Health Minister Anne Pryke says that preventative measures – such as teaching dental hygiene in schools – are the key to solving the problems. Picture: John Giles/PA Wire
THE States should be doing more to provide dental care for Jersey’s poorer residents, the hospital’s consultant in restorative dentistry said yesterday.
Mike Cassidy told a Health, Social Security and Housing Scrutiny panel that he believed it was the States’ responsibility to arrange some access to care for those who could not afford dentists’ bills.
Article posted on 27th July, 2010 - 2.57pm
18 Article Comments
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it was the States’ responsibility to arrange some access to care for those who could not afford dentists’ bills”
Never mind the poor, that’s most of us isn’t it?
I don’t go to the dentist unless I’m in pain and even the anasthetic doesn’t numb the pain of a £600 crown or a £200 check up which must include X rays as things may have changed since my last check up.
There is no bigger rip off in Jersey than dental care.These people must make hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.
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Hooray for Mike Cassidy..Dentists here charge in telephone numbers….what actually is available to a person with dental problems and low income…anybody know…?
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ie locals must pay more tax to provide dental care for those who cannot afford to live here.
My relations in the UK spend similar sums to me on dental care – it is just as expensive in the UK unless you are a child.
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Not just the poor find it difficult to afford our sky high dental care, Mr Cassidy didn,t mention dropping their prices so more people can afford treatment, not every body works for banks etc who receive private insurance as part of the package. People on minimum wages are paying a weeks wages for an hour of basic care , and dont even think of legal costs which is another story, our dentists and lawyers and did I mention doctors? charge some of the highest fees in Europe.never mind squeezing more money out of the taxpayer to maintain your lifestyle ,charge realistic,affordable prices!
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“not every body works for banks etc who receive private insurance as part of the package. People on minimum wages are paying a weeks wages for an hour of basic care”
Your logic seems to assume that if the people you work for don’t supply you with dental insurance then you must pay the full price for dental care. Why don’t people just buy some insurance themselves? A few pounds a month for the piece of mind, knowing you can claim back the majority of the cost when you do need a dentist. And before anyone complains they can’t afford the insurance, try having a few less drinks or something a week. That’ll certainly save you enough for the monthly premium.
Of course, people could just brush their teeth in the first place…
Rev
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£60 for a visit to the dental hygienist – need one say anything else?
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re #3 ‘My relations in the UK spend similar sums to me on dental care – it is just as expensive in the UK unless you are a child.’
I wonder where his relations live, central London maybe? I’ve been living in the UK for a year now and have been to the dentist more in that year than my previous 5yrs in Jersey. I can now afford to go to the dentist, a check-up, followed by a full course of treatment, including some cosmetic work building up a broken front tooth, all for a total bill of £100.
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Dentist should decrease their charges. The way things are going on this Island, job losses, no pay increases and the ever increasing cost of living, I find that most people now are only going to the dentist if they need a filling or have broken a tooth. Check ups and hygenists treatments are unaffordable luxuries for many people. Dental plans are all very well but these extortionate costs still have to be paid. Still I am sure that this situation will cause a big demand for false teeth a few years down the line, so if anyone is looking for new business opportunities maybe this is the way to go!!
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States SHOULD STOP WASTING taxpayers money in the first place.
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No 7. – I agree, if I have ever needed more than just a check up I fly to the UK and visit a dentist near my family. Recently I needed a new false tooth fitted, the quote here was £600-700 (its a simple cast and fit, not actual “structural work”!). I paid £150 for the flight and then, wait for it, £110 for all the work plus a check up and clean! Total cost of £260. Also, are people not surprised that there are no dentists coming here and undercutting the rest, I mean they could still charge a fair whack and make money but this never seems to happen. They all have relatively comparable rates…surely not price fixing, if only by proxy..?
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How about Mr Cassidy setting up access within the current dental dept,and the surgeries being manned on a voluntary basis in rotation by all the dentists on the island, for a minimum wage?
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Its that word again ”POOR” I know a great many elderly people who have lost out to inflation, and struggle to make ends meet! Some of these people are home owners. The States helping people out for dental care is a good idea as long as it is managed and controlled carefully. But what is poor? Because of over 85% of those people I know who are classed as living in poverty are guilty of nothing other than ”bad financial management” and as a tax payer I do not see why the islanders should be helping out people of such a nature! Should such a management department be set up to aid those genuinly in need of such assistance, then why dont they investigate dental charges while they are there! A simple search of the internet will prove that UK mainland prices are dramatically lower than those in Jersey.
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No8.
You are so right. Stopped going to the dentist. Couldn’t afford it, children were a higher prioritry. Now I have dentures. Quite sad, but hey, they can’t get anymore money from me.
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Most hard working people in this island find it too expensive to go to the dentist. We pay a fortune in taxes and social security yet the so called poor get hand out after handout from the states this subsidy and this subsidy so in reality it is the hard pressed taxpayer who is the poorer at the end of the day. I reckon I have to work 9 months before any of my salary is actually mine.
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Dentists are professionals, and professional people generally charge £200 to £350 per hour (lawyers, doctors consultants etc) That is life, I am afraid.
When I go to my dentist, I keep a mental log of the time I am in the chair, and I rekon that her charge out rate is about £200 per hour, so that’s about par for the course. I have no issue with this level of charging.
People should look after their teeth, and any government funded dental scheme would result in people neglecting their teeth, on the basis that someone else pays !
Two years ago, I had a tooth extracted – It took half an hour and cost £95. The alternative would have been root treatment and a crown but I took a decision to go without – It was my choice based on the fact that I did not fancy sitting through three sessions of root canal treatment, and if at the age of 48 I was only losing one back tooth, when others have to live with significant disabilities, I could live with a gap.
If the States had been happy to pay £2000 for my treatment, I would like to think my decision would have been the same !
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#3 Overpopulated, that’s very true. Basically the Government never quite got to grips with where dentists lie in the whole scale of medical necessity and so they UK ended up with a system where all dentists could choose to turn private and refuse NHS patients. Thankfully a handful had morals but then their lists got full! My anatomy study may be outdated but I’m pretty sure our teeth and gums are still part of our body and should be treated the very same way the rest of our body is, i.e. treatment paid for by the taxpayer or private treatment IF, and only if, we choose to go private!
I cannot understand why teeth and gums are treated completely separately from the rest of our body.
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‘I cannot understand why teeth and gums are treated completely separately from the rest of our body.’
I quite agree, Leah. Just off to get my hair cut at A and E.
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Three trips to the dentist in the UK. Total cost of £44. Now I’m living in jersey, trying to hold out for as long as possible. Probably have dentures by the time I’m 40.
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