Thanks Havok. It's one thing to get taken advantage of on a tour or on a haircut or something like that, but when it comes to something as important as teeth it is infuriating. It's not like my enamel will grow back!
I was even thinking about it last night, and I remember being under the impression that I was going to have a shield fitted because I grind my teeth and just two fillings...everything happened so fast I didn't have a chance to stop and think!
But anyway, the damage is done and the money has been paid. There is nothing I can do about it now so I'll try to stop dwelling on it.
I’m sorry to say that but I think you got ripped off and damaged in the process bud.
Do you actually know anything about Polish dentistry? It seems that you know slightly less than sweet fucck all.
Having had years of experience, I can safely say that Polish dentists are better than dentists in any of the other countries which I have lived in: they do better work, take greater care and offer much better value for money.
But anyway, the damage is done and the money has been paid. There is nothing I can do about it now so I'll try to stop dwelling on it.
What damage? The first year I was in Poland, I went to two dentists to have fillings worked on. When I got back to the UK I immediately went to the dentist I'd seen there for years (who was also a family friend) and asked him to check that the work was OK: he told me that it was better than the work he would have done.
my dentist in Ireland
Would have charged you how many more times than 1150zl for eight fillings?
I'm not saying the work they did was bad or shoddy in any way (again, they seemed very knowledgeable and professional), but what I am saying is that the work was probably unnecessary.
The very random and changing price quotes due to "mistakes" makes me think that I was taken advantage of money wise. If I had gone in with the aim of eight fillings then I would say great value and be thrilled, but when I go in looking for one and somehow get eight, I have to question if they had dollar signs in their eyes.
If those fillings were not absolutely necessary, then I am now out A LOT of money and even worse, they have drilled away at vital enamel that could have been left there.
Having had years of experience, I can safely say that Polish dentists are better than dentists in any of the other countries which I have lived in: they do better work, take greater care and offer much better value for money.
Ha a friend of mine had a tooth removed in Poland with no anesthetic, i was outside laughing my head off at the noises from within, i didnt think it was to funny once i knew what actually happened.
Dentists make a quick buck as and where they can i dont give a flying monkey weather theyre Polish or what ever. Your experience counts for nothing. Ive had 700 PLN's worth of work done in 90 minutes, only fillings, it was not required. I had a Swedish dentist claim i needed £1500 of work in the UK only for another to say £50. Dentists can usually and do get away with what ever the hell they wish.
Yeah but when you are initially told it will be 150zl, then 600zl and then unexpectedly end up paying twice that it is a large and expensive hit to your budget. I'm not made of money!
The very random and changing price quotes due to "mistakes" makes me think that I was taken advantage of money wise. If I had gone in with the aim of eight fillings then I would say great value and be thrilled, but when I go in looking for one and somehow get eight, I have to question if they had dollar signs in their eyes.
Polish dentists tend to be rather more proactive than British dentists: if work needs doing, they do it there and then rather than leaving it for another time. They also have rather higher standards when it comes to 'Shall I fix that or just leave it alone?'.
Frankly, if she'd wanted to rip you off, she could have easily just given you three fillings and charged you 400zl for each one: more money for less work. How would you know that 400zl is on the expensive side for Polish dentists? The fact that she actually did the work suggests that she's professional.
did they take x-rays? i say they should have, for that scale of dental work. if they did, you can take the x-rays and show them to another dentist, get their opinion. not sure how much leverage this will give you if they say the work was indeed unnecessary to potentially go after the place you went to, but it would be worth knowing anyway. it's not unheard of that dentists would talk people into getting unnecessary work done, just to ramp up their bill. but unless you have a way of verifying this, you will never know, so from this perspective, if you can't do anything about it, there's no point obsessing about it any more. go do something fun this weekend :)
hey, perhaps you can show the x-rays to harry, he seems to know more about everything that anyone else...
if work needs doing, they do it there and then rather than leaving it for another time.
