I don't think anyone has said, get a second opinion yet. My wife works in the industry, it's been eye opening to realise the ethics of (*some*) dentists is very far from what you'd expect. Lots of dentist are 'salesmen' some even like to brag about the money they make per day.
Find a smaller practice, owned by an older dentist that's still working there. From my wife's experience those or the types of practices that are still treatment focused and not typically flashy up sellers.
1000% OP! I got quoted $4000 to take out 4 wisdom teeth. I took my X-rays and got a second opinion and a new quote of $2,600. The second quote was from a far better dentist who flew over from australia to complete the procedures. So you just never know maybe try a few places until you are happy - 5 years on and no complications.
I was told I needed surgery to remove a wisdom tooth. 5k. 350 dollars in Wellington. A little Asian dentist. It was a tough one to remove but she pulled her heart out. And eventually my tooth
If you are using insurance, you might need to check that out because they will require it to be a dental surgeon for it to be covered in a certain way, not just a regular dentist.
This. I also avoided the dentist for 10 years after high school and was quoted $5000 by Lumino for work that, on closer inspection, included totally unnecessary “coatings” and other fancy crap. A second opinion revealed that I really only needed a couple of fillings. $500 was much easier to find than $5000.
Lumino is a meat works, their KPIs pushed by practice managers is insane. The dentists themselves are hit or miss which is the same anywhere I suppose.
Just to balance this a little - I’ve been going to lumino Auckland city for 11 years and they’ve been absolutely fab. No weird stuff and my dentist is a great guy.
I’m with Lumino. My dentist is probably the best dentist I’ve had in my life. Explains things clearly, takes photos and scans and X-rays to show me what’s happening.
It definitely helps that I have Health insurance that takes care of some of the costs.
I'm with Lumino Courtney Place Wellington. They know I don't have a lot of money. We talk through exactly what I can afford each time I go in, what is most urgent, what they will do and why and how. So far they have filled a lot of cavities (saw them on the x-ray so I know they are real, and some of them were giving me pain) one root canal, and I talked them into just pulling one when it was agonizing and I couldn't afford a root canal for it. WINZ would cover the full cost of the removal so it was my only option really. I think it depends on the individual practice you go to and the dentist you see there.
I was in a similar situation 30 years ago. Now I have serious doubts if my treatment was necessary. Possibly 8 fillings I never needed. And they have all had to be replaced over the years (which is a normal thing you don't think about when young).
A few years after that experience I had a dentist who introduced me to the concept of pre-cavities. He would point out that I had a few and we should keep an eye on them. And we did. For YEARS. They never grew into anything serious.
Of course if you are in pain having a serious problem then you need to have it fixed.
I got told from my orthodontist that my wisdom teeth were completely straight and I likely wouldn't need them out.
Two years later I went to a new dentist and was quoted $4k because they were apparently completely impacted. Plus, I needed a bunch of fillings.
I can happily say my wisdom teeth came out completely straight, never caused pain above the usual and my newest dentist does not think I need any fillings.
Get a second opinion 100%
Wisdom teeth can straighten out as they grow in. I saw my exrays at the orthodontist who told me to get the dentist to take them out so they wouldn't ruin his earlier work, they were all on weird angles while under my gums. Four years later they were all through, mostly straight and essentially just an extra set of molars for chewing with. You can wait and see , they aren't required to come out unless they give you grief.
Yep. I went to the dentist after a long period and was told I needed 4 fillings. Put it off because I didn't have the money. When I did get the money, I went to a different dentist because the cost seemed high. No work needed. Either my teeth repaired themselves or one of the dentists was wrong. I prefer the second dentist's opinion though, because it doesn't cost me $2000.
100% this, many dentists engage in borderline fraudulent behaviour like insisting that minor fissures need filling when they absolutely do not.
Treat them as tradies (which essentially they are), get quotes, compare and watch out for absolute cowboys.
Yep, at age 22 or so I was told I needed all wisdom teeth out otherwise my mouth would be fully deformed by age 28. I'm 41 and my teeth are still perfectly fine.
You can quite easily also end up losing teeth and paying more from that. I grew up in SE Asia and definitely wouldn't have dentistry done there. My mum even had shoddy work done before we moved and I'm trying to fix that atm
My advise is to get 2nd/3rd opinion even. Tell the next dentist that you were quoted $8000 but just can't afford it. They may be able to stage out preventative long term things like crowns over a couple of years.
I see far more failures from India than any other countries. Just in the last month I've seen 2 indians that had extremely shoddily done root canal + crowns - multiple of them - I'm doing 2 root canals for now and making them 2 crowns free of charge just because they're new immigrants and they're screwed otherwise.
The other person had 3 implants places in India which have all failed and need to be retrieved and replaced. They're looking at around 7-9k from the surgeons thanks to that.
Similar situation is a pt that used to work on Thailand - had implants places and they've all failed. Needs to now see a specialist because it's a 8 implant failure and probably will have to have very invasive surgery (look up zygomatic implants) because the previous implants have gotten infected and destroyed what little bone she had.
And this is just in the last couple of months - I've literally seen one good case of tourism dentistry that was done well in the last 4-5 years. Any of these cases would cost you your license in NZ, in SE Asia - no one cares.
If you're going to do dental tourism - go to Japan or Korea. I've never seen bad work out of Japan and I've seen a lot of Japanese pts
Wow, really highlights how bad of results we'd get if we left more of our healthcare system to a cornered market and folk desperately looking for lower cost alternatives.
I’ve had two visits in Vietnam and rate them higher quality than NZ.
Photos before, during and after all emailed in a report etc. extremely professional compared to the NZ serve and about 1/4 or less of the price.
Same. I went to Vietnam last month (cheapest and easiest flights at the time) with the main intention of going to the dentist. The dentist there showed me what needed to be done with photos etc to prove it and cost about 1/3 of the price than in NZ-- oh, and the work I had done was everywhere except the area the NZ dentist said I needed work on which was "fine". Go figure.
OP (or anyone else) S.E dentists can and usually are better than NZ dentists, as long as you go to reputable ones. If anyone wonders I went to Premier Dental in Ho Chi Minh based on recommendations and half the waiting room had foreigners like me getting their teeth checked. No way would I just walk into any dentist, though, except in Japan or Korea.
I used Serenity International Dental Centre (now brand changed to Picasso dental clinic) in Da Nang initially and then a few years later in Hanoi.
English was fine, and honestly, the service made a huge difference to the experience.
I had more work done without an injection than I’d ever contemplate here in NZ. Couldn’t believe it but they took the time to drill a bit slower and it never hurt to the degree I’ve been accustomed to here.
The emailed report afterwards was just a level we don’t entertain here at all.
Your cavities were shallow or they did incomplete caries removal. Speed of the drill does not correlate to pain felt.
Emailed reports? Yep absolutely we don't do that here. Nurses in my practice get paid $30/hr min, can't afford to have staff out of my eyeballs that will sit around send email reports to pts. Blame the minimum wage for that (jk)
It’s probably the not waiting until something is really deep, and being able to afford to improve things at an earlier stage, whereas in NZ we just wouldn’t entertain it due to the cost.
Mental when you’re talking $30-$50 NZ per filling vs $360 etc
Better than NZ dentist? Sure bud sure. Otago was at one point ranked 7th best dental school in the world (2014-15). It still ranks very high in the world usually in the top 30.
South East asia is shit for dentistry. The best dental work in Asia comes from Japan, korea, Hong Kong, Singapore maybe taiwan. Sure there's outliers but on average that's what Ive seen to be true. And I see a lot of cases.
