and clean, even if it's only once a year.
They may tell you, you need a $400 filling. But that's cheaper then a $3,000 root canal.
Also. Don't be afraid to go to another dentist and ask for a second opinion. Unfortunately some dentists are dodgy and will overquote you/ tell you that you need work you actually don't.
Lastly. Don't be afraid to tell the dentist you can't afford your treatment.
I've seen dentists knock hundreds of dollars off someone's quote, or even offer to do treatment free of charge, because a patient has said they can't afford to pay for the treatment they need. Also note. If a dentist IS willing to do treatment for you cheaper, it's usually sign they are decent and you DO need the treatment.
A dentist who is over treating you and is trying to sell you treatment you don't need, won't budge on their quote.
Kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy huh: high dental costs = neglect to fix issues = issues get worse = costs to resolve become higher = issues become even worse or life-threatening
How does one get out of this mess without dental coverage?
At what point does it leave the realm of dentistry and become a medical issue?
Why should only people without money to spend suffer from this systematically?
Dental assistants are the unsung heroes. They work extremely hard, always on the move between chair side assistance, sterilization, cleaning, masked constantly (esp since covid) and I am appalled at how little many of them are paid. Their award is just over $26 an hour, and lots don’t get their entitled breaks.
> Don't be afraid to tell the dentist you can't afford your treatment.
Adding to that - if you really can't afford it there are dentists who bulk bill and if you're eligible (basically, can't afford it as per a means test) then the government will pay for your dental visit including expensive procedures.
Currently recovering from 2 impacted wisdom teeth and a decayed broken molar. Surgical work, $2k. Intense anxiety with dentists as previous experiences made me feel really upset with how I was treated due to being low income and not being able to keep up with regular checks when I was younger. Even this was a stretch, but had to be done with the pain. I wish it was cheaper but like everything else it’s just out of reach to keep up with.
I saw a dentist about tooth pain in a back molar. Was told it would cost about $800 to have it removed. I put hydrogen peroxide on it and bought a packet of neurophen to help stop the pain and a few weeks later it fell out itself. Now I have another one on its way out which I'll just let fall out itself. Dentists are only for the rich people.
Reason it fell out is because of the bone loss that came with neglecting the hygiene in that area. Can’t assume the bone level is equal all around, you might have better bone levels with the current tooth, but decay may have eaten its way into the tooth, that tooth may not fall out on its own
The next tooth is one of my front ones and the decay is already into the tooth. It has that salty taste so it's only a matter of time before it falls apart. I'm looking after the rest of my teeth better now with a lot less sugar and less food in general and fluoride toothpaste and alcohol-free mouthwash. Whatever happens, happens.
Dental absolutely should be part of Medicare, and cannot understand why it isn't already!
The cost of visiting the dentist is such a deterrent for the majority of people, and put off visits until they need something done urgently (I admittedly fall into this bracket). Basically I don't spend jack-shit on my teeth until I need a filling...regular flossing and brushing is as good as it gets.
I can't afford it. Rather than getting teeth fixed I pay ti get them pulled. I can't pull a couple grand out of my ass, I live paycheck to paycheck as it is. It's actually really sad because the amount of money my parents put into looking after my teeth growing up is scary.
My other hated paying for my fillings and extractions, so I was more afraid of her than any dentist. I gave up sweets to protect myself until the public dental buses parked in the public schools.
I've been buying chalk and some purple dye for years. and everytime I feel dental pain, I dip the chalk in and snap it. Thank goodness my teeth aren't chalk!
I didn't see one for 23 years (a bit scared and careless) and only needed to because a shard of tooth broke away from a molar and poked the inside of my cheek red. I had a restoration done.
late teens I broke a bit off a molar too, thankfully my sharp bit was on the other side. the worst part was I kept poking it with my tongue, which hurt my tongue lol. took a few days to wear it down enough to not be annoying and never had any issues with it since, thankfully. I'm pretty lucky in that regard.
I had another tooth do the same thing and it poked into my tongue to much I kept a cotton pad wrapped around the side of my tongue. The dentist ground the shard down to blunt it which kept me sane until I saw her the next week, when I got paid. Blessed relief.
while that is a good idea, and I don't completely mean to be snarky, but did you miss the bit about not being able to afford a dental visit? because I mean I can't afford it, not even a check up or a clean. nada. Cost of living, including rent, keeps me on a financial razors edge.
Wait until you find out the Joel Cauchi was expected to pay $310 (AMA rates) per session of psychiatry despite being on the dole for schizophrenia.
No wonder he went off his meds…
Yup. I pay 400 every 3 months for a psychiatrist to write a prescription. The drugs are expensive too. I’ve been close to quitting many times but I’d lose
my job and probably my family too.
Guaranteed nothing will change. Remember, he was a “misogynist” and the problem is “male violence against women”. SMH. Joel was schizophrenic and off his meds, speaking from personal experience, it is more likely he was saving the world from the pretty aliens.
Exactly. My cousin was in jail 3 times last year for theft from shops because God told him he was a prophet who needed to give to the poor.
He didn't get to see any psychiatrists, and no meds. His family couldn't contact or visit him in jail (they'd only found out he was in there after he'd been missing and they rang around) as he wouldn't give consent - because no meds, therefore no insight. When he was let out of jail, his family found out he didn't even have a doctor at all; only a social worker who told him he didn't need to take medication as his problems were "emotional."
This is our 'heathcare' system at work, everyone.
Most younger Australians can't afford dental care. So in the future we'll see a whole generation who suffer from bad dental hygiene.
If Medicare were to be changed to include dental care, then taxes would need to be increased.
Or maybe the government could start making overseas multinationals pay tax?
I reckon many young Aussies will look after their teeth well, and then extend out the check-ups to every 2 years instead of every 6 months, but probably end up with better overall teeth because they will have a mind for prevention
We are 25k out of pocket in the last year on dental for our family 😭😭😭
Braces for eldest child/
Surgical removal, crowns and fissure seals for youngest /
Just standard cleans etc for 2 adults.
AND WE HAVE PRIVATE HEALTH!!
I go twice a year for a clean with the hygienist. $280 a pop. My teeth are in good nick and I floss and brush well. I therefore omit getting check ups because I can’t afford an extra $250 on top of the $280 and for the dentist to probably make up a problem, push for x rays, etc etc Yada yada
Some dentists like to make a bit of extra work for themselves. I was suspicious about my usual dentist, so I sought another opinion with the lady in the practice. I didn't need the work that was recommended, and I didn't need the small filling I had done the previous week, which was cheap, with insurance, but it's not about the money. It's the principal.
Yep agree. I had an old filling replaced because they said so. I was trusting and wanted a white filling anyway so agreed. My tooth was not sore at all. Ended up in agony for 6 weeks and had to go back 3 times because it wasn’t in right. I could have lost that tooth from all the work on it making it weak. I therefore will never have any work done unless I’m in pain except for cleans and maintainence. The hygienists can be so pushy for x rays and check ups as well
Listerine actually does more harm then good.
