Has anyone had expensive dental work, and how did you cover the cost?
Posted by Tank-Girl89@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 22 comments
I am curious to find out how people manage to fund private dental work. I’m not talking a few fillings, I’m on about a full redo. My husband has not looked after his mouth at all. In all the years we’ve been together he has always had teeth at the front missing, and loads broken. Its never been something that has bothered me as I look past that, but he is incredibly self conscious of them and is always hesitant to meet people I know, as he is worried he will embarrass me with how he looks. Again, I’ve never had an issue.
He had some teeth knocked out when he was younger, which a dentist repaired, but not very well and it led to more issues and from there he developed a fear of going, so didn’t.
He did look at trying again about 10 years ago to get them sorted, but his job at the time wasn’t great and reliable and the costs were too much.
He has recently enquired again as we’ve joined a new dentist, but with a mixture of his mouth having got worse during that time, plus the cost of everything increasing, he has been quoted around £28,000 to get it all done. He is in a much better job now that is more stable, but with the cost of everything else going up, it doesn’t really feel like much of a pay rise sometimes. They only offer 3 years interest free which is obviously a significant chunk per month still.
What other options do we have? He was so deflated when he had that quote come through, and he knows he should have done better with his dental hygiene before but obviously can’t undo that now.
Has anyone gone abroad for such a thing? Is that worth looking into. Just after ideas to present to him. TIA
asuka_rice@reddit
I get the feeling that U.K. dental care is not exactly on the patient’s side.
Suggest doing dental tourism like in Thailand.
https://dentalhospitalthailand.com/#
Barbora1519@reddit
Between my partner and I we spent over £20000 on dental treatment. My partner has 3 dental implant and then we had some usual stuff - crowns , fillings etc. we just buckled down and saved really hard , did overtimes when we could , didn’t go out etc . It was a very posh dentist , but worth every penny . Sadly my partner now has multiple myeloma (type of blood cancer ) and one of the maintenance meds can cause massive problem with the jaw and teeth . I am really worried about this . He needs a check up and I am fighting with myself whether I should borrow money for him to have a cheek up and any work done before he starts this meds . Neither of us work now (I am his carer) , so it’s a bit difficult to save. We can still save a few hundred a month (have about £1900 between us (I have a one bed flat I am renting out plus get carer’s allowance ), but it will take time to save for any follow up treatment he might need . My problem is - the dentist we used previously is really really expensive , but in this case you really get what you pay for .
Timely_Egg_6827@reddit
An inheritance which is fitting because I did a lot of the damage from grinding with stress while looking after him. However that bill seems very high unless he is getting all his teeth replaced - it is worth talking to more than one place. I am getting implant bridges as they are cheaper than implant fillings for each tooth.
Just to say I had to get an acrylic denture while waiting to decide whether to go ahead with lower jaw work - bone infection and graft. And they aren't that bad and look decent on back teeth. I'd want implants for the top as found a denture makes me lisp and wrecks your taste buds. They are a lot cheaper and they allow you to spread the cost of the implants. Even with money, I am doing it over 3 years as the appointments are long and stressful.
Ask the dentist to prioritise what is essential and what can be covered by dentures etc over a period of a few years.
Tank-Girl89@reddit (OP)
Yeah I think we may have to get a 2nd or even 3rd opinion. It was the implant bridges he said he was looking at, but it seems they have just quoted for individual implants.
That is good to know about the denture, as that is what he was looking for the bottom partially.
Timely_Egg_6827@reddit
Those costs look about same as mine but without the bone graft. The implant briges are each the cost of two implants. That is quite cheap for the surgical guides - for a lot of work, then they seem to be needed. It is worth remembering that the implants will last about 15 years and the one I had in 2002 is still solid. The dentist thinks it may need a process in about another 5 years as you do lose a little bone over time. Also get a water flosser. I suspect these ones will be good for biting care assistants if I get dementia in a care home in about 25 years.