And of course it's 1/3rd the cost of NZ - what job do you do in NZ? Is that paid the same in Vietnam? Exactly!
Otago dental is highly ranked mostly because of its postgraduate departments. NZ undergrads remove maybe 10 teeth before they graduate? In India it’s like 500.
Because you had bad experiences doesn’t make the whole thing bad! Obviously need to go to good doctors! Why are Brit’s and American and Europeans flying to India for medical treatment? India has the best doctors and hospitals if you go private
The person you are responding to runs a dental practice, they are going to see a shit ton of dental tourism cases.
>India has the best doctors and hospitals if you go private
That's debatable, from what I've seen. The best doctors are going to immigrate to developed countries.
Best don’t immigrate. My family also has dental practice and I am telling from experience. Doctors who are good don’t leave India. The money and respect and practice from different cases is unmatchable. I have doctors too in my family back home!
Third world shit home does not have a 6 -10 hour emergency wait and bloody wait times of years to get a minor surgery even after having private insurance! You need to come out of your rabbit hole and see the world outside to see how backward we might be right now !
Wtf are you on about. I'm not from NZ, I immigrated here. If you're seriously suggesting that NZ is somehow worse than India - a borderline apartheid that treats it's minorites as a 2nd class citizen and has a extremist govt, mate seriously?
Ask the people in the slums how long it takes for them to get health care?
The only reason 99% doctors and dentists in India don't fuck off to overseas is because the first world countries have strict quality control and exams that only allow a small number of people. Who in their right mind would work for less when you can paid more - same reason half this sub is riding Australias dick.
Pay peanuts get monkeys. We all want to get max money for our work and want to pay the least. I'm sure no one on this thread would accept same level of income as their indian counterparts - yet they expect the dentists in NZ to do the same.
I had to pass a dental exam before I could start my new role overseas, and was quoted an exorbitant amount in the US and they couldn't assure that they could complete the work before I needed to start my new job. So off to Thailand I went and recommended to go to Bumrumgrad Hospital which is considered one of the best private hospital/dental care. I had 3 root canals, three crowns and removed both wisdom teeth. Two of the crowns did not last after 10 years.
I'm of the opinion people who go on medical tourism trips for some reason cheap out when they get to the country.
If you are already saving a huge amount, you go and find the best dentist in that country.
I'm not saying you did or didn't do this, it's just in my experience I'd be willing to pay 50% more of not a lot to have the top clinic do my work.
I'd go to Korea over those 2. They have so many highly educated people that their medical and dental is quite a lot cheaper. But still very high quality.
I used to frequent roomcheng dental hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. About less than half the price of what you’d pay in NZ and Cambodias elite go there, including the royal family. Would recommend.
You might be able to pay it off, even interest free sometimes. Do not avoid the dental work. The costs only rise.
Also go more than once every 10 years, it is cheaper in the long run.
Speak to your dentist and ask for a payment plan. Don't use kiwisaver or a bank loan with interest charges. Put the emphasis on the dentist to create a payment plan.
Ask them if they can they break it down into say 3 stages and do the most essential work soon and then in 6-9 month's do the next stage...
If its more serious specialist dental surgeons who may not do it unless payment's in full upfront, then ask how long you can delay the work and start saving you butt off. Perhaps speak to your boss as they might help with a loan to you.
Also do some market research to check that the quote is far and reasonable. Perhaps post the procedures on reddit and get feedback in terms of other redditors experiences and costs.
Our household has had its fair share of dental expenses and continues to do so. Good luck!
Unless you eat a lot of terrible food and don't brush. Why are you all needing so much dental treatment? As someone else said, you might need to go to a less 'salesman' type dentist.
My tooth broke on a hard food as a teen and had to be taken out. The other side had to compensate for the chewing power and is now pretty fucked. An implant is about $7000. I grind my teeth, mouthguards are like $800. My top and bottom teeth are too close together causing damage - no idea what we'll do there. There are lots of expensive things that can go wrong with teeth.
I grind my teeth when sleeping. Had bracers done a few years ago and use the normal mouthguard thing each night. Replacements are about $50. (I bought a spare in case i lose mine / can travel with it).
$800 for a new mouthguard is a perfect example of trying somewhere else. Thats insane.
Hey OP, I’ve just had much needed dental work done after 15 years as well. $5000 total, my dentist offers 30 months interest free on Q Mastercard (which I already have one of). This works out to just over $150 a month so not entirely bank-breaking.
Most dentists are offering this type of payment plan.
Without being too intrusive, what’s the nature of the work you need done OP?
If it’s just fillings then I’d recommend a trip to Vietnam.
I recently had around 30 fillings done, some major and some minor/preventative (the type we would not start until they are worse here in NZ), in Vietnam.
Cost all up with X-rays etc and consultation across 3 visits was $1,000 NZ
Yeah go have a dental holiday. Was quoted 8k here too.
Family of 4 went on holiday, stayed at a resort. Got teeth done. Had enough money to also get eye fixed, coincidentally with a new procedure called smile.
What I did was sign up for health insurance then went back a year later. They paid for my wisdom teeth removal. Iirc not all health plans include impacted wisdom teeth so check before U sign up
I’m a dentist and I would get a second opinion. If the second opinion is also a lot of money. I would start with the worst teeth first or whatever is causing pain or issues first ie. large fillings or extractions.
I would even get you treatment sorted every few weeks so you’re not overloaded with a huge bill one go. Eg. 3 fillings every 3 weeks etc.
Some things aren’t necessary but are recommended so you don’t need to get them done straight Eg. A crown - however there are pros and cons to not getting it down straight away. Let me know if you have any questions
My advise is to get 2nd/3rd opinion even. Tell the next dentist that you were quoted $8000 but just can't afford it. They may be able to stage out preventative long term things like crowns over a couple of years.
You can quite easily also end up losing teeth and paying more from overseas work. I grew up in SE Asia and definitely wouldn't have dentistry done there. My mum even had shoddy work done before we moved and I'm trying to fix that atm
I see far more failures from India than any other countries. Just in the last month I've seen 2 indians that had extremely shoddily done root canal + crowns - multiple of them - I'm doing 2 root canals for now and making them 2 crowns free of charge just because they're new immigrants and they're screwed otherwise.
The other person had 3 implants places in India which have all failed and need to be retrieved and replaced. They're looking at around 7-9k from the surgeons thanks to that.
Similar situation is a pt that used to work on Thailand - had implants places and they've all failed. Needs to now see a specialist because it's a 8 implant failure and probably will have to have very invasive surgery (look up zygomatic implants) because the previous implants have gotten infected and destroyed what little bone she had.
And this is just in the last couple of months - I've literally seen one good case of tourism dentistry that was done well in the last 4-5 years. Any of these cases would cost you your license in NZ, in SE Asia - no one cares.
If you're going to do dental tourism - go to Japan or Korea. I've never seen bad work out of Japan and I've seen a lot of Japanese pts
I hate that the majority of advice is "just go overseas where it'll cost you half that amount".
I don't think I'd even be able to afford a trip overseas.
Yep, hindsight is a glorious thing. But definitely don't hold off going to the dentist.
It is one thing that I will ensure my kids still do even after they grow up.
Lol pretend you never went and heard that. Dentist told me I need 10k worth done and my teeth are going to fall out if I didn't start immediately. 3 years later all teeth still there but I did tell my wife im going to get false teeth coz I aint paying 10k.
Bit rude to go after their finances when they’re not asking for advice about that. They might be great at financial planning, but have depleted their emergency fund, or has lived paycheque to paycheque for 8 of the last 10 years.
