Private Dental Care Advice

[mpjacko]

I have been looking for a private dental surgery (as I have a complicated dental history!) and believe I have found the one I will register with, but I wondered if anyone could help me find a company offering private health insurance...if this is the best option at all!!

I understand that KELA does contribute something towards private dental care but realistically, how much will I end up paying on my own and would it be better to payout for private health insurance?

[cafemaker]

I wonder if there exists such insurance for private dental treatment... I think you have to pay your bill on your own, unless you go to public dental care (still not free).

Does your employer provide some level of dental compensation? Or if you are student, you could go to YTHS.

[Hank W.]

KELA pays 60% of the "rate" which is the price list from 1985 or so, so in reality its about 30%.

[mpjacko]

My situation is this.

I have some dentures in my upper jaw which i had put in when i was in my teens. I moved from the Uk last July and now that i am living and working here full time, i am concerned about having to pay vast amounts of euros for any repairs on my dentures.

They are fine now but i don't want to be in a situation in i break them and have to pay out loads to gt them fix or have to fly back to my own dentist in the UK just to get them seen to.


I don't mind paying a check up every 6 months as i expect that.

I other concern is that i want to see a dentist who speaks good english so that they can explain any problems and my worry is that the public dentists would not provide me with the same level or reassurance. I am sure they can do the same job to the same standard, but can they give me the same patient service and the family dentist gave for all my life.

Finally, Would the public dentists be able to recieve \ obtain my dential notes from the UK.

Many thanks for your comments

[Hank W.]

Finally, Would the public dentists be able to recieve \ obtain my dential notes from the UK.

If your dentist in the UK can be arsed to send them over.... do they fit in the carrier pigeon or does he have to hire pony express? I think you personally must ask for them.

Public service is... hrm... if you are working in some counties they ask almost "what you doing here". The queues are quite long - they say 6 months even though they've gotten shorter but its nothing guaranteed. And you don't have "your dentist" necessarily. Now if you go private you pay, and pay, and pay until your ass is blue and you get some compensation from KELA but on the other hand you can choose your doctor. Or then you can say go to Estonia, which is getting expensive too but at the moment it is "cheap" for extensive work as compared to Finland. So going to the UK really isn't as silly an idea - providing you do survey the prices here vs. there, but somehow I don't think they would let you ride in the NHS system if you're not a resident in the UK?

[cafemaker]

I other concern is that i want to see a dentist who speaks good english so that they can explain any problems and my worry is that the public dentists would not provide me with the same level or reassurance.

There is no difference in language skill between private dentist and public ones. It all depends on which dentist you are talking/seeing to/with. Paying more money to the dentist does not increase the his/her language skill.

Finally, Would the public dentists be able to recieve \ obtain my dential notes from the UK.

I think the best way is to ask for a copy from the UK and bring it to the dentists in Finland. But there might be issues with the dential notes, as it is probably not the same format (E.g. technical short-terms, etc) comparing to Finnish one. The Finnish dentist might find it difficult to read, who knows

[Rosamunda]

I would be really surprised if private dental care is cheaper in the UK than here.

But with ice hockey being THE national sport I would guess there are some pretty good dentists/orthodontists/prosethesists around... just a matter of finding one you "like". In my experience, all the dentists I have dealt with (public and private) have spoken really good English (many train in UK, I think Cardiff is where they go... my folks in Somerset have two Finnish dentists at their local NHS practice). The dentists I have used in Espoo have been up-to-date and competent, quick, friendly. The only difference I would say with the UK is that the regular (public) dentists up here do not push the cosmetic stuff on their patients, especially kids. You need to have a helluva weird configuration in your mouth in order to get a tooth-brace from KELA. In the UK it seems that nearly all the kids get them these days

As for insurance... it would probably be on a case by case basis so try calling If... to get a quote, tell them your details. Then visit a couple of dentists and ask them to give you a ball park for denture repairs.

I think only you can do the maths and make your mind up: it's a "how long is a piece of string" kind of question....

[sinikala]

The only difference I would say with the UK is that the regular (public) dentists up here do not push the cosmetic stuff on their patients, especially kids....

I don't mind paying a check up every 6 months as i expect that.

Finnish dentists seem to think that an annual checkup is enough. Quite a big difference I'd say.

[Hank W.]

Just curious of the differences in the "system" - does the NHS in the UK pay compensation for a "private" dentist?

[Rosamunda]

No I don't think so.

My understanding is that you register with an NHS dentist and either have all your treatment there or you go private and pay the full whack. IIRC some (most/all) NHS dentists also take private patients. But some private dentists do not take any NHS patients.

In the UK kids have to register with an NHS dentist to get the free treatment (and IIRC it is completely free). There are no school dentists anymore, or maybe just a routine checkup once in a blue moon. In Finland school checkups are annual for kids (if your kids are schooled in the town where you live. Mine live in Espoo and go to school in Hki so they don't get the routine checkups )

NHS dentists are only allowed to take a limited number of patients. So most of them have closed lists because they are full up. Depends on the area. Also many dentists just aren't interested in doing NHS work any more (so there is a shortage which explains why the NHS dentists where my folks live are Finnish). And for specialist treatment on the NHS you need a referral - you can't just walk into an orthodontist.

[Hank W.]

The public dentists focus here was on the children and the pensioners. Its only been a while when it was added to cover everyone, but in some counties the resources got so overwhelmed you hear these horror stories of 6 month queues.