I'm American and in addition to our messed up healthcare system. Teeth are simultaneously so important that I have to see a specialist (dentist) for routine care, but so unimportant that it's not included in my healthcare coverage. Is it like that elsewhere?
I had a lipoma removed for free under Medicare a couple of years back, much to the shock of at least three doctors who insisted that it couldn't be done.
Mind you, now I'm 20 months into a 90-day waiting period to have my gallbladder removed...
I feel you. I'm near that for three protruding discs in my neck with one pushing on my spinal cord.
12 months to see a hospital physio who got me in front a surgeon the next day, he wondered how I was still walking. 9 months later, im still waiting for something to happen next.
12 months to see a hospital physio who got me in front a surgeon the next day, he wondered how I was still walking.
Same thing happened to me with my lipoma. it was 15cm in diameter by the time a GP finally referred me for surgery. The surgeon said "yeah we like to remove them when they're 5cm diameter or greater". Which was the size it was when I first saw a doctor about it.
It was about 18 months before I got surgery, when they told me it was a 6-month wait. So I'm sure you'll get seen before too long =)
Nope, not in Sweden either, but some parties (left AND right) are pushing for it.
All tooth-related healthcare is free as long as you're 23 or younger though, but after that it gets expensive.
I'm in the UK. We're covered up to 18, then again if you're pregnant or I think a year after birth. Apart from that medical care is heavily subsidised, so say a root canal is £230 or something like that, but anything cosmetic is private and pricey.
That's true in theory, but less.so in practice. In our area there are no dentists accepting adult NHS patients so unless you're registered already then your only option is to go private. This seems to be increasingly common and is making dentistry private by the back door.
I get simple things paid, but larger things are on my own. Germany here. But, I was not at a dentist since years, not since my dentist tried to push me towards a wisdom teeth removal even though my two are perfectly straight and healthy all because "I may not clean so well back there". All I wanted was some pain medication to get through the worst days of them pushing out.
Not a good rationale not to ever again visit a dentist. Have you considered changing your dentist?
They can give you a second opinion. Maybe it’s in fact scientific consensus that you should get them removed to omit the caries risk?
It’s important to get everything else checked on a regular basis. Stuff gets nasty real quickly if not detected early on, e.g. pardontitis, caries, etc. Don’t take that risk. Find a dentist who respects your opinion :).
My two wisdom teeth are fully at their final place now and I can't complain.
And I have to say in full honesty that I stopped caring about my body that much, it's deteriorating anyways in so many ways. I brush my teeth, that should be enough.
Sadly not in Canada, but the Federal NDP party is pushing for it. They don’t have much power here, but they recently worked with the Liberals (current government) to at least partially cover dental care for people with lower incomes, as I understand it.
So for Canada at least, the answer is No, with a tiny sliver of Yes.
In Spain, where we have medical care for almost everyone, we do have dentists on the public payroll. However, they are limited in what they can do. For example, they extract teeth in preparation for surgeries. Public health dentists are also available for other types of extractions if the tooth can't be saved and they are available to examine patients who went to a private dentist and something went wrong. It's very limited. If you want a root canal, a crown, a cavity filled, etc. you have to pay a private dentist. Basically, if the public health system considers a dental procedure elective, you have to go to a private dentist for the procedure. The public health system considers pretty much 90% of dental procedures elective. Personally, I think this is unfair. I don't think a root canal should be considered an elective procedure. It saves a person's tooth, which is necessary for eating. Then again, imagine how complicated things would get. You'd probably have to wait on a waiting list for a root canal, then go to a private dentist for the crown.
Also, it's important to note that private dentists are not nearly as expensive as American one (I'm originally from the USA), My last recent root canal with crown included cost me about 300 euros. We don't rely as heavily on dental insurance here, so the prices are reasonable. When I get my teeth cleaned with a checkup, I pay 70 euros. It's wonderful.
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