No piece of string on the door knob kind of responses. Bulk bill? Private Health? Membership? Or any helpful tips.
Worst case a root canal will be on the cards and from what I heard, this can be REALLY expensive. Cheers
How Do You Save on Dental Appointments?
spychiatrist on 15/09/2015 - 15:26
Last edited 15/09/2015 - 15:26
Last edited 15/09/2015 - 15:26
Comments
get a few 100 amex cards
ask if you can be billed in 15 dollar lots, every week to rack up some creditsYou've done this?
nope, u can ask and try, dunno why they would not, they get money initially for no service
Find some private health insurance that will waive the waiting periods
Potentially risky but you could combine your surgery with a holiday…
Take out private health insurance extras if you haven't been to the dentist and then only go once you are covered for the treatment + I am a member of smile
Went to the Smile website and there are conflicting procedures: one states that you just use Smile then claim the insurance bit at the insurance office; the other states present Smile card then use hiCaps/claim at the dental office. Which do you follow?
When I went to the dentist I asked and they said people normally use smile and then claim, so I used the smiley card then manually claimed through the health provider
If you are expecting a major dental work down the track, do note that private health insurance has a minimum waiting period for dental surgery and usually this one cant be waived.
most endodontist places will give you finance/payment schemes these days.
I had a root canal done a while back and private health insurance helped a bit but still a couple thousand.
Cheers for this.
Thanks for the shout-out Bystander :)
Smile is a company that doesn't provide dental services. They enlist dentist that are willing to slash their prices in exchange for customer referrals. Dental fees are also not regulated, meaning a dentist is free to dictate their fees. You're getting a discount on a fee that isn't set.
The fees listed out as "regular" dental fees are also incorrect. Those prices are higher than data collected from the Australian Dental Association survey. Of course, they caveat their claimed "regular" fees with the word "may".
To pay a fee to a company that fundamentally offers group discount is pretty much Groupon. Some gems in there but…
Dentacare (http://goo.gl/aqZ91U) is worth a look, especially if you're eligible for a discounted membership as a union member or Seniors Card holder.
Bit disappointed that dentist didn't refer me/given me the option to another clinic for the OPG and X-ray which could have saved me some money. Anyone tried OPG outside the dental clinic you go to?
Many places will refer for radiography outside if you require several (such as pre-op for orthodontics). If you only require a few (or low total cost) breaking up an appointment into two visits just to wait for a radiograph may be inefficient and the cost will be passed down to the patient.
Looking for a reputable dental clinic or dentist overseas can be indeed a good idea. Especially when planning a vacation. Because I live in Kyiv (Ukraine), I normally take care of my teeth at one of the local clinics. But I see many Italians, British, and Swedes who travel over here for dental treatment and then go hiking in the Carpathians. As far as I know, most of them come fo implants. Hungary is also an option if combined with thermal resorts. Well, definitely there's no point in flying to Europe from Australia for dental care, but I know there are some pretty good dental clinics on Bali.
Take out extras hospital cover now so you will be ready.