PRSI dental check up €15 fee

mrcheez

I booked an appointment with my dentist to get the free annual checkup but they say I need to pay €15 on top of whatever is covered.

My understanding is that the check up should be free but I only need to pay if I get the cleaning done. Is this right?

Are most places charging the extra €15 by default now?

Dianthus

Might be an admin error/misinformation/new reception member is new to the team.
Best bet is to email them to ask , & or check their website to clarify.

mrcheez

Dianthus wrote: »

Might be an admin error/misinformation/new reception member is new to the team.
Best bet is to email them to ask , & or check their website to clarify.

Turns out they had signed me up for a full cleaning along with the checkup.

You can get these done now for UP TO an extra €15 ... I don't have time for the full clean so just need the checkup for now

Ghekko

Does that mean they shouldn't charge more than €15? Ours charges more than €15 along with the PRSI cover.

mrcheez

Ghekko wrote: »

Does that mean they shouldn't charge more than €15? Ours charges more than €15 along with the PRSI cover.

yeah the max they should charge is €15 for:

- check up
- cleaning

and free for

- check up


https://www.thejournal.ie/dental-plan-3665079-Oct2017/

Ghekko

Well damn that. I'm due for a clean in January so will question the previous charge. Thanks for that.

Mrcheez is only half right.

The €15 charge relates only to a scale & polish, the removal of supragingival plaque and staining. In other words, a superficial cleaning, usually takes about 5-10mins.

If he read the next paragraph in the article he linked, he would have got more info on the treatment and fee relating to the removal of subgingival plaque and cleaning of the pockets between your teeth. This would be the more comprehensive cleaning provided by a Hygienist or dentist which removes the plaque under your gum line. Your PRSI contributes €42 to this, you pay the balance to bring it up to whatever the Clinic charges a private patient and that can exceed €15.


http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Treatment-Benefit1.aspx

mrcheez

I never claimed the €15 was to cover a full hygienist visit buddy

A clean and polish is just that.

mrcheez

mrcheez wrote: »

I never claimed the €15 was to cover a full hygienist visit buddy

A clean and polish is just that.

Ya see, it's not about whether it's a "Hygienist visit", it's the extent of the treatment, buddy. Would you know the difference between supra and sub gingival scaling? If you say you are entitled to pay max €15, are you ok with all the plaque under your gum and in the pockets being left there?

A scale and polish is just that, and if you want to pay €15, that's all it will be.

mrcheez

Dav010 wrote: »

Ya see, it's not about whether it's a "Hygienist visit", it's the extent of the treatment, buddy. Would you know the difference between supra and sub gingival scaling? If you say you are entitled to pay max €15, are you ok with all the plaque under your gum and in the pockets being left there?

A scale and polish is just that, and if you want to pay €15, that's all it will be.

Most places would have a dedicated hygienist that you arrange a visit to separate to the dentist, so perhaps you work in a smaller operation and the dentist does the grunt work.

The €15 is a clean and check-up as carried out by the dentist, not a hygienist waiting in the wings

Actually saying that though the place I contacted specified that the €15 covers what I had done by the hygienist so perhaps they think it is covered.

Oral Surgeon

mrcheez wrote: »

Most places would have a dedicated hygienist that you arrange a visit to separate to the dentist, so perhaps you work in a smaller operation and the dentist does the grunt work.

The €15 is a clean and check-up as carried out by the dentist, not a hygienist waiting in the wings

Actually saying that though the place I contacted specified that the €15 covers what I had done by the hygienist so perhaps they think it is covered.

Don't let him talk about your clinic like that Davo!!

mrcheez

Just back from dentist and I clarified what gets done for extra €15.

Turns out it's the full hygienist service after all, not a quick 5-10 m "superficial cleaning".



Maybe they didn't get the memo.

mrcheez

mrcheez wrote: »

Just back from dentist and I clarified what gets done for extra €15.

Turns out it's the full hygienist service after all, not a quick 5-10 m "superficial cleaning".