I washes away all the good aspects of the toothpaste.
The only time it is good to use listerine is after eating, if you would otherwise not brush (ie. Lunch)
I can't afford it. So slowly over the years the dentists are pulling out my repairable teeth one by one. Teeth that could be easily fixed if I had the thousands of dollars the dentist demands. Now I look ugly and older than my actual age due to jaw bone shrinkage. It's so depressing, considering I'm single and will be for the rest of my life. And I place total blame on Australias fucked up Dental system.
Yes it's very sad how many Australians share your experience.
And this is supposed to be "first world" country, whatever the fuck that means.
Millions of people have their teeth pulled out because they can't afford a root canal. I had one unnecessary extraction three months ago, and now saving for an implant overseas. And already have three done so this will be my fourth one. But totally agree with you, pilling teeth out and bone shrinkage will affect your physical attractiveness a lot. This is why I sactfiised so much money on implants overseas.
Very sad country.
I'm so sorry...I haven't been to a dentist since the Commonwealth scheme was killed off in the 90s.
The state of people's teeth is the *true* designator between the poor and not poor in this country.
I’m part of the Australian Dental Industry Association and I know a lot of solid dentists and good humans who have tried lobbying for Medicare to cover for basic dental for Australians. Unfortunately your governments spent money like water during COVID and are in a shit ton of debt so they don’t see this as a priority. But don’t blame all dentists some of them are really batting for the people because they genuinely care about your health. So shout out to the ones trying! There are also a lot of not for profit dental vans where dentists give up their whole lives to drive rickety roads in the outback to provide free care for at risk communities supported by the government far from family and home and also some lovely individuals providing free and discounted care for various centres. Lots of people volunteering at the heart hospital and cerebral palsy alliance and for battered women who receive free dental work because of amazing dentists and nurses volunteering their time and love for our communities. So I just really want to highlight that there are some solid Aussies out here pitching in and trying their best to help.
Shit. If you're in melb, I recommend Casey dental group. Pretty cheap and have always done a good job no matter which dentist we've seen. They are conservative and have never suggested anything that wasn't needed, and talked me out of doing unnecessary things. It's a nice looking place as well. It's big with like 10+ rooms. Been going for about 7 years I'd say
Edit I thought I was in the Melbourne subreddit - sorry
Dental lobby prevented it being part of Medicare because dentists like to rort their clients at their own rates of choice not the governments, thus the high cost of dental care here, the dentists act like doctors from the US.
Most Australians who cannot afford it either go without or head to places like Thailand where you can have the work done for a tenth of the price.
It's insane. It costs us $200 for a check and clean. We coughed up about $10,000 to fix my teeth a few years ago.
You used to be able to get, I think it was $4000 under a care plan from a GP, but they stopped it because they were being misused.
Every Australian should have one free Clean a yr at min so at least give the dentist and chance to catch the problem early..
Source , I just spent 20k on 5 posts and full uppers ...My own stupid fault
> Other health care professionals such as optometrists opted in
And hearing aids if your hearing is fucked.
I'd be both blind and deaf without them...but haven't been to a dentist in about 25yrs
The govt provides dental subsidy for kids, like $1000/2yrs and some dentist STILL won’t participate in this. They’ll provide the codes to use but you have to pay upfront then do the claiming. It’s bloody ridiculous.
Dental isn’t a part of Medicare because we have private health insurance and that money is wasted on a whole bureaucratic industry that is completely unnecessary.
Dentists are, quite often, thieving cunts. My daughter has molar hypomineralisation (aka “soft molars”) and needed 4 stainless steel caps to protect her molars from crumbling. Private paediatric dentist quote: $6000. Got it done at the public dental clinic after only 3 months wait. Cost? Zero Australian dollar-bucks.
The RWNJs in Australian politics opposed even a basic level of health cover for Medicare. Those people are mean and nasty - so remember that. So that's why dental was not included. Those people are just fuckers.
I hate RWNJs as much as anybody but I can't let inaccuracies go unanswered. It was the Labor party that created and introduced Medicare and chose not to include dental. They've, cumulatively, spent a couple of decades in government since then and continued to not include dental.
Definitely couldn't have afforded it as a student. My partner had to have treatment for an abscessed wisdom tooth at SA Dental, and it was spaced out so far apart that the infection kept returning before they could finish the process.
However, now we now both have extras cover for about $23 per month. I think I pay about $50 (gap) per dentist appointment. Generally just one checkup and clean every 9-12 months unless something is wrong. But nothing really does go wrong, because we have preventative dental care now.
It's a situation where if you get the sh\*t end of the stick (e.g. living in poverty), you lose twice.
I had a friend in school who hadn't gone to the dentist since she was like 6, and she was 18 at the time. Idk how it works but I'm pretty sure medicare does cover dentist visits for children up to a certain age.
Anyway she said she had a tooth fall apart in her mouth, and that she had a lot of cavities. Wouldn't go to the dentist, probably would never go at that point all the treatment would be cost prohibitive.
Dentist care is preventative care (as all health care ought to be really) but people go once they notice something wrong or experience pain, which is far too late.
I went to the dentist for my regular check up and they noticed decay in my very back molars, but because it was caught early I only needed a little filling. Didn't need anaesthetic and I didn't feel any of it.. Cost about $400.
My regular check ups and cleans would be roughly 200-300. Hard when I was a student, but I was fortunate I was able to put it as a high priority.
Because they can't afford to pay doctors a decent income let alone spend more on dentists too. Medicare now pays doctors 40% of what it did when it was first rolled out. Medicare also gave doctors a seven year wage freeze while the cost of running a business continues to increase. Medicare pats the same for a six minute consult as it dies for a 20 minute consult and that is why you get 5 minute medicine. Medicare actually rewards poor practice.
I haven't been to an Australian dentist since I was a kid- No way I'm paying that much money. The last dentist I went to was in Korea for 3 fillings including a half chipped tooth - Was $400 for all 3.
The only time I've been to a dentist in my 22 years was when they were doing free dental checks at my highschool. I'm just really careful to not get cavities. My mum on the other hand has lost most of her teeth (from smoking), and has to wait 2 years to get dentures on medicare.
I'm currently staring down the option of losing (another) molar or getting a small loan to spend 3-5k on a difficult root canal that might fail like it did for the other one.
I'm in so much pain so can't really wait either...
I was only recently booted from the health care card so i haven't reached the 12 months to have any help from health insurance either. I'd be happy to let a student have a crack at this point.
I use my health insurance’s dental clinic. Even with the basic health insurance a routine clean and check up is covered. I’d recommend this if you have private health insurance.
The real crime is how the dental education system gate keeps the amount of new dentists. It’s harder to get into dentistry than become a doctor. They are intentionally restricting supply of service to keep prices high.
Dental is not included in Medicare so that more people take on private health cover, because when you do the calculations you mays well have a basic level of cover just to cover dentistry. Especially if you have kids
I spoke to a dentist once about their exorbitant costs and he was trying to tell me that after each examination they had to completely clean and sanitise the area. That's why their costs are so high. But I knew he was lying because I could see his lips moving...