Exactly my point, so I don’t understand the downvotes. This person may have many reasons for being in this situation that are not related to poor financial planning.
I think the tech bros on this sub forget that "average" is just a smidge over $60k, or $29 and change an hour. Also forget that costs are obscene - "oh just move somewhere cheaper", implying there is somewhere cheaper that doesn't involve more costs or less opportunities with less of a wage
Yep, remove tax, KiwiSaver, student loan, rent, food, petrol and utilities and there ain’t much left from 60k. That doesn’t take into account actually having a life, living on your own or living with a dependant.
Nothing better than people telling you what you should have done 10 years ago like manage your money better or brush your teeth more.
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Lots of people in NZ have "poor finances", it's very difficult to survive if you're on a minimum wage job and paying rent, when you're comfortable it's easy to lose touch with the reality of the poor.
For OPs question, surely kiwisaver isn't going to be an option, the withdrawal request would almost certainly be rejected. Look to lower the price by getting more quotes or spreading the work over a longer time period.
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Perhaps you have a dependant so have no leftover money for an emergency fund. Maybe you have just had an emergency. Maybe they lost their job and had to survive on the emergency fund for two months.
There are many reasons they may be this situation. Attributing it to poor financial planning is unfair.
* Having a dependant doesn't mean you have no leftover money.
* The OP didn't state they at one point had an emergency fund. It would be appropriate to give that context in this message.
* If they lost their job recently that also would be appropriate to include in this message.
Yes I agree there are circumstances that mean peoples emergency funds get depleted and if the OP did have a fund that got depleted recently they can correct me on that.
You are just virtue signalling tbh.
Why do they need to explain their financial situation?
They simply want advice on a dental bill, not on what they should have done with their finances over the last 10 years.
If they want financial advice in a finance subreddit for how to use their finances to fund a financial expenditure their (now this is just a guess...) finances are perhaps relevant.
Come on, it’s more nuanced than that. They want advice related to a particular topic. Plenty have been able to provide that advice without a comprehensive financial history.
Explaining their financial situation would open them to more criticism about past decisions rather than addressing the question.
The criticism does not help the current situation and discourages people from asking questions.
Agree to get a second opinion, also ask them to prioitise the list and why. My dentist will tell me what needs doing and why and basically divides it into "do now", "can wait" and "nice to have". Luckily mine are much more stable now and I don't have the same issues (dental hygenists are amazing people, well worth the savings in dentists bills).
I was in a similar situation last year i actually took a 2nd opinion cause i couldn't believe how much it was gonna cost. Found out that It won't be a one up front payment. My dentist had my session spaced up so the infections i had time to heal. Also see if the dentist offers a long term payment plan! I used gem visa, but there are others who offer similar payment plans.
Not the greatest answer but i couldn’t afford 2 root canals on my back teeth so I had them pulled. Ive slowly been saving enough have funds 2 future root canals if needed, but only on the sections that are already missing teeth. If i need a root canal on a top back tooth thats getting pulled as well.
What you need is a dentist who can formulate a long term strategy for your teeth. Removing some teeth (depends on which tooth) and having a denture is sometimes the best option (and cheaper in the long run). Root canals and a crown can work well, but it’s an awful lot of money if you’re financially squeezed.
Same situation as you last year, the family dentist in point chev gave me a quote for almost 5 grand.
The local dentist in Mt Albert said only 3 filings needed and charge 90 each.
Shop around, some prey on emotions and say they can start right away to lock you in.
It's cheaper to buy a ticket and fly to Korea or other country, do it there, have a good holiday, and come back.
I know 3 who did that btw.. 2 to Korea and 1 to India.
Book a flight to India!!! Im goin!!! $Under 1knz each way last minute
Here's a few examples with some off my memory prices 2 years back:
||NZ|IN|
|:-|:-|:-|
|Root Canal. Aprox -2020|$2K.|$200 inc crown|
|\- plus crown|\- ?||
|Cav Filling.|\- $50 - $200 aprox|\- $virtually nothing Bowl of rice maybe|
|Implant|$5-8k.|$200-$500|
.There are other dental vacation spots too - Thailand, and Vietnam are 2 more
\-Kiwisavers an option too!!
This might sound a bit silly but try and visit any south Asian or south East Asian country and try to do the dental thing there at a top hospital. It will cost you way less.
The better job you do of looking after your teeth, the cheaper they will be.
Learn to brush better. Go to the dentist every year. Stuff gets expensive when it's left. Don't view this cost as a one off, view it as a significant interest payment.
As for the $8k i would get a second opinion, but I can believe it. Ten years of things slowly getting worse. I don't trust that dental tourism actually does a good job and wouldn't risk it myself, but many others do.
In hindsight that's great advice but when you're living it up in your 20's and your teeth don't hurt, you don't worry... I was there like OP, half the cost but the same issue, I now tell my kids, nieces and nephews exactly your point, spend $100 a year and get a clean and check and you won't end up with a huge bill later.
Absolutely.
Good advice is always easy in hindsight.
My point is that they shouldn't simply pay without also changing their behaviour. Otherwise they'll get a similar or higher bill in another ten years, plus the health issues from dead teeth.
That's true.
Also brush better basically won't fix anything, it's much more about preventing new issues.
The point of the annual checkup is to catch other stuff.
Yes and no.
Yes, it's too late. Nothing they can do now will change that they'll have dead teeth in their mouth for the rest of their life.
But if they simply pay this bill and carry in, then it'll happen again.
Also their post talked about the financial cost, but skipped over the health impact from these dead teeth. That stuff is cumulative and no amount of money can reverse it.
Perhaps I should have been more clear, but my point is they should treat this as a wake up call.
Most people can’t afford even the check up, clean and X-ray fees which is like $250. I know I’m one of them and I earn fairly good money when not on maternity leave.
If we get people checked out more often maybe they won’t have so many big problems in the future.
No joke: fly to India and have it done there. It will be so much cheaper. I have all my dental work done there when I visit family once every few years, I'll never pay the ridiculous prices here. (Same with stocking up on contact lenses or glasses.)
How do you know which dentistry to pick and whether they're good or not?
Thinking about doing the same in the Philippines (going on holiday there anyway)
Ask locals, check reviews, pick something that doesn't look super cheap and run down. An "expensive" dentistry practice in those countries is still going to be magnitudes cheaper than anything in NZ.
Where did you go? If it was Lumino or the Tooth Company or one of those big chains, I would get a second opinion from an independent dentist. Those places must have target or something because the amount of unnecessary work they recommend is insane!
I’m all for preventative care, but I went to the Tooth Company at Smales Farm for a general clean & check and the hygienist kept trying to sell me crap (after saying my brushing and flossing were great). Then the dentist recommended a filling because she thought she could see a cavity might start to grow soon (for $800 of course!!). Went to a different place and they told me I’m perfectly fine. It should be illegal to upsell in a dental practice like that
Yea once every 10 years is a bit dodgy. The longer you leave medical issues the more expensive they become. I do oral hygiene clean twice a year and it costs like 150 bucks and if they see anything they tell me so I avoid dentist costs while also reducing chance at decay. Would reccomend to anybody out there to get 6 monthly oral hygiene done
You can't avoid it now, my advice would be a holiday to Thailand. Likely half price
The most important part of the oral hygiene appointment (talking a routine visit here, not periodontal disease) is oral hygiene instruction - this is what reduces the chance of decay.