Maybe they didn't get the memo.

Their private fee could be less or equal to €57, therefore no charge above €15 you pay and €42 the PRSI contributes.

But again you have missed the point. A dentist is limited in the max they can charge for a scale & polish, but there is no limit on what can be charged for subgingival scaling, yours elected not to, perhaps you didn't require anything more than an S&P, but if you required removal of plaque under your gums, then the Clinic can charge more than the €15.

I'm not sure if I can make the memo any simpler for you, the rules/memo come from the Dept of Social & Family Affairs.

mrcheez

Dav010 wrote: »

Their private fee could be less or equal to €57, therefore no charge above €15 you pay and €42 the PRSI contributes.

But again you have missed the point. A dentist is limited in the max they can charge for a scale & polish, but there is no limit on what can be charged for subgingival scaling, yours elected not to, perhaps you didn't require anything more than an S&P, but if you required removal of plaque under your gums, then the Clinic can charge more than the €15.

I'm not sure if I can make the memo any simpler for you.

Not quite... they said that plaque removal under the gums is included.

I didn't have time to avail of it today, so booking in for the full plaque removal for €15 later.


Maybe you need to re-check your own offering. Sounds like you might be ripping people off if you are charging over the €15 buddy.

mrcheez

mrcheez wrote: »

Not quite... they said that plaque removal under the gums is included.

I didn't have time to avail of it today, so booking in for the full plaque removal for €15 later.


Maybe you need to re-check your own offering. Sounds like you might be ripping people off if you are charging over the €15 buddy.

Again, maybe this is putting it even more simply, they can charge €15 for sub gingival cleaning, that is their prerogative, but that is not the max they can charge.

You really should read the link you posted and the one from treatment benefits that I linked, what Clinics charge is up to themselves. Maybe it was just easier for them to say that to you than try to explain why it can cost more than €15 to have your teeth cleaned.

mrcheez

Anyway, Ghekko and others should shop around if they are being charged more than the €15 for their hygienist visit, and hopefully other practices will realise they need to get in line to be competitive.

Oral Surgeon

mrcheez wrote: »

Anyway, Ghekko and others should shop around if they are being charged more than the €15 for their hygienist visit, and hopefully other practices will realise they need to get in line to be competitive.

Greedy dentists getting filthy rich €15 at a time...!!

mrcheez

mrcheez wrote: »

Anyway, Ghekko and others should shop around if they are being charged more than the €15 for their hygienist visit, and hopefully other practices will realise they need to get in line to be competitive.

If you are being paid what the market can bare, you are being paid what you are worth. If a service provider charges a lower price for a service, it is because they have to, not because they want to. Basic rules of economics.

The public should always shop around, virtually all clinics now have websites with fees, all are required to display their prices, there are no hidden costs. But it is important to understand why getting "a full cleaning" can cost more than €15 depending on extent of cleaning and Clinic fees, it certainly is not a max €15 charge as you stated in your third post.

Dianthus

The time& effort spent doing a "full cleaning" varies from person to person. A proportion of the general public can't grasp why there isn't a "one size fits all" cleaning& associated cost/why patients need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Whilst a €15 excess might be sufficient for OP personally, & that's great, it may be wholly insufficient for another patient.
Variables include
-Oral hygiene (manual brush, electric brush, use of floss, TePe's....frequency & time patient uses)
-Smokers
-Recession/sensitivity (often needs local anaesthetic)
-Xerostomia (dry mouth)
-Genetic predisposition(family history gum disease)
-Frequency of attendance (was last cleaning 3,6,12 months ago, or years ago?)
-Diet (red wine, tea, coffee consumption)
-Medical history(manual dexterity, immune system, side effects of medications, ect)

Go to a dentist you trust.
Caveat emptor.

with this €15 scale and clean, can a 16 year old claim this?

