Murphy's Law

[Antoallison]

Flying out tonight for 35 days in the USA and my back tooth breaks at 2pm !

Emergency dentist visit and $550 dollars, a numb lip and some preliminary treatment later and I am good to go.

Thank heavens for private health cover and hopefully I will not need to use it but Travel insurance.

Wondering if anyone else has chaos or calm before they head off for the airport ?

 

[JohnK]

A filling on my right lower back tooth broke just before going to Thailand. This filling has been there for ~20 years and has obviously done quite well considering tooth is slightly broken. Don't want to see dentist for any emergencies. No root canal. Will more than likely lose the tooth at some point. I took a course of Amoxil.

Now right lower side gum hurts where tooth was taken out last year. Bought spare Amoxil in Thailand.

Even with private health cover dentists are not worth what they charge.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Even with private health cover dentists are not worth what they charge.

Jeez you crack me up JohnnyK - whom or what occupation IYHO are indeed worth what they charge / are paid. Clearly dentists and Senior Company Executives don't fall into that category but am interested to get your views here.

 

[JohnK]

Jeez you crack me up JohnnyK - whom or what occupation IYHO are indeed worth what they charge / are paid. Clearly dentists and Senior Company Executives don't fall into that category but am interested to get your views here.

GPs who bulk bill are worth what they charge.

 

[Buzzard]

Nothing for me but a good friend needed root canal less than 2 weeks before heading off to Europe for a month.
His final treatment was the day before departure.

When I had root canal recently it was worth every cent I paid

 

[travelislife]

A filling on my right lower back tooth broke just before going to Thailand. This filling has been there for ~20 years and has obviously done quite well considering tooth is slightly broken. Don't want to see dentist for any emergencies. No root canal. Will more than likely lose the tooth at some point. I took a course of Amoxil.

Now right lower side gum hurts where tooth was taken out last year. Bought spare Amoxil in Thailand.

Even with private health cover dentists are not worth what they charge.

Why not get it fixed in Thailand? Very good dentists and reasonable costs.

 

[JohnK]

Why not get it fixed in Thailand? Very good dentists and reasonable costs.

I am not an expert but think to get a tooth taken out costs the same here with private cover as it does in Thailand?

Where Thailand gets cheap is with implants.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

I am not an expert but think to get a tooth taken out costs the same here with private cover as it does in Thailand.

It would appear them Thai dentists rogues and thieves too Johnny?

 

[JohnK]

It would appear them Thai dentists rogues and thieves too Johnny?

Not quite Cruiser. Dentists here double dip. They take from Medibank Private and they take from my pocket.

Also from what I understand an implant here costs around $5000 give or take. That was the price quoted by my dentist before I fainted. Similar in Thailand I believe is <$2000. Sure the quality may not be the same but there is no way I spending $5000 on an implant.

Also bridges, crowns, dentures etc are cheaper in Thailand. I know people who have gone to Thailand to get the work done, have had a decent holiday and still had change left over from the price quoted in Australia.

We don't have to agree on all these things. I think dentists are expensive and $550 for emergency work is more than I care to pay. My broken filling can wait until my free check-up/clean is due in 5-6 weeks.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Implants are expensive in Australia (if done at a reputable place) but mostly worth it to have it done here.

For thailand the like-for-like implant still costs roughly the same, but the labour charge is what makes it cheaper. The 'negative' is the airfare, hotel accommodation (and you need to stay extra days to make sure the implant is ok), the lost time at work, and potential to go mucky if they get it wrong. We calculated the savings for two implants was not really worth it (maybe $1000-$2000 less all up).

Crown and bridge work on the other hand... massive saving, $16000 here in Australia... $3500 in Thailand. And that was for top of the range same as here in Australia. Thailand would have done it for as low as half that if we had accepted lower quality fixtures (which would probably still have been fine).

The work was perfectly done, fitted first time and no need for a follow up 7 days later (although we had factored that in as part of a holiday). Two years on, zero problems, perfect fit.

But you need to do your research... the top dental hospitals or in our case a private clinic where we knew the dentist.

 

[JohnK]

Implants are expensive in Australia (if done at a reputable place) but mostly worth it to have it done here.

I am going to need 4 implants very soon. For now I can do without a tooth in 4 separate places. In my opinion $20,000+ is too much to pay where the cost in Thailand is going to be at least half that amount.

But I wouldn't be rushing into it. As you say do the research first.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

But I wouldn't be rushing into it. As you say do the research first.

The main issue I think is the drilling and positioning of the implants. That's the tricky bit and the part you want them to get right. If they get that wrong you obviously end up with a lot of discomfort. Most top dentists do it with laser positioning or whatever here in AU, in thailand they offer that as well... but you have to make sure they (a) are trained and (b) actually use it (have read some reports where it was advertised but never used on the day and the dentist just went ahead and drilled)

 

[JohnK]

The main issue I think is the drilling and positioning of the implants. That's the tricky bit and the part you want them to get right. If they get that wrong you obviously end up with a lot of discomfort. Most top dentists do it with laser positioning or whatever here in AU, in thailand they offer that as well... but you have to make sure they (a) are trained and (b) actually use it (have read some reports where it was advertised but never used on the day and the dentist just went ahead and drilled)

Totally agree with your comments. I wouldn't go ahead unless I received some solid recommendation from people I know in Thailand that have had that type of work done.

 

[opusman]

Do you even need teeth given that you don't seem to like any food?

 

[JohnK]

Do you even need teeth given that you don't seem to like any food?

Lamb souvlaki? Or lamb chops?

P.S. If you saw my size then you would realise just how much I love food. :mrgreen:

 

[opusman]

Sam Kekovich would be proud

 

[Antoallison]

Totally agree with your comments. I wouldn't go ahead unless I received some solid recommendation from people I know in Thailand that have had that type of work done.

Very interested with the talk about dentists as I have just had my first implant completed in Perth costing thousands $$$ .

I believe the failure rate can be at any stage, but presumably the initial placement is critical. I too would consider dental treatment abroad and Asia is so convenient flight wise to Perth ... as it takes two trips to complete the treatment over a few months.

Ps I am writing this from an airport hotel in Raleigh, NC after having my last flight cancelled in the Delta fiasco yesterday .. How can an airline system go down so completely ?