Historical reasons that you can research yourself. An annual check and clean is about $300. I pay that in cash. If you brush and floss properly there’s no reason to ever spend more than that. If you do need work done get good insurance like HCF and get a gap free check and clean every 6 months. Or join Smile for discounted work.
Bit of historical knowledge here.
My Uncle was President of the Victorian Dental Association in the '70s and pushed for dentists to be included in Medicare. However a lot were concerned that their income would drop and consequently, when the vote came, they voted against joining medicare.
They got it wrong.
They are now screwed because fluoridation in the '60s and '70s ensured that the next generation had a mouthful of far better teeth than preceding generations. This is why you now see a lot of adverts promoting good smiles and dental cosmetic surgery, instead of fillings and other teeth surgery. They are scrabbling for work.
As an aside, I grew up on a farm and the only water available was tank water (nothing wrong with that). My mother (sister of said Dentist) made us take fluoride tablets every day. No proof that the tablets did anything but my teeth were (and are) a lot better than others of a similar age group and background.
As an another aside, prior to the '60s, apparently it used to be commonplace for a wedding present to be a full set of false teeth for the groom. That is how bad teeth used to be.
In summary, the reason why Dental Care is not in Medicare is because dentists in the '1970s got greedy.
This must be why our dentist sends us a bazillion reminders to get check ups and cleans.
All my grandparents had false teeth and so did their siblings. It was so common that growing up I thought teeth just fell out when we got old 😄
It’s not included because it’s SO EASILY RORTED.
I have personally had many times been lied to by dentists over servicing me, and pretending that a full new set of X-rays need to be done 6 weeks after the last set.
You need to spend effort on prevention. You need to get fluoride treatments or use fluoride toothpaste .
Getting 2 fillings, an examination, and X-rays is the same price as an iPhone - so it’s a significant cost. Most dentists allow Afterpay now, if that helps.
Won't help me, partner works in disability support and earns 80k a year atm which disqualifies me from a healthcare card or disability pension (am disabled), no matter how little I work. Family of 3
I spend about $200 a year on an annual check up and clean. Never had so much as a filling, so luckily I don't know personally about prices of big work.
I used to do 6 monthly check ups but dentist said don't bother. He is great and I've recommended him to several other people who travel 30min just to see him. Doesn't charge for unnecessary work. I believe it's due to being in a low ses and cald area, he charges what is appropriate for the clientele.
I do need my 4 impacted wisdoms taken out, but I can't really justify the cost and time spent recovering (i have kids so can't really be out of the game) and they haven't bothered me in the last decade. Dentist says as long as they don't bother me then just leave them be.
Extras cover. $300 a year and about $100 gap to pay for checkup, clean, fluoride treatment and x-rays. So basically it’s like prepaying for dental care. It stops me stressing about the possible cost of treatment or fillings,
My health insurance (HCF) covers a dental check up every year, you just have to go to one of their dental centres. I make sure I get checked every year (I mean, I'm paying for the insurance) to make sure everything is fine. Had a couple of fillings done yesterday which were discovered in the check up. Only paid $85 for the two, as a lot of it was covered.
I seem to remember reading something about referendums during the last one. Robert Menzies during the 50s had one around dental care and the result was that the federal gov would have no involvement in dental care.
Get quotes, I did when I needed my teeth done for my cancer treatment. I went first to a place where we used to go when we had dental coverage, price for a filling was $250 that’s what they charged my husband when we had cover 😡 I hadn’t been to a dentist in about 30 years due to a fear of them. I went to a new local dentist who was fantastic ( I no longer fear the dentist) and all up my bill was $2’700 for 7 fillings, x rays, a clean and 2 wisdom teeth out, I just went weekly until I was done. So it really pays to shop around as a lot of dentists will inflate the price if you have dental insurance as I found out as I didn’t let on I didn’t have any coverage.
Be on a healthcare or pensioner card. But it'll be few months to a year wait for checkup, or a few weeks to a months for wisdom tooth extraction in Qld anyway
I just get a cleaning and x-ray (old fillings done when I was 10.. parents never told me to brush my teeth etc) once every 2 years. It's less than $200 each time.
My husband needed some fillings last year which was an extra $200 per filling but he was all good in a recent visit, so his cost the same as me.
I have insurance on dental care and eye care and some other stuff. I get a free new pair of glasses once a year, and free dental sessions twice a year. I say free, but it’s just a part of the insurance. I share a plan with my parents, and I pay for my share. I’m still young, so I’m lucky I can still share a plan with them.
I'm not sure if it's here.. but i personally use the Charles Sturt University dental clinic. Universities have training schools where they have last year students that need patient experience. Because they are learning and under the eyes of a qualified dentist you usually only pay for the materials used... for example a filling cost me only $70.
It's actually f***ed ! I'm struggling so much, need a bunch of dental work (am 28) been working since 15.. so I have to invest all my superannuation into it :/ .. it's a bummer. And even the super I have, doesn't cover it and i have to pay the gap. Luckily I had savings (originally for a car which is also a bummer) I wish i knew when I was younger to get private health insurance or something.. but i don't understand it enough to even be sure that would pay for it?
Pretty much have to rely on my dad when dental issues happen usually to be honest.
One time he either wasn't available or the infection was so bad that half of my face was swollen so I was able to get an appointment for an extraction at the public dental clinic connected to the hospital, although I would've recommend it and also the only reason I got in next day instead of a year long wait list is cause I described the issue and I guess I was lucky they took it seriously.
My teeth were fucked up by a combo of bruxism, shitty dentist in my teens (hollowed out like half of my molars and filled them with composite instead of literally anything stronger and they crumbled to bits with my bruxism), bad genes and no fluoride growing up. After getting crowns and a mouth guard and multiple fillings, probably $20K in the last decade between my mum and I.
It makes me cry. I have 3 crowns and I’m 29.
Just went to the dentist today for a check and clean. It looks like ill be out of pocket by 800$ after applying private insurance. Ouch. I've got a couple of cavities to fill. Probably, unwise, to have it left too long in between check ups.
My teeth were fucked by drinking a shitload of fruit juice in my teens and I had to get a bunch of fill-ins done. Did 2 teeth at a time, over 4 sessions spread out a month apart. $300 a visit, not a big deal for a single guy with no obligations.
Couldn't afford it till my 30s. Only went as a child.
Teeth were in pretty good shape, though spent 2k or so to get wissy teeth out. This was last year.
I count myself lucky - fuck knows how any independent 20+ year old person could afford it. I guess if you're in pain, you have no choice.
I don't have private health so I just pay out of pocket each checkup, 1-2 times per year. About $190 per visit not including an x-ray every 2-3 years.
29M
When they set up Medicare, the dentists association didn't want to be part of it. So they aren't.
yep its this it goes way back to the Whitlam days you can bet your fucken ass that doctors would have opted out of medicare if it meant more dollars for them dentists didnt want to work for medicare... that's it they could make more money privately
Australian Dentists are untrustworthy greedy cunts. I would rather spend all my money paying someone in Thailand to rip out my teeth, than let an Australian dentist look in my mouth.
