Wednesday, 19 October 2011

Dental View - Deja Vu.

Well here I am again this very morning - just as I was in my blog of a mere 5 weeks ago (12th Sept) - once more sitting on the sea-front of Hove Actually, waiting for the time of my dental appointment, for treatment for another filling that has fallen out. For the last one she did a temporary filling which may itself come out at any time, and for this recent one she did remedial short-term treatment but strongly advises that both teeth are capped as soon as convenient. Only one problem  - total cost £408 (American $640). Not what I wanted to hear when my finances are already scraping bottom. So, I'd better start saving. At £1 per week should get there by the time I'm 73. But before then will yet another filling come out?
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14 comments:

  1. Jason Shaw19 October 2011 at 09:03

    That's an awful lot of dosh to spend on teethypegs.
    Cant you get it cheaper on the NHS Dental works?

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  2. Jane and Lance Hattatt19 October 2011 at 09:12

    Hello Ray:
    The cost of dental treatment in the UK is scandalous in our view and certainly compares very unfavourably in terms of both price and quality to that which is readily available in Budapest. We rarely travel without sitting next to someone from the UK coming as a dental tourist, perhaps you could be one too?

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  3. Cubby19 October 2011 at 11:26

    That's a really good pic of you at the top. Sorry about your tooth, but I suppose that's something we all have to look forward to. I've already had my first filling replaced, and that was way back 10 years ago. Shouldn't fillings last a lifetime?

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  4. Raybeard19 October 2011 at 23:20

    Jase, that figure I quote actually IS the NHS cost. For crowns it's the uppermost band of three, the other two levels being £17 and £47.
    I think it would have been cheaper if I'd had a private dental policy, but that's only on hindsight. Where's a Tooth Fairy when you need one?

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  5. Raybeard19 October 2011 at 23:26

    J & L, I'd heard of dental tourism but had no idea it was as common as you suggest. It really would be something for my first time abroad in over 20 years to be for surgery. But then there's the cost of getting there and the accommodation, so all in all I don't think there'd be much saving - plus, of course, there's all the formalities. For the moment think I'll just stay here with fingers crossed, aspirins at hand, and keeping my mouth closed to stop any more fillings from falling out. But thanks for planting the idea.

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  6. Raybeard19 October 2011 at 23:35

    Cubby, I think you did well to last so long without the need to have a filling replaced. It must depend on the type of filling, but my dentist told me that this last one which had come out had lasted 6 years whereas around 8 years is the average. If there are fillings that last a whole life long I'd be interested but I think another factor is the amount of basic tooth there is already there for the filling to be attached to. In both my recent problems there wasn't much there.

    Btw thanks for the compliment on the photo. I'll give you a bonus point for that.

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  7. Kyle Leach20 October 2011 at 08:34

    Dental work is not my friend either Ray. Now that Stan and I are married it is a little easier, but the dental spending cap is $1200(US) per year, so anything over that I have to pay out of pocket each year. I've put off several things to next year, in order to have them paid by our insurance. I have gum disease and periodontal disease(from almost no care until I was in my twenties), so that makes matters much worse. Hope things go well at your appointment.

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  8. Ur-spo20 October 2011 at 22:32

    no 'show us your gnashers" today, I suppose.

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  9. Raybeard20 October 2011 at 23:01

    Kyle, sounds like your situation is far worse than mine is. My problems are, at least, manageable, hurting more the wallet than the oral region.
    I also neglected going to the dentist at all between about 7 until I was in my mid-30s. I was afraid I'd be advised that they all needed extracting. In the event it turned out nowhere near as bad as that. Tooth problems are a nuisance for me but not on the 'really big worries' list.

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  10. Raybeard20 October 2011 at 23:04

    Actually, Dr Spo, I could well have 'shown me gnashers', as both the recent filling problems relate to back teeth. So no extra problems on the 'looks' side - apart from my generally crumbling visage.

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  11. Anonymous23 October 2011 at 08:16

    Saw your comment on 'I Should Be Laughing' pertaining to the stunning Eva Cassidy, not referring to her, but rather '... singers ... who use tremolandos which sound like they're gargling'. There is a talk radio personality in the US who called that style 'urban yodeling'. Perfect description, don't you think?

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  12. Raybeard23 October 2011 at 23:23

    Yes, that's good, domanidave. Actually my dislike of this type of singer goes way back to those who were very popular in 'my day' - even such world-respected artistes as Johnny Mathis, Nana Mouskouri and Joan Baez. I know that some, in fact, CULTIVATE that quivering voice but it just grates for me. I much prefer purity of tone.
    Oh, and thanks so much for your visit here. I feel extra-privileged now! :-)

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  13. Moving with Mitchell24 October 2011 at 09:27

    Jeez! And $640 sounds cheap for two caps from what I remember about American prices (but I've never had caps). Absurd. Wish I had the money to send your way!

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  14. Raybeard24 October 2011 at 23:56

    Mitch, the price I quote is the cost to patients under our National Health Service - and, as I say above, is on the highest of the three tiers of prices which apply for specialised dental treatment required for caps and crowns. In fact at this highest price it would have been cheaper to have taken out private dental insurance (at around $30 American per month). But I wasn't to know that I'd be requiring this treatment for two caps simultaneously. Meantime as there's no pain as yet I'm going to keep fingers crossed that I can last long enough before the work becomes vital. I just don't have the money to get it done! But thanks for your kind thought, anyway.

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