I am in two minds about lower jaw work as denture is fine. As a tooth grinder, dentist thinks it will last about 5 years but a lot depends what is left to anchor one.
It is worth remembering that implants tend to be insured for a year if in UK in case of failure. The denture cost £750. The wire ones would be £1.5k at my dentist - I priced for top to leave palate free. Peridontal treatment is sadly expensive.
geezerebenezer@reddit
I would definitely look at dental tourism.. east Europe has great doctors at the same standards and it’s quite cheap to fly to a capital. I’m from there and I go to what you would class the local dentist, all my family goes there as it’s close and very reasonable priced. DM me if youre interested and want more info.
Glasgowbeat@reddit
Try Evo dental
Glasgowbeat@reddit
Finance, same as buying a car. Ot he can get dentures
RBisoldandtired@reddit
Have a look at Poland
Tank-Girl89@reddit (OP)
I’ve heard they have good dentists but no idea where to look for a reputable one that people have had experience with.
RBisoldandtired@reddit
Google mostly. Check review sites like trust pilot etc and do as much research on the companies as you can. Find a few places, google them. Reddit search them. Reddit search the sub for foreign dental treatment / dentists and you just have to put the “legwork” in to be as sure as you can.
You can once you find a few places, ask on polish subs, dental subs, check the local reviews on google. It’s a lot of work but it’s important and £28k is insane.
Unfortunately (that it has to exist) and fortunately (it’s so common now that it’s easier to find reputable places) dental tourism is a big thing these days due to how badly dental care has been allowed to become in the UK, so it means there is more information available but also more bad faith actors.
New_Orange9702@reddit
It's difficult to say without knowing what is involved.
Unfortunately my understanding of dental insurance is even the highest tier of some providers like Bupa would only be a few thousand.
If you live near a dental school you could see students, although if the plan includes dental implants then this wouldn't be provided for. They would however make a denture do fillings cleaning etc. Similarly if you can find an NHS dentist then you could have a more simple treatment plan.
You could also use different options like insurance/NHS for the basic work and then do the rest under finance.
Tank-Girl89@reddit (OP)
Unfortunately he needs quite a lot doing, and dental implants are what is driving the cost up so much.
Any_Preference_4147@reddit
It'll probably be cheaper for him to have them all removed and have dentures fitted
ThrowRAMomVsGF@reddit
Definitely go to a different country. I go to Greece, just because I have family there so would go anyway. But there are many other European countries with decent enough dentists and low prices.
Vets are the same, it's a shame dogs can't fly direct. My dog had a dental clean (plaque) in Greece for £200 (with anaesthesia), it was £1000 here... But I drove there, so it's not as easy as for human work.
CurvePuzzleheaded361@reddit
I used the interest free finance to pay as that helped a lot.
baeworth@reddit
I’ve just got braces on finance, it’s nowhere near that cost but could a route you go down? Especially if you can put down a big chunk for deposit
Tank-Girl89@reddit (OP)
Unfortunately they only offer it across 3 years interest 3. Or 6 with interest but the monthly payments were still a lot to commit too for that period of time.
cheeseismyname@reddit
I used dentaprime in Bulgaria and then they opened a clinic in London so had my full permanent teeth done there, got a bank loan for some of it savings for the rest, they charge Bulgaria prices in London definitely worth looking them up
Tank-Girl89@reddit (OP)
Oh thank you, I will look into them!
Psychological-Fox97@reddit
I was lucky and got awarded pip, the back payment was enough to cover the work.
I didnt qualify for the credit option they have, not sure why as credit rating is good. My partner also got denied and hers is even better and a higher wage on top. So apparently dental credit is a bit more strict than some other forms. So maybe a regular loan or credit card would be a better option.
A friend went to Turkey, paid around 6k for work hed been quoted at nearly 30k in the UK. He was happy with the work. He had to do two seperate trips and they were quite far apart so he was in a kind of limbo with semi fixed teeth and still some pain for about 6 months, unclear to me how much was necessary no matter who did the work and how much was down to having to go back to Turkey for them.
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