Some do some dont, many will take three easy filling and charge accordingly rather than take a more serious wisdom tooth for example for less and more difficult. Theyre not doing it from the goodness of their hearts harry.
They also have rather higher standards when it comes to 'Shall I fix that or just leave it alone?'.
If thats the case its open for criticism, Polish or not im not having some dude poking around my mouth without knowing exactly what hes doing. its not a free friggin drill practice session.
Frankly, if she'd wanted to rip you off, she could have easily just given you three fillings and charged you 400zl for each one: more money for less work. How would you know that 400zl is on the expensive side for Polish dentists? The fact that she actually did the work suggests that she's professional.
Crap she could have just touched the drill on 8 teeth and then composited them.
No, the guy I had my consultation with took photos and showed me the little black lines on my molars...then told me all about the dreadful things that could happen if I left them there! :)
I'm going to email the place and ask for photos...they might come in handy if my dentist at home kills me for my ignorance when I get back :)
And you're right. No more obsessing! Now, to find something fun to do that doesn't involve any money :)
Maybe Harry would like to come for a Friday evening beer with me? We can further discuss dentistry in other countries around the world as I clearly know "fucck all"
That's about 140 PLN per filling, not a rip off. But 8 fillings? That is a large number. You must've waited for years to reach such a state. Anyway, the place where I go gives a 1 year guarantee if you visit them regularly and if not a 6 month guarantee if I recall well, that seems quite reassuring for me.
You must've waited for years to reach such a state
If I recall correctly, I was only at the dentist about 8 months ago and he said everything was perfect. completely slipped my mind when I was in the consultation
Maybe Harry would like to come for a Friday evening beer with me? We can further discuss dentistry in other countries around the world as I clearly know "fucck all"
Already got plans thanks. You might want to note that my comment about knowing fucck all was not directed at you.
hey, perhaps you can show the x-rays to harry, he seems to know more about everything that anyone else...
Not everything, just things that one learns about when living in Poland. Tends to give one a little bit more knowledge than Plastic Poles have.
As for knowledge about dentistry, teaching English for specific purposes classes to dentists and dental students gives at least a little insight.
So you're dealing not only with a cultural difference but also a generational difference too. Dentistry is a evolving art: what was considered acceptable 40 years ago is often not considered acceptable now. 40 years ago if your kid had goofy teeth, your kid would grow up with goofy teeth, end of story and entirely acceptable. Now most dentists would tell you that kid kid needs braces. Same with amalgam fillings, a dentist who has spent four decades banging the things in will tell you that they're fine: a Polish dentist will probably want to take all of them out and replace them with something less bad for you!
In Cracow one normal filling costs at least 60 zł. If you had your teeth drilled with ozon then naturally the price should be higher. I recommend the dental surgery in Batorego street. The prices there are really high, but they are worth the services offered there. I had one filling done there and it looks really natural. Its colour and texture doesnt vary from the colour and texture of the tooth its complement (?).
Hi. just wondering what is the norm for going to see a dentist and various treatments in Warsaw. Have to go see one and just want to make sure i am not being ripped off too much. Thanks vincent
Have to go see one and just want to make sure i am not being ripped off too much
I can provide you with the contact details of a english speaking dentist in Warsaw, who is very good and very honest. He will sort out all your dental problems and charge you the going rate. Send me a pm and I will forward his direct contact numbers.
hi guys, its been a while since i've been on here but im desperate for some advice. apologies for the bad spelling and grammar but my keyboard has given up the ghost so i'm having to use the onscreen one. anyway, back to business. i had some dental work done in wroclaw a couple of years ago and was really happy with the work they did, but am now back in england because of work commitments. i went to the dentist here in blighty today and as well as a few holes i knew about which i should have sorted before (i know it's stupid but i have an irrational fear of the dentist because they can never deaden my nerves!) i also need root canal work after a tooth broke, it f***ing hurts because the nerve is exposed! the dentist explained that under nhs rules it'll cost me about 50 pounds to get the root canal work done with a temporary filling that will last a month or so before it needs a crown. unfortunately, the crown will cost me a further 200 and something pounds, and that is with one of the horrible amalgam ones! also, any of the other fillings i want to be white will cost an extra 80 pounds each! i dont have a huge ammount of money and i dont want to look like jaws from james bond! my question really is if i get the root canal work done in england would it cost a lot less to get a white crown done in poland, and how long would i need to be there because i assume they'd need to take a mould and then make the crown. any info from you guys would be greatly appreciated!
