dental care student/kela ??

[tomasgatial]

Hi

I am foreign student working and paying taxes. I havent got my Kela card yet (already applied but obviously process will take some time). I have my valid student card and european healt insurance card.

My recent problem is my tooth:
The filling on the chewing side went off, and also the tooth broke apart and i lost a little piece of it (about 1/3).
The situation is not so painful but the area is very sensitive, apparently needs to reconstruct the tooth.

My question is:
What would you recommend me to do? Where to go? Private? Public? What this could cost?

I live in Hesinki centre

[interleukin]

You don´t actually need the KELA card, it is just extra proof that you are in the computer system. The dentist can see that just by checking your id number. So no need to wait for the card before going to the dentist.

You could go to the public dentist system, you´ll probably get good service there. The problem is that the waiting times to actually get to the dentist can be quite insane. People very often go private just because they don´t want to wait that long.

I´d start by calling the public dentist and asking for an appointment. If they can´t do that within a reasonable amount of time, you consider going private. It is more expensive, but KELA does reimburse part of the costs.

[Upphew]

EU + student = no Kela coverage, not a permanent stay here. EU health insurance card = When you show your EHIC, you will receive treatment under the same conditions and at the same cost (free in some countries) as people insured in that country.
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=559

[Upphew]

What would you recommend me to do? Where to go? Private? Public? What this could cost?

Helsinki, I'd probably head to Megaclinic: prices http://www.megaklinikka.fi/hinnasto/ (about 100e it seems).
Public is probably few tenners cheaper.

[interleukin]

EU + student = no Kela coverage

Hmm that makes sense. Sorry, I read the original post as the OP having KELA registration, just not the card.

[Rip]

Student of which institution? Is YTHS an option?

[wolf80]

I had almost the same problem, a part of a tooth broke of, though I was on Aland (but registered in Helsinki), didn't have the KELA card yet.

Public would have taken forever and I didn't want it to get worse, so I chose a private dentist. He was good, but only closed the tooth with a temporary filling (that white reconstruction stuff) as he said the tooth would need a crown, and I should find a dentist when back in Helsinki.

It costed 120 Euro, minus some 30 Euro KELA coverage that he automatically substracted. For a non-permanent solution not really cheap, but at least the problem was solved for the moment.

Btw, if you have to spend money on health issues before you get your KELA card, you can apply to get your money back later, the health insurance coverage starts with the day you start paying your taxes.

[Flossy1978]

If something happens like your tooth breaks and you have some pain, everyday the different cities have an emergency clinic open. For instance in Nurmijärvi it's usually between 12-14 or something along these lines. They change from area to area within Nurmijärvi every week. But I know there are permanent clincs in Helsinki you can also go to, if you aren't a resident there. At least Nurmijärvi residents can go to the Helsinki permanent ones. It's in or near the city centre.

You just turn up, fill out the paperwork, sit and wait.

They will do temporary fixing of the problem usually, then you make an appointment at the desk for a new time to get the problem permanently fixed.

The last hole I got, I went and I think it was something like 45€ all up.

It's really not that difficult and you don't have to go private if you suffer in some long queue if it's something like a cracked tooth or hole causing pain.

[dew]

I had almost the same problem, a part of a tooth broke of, though I was on Aland (but registered in Helsinki), didn't have the KELA card yet.

Public would have taken forever and I didn't want it to get worse, so I chose a private dentist. He was good, but only closed the tooth with a temporary filling (that white reconstruction stuff) as he said the tooth would need a crown, and I should find a dentist when back in Helsinki.

It costed 120 Euro, minus some 30 Euro KELA coverage that he automatically substracted. For a non-permanent solution not really cheap, but at least the problem was solved for the moment.

Btw, if you have to spend money on health issues before you get your KELA card, you can apply to get your money back later, the health insurance coverage starts with the day you start paying your taxes.

Would you provide some information about the clinic/dentist where you visited ? I am also having problem with my tooth. I am a bit confused whether to visit public or private health care.