Periodontal Treatment in Australia

Sometimes I think I give you more personal information about myself than I really should. For example…

Today I trump all of that, because today we are going to take a close look inside my big mouth.

big mouth

Gum trouble in the UK

I come from a long line of long toothed short gummed people, a condition commonly described by dentists as gum disease. I know that’s probably more information than you would like to know about the inside my mouth, but how else do I explain receiving a comprehensive quote for periodontal treatment here in Australia?

I’m no stranger to deep cleaning of my teeth, I did have it done in the UK around eight years ago. Even then I remember feeling a little bit miffed by the process:

  • Go to dentist regularly for checkups and dental cleaning
  • Dentist confirms teeth are okay after each treatment
  • Suddenly, after many years, dentist says teeth are not okay
  • Dentist refers me to periodontist
  • Periodontist recommends a treatment program after consultation
  • Periodontist performs recommended treatment

Kerching! £600 please!

“Next!”

Well, yes, next came the follow-up consultation in which the periodontist recommended more treatment for even more money. “Not for me thanks.” I said and then moved to Australia.

What happened in Australia?

Of course, on arrival here I set myself up with a dentist and continued my regular visits; you can read about my second ever visit in my post Going to the Dentist in Australia.

It’s been a few years now so how has my dentistry worked out here in Australia? Like this…

  • Go to dentist regularly for checkups and dental cleaning
  • Dentist confirms teeth are okay after each treatment
  • Suddenly, after 3 years, dentist says teeth are not okay
  • Dentist refers me to periodontist
  • Periodontist recommends a treatment program after consultation
  • Periodontist gives written quote for recommended treatment

Kerching! Kerching!

Are you ready for this?

The quote was…

$3,760.

What do I get for this? Well…

  • I get to spend six hours in the periodontist’s chair in two easy bite-size three hour sessions
  • I get to lose tooth number 26 immediately; it’s one of my favourite teeth and I’ve grown quite attached to it over the years
  • I get virtually no assistance from my private health fund or Medicare for this treatment; my maximum cover on my plan is $450 rebate a year
  • I get a bottle of chlorhexadine gluconate to gargle with twice a day
  • And a bottle of fluoride rinse to gargle with once-a-day
  • I get lessons in how to brush my teeth
  • I get to take a drug for five days during treatment which, if mixed with alcohol, would be similar to stepping in front of a high-speed train
  • I also get a colour brochure with images of unhealthy gums

After explaining all this to me, my periodontist advised me that if I was quick I could book my first three-hour session for the following Monday as he had a window of opportunity in which he could fit me. He asked me if I would like to do that.

Not for me thanks.” I said

There’s more.

Just like back in the UK, I would also need regular reassessment visits and maintenance treatments. My suggested maintenance treatment was likely to be three monthly at a cost of $327 per visit.

That’s over $1300 per year, about the price of Foxtel’s Platinum Digital TV Package.

Foxtel has given me infinitely more pleasure than I envisage I’d get from my periodontist; Premier League Football, Dexter, Breaking Bad, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Desperate Housewives (for Mrs Bobinoz), Homeland, more movies than you can shake a stick at and, of course, all of the children’s channels for Elizabeth.

I know I’m not comparing like for like here, but give me Foxtel any day.

My action plan:

It’s been five weeks now since I had my initial consultation (@ $180) and I’ve not made an appointment to get the work done even though the periodontist said my treatment was urgent. I have concerns about the treatment suggested that go beyond the huge amount of money requested.

Tooth number 26 is actually still very solidly sitting between, I assume, numbers 25 and 27; it doesn’t wobble at all. So to pay such a sum to lose it so quickly doesn’t seem right. Surely, for that kind of money, the guy should be trying to save it?

The follow-ups seem a bit excessive too. My regular dentist wants to see me every six months, so if this periodontist also wants three monthly visits, I’ll be sitting in a dentist’s chair once every two months.

Instead, I decided to:

  • Visit my regular dentist every three months (instead of six)
  • Spend more time and care brushing my teeth
  • Floss thoroughly everyday
  • Gargle regularly with warm salty water
  • Gargle with the chlorhexadine gluconate as directed for eight weeks
  • Throw the fluoride rinse in the bin as, as far as I can see, it doesn’t help in any way whatsoever with gum disease; I think it’s used to help prevent fillings

I like my teeth, I want to keep them. I’ll see what my regular dentist has to say when I go and see her in January, but for now, this periodontal treatment is not for me.

Have you had this kind of treatment in Australia? Or where ever you live? Was it expensive? Was it worth it? Or, if you should have had it and didn’t, do you regret that? Or not? Let us know in the comments below…

Next week’s I’ll be discussing earwax removal; stay tuned!

teeth

Update January 2014: My periodontist was right about tooth number 26 though after all. Over the Christmas period, this tooth gave me a fair amount of discomfort. On Friday 27th of December I telephoned my dentist, more in hope than anything.

Yes, they were open, and after speaking to the receptionist she said “Oh dear. yes, the dentist can see you at 3:50 PM today, is that okay?”

Yes, it was, and by 4:30 PM tooth number 26 and I had parted company.

Update 2: May 2016

As I mentioned in the comments somewhere, I was lucky enough to be introduced to a student periodontist who was happy to practice his cleaning techniques on my teeth. As an unqualified student, his rates were much lower. Both Mrs Bob and myself went to see him during 2014, we both had about three visits with each lasting a couple of hours or so.