You should be able to get a white crown on the NHS if it is a front tooth - but it would still have a metal base which would mean it wouldn't be as translucent as a real tooth and may have a slight dark edge at the gum line.
The best sort - all porcelain - cost about £300 in Poland (compared to £600 in the UK) . You can certainly get the whole job done within a working week, maybe even three days. However, some dentists have a digital system which scans the tooth rather than taking an impression and then machines the crown in an hour or so.
unfortunately they're all just far enough back to not be white on the nhs,but 6 lumps of amalgam isnt going to look pretty! before you say it i know, i really should have taken more care of them when i was younger. thanks for the advice though, it sounds like if i came over for a week it could all be sorted. is there any reason why they wouldnt tackle a quadrant of my mouth a day for 4 days while they make the crown? or do they like to leave it a few days before each treatment?i appreciate there might not be a million dentists on here but any personal experiences would also help! cheers in advance guys.
Dentists seem to limit the length of treatment sessions to about 2 hours, but you can have more than one in a day. How much work do you need doing in total? I got the impression from your first post that it was one root canal + one crown, but now you are talking about six. If you need six crowns, you want to save money and you already know Poland quite well, I think getting the work done there is a no-brainer.
If you can't/don't want to back to the dentist you used in Wrocław you can find others here
whatclinic.com
If you can read Polish, you can find some reviews here:
it's one root canal which will need a crown on it and then 6 cavities which need normal fillings, ideally the white composite ones rather than amalgam which is what the nhs offer. the day i need 6 crowns in one go i'll be getting dentures he he! from what you've said the crown will def be a lot cheaper in poland, but what about the other fillings? in england i'm looking at about 100 quid for each white filling because they're classed as cosmetic, but is this really going to be much less in poland? its been nearly 3 years since i had the filling in wroclaw and i'm not sure how prices would work out now especially as last time i got 6zl to the pound! thanks for the info so far by the way.
The rule of thumb seems to be that you save 50% but obviously there's quite a lot a variation so you need to contact individual dentists. It sounds like you will save about 600 in total but of course you have to factor in flight, accommodation and lost earnings.
Hi Ziutek, you seem knowledgeable about this. My dentist here in the UK recommended root canal work on one tooth on the basis of xrays. Is this a procedure I can have done in any of the recommended places over a day or two? I presume they will want their own x-rays and consultations. Finally any idea about cost?
It's nice of you to say so, but it's not true! I think I just have bad genes in the dental area and spend an awful lot of time at the dentist!
But as far as I know, if you have an abscess, i.e. infection, they do it in two appointments over the course of a week. In the first they do all the drilling and pack the root canal with
antiseptics to kill the remaining bacteria. Then in the second appointment they insert the permanent filling. If it's an elective procedure and there is no infection, I think you can have it done in
one visit, or maybe two over two days.
As far as price is concerned, I think it's very roughly 300 PLN per canal (there can be several per tooth), a bit extra for a specialist endodontist. By way of comparison an endo specialist in London charged me twice that for a five minute consultation, and wanted another 850 quid for the actual treatment.
I've had a few done and they generally cost about 1500 zlotych (around 300) for the root-canal work and the crown etc. Possible to get it less (about 500 zlots for the crown alone -about 100 quid).
I'm in Olsztyn.
Depending on the lab, it can take a few days to a week for the crown.