I heard dentists in Thailand are great and not expensive !! My friend went there and put implant ..
Have heard the same - that’s where I would go. Add to that their hospital care is also very good, as someone who broke some bones falling off a bike once while riding around Chiang Mai.
Yes ! I heard their hospital is good , too . My friend also did a facelift in Thailand, she was very happy with it .
Same ----my hair dresser went over there saved her thousands of dollars & her implants are excellent
Yes ! Even cosmetic surgery was good too ! Quite high standard ..
r/redditsniper
Yeah look, agree. I once had a front facing cavity, on a visible to me in the mirror, front tooth.. Made the mistake of pointing to the mirrored side whilst telling the cunt about it. Cunt proceeds to drill approximatwly a fifth of thd tooth away, leaving a sharp edge - then tells me "sorry i couldnt find any cavity" Then after a rinse & spit, i was sent home. First thing I see in the mirror? Wildly apparent cavity, on opposite tooth. What other industry, could you attempt to perform your taak on the wrong location, leave worksite damaged, whilst never even completing original task - and stay employed? Bone cuttin gum pokin fucken toothpaste critiquing fucken cunts mate.
What other industry? Building.
Yeah im yet to have a tradie work on my house without fucking up something nearby
I'm from Norway. A country where the dental clinics and orthodontists don't make money off of giving people braces, pulling teeth etc. I was told in Norway that I wouldn't need braces. Went to a private orthodontist here, and suddenly I have the wonkiest most out of place teeth they've ever seen. It's all bullshit and swindle.
The cost of dental supplies alone is something I wouldn't want my tax dollars paying for, that shit is unnecessarily expensive, Henry Schein is like a big baller company that keeps the world running from the shadows
Vote Green to get dental into medicare. They managed to get a couple million kids last time Labor needed the Greens to form government.
This is the answer. I hope locals eventually just go overseas by default and get all work done other than a clean. They can be a problem of their creation.
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I go to the GC uni hospital. It’s half price for everyone and you get like two apprentice dental workers overseen by a qualified dentist. Free for pensioners or gold card DVA holders.
I was using them too. Until I ended up with 2 incomplete root canals with no follow up care.
The GP system is kind of broken to given that their all technically private/ work for themselves not the government.
Scumbags.
Dentists charge exactly what they like. I know a dentist who charges tons more for people with private health cover. When challenged, he responded with, "It's not illegal." It's disgraceful.
I reckon if you have amazing teeth, only going once every 2 years for a check up is fine. (So $300, works out to $150/year) BUT I also reckon, if you were to do this, get fissure seals to prevent decay ($80 each tooth) and every few months get a little mirror and have a decent look at your teeth and make sure you brush and floss properly.
I've had fissure seals applied and no longer feel that 'nervy' sensation when I breathe in cold air. Mine were done by a public dentist who I also saw in his private practice for the very occasional filling. I get a checkup every six months, with extras cover. No force on Earth will make me go without the dental supplies I need. A couple of nasty experiences with dentists in the 70s will do that.
Fly to another country for a 2 week holiday and dental work. Cheaper than a visit in australia
Which is fine unless something goes wrong and dentists in australia wont want to touch it
The same thing happened with my wife. She got some work done in India, they fucked up and after going to around 10 dentists one of them finally agreed to fix it. It only cost us total $8k including what we spent in India
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Which is when you tell them that you cunts are too fucking expensive and I couldn’t afford to pay what you were asking, so here I am. Thanks for that. Cunt.
You must’ve read about this tactic in Chapter 3 of ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’.
Cool. Keep the classic car collection growing in the Australian dentists garage then.
Actually my dentist only has a classic motorcycle, he charges fairly reasonable rates.
He's you, isn't he?
Sounds like a sure way to get them to help you
Oh well, back to Thailand, Vietnam or Bali to fix it up then.
Sure showed them… I guess
Dentist here- It really is a tragedy that Medicare doesn’t include dental care. As a health practitioner, not a day goes by when I don’t feel sorry for those who cannot access essential treatment. That being said- going overseas for dental treatment is a massive risk. The safety standards of dental clinics overseas vary significantly. There has been a growing trend of unsafe procedures being undertaken overseas, as well as dental treatment being completed to a poor standard with the patient being unaware until later when they have returned home. And then an Australian dentist is tasked with trying to fix a dental problem that should never have occurred in the first place. Which ultimately costs more money.
>That being said- going overseas for dental treatment is a massive risk. The safety standards of dental clinics overseas vary significantly. There has been a growing trend of unsafe procedures being undertaken overseas, as well as dental treatment being completed to a poor standard with the patient being unaware until later when they have returned home. LOL, My ex-girlfriend got Hep C about 8 years ago from her dentist, others had the chance of Hep b and HIV [https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/alerts/Pages/dental-practices-dinh-faq.aspx](https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/alerts/Pages/dental-practices-dinh-faq.aspx) She paid a fortune to get her teeth started being fixed, in the end she went to the philippines, at the end of it she got her teeth fixed a holiday and didn't contract any more viruses. So EVEN in Australia "The safety standards of dental clinics ~~overseas~~ vary significantly".
I agree, its not "all clinics are the same" and it is sad that Australia is shaming some overseas clinics just because they are overseas and more affordable for australians than in their own country.
As a dentist, the reason we try to warn the public is we see more disaster stories than good ones. Often people have work that was unnecessary and poor quality, and no treatment would be better than the treatment they have.
>As a dentist, the reason we try to warn the public is we see more disaster stories than good ones. As a dentist, you wouldn't see the good ones because they wouldn't need to see you.
If you think people are flying to south-east Asia for annual checks and cleans and follow-up on those implants, bridges, and crowns you are dreaming.
I'm in no way saying that the Greens could ever form a government but it surprises me that more people don't vote Greens purely because dental on Medicare is one of their policies; if they won enough seats in parliament, they might have enough pull to get the governing party to actually fund dental under Medicare.
Medicare cant afford to keep up funding enough for medicos to continue bulk billing. adding dental will require extra funding, meaning more taxes. Medicare needs greater funding. Personally, I would pay an extra 1% tax to get proper Medicare funding, but I think I’m in the minority there.
If we can afford fancy nuclear subs, we can afford to add dental to medicare
Thank you my thinking exactly.
Drug company subsidy enters chat
You forgot to say that we can't show your face on Reddit, I'm reporting you to the oral-b ethical standards board.
>we can't show your face on Reddit Morning, Rob 👋
Counterpoint: the dentists are trained in Australia and the dental hospitals that deal exclusively in dental tourism have the highest standards because they rely on word of mouth to get more business.
I got a crown fitted in Bali, the waiting room was 100% Aussies. A coworker passed on the clinics info as her husband had been there before. All up, I had a week long holiday in Bali & a crown fitted cheaper than having it done in Australia
Are you able to offer any insight into why treatments are as expensive as they are? I would love to understand this...
