Off to the dentist
I’m off to the dentist tomorrow morning. I really see NZ dentists as wallet-gouging. I’m hoping my dentist (who incidentally is the Eastern European mentioned in Deborah Hill-Cone’s article, Now Lie Back and Open Your Wallet) hasn’t read my articles, because she will no doubt double the bill If I need anything serious done I’m going to book a week in Thailand. No joke. I’ll report back tomorrow on my experience and the pain caused to my wallet.
Friday 13 August: I didn’t actually have my appointment last week. I turned up for my appointment (I always book the first appointment of the day because I hate waiting) to find the dentist was drilling someone else’s teeth. After 20 minutes I left. I went back today (and was the first customer), had my teeth checked and cleaned. Amazingly the bill for half an hour’s work was only $95. Not bad considering she had two members of staff working for her (receptionist and dental assistant). The Herald is writing another big rip-offs piece. Will be interesting to see what they have about dentists.
i work in dentistry and YES there are some dentist who are wallet-gouging, however this is unfair to stereoptype all dentists as the various ones I have worked for have fair prices that match the expensive costs that running a dental business costs. eh even a smalle 4x4cm mirror for in the mouth costs aroun $40-$50 where if u purchased one this size that wasnt for ‘dental’ purposes it would cost maybe aroud $5??? just ring around if looking for a dentist and compare prices.
If you can’t afford Thailand, then South Auckland is a compromise. Dentists in South Auckland are cheaper than central Auckland.
Don’t use the Chinese woman in Mt. Roskill who treated her patients in her lounge and used her Lazy-boy recliner as the dental chair!
@ Chris:
Quote: “Don’t use the Chinese woman in Mt. Roskill who treated her patients in her lounge and used her Lazy-boy recliner as the dental chair”
EXACTLY!!! You get what you pay for.
Crown prices vary (in the same oficfe) due to the type of metal used in the crown. Precious metal crowns are gold,(the most expensive) semi precious metals include gold, platinum, silver, etc. Non-precious contain Nickel, palladium and few others metals (least expensive)Gold is always the best metal to use, gold has a tendency to flow better into the crevices and the wax burn-out of the crown form and least amount of voids. Non-precious are the hardest but don’t always have the same great fit.If the price difference is from different oficfes, you may be paying that oficfes’ operating and materials cost. Most oficfes are very particular about the crowns they make so they use high quality impression material and may take extra time for thoroughness, so the time in the chair could be extensive.If an all ceramic crown is used (not the oficfe made ones like Cerec,crowns that are sent to an actual lab, the porcelain and porcelain work can also be very expensive)