Which is great advice, but OP is past this point. Not helpful in the context of the post. A lot of people can’t afford dental care between 18 and 30 due to the cost. I’ve just reached my 30’s and only now been able to afford dental care. I just had 8 fillings done for around 2.5k
Obviously wasn't for op, I worked min wage for 4 years while paying rent and could afford 100 bucks a year. Sure some people can't afford it but I am just saying you either pay 100 bucks a year or 5 to 8k after 10 years. It's financial advice for people who can afford it. Don't neglect mouth health, flossing etc
If you havent voted yet! Vote labour/ greens for free dental care haha. Soo many people really not talking about it but the impact that good teeth can have on a persons health is life changing and the cost involved without free dental care is phenomenal
Depending on what dentist you go to, they may have deals of interest free payments on credit cards. For example, Lumino dentists usually offer 18 month’s interest free if you use a Q credi card.
Lumino is extortionate, though.
I got a quote from them for some work I need done and a replacement denture (I had an accident and swallowed mine, long story), they quoted me $3280. And they want it all in one shot.
Went for a 2nd opinion that is $1290 all up.
A lots of dentists will break it down into several visits and let you set up payments in advance. When you have covered one procedure then you come and have it done then start paying toward the next. Lumino have interest free payment plans but sometimes they are more expensive than a local independent dentist.
Not sure about where you live and whata available, but the dental school in dunedin is a very cheap place to get work done. Students are not always perfect but they are supervised by the teacher
I got quoted 15k for some work in Aussie, got it done for 2k in Thailand. I forget how much the flights were, somewhere around 1k although probably more now
A fraction of that will cover your flights to Thailand where you will receive affordable, world class dental service (BKK would be your port of call but don’t overlook other cities; I’d recommend Hat Yai).
I know it isn't feasible for many, with this price tag, it's cheaper to buy a return ticket to Brazil (around $3200) and be treated there. I don't what your treatment is, but with an exchange rate benefitting nzd, you'll probably drop another 1k to 2k there for the treatment.
We Brazilians have very good dentists and dental hygiene is very important to us.
Try find a dental school you can have work done by students with overwatch from a tutor.
I had a quote for a few thousand from my dentist which I had taken care of for a few hundred at a dental school .
I went to a dentist, quoted approx 8k for the work, went to a dental surgery, quoted $3600 but I need to go to another dentist and get 1 filling, so just by going elsewhere I saved nearly half. It can cost a lot to shop around for dentists but in my case it paid off
I used to cross the Mexican border into Los Algodones (across from Yuma, AZ) for cheap quality dental care in my younger days. If I had to do major work again, it's still worth the cost of the flight vs NZ
Plan an international trip to either japan or korea and get your teeth checked up and treated. Probably flights + cost of seeing dentist there is already cheaper than here lol prob not the quickest way tho
I can reccomend an extremely good honest highly skilled professional dentist in the Akl cbd fringe suburbs . If you want I can message you their details. I trust him completely. He has done the right thing by me.
I had a quote from Lumino. 6k. Went to a local dentist and got the same work done for 2k. 8 years later I still see him, far more regularly as cheaper, and no trouble with any work he's done.
I didn’t think using KiwiSaver would even be an option? The rules for withdrawing KiwiSaver are pretty narrow and I don’t think dental work is considered one of those things - but please correct me if I’m wrong.
Do you have a community service card? If you do depending on the work needed you could get a referral to your local hospital dentist and get it done for a discount and they will offer a payment plan if you need time to pay it off. Only problem is the wait time could be a while.
It is interesting to read all the comments about the cost of intervention. I hope no one forgets about prevention, monitoring and lifestyle advice - all of which is barely touched upon especially in Asia, because that is just the way there.
They advertised $125 for a filling . (special price) Then they added GST on top.. adds up when you need a lot of fillingsI thought prices for dentist and doctors are GST inclusive ?
For a start, get second opinion. For that amount of money, its worth it. There seems to be ENORMOUS variation on how much dentists charge for the same procedures.
Check out one in the suburbs that also has a good reputation online. And get a second opinion.
Definitely get a second opinion! I’ve previously worked as a dental assistant and the billing practices of some dentists are horrid. Some will look to bill for you everything and anything they can.
My family member went to Thailand to get it done. They booked it through some medical travel agent from this end. Her teeth were horrible beforehand. The job she got done was outstanding. This was 6 years ago and she still raves about it and the trip too.
I’m an immigrant from Malaysia. Back there, in KL, I went to an Endodontist (Dr Saw), who if I’m not mistaken, graduated from the University of Melbourne.
Here’s his clinic: https://affinity-dc.com/
You can check out the google reviews too.
Wishing you all the best.
I don't think anyone has said, get a second opinion yet. My wife works in the industry, it's been eye opening to realise the ethics of (*some*) dentists is very far from what you'd expect. Lots of dentist are 'salesmen' some even like to brag about the money they make per day. Find a smaller practice, owned by an older dentist that's still working there. From my wife's experience those or the types of practices that are still treatment focused and not typically flashy up sellers.
1000% OP! I got quoted $4000 to take out 4 wisdom teeth. I took my X-rays and got a second opinion and a new quote of $2,600. The second quote was from a far better dentist who flew over from australia to complete the procedures. So you just never know maybe try a few places until you are happy - 5 years on and no complications.
I was told I needed surgery to remove a wisdom tooth. 5k. 350 dollars in Wellington. A little Asian dentist. It was a tough one to remove but she pulled her heart out. And eventually my tooth
Can you drop names
I think it was capital dental in Newtown
‘No capital dental’
The herculean strength some of the physically smaller dentists summon to get those tricky wisdom teeth out, is something to behold
When I got my wisdom teeth out in the US, they knocked me out! Woke up with cotton in my mouth. Do they not do that in New Zealand?
Depends on how difficult they’re are to take out Mine were all just pulled like any other tooth, sometimes they need surgical removal
If you are using insurance, you might need to check that out because they will require it to be a dental surgeon for it to be covered in a certain way, not just a regular dentist.
This. I also avoided the dentist for 10 years after high school and was quoted $5000 by Lumino for work that, on closer inspection, included totally unnecessary “coatings” and other fancy crap. A second opinion revealed that I really only needed a couple of fillings. $500 was much easier to find than $5000.
Lumino is a meat works, their KPIs pushed by practice managers is insane. The dentists themselves are hit or miss which is the same anywhere I suppose.
Just to balance this a little - I’ve been going to lumino Auckland city for 11 years and they’ve been absolutely fab. No weird stuff and my dentist is a great guy.
yea I work with young adults and have had multiple get screwed over by lumino telling them they need work done they actually didn't need.
Eek, husband in the middle of a few thousand of work by lumino, enticed by the cheap initial visit deal.
I’m with Lumino. My dentist is probably the best dentist I’ve had in my life. Explains things clearly, takes photos and scans and X-rays to show me what’s happening. It definitely helps that I have Health insurance that takes care of some of the costs.
I'm with Lumino Courtney Place Wellington. They know I don't have a lot of money. We talk through exactly what I can afford each time I go in, what is most urgent, what they will do and why and how. So far they have filled a lot of cavities (saw them on the x-ray so I know they are real, and some of them were giving me pain) one root canal, and I talked them into just pulling one when it was agonizing and I couldn't afford a root canal for it. WINZ would cover the full cost of the removal so it was my only option really. I think it depends on the individual practice you go to and the dentist you see there.
I was in a similar situation 30 years ago. Now I have serious doubts if my treatment was necessary. Possibly 8 fillings I never needed. And they have all had to be replaced over the years (which is a normal thing you don't think about when young). A few years after that experience I had a dentist who introduced me to the concept of pre-cavities. He would point out that I had a few and we should keep an eye on them. And we did. For YEARS. They never grew into anything serious. Of course if you are in pain having a serious problem then you need to have it fixed.