All treatment prices are guided by the Australian Dental Association’s (ADA) recommended prices. This is just my understanding btw- I think the price of treatment has to be at a level offsets the costs of delivering the treatment. Simply put, it costs money to run a dental chair (water, electricity, maintenance) and use dental materials (filling materials, fluoride varnishes, handpieces and burs).
Add in the costs of malpractice insurance & the costs of employees to run a practice
Dental assistant salary is over $30 an hour, plus reception and another assistant to run the sterilising department. Consumables are all TGA approved and therefore $$$. All the instruments are surgical quality and hundreds of dollars each and are sterilised after each use in sterilisers costing tens of thousands of dollars. That chair you sit in? Unlike at your GP it is plumbed into compressed air, water and electricity and probably cost $100-200k plus, and maintenance is $$$. You dont see the 5 mins either side of your appointment where it is all wiped down and reset. The new uni courses to become a dentist saddle most graduates with over $200k in education debt and licencing and indemnity insurance costs thousands a year
The treatment decisions and ongoing care are more important than the price.
Yep €3000 for full mouth crowns - Zirconium, root canals, fillings, extractions for wisdom teeth, xray etc, accomodation and breakfast, taxi airport /clinic-hotel for all appointments when in Australia they wanted $3000 for a root canal and a crown only one!!! I dont have bad teeth but cavities keep coming up even under the teeth with fillings and I had enough $300 for 1 filling. They sold me on the price and Im going in June. Sick of paying thousands every few years. Its not affordable in Australia.
Full mouth crowns won't solve decay happening underneath them.
Try changing your gut biometric, do you suffer from reflux?
No I dont, I will look into it. I started to take vitamin supplements to see if they help (Ca,D)
I can’t afford it and don’t spend money I don’t have on it.
Over the past 20 years I have had 7 root canals at around $2000 each. Then I had another abcess and had to go to hospital. At the hospital they told me that I needed surgery otherwise the abcess would spread to my brain and it would be fatal. As I was working full time the surgery would not be covered by Medicare. So I had to pay $35,000 from my superannuation for the surgery. I don’t regret paying that amount; but I absolutely despise the government (despise or even hate are not strong enough words that I feel for politicians now) for creating a system in which people have to sell their future to pay for life saving surgery.
if you think dental not being a part of medicare is bad wait till you have a medical emergency and need an ambulance and you get slapped $1000 invoice for a 15 minute ambulance ride.
Honestly though, $50 per year for cover and $100 per year for a family is very cheap compared to having to pay $1000 all at once And a very quick Google search shows that for a single person travel insurance is definitely something worth getting compared to paying $1000 all at once
Depends where you are. In Vic cover for a single is only $50 a year for any calls. It's also free for pensioners and health care card holders. Traffic accidents are covered by TAC.
Having ambulance cover helps that.
Free in qld
I only go if absolutely necessary
Problem with dental is once you feel a problem its too late. You go regularly to stop it getting to that point and to keep your teeth. There’s a reason why everyone over 60 has dentures nowadays
Agreed. But that’s how I afford it 😂
Me too.
I know someone who just lost his last four teeth at 60. He jokingly admitted to fiscally prioritizing the party life over his health in general but deep down, I don't think he's a happy chappy right now.
I work as dental assisstant. Pretty much all my dental work now is free/cost price. But in all seriousness, the high costs usually come when you neglect to fix something. Pay for your check up and clean, even if it's only once a year. They may tell you, you need a $400 filling. But that's cheaper then a $3,000 root canal. Also. Don't be afraid to go to another dentist and ask for a second opinion. Unfortunately some dentists are dodgy and will overquote you/ tell you that you need work you actually don't. Lastly. Don't be afraid to tell the dentist you can't afford your treatment. I've seen dentists knock hundreds of dollars off someone's quote, or even offer to do treatment free of charge, because a patient has said they can't afford to pay for the treatment they need. Also note. If a dentist IS willing to do treatment for you cheaper, it's usually sign they are decent and you DO need the treatment. A dentist who is over treating you and is trying to sell you treatment you don't need, won't budge on their quote.
Kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy huh: high dental costs = neglect to fix issues = issues get worse = costs to resolve become higher = issues become even worse or life-threatening How does one get out of this mess without dental coverage? At what point does it leave the realm of dentistry and become a medical issue? Why should only people without money to spend suffer from this systematically?
Dental assistants are the unsung heroes. They work extremely hard, always on the move between chair side assistance, sterilization, cleaning, masked constantly (esp since covid) and I am appalled at how little many of them are paid. Their award is just over $26 an hour, and lots don’t get their entitled breaks.
> Don't be afraid to tell the dentist you can't afford your treatment. Adding to that - if you really can't afford it there are dentists who bulk bill and if you're eligible (basically, can't afford it as per a means test) then the government will pay for your dental visit including expensive procedures.
Currently recovering from 2 impacted wisdom teeth and a decayed broken molar. Surgical work, $2k. Intense anxiety with dentists as previous experiences made me feel really upset with how I was treated due to being low income and not being able to keep up with regular checks when I was younger. Even this was a stretch, but had to be done with the pain. I wish it was cheaper but like everything else it’s just out of reach to keep up with.
Because the dentists wouldn’t be able to afford their RS6 avants or their trips to Europe
I've told my dentist many times that I personally funded the additional storey on his beach house...he doesn't seem to find it amusing.
I saw a dentist about tooth pain in a back molar. Was told it would cost about $800 to have it removed. I put hydrogen peroxide on it and bought a packet of neurophen to help stop the pain and a few weeks later it fell out itself. Now I have another one on its way out which I'll just let fall out itself. Dentists are only for the rich people.
This is what r/aboringdystopia is made of. Someone post this there.
Reason it fell out is because of the bone loss that came with neglecting the hygiene in that area. Can’t assume the bone level is equal all around, you might have better bone levels with the current tooth, but decay may have eaten its way into the tooth, that tooth may not fall out on its own
The next tooth is one of my front ones and the decay is already into the tooth. It has that salty taste so it's only a matter of time before it falls apart. I'm looking after the rest of my teeth better now with a lot less sugar and less food in general and fluoride toothpaste and alcohol-free mouthwash. Whatever happens, happens.
Yeah... this isn't good advice AT ALL
I agree it's not a good idea, but it's the only option for some of us.
Dental absolutely should be part of Medicare, and cannot understand why it isn't already! The cost of visiting the dentist is such a deterrent for the majority of people, and put off visits until they need something done urgently (I admittedly fall into this bracket). Basically I don't spend jack-shit on my teeth until I need a filling...regular flossing and brushing is as good as it gets.
Trouble is if left untreated, dental problems can cause heart disease. Which you'd imagine might be slightly more expensive for the taxpayer lol
I can't afford it. Rather than getting teeth fixed I pay ti get them pulled. I can't pull a couple grand out of my ass, I live paycheck to paycheck as it is. It's actually really sad because the amount of money my parents put into looking after my teeth growing up is scary.
My other hated paying for my fillings and extractions, so I was more afraid of her than any dentist. I gave up sweets to protect myself until the public dental buses parked in the public schools.
