Good correction Big A.D. I actually don't have much of a problem with our dental system. My private dentist charges around $750/hr, but damn he's the best medical practitioner I've ever had (which is why I've stuck with him for over 12 years now). I remember that a significant portion of the work I had done about a decade ago was a result of correcting for the mistakes of the public dentists that I had used when I was in QLD. Worth noting however, that many of the barriers to entry are related to regulated Government-based requirements set by bodies like the Dental Board, AHPRA and the Australian Dental Council (not to mention restrictions on foreign trained dentists). What about the more serious dental work? Does that happen in hospital operating rooms which presumably require the accredited anaethetists etc. which presumably significantly add to the cost of serious work within Australia? Do you know? (I should probably just ask my wife as she used to administer dental programs for veterans in the long, long ago. A lot of cr*p happens in that system, that's for sure.)
Burgers! I just looked at the training requirements. In Sydney and Melbourne apparently, you need a Bachelors degree to get admission to the 4-year dental degree and then a further 3-year degree to get accredited for "specialist" areas like Periodontics, Endodontics, Orthodontics etc. So many dentists are spending 10 years to get their university qualifications (presumably the 2nd tier uni's have slightly shorter versions - maybe only 8 years). They damn well should be charging $750/hr.
I only know a couple of dentists (socially) so I'll have to ask them when I see them next. One thing I do know from speaking to them is that the state of our dental health could be a lot better if more people had check ups more often because its a lot easier for them to fix small problems than it is to wait until they become big problems and then do major surgery. Interestingly, both the dentists are from the UK. There are a lot of foreign medical practitioners turning up here from the UK and the US at the moment. The UK people are escaping a crappy economy and a failing NHS which isn't coping with rising baby boomer related needs and lack of funding from lower tax receipts (and Sydney beaches aren't exactly a hard sell either). The US people can't handle being made to choose between the opulence of practising in the private sector and the squalor of public hospitals - after a certain amount of time they end up either end up doing boring elective surgery for rich people and hating their lives or working 18 hour shifts in A&E patching up gunshot wounds or doing emergency surgery that could have been avoided if the patient could have afforded a visit to the doctor weeks ago when the condition was only something minor. The one thing they all have in common is that they just want to help people and make a decent living. I think we're quite lucky that they're coming here.
+1 This is one of the best aspects of my current dentist. Regular checkups (which only needs to be annual once you are clear of whatever initial issues) are extremely effective (and much cheaper than the eventual bill that happens with significant delay). Good stuff.
Recently I was listening to ABC Talk News Radio (or something like that) and they were talking about the current medicare programs which are currently covered by Medicare (implemented by the previous Coalition gov). Apparently this is being looked to be replaced by the current gov. From what I heard, it sounds to me like there are billions of dollars of tax payers money being directed into dentistry... hardly a free market capitalist system. Although it may pass off for one in Australia perhaps :lol:
That is the "Denticare" program you're thinking about. It's a package of several billion dollars the evil, socialist Greens demanded from the government in return for Greens support and it involves moving more dental procedures under the Medicare system. The money will be spent on improving dental health for children and people on lower incomes which, in essence, means early oral hygiene education and preventative treatment for minor problems so they don't become major problems. Basically, it does what the actual dentists themselves say is the best and most cost effective way of improving the country's dental health. It doesn't promote a true, free market at all because the socialised health care model assumes that results are more important than economic philosophies.
A dentist aquaintance of mine told me that the system was being rorted massively - Because under that system if you have a chronic illness you are elligable for free dentistry. GP's were writing out slips for all of their patients in the Western suburbs so that they could get free dental. My friend told me that almost every patient coming to his clinic was claiming their dental work on the government purse due to dodgy GP's and he was sick of it.
Why would he care .He still gets paid for it .. He would probably complain if they stopped & he had no work . some people are never happy
Cheaper even still in Jaipur, India. No socialist bureaucrats getting in the way of enterprise there [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR8tIjTykbE[/youtube]