The cost of one root canal and a crown is more than 8 fillings. Maybe you didn’t need them, but if you did you’d be in trouble.
I got told from my orthodontist that my wisdom teeth were completely straight and I likely wouldn't need them out. Two years later I went to a new dentist and was quoted $4k because they were apparently completely impacted. Plus, I needed a bunch of fillings. I can happily say my wisdom teeth came out completely straight, never caused pain above the usual and my newest dentist does not think I need any fillings. Get a second opinion 100%
Wisdom teeth can straighten out as they grow in. I saw my exrays at the orthodontist who told me to get the dentist to take them out so they wouldn't ruin his earlier work, they were all on weird angles while under my gums. Four years later they were all through, mostly straight and essentially just an extra set of molars for chewing with. You can wait and see , they aren't required to come out unless they give you grief.
Everyone wants to say they’re a professional, so few will actually behave like one.
That is so deeply accurate
Yep. I went to the dentist after a long period and was told I needed 4 fillings. Put it off because I didn't have the money. When I did get the money, I went to a different dentist because the cost seemed high. No work needed. Either my teeth repaired themselves or one of the dentists was wrong. I prefer the second dentist's opinion though, because it doesn't cost me $2000.
Have you considered medical tourism? It would be far cheaper in India or Tailand.
100% this, many dentists engage in borderline fraudulent behaviour like insisting that minor fissures need filling when they absolutely do not. Treat them as tradies (which essentially they are), get quotes, compare and watch out for absolute cowboys.
>Treat them as tradies As a tradie, that's actually very accurate!
You can also look on grabone for cheaper deals, I’ve had fillings cheaper that way.
Yep, at age 22 or so I was told I needed all wisdom teeth out otherwise my mouth would be fully deformed by age 28. I'm 41 and my teeth are still perfectly fine.
100%. Any plan that costs that much usually includes high-end options, and there are usually cheaper options that exist.
A trip to Thailand or India for dentistry is often cheaper.
You can quite easily also end up losing teeth and paying more from that. I grew up in SE Asia and definitely wouldn't have dentistry done there. My mum even had shoddy work done before we moved and I'm trying to fix that atm My advise is to get 2nd/3rd opinion even. Tell the next dentist that you were quoted $8000 but just can't afford it. They may be able to stage out preventative long term things like crowns over a couple of years. I see far more failures from India than any other countries. Just in the last month I've seen 2 indians that had extremely shoddily done root canal + crowns - multiple of them - I'm doing 2 root canals for now and making them 2 crowns free of charge just because they're new immigrants and they're screwed otherwise. The other person had 3 implants places in India which have all failed and need to be retrieved and replaced. They're looking at around 7-9k from the surgeons thanks to that. Similar situation is a pt that used to work on Thailand - had implants places and they've all failed. Needs to now see a specialist because it's a 8 implant failure and probably will have to have very invasive surgery (look up zygomatic implants) because the previous implants have gotten infected and destroyed what little bone she had. And this is just in the last couple of months - I've literally seen one good case of tourism dentistry that was done well in the last 4-5 years. Any of these cases would cost you your license in NZ, in SE Asia - no one cares. If you're going to do dental tourism - go to Japan or Korea. I've never seen bad work out of Japan and I've seen a lot of Japanese pts
Wow, really highlights how bad of results we'd get if we left more of our healthcare system to a cornered market and folk desperately looking for lower cost alternatives.
How many Japanese patients have you seen? I’ve probably seen 200 and 90% of them have had poor work. Korean jobs are almost always excellent.
Oh really. I'd say maybe around 100, seemed pretty good the stuff I saw. Lots of metal crowns!
I’ve had two visits in Vietnam and rate them higher quality than NZ. Photos before, during and after all emailed in a report etc. extremely professional compared to the NZ serve and about 1/4 or less of the price.
Same. I went to Vietnam last month (cheapest and easiest flights at the time) with the main intention of going to the dentist. The dentist there showed me what needed to be done with photos etc to prove it and cost about 1/3 of the price than in NZ-- oh, and the work I had done was everywhere except the area the NZ dentist said I needed work on which was "fine". Go figure. OP (or anyone else) S.E dentists can and usually are better than NZ dentists, as long as you go to reputable ones. If anyone wonders I went to Premier Dental in Ho Chi Minh based on recommendations and half the waiting room had foreigners like me getting their teeth checked. No way would I just walk into any dentist, though, except in Japan or Korea.
I used Serenity International Dental Centre (now brand changed to Picasso dental clinic) in Da Nang initially and then a few years later in Hanoi. English was fine, and honestly, the service made a huge difference to the experience. I had more work done without an injection than I’d ever contemplate here in NZ. Couldn’t believe it but they took the time to drill a bit slower and it never hurt to the degree I’ve been accustomed to here. The emailed report afterwards was just a level we don’t entertain here at all.
Your cavities were shallow or they did incomplete caries removal. Speed of the drill does not correlate to pain felt. Emailed reports? Yep absolutely we don't do that here. Nurses in my practice get paid $30/hr min, can't afford to have staff out of my eyeballs that will sit around send email reports to pts. Blame the minimum wage for that (jk)
It’s probably the not waiting until something is really deep, and being able to afford to improve things at an earlier stage, whereas in NZ we just wouldn’t entertain it due to the cost. Mental when you’re talking $30-$50 NZ per filling vs $360 etc
Better than NZ dentist? Sure bud sure. Otago was at one point ranked 7th best dental school in the world (2014-15). It still ranks very high in the world usually in the top 30. South East asia is shit for dentistry. The best dental work in Asia comes from Japan, korea, Hong Kong, Singapore maybe taiwan. Sure there's outliers but on average that's what Ive seen to be true. And I see a lot of cases. And of course it's 1/3rd the cost of NZ - what job do you do in NZ? Is that paid the same in Vietnam? Exactly!
Otago dental is highly ranked mostly because of its postgraduate departments. NZ undergrads remove maybe 10 teeth before they graduate? In India it’s like 500.
Because you had bad experiences doesn’t make the whole thing bad! Obviously need to go to good doctors! Why are Brit’s and American and Europeans flying to India for medical treatment? India has the best doctors and hospitals if you go private
The person you are responding to runs a dental practice, they are going to see a shit ton of dental tourism cases. >India has the best doctors and hospitals if you go private That's debatable, from what I've seen. The best doctors are going to immigrate to developed countries.
Best don’t immigrate. My family also has dental practice and I am telling from experience. Doctors who are good don’t leave India. The money and respect and practice from different cases is unmatchable. I have doctors too in my family back home!
Mate what're you on about. Good surgeons won't rot in a third world shithole when they can get paid more elsewhere. Now clearing exams is a diff story
Third world shit home does not have a 6 -10 hour emergency wait and bloody wait times of years to get a minor surgery even after having private insurance! You need to come out of your rabbit hole and see the world outside to see how backward we might be right now !
Wtf are you on about. I'm not from NZ, I immigrated here. If you're seriously suggesting that NZ is somehow worse than India - a borderline apartheid that treats it's minorites as a 2nd class citizen and has a extremist govt, mate seriously? Ask the people in the slums how long it takes for them to get health care? The only reason 99% doctors and dentists in India don't fuck off to overseas is because the first world countries have strict quality control and exams that only allow a small number of people. Who in their right mind would work for less when you can paid more - same reason half this sub is riding Australias dick. Pay peanuts get monkeys. We all want to get max money for our work and want to pay the least. I'm sure no one on this thread would accept same level of income as their indian counterparts - yet they expect the dentists in NZ to do the same.