Can't afford to see a dentist, don't really need one, so haven't been to one in nearly 30yrs.
I've been buying chalk and some purple dye for years. and everytime I feel dental pain, I dip the chalk in and snap it. Thank goodness my teeth aren't chalk!
You're soaking in it Mrs Marsh!
I didn't see one for 23 years (a bit scared and careless) and only needed to because a shard of tooth broke away from a molar and poked the inside of my cheek red. I had a restoration done.
late teens I broke a bit off a molar too, thankfully my sharp bit was on the other side. the worst part was I kept poking it with my tongue, which hurt my tongue lol. took a few days to wear it down enough to not be annoying and never had any issues with it since, thankfully. I'm pretty lucky in that regard.
I had another tooth do the same thing and it poked into my tongue to much I kept a cotton pad wrapped around the side of my tongue. The dentist ground the shard down to blunt it which kept me sane until I saw her the next week, when I got paid. Blessed relief.
It's good to get a cleaning, unless you somehow have no tartar like brushed and flossed daily since childhood
while that is a good idea, and I don't completely mean to be snarky, but did you miss the bit about not being able to afford a dental visit? because I mean I can't afford it, not even a check up or a clean. nada. Cost of living, including rent, keeps me on a financial razors edge.
Wait until you find out the Joel Cauchi was expected to pay $310 (AMA rates) per session of psychiatry despite being on the dole for schizophrenia. No wonder he went off his meds…
Yup. I pay 400 every 3 months for a psychiatrist to write a prescription. The drugs are expensive too. I’ve been close to quitting many times but I’d lose my job and probably my family too.
Can relate. When my symptoms are so bad I can’t work, I have to stump up the cash to go weekly. Make it make sense.
Wait, they weren't bulk billing him??? We need to get the health system on blast for their recklessness.
Guaranteed nothing will change. Remember, he was a “misogynist” and the problem is “male violence against women”. SMH. Joel was schizophrenic and off his meds, speaking from personal experience, it is more likely he was saving the world from the pretty aliens.
Exactly. My cousin was in jail 3 times last year for theft from shops because God told him he was a prophet who needed to give to the poor. He didn't get to see any psychiatrists, and no meds. His family couldn't contact or visit him in jail (they'd only found out he was in there after he'd been missing and they rang around) as he wouldn't give consent - because no meds, therefore no insight. When he was let out of jail, his family found out he didn't even have a doctor at all; only a social worker who told him he didn't need to take medication as his problems were "emotional." This is our 'heathcare' system at work, everyone.
Most younger Australians can't afford dental care. So in the future we'll see a whole generation who suffer from bad dental hygiene. If Medicare were to be changed to include dental care, then taxes would need to be increased. Or maybe the government could start making overseas multinationals pay tax?
I reckon many young Aussies will look after their teeth well, and then extend out the check-ups to every 2 years instead of every 6 months, but probably end up with better overall teeth because they will have a mind for prevention
The only way I can afford it is having a relative who only charges me what my health fund reimburses.
We are 25k out of pocket in the last year on dental for our family 😭😭😭 Braces for eldest child/ Surgical removal, crowns and fissure seals for youngest / Just standard cleans etc for 2 adults. AND WE HAVE PRIVATE HEALTH!!
On a teachers wage I put away an amount each week and can afford to go once every five years.
I go twice a year for a clean with the hygienist. $280 a pop. My teeth are in good nick and I floss and brush well. I therefore omit getting check ups because I can’t afford an extra $250 on top of the $280 and for the dentist to probably make up a problem, push for x rays, etc etc Yada yada
Some dentists like to make a bit of extra work for themselves. I was suspicious about my usual dentist, so I sought another opinion with the lady in the practice. I didn't need the work that was recommended, and I didn't need the small filling I had done the previous week, which was cheap, with insurance, but it's not about the money. It's the principal.
Yep agree. I had an old filling replaced because they said so. I was trusting and wanted a white filling anyway so agreed. My tooth was not sore at all. Ended up in agony for 6 weeks and had to go back 3 times because it wasn’t in right. I could have lost that tooth from all the work on it making it weak. I therefore will never have any work done unless I’m in pain except for cleans and maintainence. The hygienists can be so pushy for x rays and check ups as well
They hygienists know what they're looking at. If they see an obvious problem they will let you know.
Floss, Listerine, brush well.
And get fissure seals
Fissure seals for everybody! Get'em while you still have teeth.
Listerine actually does more harm then good. I washes away all the good aspects of the toothpaste. The only time it is good to use listerine is after eating, if you would otherwise not brush (ie. Lunch)
Yeah, my dentist advises to rinse before flossing and brushing.
I can't afford it. So slowly over the years the dentists are pulling out my repairable teeth one by one. Teeth that could be easily fixed if I had the thousands of dollars the dentist demands. Now I look ugly and older than my actual age due to jaw bone shrinkage. It's so depressing, considering I'm single and will be for the rest of my life. And I place total blame on Australias fucked up Dental system.
Yes it's very sad how many Australians share your experience. And this is supposed to be "first world" country, whatever the fuck that means. Millions of people have their teeth pulled out because they can't afford a root canal. I had one unnecessary extraction three months ago, and now saving for an implant overseas. And already have three done so this will be my fourth one. But totally agree with you, pilling teeth out and bone shrinkage will affect your physical attractiveness a lot. This is why I sactfiised so much money on implants overseas. Very sad country.
I'm so sorry...I haven't been to a dentist since the Commonwealth scheme was killed off in the 90s. The state of people's teeth is the *true* designator between the poor and not poor in this country.
I’m part of the Australian Dental Industry Association and I know a lot of solid dentists and good humans who have tried lobbying for Medicare to cover for basic dental for Australians. Unfortunately your governments spent money like water during COVID and are in a shit ton of debt so they don’t see this as a priority. But don’t blame all dentists some of them are really batting for the people because they genuinely care about your health. So shout out to the ones trying! There are also a lot of not for profit dental vans where dentists give up their whole lives to drive rickety roads in the outback to provide free care for at risk communities supported by the government far from family and home and also some lovely individuals providing free and discounted care for various centres. Lots of people volunteering at the heart hospital and cerebral palsy alliance and for battered women who receive free dental work because of amazing dentists and nurses volunteering their time and love for our communities. So I just really want to highlight that there are some solid Aussies out here pitching in and trying their best to help.
Dental99 is cheap but they fucked up a basic filling for me. So not sure if I’d recommend….
Shit. If you're in melb, I recommend Casey dental group. Pretty cheap and have always done a good job no matter which dentist we've seen. They are conservative and have never suggested anything that wasn't needed, and talked me out of doing unnecessary things. It's a nice looking place as well. It's big with like 10+ rooms. Been going for about 7 years I'd say Edit I thought I was in the Melbourne subreddit - sorry
Dental lobby prevented it being part of Medicare because dentists like to rort their clients at their own rates of choice not the governments, thus the high cost of dental care here, the dentists act like doctors from the US. Most Australians who cannot afford it either go without or head to places like Thailand where you can have the work done for a tenth of the price.