I can see that PRSI payers can claim it, as can children of a medical card holder, but what about non PRSI paying dependants?

mrcheez

Aegir wrote: »

with this €15 scale and clean, can a 16 year old claim this?

I can see that PRSI payers can claim it, as can children of a medical card holder, but what about non PRSI paying dependants?

possibly, as long as you yourself are qualified

https://www.dentalcareireland.ie/prsi-dental-entitlements/


"If your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant does not have enough social insurance contributions he/she may still qualify for Treatment Benefit on your social insurance record. To do this, you must qualify for Treatment Benefit and your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant must be dependent on you."

worth checking out

mrcheez

mrcheez wrote: »

possibly, as long as you yourself are qualified

https://www.dentalcareireland.ie/prsi-dental-entitlements/


"If your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant does not have enough social insurance contributions he/she may still qualify for Treatment Benefit on your social insurance record. To do this, you must qualify for Treatment Benefit and your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant must be dependent on you."

worth checking out

Mrcheez, please stop giving incorrect advice on dental matters and entitlements.

A 16 dependent is not a spouse/civil partner etc so cannot be assessed for PRSI dental treatment based on the parent’s eligibility. The only way a 16 would be qualified is based on contributions paid.

Aegir, If you want to check whether a 16 is qualified, contact the dept of social and family affairs quoting the 16 year old’s PPS number and they will inform you of eligibility for treatment.

mrcheez

Dav010 wrote: »

Mrcheez, please stop giving incorrect advice on dental matters and entitlements.

I'm entitled to forward information that's publicly available and published on dental websites which the poster can then investigate further to see if what's possible.

As my earlier posts on this thread were also correct I haven't given "incorrect advice" at any point in this thread.

The link I posted said that a "dependent cohabitant" is also qualified. A 16-year old is a dependent cohabitant.

Additionally, your footnote...

Dav010 wrote: »

If you want to check whether a 16 is qualified, contact the dept of social and family affairs quoting the 16 year old’s PPS number and they will inform you of eligibility for treatment.

... doesn't rule out the possibility that the 16 year old would be qualified either, so I'm unclear how you are rating my comment as "incorrect" when you yourself don't know

Dav010

Dav010 wrote: »

Mrcheez, please stop giving incorrect advice on dental matters and entitlements.

A 16 dependent is not a spouse/civil partner etc so cannot be assessed for PRSI dental treatment based on the parent’s eligibility. The only way a 16 would be qualified is based on contributions paid.

Aegir, If you want to check whether a 16 is qualified, contact the dept of social and family affairs quoting the 16 year old’s PPS number and they will inform you of eligibility for treatment.

That’s what I thought. It seems odd that 16 is the cut off age. How many transition year students have made PRSI contributions.

Aegir

Aegir wrote: »

That’s what I thought. It seems odd that 16 is the cut off age. How many transition year students have made PRSI contributions.

Typically if you are under 25 you have to have been making contributions for 2 years to qualify for PRSI eligibility. You can see the challenge that presents for a 16 year.

Regarding mrcheez’s link, married couples where one spouse was not working and relied/is dependent for financial support on the other were jointly assessed by DSW for PRSI benefit. Due to equality legislation this was updated to include civil partners and cohabitants in certain cases, it does not extend to child dependents.

ohnonotgmail

mrcheez wrote: »

I'm entitled to forward information that's publicly available and published on dental websites which the poster can then investigate further to see if what's possible.

As my earlier posts on this thread were also correct I haven't given "incorrect advice" at any point in this thread.

The link I posted said that a "dependent cohabitant" is also qualified. A 16-year old is a dependent cohabitant.

Additionally, your footnote...




... doesn't rule out the possibility that the 16 year old would be qualified either, so I'm unclear how you are rating my comment as "incorrect" when you yourself don't know

Not for the purposes of prsi entitlements.

uck51js9zml2yt

Just back from dentist this afternoon.. Got a checkup, filling( first one in a long long time) and the hygienist for €15.

How long for the bl**dy numbness to go away?