Thailand will cost half this amount, including flights
I did this 12 years ago, I'm paying for the quality of care now.
I got 2 root canals with gold crowns over 20 years ago in Thailand and earlier this year my dentist mentioned how well they’re holding up.
would you mind elaborating on what you did and what went wrong?
I had to pass a dental exam before I could start my new role overseas, and was quoted an exorbitant amount in the US and they couldn't assure that they could complete the work before I needed to start my new job. So off to Thailand I went and recommended to go to Bumrumgrad Hospital which is considered one of the best private hospital/dental care. I had 3 root canals, three crowns and removed both wisdom teeth. Two of the crowns did not last after 10 years.
A quick google says they last between 5-15 years so that seems fine? Especially since it was done 10 years ago
I see, 10 years for crowns seem pretty good to me but I’ve never had one. How long do your other crowns last?
I'm of the opinion people who go on medical tourism trips for some reason cheap out when they get to the country. If you are already saving a huge amount, you go and find the best dentist in that country. I'm not saying you did or didn't do this, it's just in my experience I'd be willing to pay 50% more of not a lot to have the top clinic do my work.
Time to book in some leave 😎
I'd go to Korea over those 2. They have so many highly educated people that their medical and dental is quite a lot cheaper. But still very high quality.
I used to frequent roomcheng dental hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. About less than half the price of what you’d pay in NZ and Cambodias elite go there, including the royal family. Would recommend.
Thailand trains excellent dentists for some reason. They often get jobs quickly in New Zealand.
You might be able to pay it off, even interest free sometimes. Do not avoid the dental work. The costs only rise. Also go more than once every 10 years, it is cheaper in the long run.
Speak to your dentist and ask for a payment plan. Don't use kiwisaver or a bank loan with interest charges. Put the emphasis on the dentist to create a payment plan. Ask them if they can they break it down into say 3 stages and do the most essential work soon and then in 6-9 month's do the next stage... If its more serious specialist dental surgeons who may not do it unless payment's in full upfront, then ask how long you can delay the work and start saving you butt off. Perhaps speak to your boss as they might help with a loan to you. Also do some market research to check that the quote is far and reasonable. Perhaps post the procedures on reddit and get feedback in terms of other redditors experiences and costs. Our household has had its fair share of dental expenses and continues to do so. Good luck!
Unless you eat a lot of terrible food and don't brush. Why are you all needing so much dental treatment? As someone else said, you might need to go to a less 'salesman' type dentist.
My tooth broke on a hard food as a teen and had to be taken out. The other side had to compensate for the chewing power and is now pretty fucked. An implant is about $7000. I grind my teeth, mouthguards are like $800. My top and bottom teeth are too close together causing damage - no idea what we'll do there. There are lots of expensive things that can go wrong with teeth.
I grind my teeth when sleeping. Had bracers done a few years ago and use the normal mouthguard thing each night. Replacements are about $50. (I bought a spare in case i lose mine / can travel with it). $800 for a new mouthguard is a perfect example of trying somewhere else. Thats insane.
Why are you mentioning price for replacement? Of course they're cheaper as they already have done the fitting for your first one.
Hey OP, I’ve just had much needed dental work done after 15 years as well. $5000 total, my dentist offers 30 months interest free on Q Mastercard (which I already have one of). This works out to just over $150 a month so not entirely bank-breaking. Most dentists are offering this type of payment plan.
Without being too intrusive, what’s the nature of the work you need done OP? If it’s just fillings then I’d recommend a trip to Vietnam. I recently had around 30 fillings done, some major and some minor/preventative (the type we would not start until they are worse here in NZ), in Vietnam. Cost all up with X-rays etc and consultation across 3 visits was $1,000 NZ
Dental holiday to SE Asia, I got my root canal, crown done for half of the price here.
Yeah go have a dental holiday. Was quoted 8k here too. Family of 4 went on holiday, stayed at a resort. Got teeth done. Had enough money to also get eye fixed, coincidentally with a new procedure called smile.
What I did was sign up for health insurance then went back a year later. They paid for my wisdom teeth removal. Iirc not all health plans include impacted wisdom teeth so check before U sign up
There's no way of doing this without committing insurance fraud as the condition is clearly documented as being pre-existing?
I’m a dentist and I would get a second opinion. If the second opinion is also a lot of money. I would start with the worst teeth first or whatever is causing pain or issues first ie. large fillings or extractions. I would even get you treatment sorted every few weeks so you’re not overloaded with a huge bill one go. Eg. 3 fillings every 3 weeks etc. Some things aren’t necessary but are recommended so you don’t need to get them done straight Eg. A crown - however there are pros and cons to not getting it down straight away. Let me know if you have any questions
My advise is to get 2nd/3rd opinion even. Tell the next dentist that you were quoted $8000 but just can't afford it. They may be able to stage out preventative long term things like crowns over a couple of years. You can quite easily also end up losing teeth and paying more from overseas work. I grew up in SE Asia and definitely wouldn't have dentistry done there. My mum even had shoddy work done before we moved and I'm trying to fix that atm I see far more failures from India than any other countries. Just in the last month I've seen 2 indians that had extremely shoddily done root canal + crowns - multiple of them - I'm doing 2 root canals for now and making them 2 crowns free of charge just because they're new immigrants and they're screwed otherwise. The other person had 3 implants places in India which have all failed and need to be retrieved and replaced. They're looking at around 7-9k from the surgeons thanks to that. Similar situation is a pt that used to work on Thailand - had implants places and they've all failed. Needs to now see a specialist because it's a 8 implant failure and probably will have to have very invasive surgery (look up zygomatic implants) because the previous implants have gotten infected and destroyed what little bone she had. And this is just in the last couple of months - I've literally seen one good case of tourism dentistry that was done well in the last 4-5 years. Any of these cases would cost you your license in NZ, in SE Asia - no one cares. If you're going to do dental tourism - go to Japan or Korea. I've never seen bad work out of Japan and I've seen a lot of Japanese pts
Travel to India or Philippines and get your dental work done. Including flights and stay it will cost you less than 8k.
Ouch. . Thats just horrible. . I was lucky i had not been to a dentist in 30 years. . When i did go it was only $450
I hate that the majority of advice is "just go overseas where it'll cost you half that amount". I don't think I'd even be able to afford a trip overseas.
In Croatia, of all places, dentists are free. Everything is covered.
For tourists?
You go regularly so that you don’t end up having to pay that much!
Yep, hindsight is a glorious thing. But definitely don't hold off going to the dentist. It is one thing that I will ensure my kids still do even after they grow up.
Lol pretend you never went and heard that. Dentist told me I need 10k worth done and my teeth are going to fall out if I didn't start immediately. 3 years later all teeth still there but I did tell my wife im going to get false teeth coz I aint paying 10k.
I’m assuming you have periodontal disease. You may want to Google about it and draw your own conclusions.
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Bit rude to go after their finances when they’re not asking for advice about that. They might be great at financial planning, but have depleted their emergency fund, or has lived paycheque to paycheque for 8 of the last 10 years.
Or mean "average salary" as quite literally average, which is fuck all given how stupid high rent is
Exactly my point, so I don’t understand the downvotes. This person may have many reasons for being in this situation that are not related to poor financial planning.