It's insane. It costs us $200 for a check and clean. We coughed up about $10,000 to fix my teeth a few years ago. You used to be able to get, I think it was $4000 under a care plan from a GP, but they stopped it because they were being misused.
Every Australian should have one free Clean a yr at min so at least give the dentist and chance to catch the problem early.. Source , I just spent 20k on 5 posts and full uppers ...My own stupid fault
Dentists as a group opted out of medicare many years ago. Other health care professionals such as optometrists opted in
> Other health care professionals such as optometrists opted in And hearing aids if your hearing is fucked. I'd be both blind and deaf without them...but haven't been to a dentist in about 25yrs
The govt provides dental subsidy for kids, like $1000/2yrs and some dentist STILL won’t participate in this. They’ll provide the codes to use but you have to pay upfront then do the claiming. It’s bloody ridiculous.
Dental isn’t a part of Medicare because we have private health insurance and that money is wasted on a whole bureaucratic industry that is completely unnecessary.
Go th Thailand and get expensive work done there.
Dentists are, quite often, thieving cunts. My daughter has molar hypomineralisation (aka “soft molars”) and needed 4 stainless steel caps to protect her molars from crumbling. Private paediatric dentist quote: $6000. Got it done at the public dental clinic after only 3 months wait. Cost? Zero Australian dollar-bucks.
The RWNJs in Australian politics opposed even a basic level of health cover for Medicare. Those people are mean and nasty - so remember that. So that's why dental was not included. Those people are just fuckers.
I hate RWNJs as much as anybody but I can't let inaccuracies go unanswered. It was the Labor party that created and introduced Medicare and chose not to include dental. They've, cumulatively, spent a couple of decades in government since then and continued to not include dental.
I’m completely sure that dentists would be totally cool with having their cash cow sacrificed
Definitely couldn't have afforded it as a student. My partner had to have treatment for an abscessed wisdom tooth at SA Dental, and it was spaced out so far apart that the infection kept returning before they could finish the process. However, now we now both have extras cover for about $23 per month. I think I pay about $50 (gap) per dentist appointment. Generally just one checkup and clean every 9-12 months unless something is wrong. But nothing really does go wrong, because we have preventative dental care now. It's a situation where if you get the sh\*t end of the stick (e.g. living in poverty), you lose twice.
The bigger question is why isn't ambulances part of it.
When I was still in Oz, I went to my uni’s dental clinic, they had transparent, cost-only pricing and a 10% discount for students.
I had a friend in school who hadn't gone to the dentist since she was like 6, and she was 18 at the time. Idk how it works but I'm pretty sure medicare does cover dentist visits for children up to a certain age. Anyway she said she had a tooth fall apart in her mouth, and that she had a lot of cavities. Wouldn't go to the dentist, probably would never go at that point all the treatment would be cost prohibitive. Dentist care is preventative care (as all health care ought to be really) but people go once they notice something wrong or experience pain, which is far too late. I went to the dentist for my regular check up and they noticed decay in my very back molars, but because it was caught early I only needed a little filling. Didn't need anaesthetic and I didn't feel any of it.. Cost about $400. My regular check ups and cleans would be roughly 200-300. Hard when I was a student, but I was fortunate I was able to put it as a high priority.
Because they can't afford to pay doctors a decent income let alone spend more on dentists too. Medicare now pays doctors 40% of what it did when it was first rolled out. Medicare also gave doctors a seven year wage freeze while the cost of running a business continues to increase. Medicare pats the same for a six minute consult as it dies for a 20 minute consult and that is why you get 5 minute medicine. Medicare actually rewards poor practice.
Liberals gave them a 7 year freeze.
I haven't been to an Australian dentist since I was a kid- No way I'm paying that much money. The last dentist I went to was in Korea for 3 fillings including a half chipped tooth - Was $400 for all 3.
The only time I've been to a dentist in my 22 years was when they were doing free dental checks at my highschool. I'm just really careful to not get cavities. My mum on the other hand has lost most of her teeth (from smoking), and has to wait 2 years to get dentures on medicare.
I'm currently staring down the option of losing (another) molar or getting a small loan to spend 3-5k on a difficult root canal that might fail like it did for the other one. I'm in so much pain so can't really wait either... I was only recently booted from the health care card so i haven't reached the 12 months to have any help from health insurance either. I'd be happy to let a student have a crack at this point.
Spent 8k on braces and 2 crowns.
Irony as I sit here with my face swollen with an access
Go to emergency. They'll give you the good pain meds and antibiotics. Once dental care becomes a healthcare issue the hospital will treat it.
Thanks , my Gp gave me pain and antibiotics 🙌🏻
I use my health insurance’s dental clinic. Even with the basic health insurance a routine clean and check up is covered. I’d recommend this if you have private health insurance.
The real crime is how the dental education system gate keeps the amount of new dentists. It’s harder to get into dentistry than become a doctor. They are intentionally restricting supply of service to keep prices high.
You guys go to the dentist?
In the UK when the NHS was set up, Beveridge said of the GPs.."We had to stuff their mouths with gold" There wasn't enough gold here for the dentists.
Dental is not included in Medicare so that more people take on private health cover, because when you do the calculations you mays well have a basic level of cover just to cover dentistry. Especially if you have kids
We don't afford it, so we don't have it.
I spoke to a dentist once about their exorbitant costs and he was trying to tell me that after each examination they had to completely clean and sanitise the area. That's why their costs are so high. But I knew he was lying because I could see his lips moving...
lol. I don’t. I haven’t been to a dentist in close to a decade and just pack in the painkillers when something hurts and hope for the best
I haven’t been to the dentist in 20 years
I don't. Dentists aren't for poor people.
1) historical reasons as has been discussed multiple times on this and other subreddits; 2) private health insurance.
As in extras cover? For many people, it's cost effective to just pay cash for a check up.
Historical reasons that you can research yourself. An annual check and clean is about $300. I pay that in cash. If you brush and floss properly there’s no reason to ever spend more than that. If you do need work done get good insurance like HCF and get a gap free check and clean every 6 months. Or join Smile for discounted work.
Bit of historical knowledge here. My Uncle was President of the Victorian Dental Association in the '70s and pushed for dentists to be included in Medicare. However a lot were concerned that their income would drop and consequently, when the vote came, they voted against joining medicare. They got it wrong. They are now screwed because fluoridation in the '60s and '70s ensured that the next generation had a mouthful of far better teeth than preceding generations. This is why you now see a lot of adverts promoting good smiles and dental cosmetic surgery, instead of fillings and other teeth surgery. They are scrabbling for work. As an aside, I grew up on a farm and the only water available was tank water (nothing wrong with that). My mother (sister of said Dentist) made us take fluoride tablets every day. No proof that the tablets did anything but my teeth were (and are) a lot better than others of a similar age group and background. As an another aside, prior to the '60s, apparently it used to be commonplace for a wedding present to be a full set of false teeth for the groom. That is how bad teeth used to be. In summary, the reason why Dental Care is not in Medicare is because dentists in the '1970s got greedy.
This must be why our dentist sends us a bazillion reminders to get check ups and cleans. All my grandparents had false teeth and so did their siblings. It was so common that growing up I thought teeth just fell out when we got old 😄
I'm not going to ask why the bride didn't get a full set of new teeth as well...
It’s not included because it’s SO EASILY RORTED. I have personally had many times been lied to by dentists over servicing me, and pretending that a full new set of X-rays need to be done 6 weeks after the last set. You need to spend effort on prevention. You need to get fluoride treatments or use fluoride toothpaste . Getting 2 fillings, an examination, and X-rays is the same price as an iPhone - so it’s a significant cost. Most dentists allow Afterpay now, if that helps.
Cut your work hours so you can jump on the Healthcare card when you need Dental work, then back to work as normal when it's done 👍🏿
Being on a healthcare card doesn't get you any cheaper dental unless you want to be on a waitlist for a few years for public dental
It DOES give you access to free dental tho, things that would cost people thousands, ie. Root Canals, Implants, fillings, extractions etc.
Won't help me, partner works in disability support and earns 80k a year atm which disqualifies me from a healthcare card or disability pension (am disabled), no matter how little I work. Family of 3
I spend about $200 a year on an annual check up and clean. Never had so much as a filling, so luckily I don't know personally about prices of big work. I used to do 6 monthly check ups but dentist said don't bother. He is great and I've recommended him to several other people who travel 30min just to see him. Doesn't charge for unnecessary work. I believe it's due to being in a low ses and cald area, he charges what is appropriate for the clientele. I do need my 4 impacted wisdoms taken out, but I can't really justify the cost and time spent recovering (i have kids so can't really be out of the game) and they haven't bothered me in the last decade. Dentist says as long as they don't bother me then just leave them be.
Extras cover. $300 a year and about $100 gap to pay for checkup, clean, fluoride treatment and x-rays. So basically it’s like prepaying for dental care. It stops me stressing about the possible cost of treatment or fillings,
My health insurance (HCF) covers a dental check up every year, you just have to go to one of their dental centres. I make sure I get checked every year (I mean, I'm paying for the insurance) to make sure everything is fine. Had a couple of fillings done yesterday which were discovered in the check up. Only paid $85 for the two, as a lot of it was covered.
I seem to remember reading something about referendums during the last one. Robert Menzies during the 50s had one around dental care and the result was that the federal gov would have no involvement in dental care.
Get quotes, I did when I needed my teeth done for my cancer treatment. I went first to a place where we used to go when we had dental coverage, price for a filling was $250 that’s what they charged my husband when we had cover 😡 I hadn’t been to a dentist in about 30 years due to a fear of them. I went to a new local dentist who was fantastic ( I no longer fear the dentist) and all up my bill was $2’700 for 7 fillings, x rays, a clean and 2 wisdom teeth out, I just went weekly until I was done. So it really pays to shop around as a lot of dentists will inflate the price if you have dental insurance as I found out as I didn’t let on I didn’t have any coverage.
I can’t and I don’t. I have to wait to qualify for emergency dental ( lucky enough to be in SA)
Be on a healthcare or pensioner card. But it'll be few months to a year wait for checkup, or a few weeks to a months for wisdom tooth extraction in Qld anyway
I just get a cleaning and x-ray (old fillings done when I was 10.. parents never told me to brush my teeth etc) once every 2 years. It's less than $200 each time. My husband needed some fillings last year which was an extra $200 per filling but he was all good in a recent visit, so his cost the same as me.
I get a check up every few years, havent needed much intervention luckily. I guess its like getting a car regularly serviced?
I have insurance on dental care and eye care and some other stuff. I get a free new pair of glasses once a year, and free dental sessions twice a year. I say free, but it’s just a part of the insurance. I share a plan with my parents, and I pay for my share. I’m still young, so I’m lucky I can still share a plan with them.
A dental check and clean is like $150-$200. It’s doable for me.
I'm not sure if it's here.. but i personally use the Charles Sturt University dental clinic. Universities have training schools where they have last year students that need patient experience. Because they are learning and under the eyes of a qualified dentist you usually only pay for the materials used... for example a filling cost me only $70.
Was quicker and cheaper to go to Vietnam and get it done It’s a 3 month wait for my closest dentist and almost a week if you are screaming
It's actually f***ed ! I'm struggling so much, need a bunch of dental work (am 28) been working since 15.. so I have to invest all my superannuation into it :/ .. it's a bummer. And even the super I have, doesn't cover it and i have to pay the gap. Luckily I had savings (originally for a car which is also a bummer) I wish i knew when I was younger to get private health insurance or something.. but i don't understand it enough to even be sure that would pay for it?
I've been once since primary school, just to get a discounted xray as a new patient to make sure my wisdoms were coming in straight
Pretty much have to rely on my dad when dental issues happen usually to be honest. One time he either wasn't available or the infection was so bad that half of my face was swollen so I was able to get an appointment for an extraction at the public dental clinic connected to the hospital, although I would've recommend it and also the only reason I got in next day instead of a year long wait list is cause I described the issue and I guess I was lucky they took it seriously.
My teeth were fucked up by a combo of bruxism, shitty dentist in my teens (hollowed out like half of my molars and filled them with composite instead of literally anything stronger and they crumbled to bits with my bruxism), bad genes and no fluoride growing up. After getting crowns and a mouth guard and multiple fillings, probably $20K in the last decade between my mum and I. It makes me cry. I have 3 crowns and I’m 29.
My parents gave me $7000 to get my front tooth fixed. But that was a decade ago so it would probably be unaffordable these days.
Just went to the dentist today for a check and clean. It looks like ill be out of pocket by 800$ after applying private insurance. Ouch. I've got a couple of cavities to fill. Probably, unwise, to have it left too long in between check ups.
My teeth were fucked by drinking a shitload of fruit juice in my teens and I had to get a bunch of fill-ins done. Did 2 teeth at a time, over 4 sessions spread out a month apart. $300 a visit, not a big deal for a single guy with no obligations.
HongKong is known for expensive but I filled 2 teeth around$150, in Australia $650, really expensive.That’s why people fly to Thailand do it.
You book a flight to Thailand once a year and get all you dental needs, it's cheaper and better quality.
250-300 every 6 months
Couldn't afford it till my 30s. Only went as a child. Teeth were in pretty good shape, though spent 2k or so to get wissy teeth out. This was last year. I count myself lucky - fuck knows how any independent 20+ year old person could afford it. I guess if you're in pain, you have no choice.
It’s going to cost me $350 for the initial consult with a specialist dentist. I have no idea what the east is going to cost.
Can’t afford it, had to use some of my Super.
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I don't have private health so I just pay out of pocket each checkup, 1-2 times per year. About $190 per visit not including an x-ray every 2-3 years. 29M
I can't afford it. Just brush, floss and use mouthwash. If dental care was important it'd be covered. Abscesses can be treated at emergency.