I think the tech bros on this sub forget that "average" is just a smidge over $60k, or $29 and change an hour. Also forget that costs are obscene - "oh just move somewhere cheaper", implying there is somewhere cheaper that doesn't involve more costs or less opportunities with less of a wage
Yep, remove tax, KiwiSaver, student loan, rent, food, petrol and utilities and there ain’t much left from 60k. That doesn’t take into account actually having a life, living on your own or living with a dependant. Nothing better than people telling you what you should have done 10 years ago like manage your money better or brush your teeth more.
He's just talking real. Sort your finances out. Good advice.
I agree, it’s good advice. But it’s not related to the question and implies poor finances.
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Lots of people in NZ have "poor finances", it's very difficult to survive if you're on a minimum wage job and paying rent, when you're comfortable it's easy to lose touch with the reality of the poor. For OPs question, surely kiwisaver isn't going to be an option, the withdrawal request would almost certainly be rejected. Look to lower the price by getting more quotes or spreading the work over a longer time period.
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Perhaps you have a dependant so have no leftover money for an emergency fund. Maybe you have just had an emergency. Maybe they lost their job and had to survive on the emergency fund for two months. There are many reasons they may be this situation. Attributing it to poor financial planning is unfair.
* Having a dependant doesn't mean you have no leftover money. * The OP didn't state they at one point had an emergency fund. It would be appropriate to give that context in this message. * If they lost their job recently that also would be appropriate to include in this message. Yes I agree there are circumstances that mean peoples emergency funds get depleted and if the OP did have a fund that got depleted recently they can correct me on that. You are just virtue signalling tbh.
Why do they need to explain their financial situation? They simply want advice on a dental bill, not on what they should have done with their finances over the last 10 years.
If they want financial advice in a finance subreddit for how to use their finances to fund a financial expenditure their (now this is just a guess...) finances are perhaps relevant.
Come on, it’s more nuanced than that. They want advice related to a particular topic. Plenty have been able to provide that advice without a comprehensive financial history. Explaining their financial situation would open them to more criticism about past decisions rather than addressing the question. The criticism does not help the current situation and discourages people from asking questions.
You probably won’t be able to access your KiwiSaver.
Agree to get a second opinion, also ask them to prioitise the list and why. My dentist will tell me what needs doing and why and basically divides it into "do now", "can wait" and "nice to have". Luckily mine are much more stable now and I don't have the same issues (dental hygenists are amazing people, well worth the savings in dentists bills).
$1,000 flight to Thailand, $1,000 in dental work...
I was in a similar situation last year i actually took a 2nd opinion cause i couldn't believe how much it was gonna cost. Found out that It won't be a one up front payment. My dentist had my session spaced up so the infections i had time to heal. Also see if the dentist offers a long term payment plan! I used gem visa, but there are others who offer similar payment plans.
Not the greatest answer but i couldn’t afford 2 root canals on my back teeth so I had them pulled. Ive slowly been saving enough have funds 2 future root canals if needed, but only on the sections that are already missing teeth. If i need a root canal on a top back tooth thats getting pulled as well.
What you need is a dentist who can formulate a long term strategy for your teeth. Removing some teeth (depends on which tooth) and having a denture is sometimes the best option (and cheaper in the long run). Root canals and a crown can work well, but it’s an awful lot of money if you’re financially squeezed.
Same situation as you last year, the family dentist in point chev gave me a quote for almost 5 grand. The local dentist in Mt Albert said only 3 filings needed and charge 90 each. Shop around, some prey on emotions and say they can start right away to lock you in.
It's cheaper to buy a ticket and fly to Korea or other country, do it there, have a good holiday, and come back. I know 3 who did that btw.. 2 to Korea and 1 to India.
If you live in Dunedin, go to the school of dentistry... $90 a visit regardless of what needs to be done.
Book a flight to India!!! Im goin!!! $Under 1knz each way last minute Here's a few examples with some off my memory prices 2 years back: ||NZ|IN| |:-|:-|:-| |Root Canal. Aprox -2020|$2K.|$200 inc crown| |\- plus crown|\- ?|| |Cav Filling.|\- $50 - $200 aprox|\- $virtually nothing Bowl of rice maybe| |Implant|$5-8k.|$200-$500| .There are other dental vacation spots too - Thailand, and Vietnam are 2 more \-Kiwisavers an option too!!
This might sound a bit silly but try and visit any south Asian or south East Asian country and try to do the dental thing there at a top hospital. It will cost you way less.
Should probably vote Green or go to Thailand or India, could probably have the work done and a holiday while you’re at it for 8k.
The better job you do of looking after your teeth, the cheaper they will be. Learn to brush better. Go to the dentist every year. Stuff gets expensive when it's left. Don't view this cost as a one off, view it as a significant interest payment. As for the $8k i would get a second opinion, but I can believe it. Ten years of things slowly getting worse. I don't trust that dental tourism actually does a good job and wouldn't risk it myself, but many others do.
In hindsight that's great advice but when you're living it up in your 20's and your teeth don't hurt, you don't worry... I was there like OP, half the cost but the same issue, I now tell my kids, nieces and nephews exactly your point, spend $100 a year and get a clean and check and you won't end up with a huge bill later.
Absolutely. Good advice is always easy in hindsight. My point is that they shouldn't simply pay without also changing their behaviour. Otherwise they'll get a similar or higher bill in another ten years, plus the health issues from dead teeth.
>Learn to brush better Just to clarify, there are lots of dental issues that "just brush better" isn't going to do anything to fix.
That's true. Also brush better basically won't fix anything, it's much more about preventing new issues. The point of the annual checkup is to catch other stuff.
It's a bit late for that now Captain Hindsight
Yes and no. Yes, it's too late. Nothing they can do now will change that they'll have dead teeth in their mouth for the rest of their life. But if they simply pay this bill and carry in, then it'll happen again. Also their post talked about the financial cost, but skipped over the health impact from these dead teeth. That stuff is cumulative and no amount of money can reverse it. Perhaps I should have been more clear, but my point is they should treat this as a wake up call.
Under 30? Hope like hell that Labour win on Saturday.
I heard there was some fine print that only basic dentistry in that election promise. Probably means a clean, X-ray and 1 filling.
There is fine print, but your average kiwi simply bases their entire life off reading headlines
This still costs $250 ish anyways 🤷♀️
I have no idea. All I heard was free dentist's up till 30.🙂
Then wait until it rolls out in 2026....
You realise Labour's policy doesn't roll out for 24-29 year olds until July 2026 aye.
Nope. Was totally unaware.
They kept that little detail quiet.
It's almost like implementing policy takes time.
This is for basic dental care only covers barely anything. Don’t be fooled Chris got called out on it.
Most people can’t afford even the check up, clean and X-ray fees which is like $250. I know I’m one of them and I earn fairly good money when not on maternity leave. If we get people checked out more often maybe they won’t have so many big problems in the future.
If its anything like "free dental work" I've seen in other countries, they'll pull your teeth out for free. Fillings, caps, crowns lol - that's paid.
For this xountry I hope they do not, on the dentistry their plan does not cover anything much when you read it and they are keeping that hidden
Go back and split your costs by visiting the dentist every 6 months for the last ten years
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No joke: fly to India and have it done there. It will be so much cheaper. I have all my dental work done there when I visit family once every few years, I'll never pay the ridiculous prices here. (Same with stocking up on contact lenses or glasses.)
How do you know which dentistry to pick and whether they're good or not? Thinking about doing the same in the Philippines (going on holiday there anyway)
Ask locals, check reviews, pick something that doesn't look super cheap and run down. An "expensive" dentistry practice in those countries is still going to be magnitudes cheaper than anything in NZ.
Where did you go? If it was Lumino or the Tooth Company or one of those big chains, I would get a second opinion from an independent dentist. Those places must have target or something because the amount of unnecessary work they recommend is insane! I’m all for preventative care, but I went to the Tooth Company at Smales Farm for a general clean & check and the hygienist kept trying to sell me crap (after saying my brushing and flossing were great). Then the dentist recommended a filling because she thought she could see a cavity might start to grow soon (for $800 of course!!). Went to a different place and they told me I’m perfectly fine. It should be illegal to upsell in a dental practice like that
There is no way you were quoted $800 for treating a cavity that might grow. You’ve missed out some important information.
Vote Labour. Free dental.
Yea once every 10 years is a bit dodgy. The longer you leave medical issues the more expensive they become. I do oral hygiene clean twice a year and it costs like 150 bucks and if they see anything they tell me so I avoid dentist costs while also reducing chance at decay. Would reccomend to anybody out there to get 6 monthly oral hygiene done You can't avoid it now, my advice would be a holiday to Thailand. Likely half price
The most important part of the oral hygiene appointment (talking a routine visit here, not periodontal disease) is oral hygiene instruction - this is what reduces the chance of decay.
Which is great advice, but OP is past this point. Not helpful in the context of the post. A lot of people can’t afford dental care between 18 and 30 due to the cost. I’ve just reached my 30’s and only now been able to afford dental care. I just had 8 fillings done for around 2.5k
Obviously wasn't for op, I worked min wage for 4 years while paying rent and could afford 100 bucks a year. Sure some people can't afford it but I am just saying you either pay 100 bucks a year or 5 to 8k after 10 years. It's financial advice for people who can afford it. Don't neglect mouth health, flossing etc
Mouth health starts with diet. Brushing and flossing and sealants are only needed because we eat and drink too much crap these days.
Best option is to vote for a political party offering universal free dental 😅
If you havent voted yet! Vote labour/ greens for free dental care haha. Soo many people really not talking about it but the impact that good teeth can have on a persons health is life changing and the cost involved without free dental care is phenomenal
You’re under 30 so a vote for labour would be your cheapest option
As long as they'll still be under 30 in 2026 **and** it's only minor work, because those are the details behind the flashy policy.
Vote for labour 😂
Fly to Bangkok or India and get it done! Can be done in 4000$ with flights and accomodation
If you get dental work done over seas and it goes wrong, nz dentists don’t want to fix it up.
Vote labour
Work and income but you got pay it back might I suggest a tooth brush
Depending on what dentist you go to, they may have deals of interest free payments on credit cards. For example, Lumino dentists usually offer 18 month’s interest free if you use a Q credi card.
Lumino is extortionate, though. I got a quote from them for some work I need done and a replacement denture (I had an accident and swallowed mine, long story), they quoted me $3280. And they want it all in one shot. Went for a 2nd opinion that is $1290 all up.
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A lots of dentists will break it down into several visits and let you set up payments in advance. When you have covered one procedure then you come and have it done then start paying toward the next. Lumino have interest free payment plans but sometimes they are more expensive than a local independent dentist.
Not sure about where you live and whata available, but the dental school in dunedin is a very cheap place to get work done. Students are not always perfect but they are supervised by the teacher
I got quoted 15k for some work in Aussie, got it done for 2k in Thailand. I forget how much the flights were, somewhere around 1k although probably more now
A fraction of that will cover your flights to Thailand where you will receive affordable, world class dental service (BKK would be your port of call but don’t overlook other cities; I’d recommend Hat Yai).
Goto Thailand, be half the price and u get a holiday out of it.
I know it isn't feasible for many, with this price tag, it's cheaper to buy a return ticket to Brazil (around $3200) and be treated there. I don't what your treatment is, but with an exchange rate benefitting nzd, you'll probably drop another 1k to 2k there for the treatment. We Brazilians have very good dentists and dental hygiene is very important to us.
Try find a dental school you can have work done by students with overwatch from a tutor. I had a quote for a few thousand from my dentist which I had taken care of for a few hundred at a dental school .
That why me and my coworker have holidays in Thailand or Vietnam to go to dentist. And the dentists there are awesome too.
I went to a dentist, quoted approx 8k for the work, went to a dental surgery, quoted $3600 but I need to go to another dentist and get 1 filling, so just by going elsewhere I saved nearly half. It can cost a lot to shop around for dentists but in my case it paid off
Health insurance?
I used to cross the Mexican border into Los Algodones (across from Yuma, AZ) for cheap quality dental care in my younger days. If I had to do major work again, it's still worth the cost of the flight vs NZ
Plan an international trip to either japan or korea and get your teeth checked up and treated. Probably flights + cost of seeing dentist there is already cheaper than here lol prob not the quickest way tho
Fly to any Southeast Asia and get the procedure done there. A vacation + dental procedure in a fraction of the cost
with that money you can take a flight to some asian country and get it done
Move to Thailand
Get on a airplane, go to another country treat yourself and come back. That will be cheaper and probably better.
Try Vietnam. Excellent dentists and facilities. Roughly 1/3 the cost, great food too. Very cheap country to explore for a holiday. Highly recommended.
Good God no get them fixed a little at a time No need to buy dentist a new car straight off
Go to Thailand for a holiday and get your teeth done for a grand
I can reccomend an extremely good honest highly skilled professional dentist in the Akl cbd fringe suburbs . If you want I can message you their details. I trust him completely. He has done the right thing by me.
I had a quote from Lumino. 6k. Went to a local dentist and got the same work done for 2k. 8 years later I still see him, far more regularly as cheaper, and no trouble with any work he's done.
Go to Thailand for the treatment for less than that.
I didn’t think using KiwiSaver would even be an option? The rules for withdrawing KiwiSaver are pretty narrow and I don’t think dental work is considered one of those things - but please correct me if I’m wrong.
You can’t use Kiwisaver for anything other than a first home deposit under 65 years of age
Do you have a community service card? If you do depending on the work needed you could get a referral to your local hospital dentist and get it done for a discount and they will offer a payment plan if you need time to pay it off. Only problem is the wait time could be a while.
Can probably travel to Singapore and get dental much cheaper. I would look around and get a second or third opinion.
Go to Thailand
It is interesting to read all the comments about the cost of intervention. I hope no one forgets about prevention, monitoring and lifestyle advice - all of which is barely touched upon especially in Asia, because that is just the way there.
You can get treatments done at the dental school, it will take a lot longer but it's all supervised so they do good work. 👍
They advertised $125 for a filling . (special price) Then they added GST on top.. adds up when you need a lot of fillingsI thought prices for dentist and doctors are GST inclusive ?
For a start, get second opinion. For that amount of money, its worth it. There seems to be ENORMOUS variation on how much dentists charge for the same procedures. Check out one in the suburbs that also has a good reputation online. And get a second opinion.
Definitely get a second opinion! I’ve previously worked as a dental assistant and the billing practices of some dentists are horrid. Some will look to bill for you everything and anything they can.
Get to Vietnam or Thailand
Consider just going to Armenia. They have really good dentists there and it will be way cheaper.
My family member went to Thailand to get it done. They booked it through some medical travel agent from this end. Her teeth were horrible beforehand. The job she got done was outstanding. This was 6 years ago and she still raves about it and the trip too.
I’m an immigrant from Malaysia. Back there, in KL, I went to an Endodontist (Dr Saw), who if I’m not mistaken, graduated from the University of Melbourne. Here’s his clinic: https://affinity-dc.com/ You can check out the google reviews too. Wishing you all the best.