We ended up paying just under $700 each, so less than $1400 for both of us. We both think he did a very good job.

Bad Boy Bob

Of course, having been through that cleaning process, I was under strict instructions to brush my teeth twice a day and floss as well. I can do that, can’t I? Well yes, I did for a while, and then slowly fell into my old habits. Brushing once a day, skipping the flossing, that sort of thing.

Even worse, last year I had to cancel my six monthly dental appointment for very good reason, I had major surgery, as in Bob in Hospital. As I was recovering from the operation, which did take some time, my dental care routine got even worse.

Last week I finally got around to visiting the dentist for a regular checkup, the first for well over a year. I was expecting the worst, but instead I got quite a surprise.

My dentist, as usual, started by checking my gums. To my surprise, she told me it was all looking very good. She said she needed to do a quick clean, but it was very quick, I’m sure it didn’t last more than 10 minutes. All done.

She was so impressed with the condition of my gums and my teeth that she said “Are you doing something different? Have you changed your diet?

Well it certainly wasn’t the amount of care and attention I was putting into keeping my teeth clean, or the flossing which I had pretty much stopped doing completely, or my diet. There was only one answer.

Philips Sonicare DiamondClean

In January 2015, a few months after that young student had done a cleanup on my teeth, I purchased a new electronic toothbrush, a Philips Sonicare DiamondClean.

Make no mistake, this is possibly the most expensive toothbrush in the whole wide world. I think I paid $259 for mine, but I was very impressed. We immediately purchased another one for Mrs Bob, but I was lucky enough to get that one online for $179. We also bought the children’s version of the toothbrush for Elizabeth.

That’s the only difference, my toothbrush.

I know some of you might think I have been sponsored by Philips to say this and as we speak they are depositing thousands of dollars into my offshore bank account.

Yeah, I wish.

I genuinely believe that this toothbrush has made a massive difference to the health of my teeth and gums. Any of you who are still struggling with gum disease should really consider paying up for one of these toothbrushes, you won’t be disappointed.

Visa Assessment Service
{ 75 comments… add one }
  • jenny czerwonka November 1, 2020, 2:58 pm |

    Hi trina,
    Looking for alternative suggestions to, I too have been given a periodontal treatment, plan with several follow up appts, full cost $5000, that not including, intravenous sedation costs or local anesthetic cost ,gee they gave me a choice there,
    Should I get a second opinion, somewhere else? Help anybody?
    Jenny

    • Kate November 1, 2020, 4:29 pm |

      Hi there Jenny
      So pleased you are looking around for more info. What I write here is only my opinion. My mother was a healer and I learned a great deal from her about natural remedies. She didn’t buy into ‘a pill for an ill’ and she made all our medicines from plants so I tend to avoid tablets and GPs. Anyway here is my 2 cents worth 🙂

      I really believe that 2nd and 3rd opinions are always a wise move when it comes to people wanting to do stuff to your body and of course when a lot of cash is involved. And I would always suggest doing your own FULL research before committing to anything.
      By research I don’t just mean googling. Get books from the library; look for holistic medicine info; visit or phone naturopaths/energy practitioners/natural healers/herbalists and ask for literature or recommended reading; look outside the box and most importantly… trust your gut instinct.
      Personally I wouldn’t read a lot of information released by the so called experts (CDC, the WHO, well known Universities) as they are all in bed with Big Pharma. So many natural cures and remedy information is blocked and mocked because SICK PEOPLE are good for business and it would be detrimental to pharmaceutical profits if we had access to cures!!
      Have a read of this article about how modern medicine was formed: http://www.defenddemocracy.press/how-rockefeller-founded-modern-medicine-and-killed-natural-cures/
      These articles could be a start for your research… https://www.shdc.com.au/blog/natural-remedies-periodontal-disease/ OR https://naturalsociety.com/7-home-remedies-for-gum-disease/

      By the way, oil pulling has improved my gum health immensely.

      Stay Positive and make sure your self-talk is of Wellness because your body follows what your mind believes.
      Good luck with everything and I hope you find what you need.
      Kate x

    • BobinOz November 2, 2020, 6:54 pm |

      Well Jenny, I was faced with a similar situation, as you’ve probably read in my above article. I didn’t go ahead with the hugely expensive periodontal treatment, here is a summary of all the things I’ve done since.

      First, I was lucky enough to find (through my regular dentist) a student dentist who was looking to practice his gum cleaning skills on the cheap, and I was happy to oblige. $700 and a few appointments later, he’d given me a pretty thorough clean throughout. Just contact local dentists and ask the question, do you know of any trainee periodontists? You might get lucky.

      After that treatment, I bought a sonic toothbrush, but I’ve now moved over to a top of the range Oral B which is every bit as good. On the advice of my regular dentist, I’ve also bought a Waterpik, that’s where you spray water between the gaps in your teeth and even the gaps between your gums and your teeth after cleaning, it’s supposed to be much better than using those little flossing brushes. Much easier as well, only takes a minute each day.

      I’ve also started using a toothpaste called Curacept, again on the advice of my dentist, and that’s it. I just make sure I have a regular clean with my regular dentist every six months and so far, my teeth are holding up and it’s now nearly 7 years since that expensive treatment was recommended to me. My gums are still receded, but as far as I’m aware, they can never fix that, all we can do is try and slow down the progression.

      Good luck whatever you do, I hope it works out.

  • Kate July 14, 2018, 5:00 pm |

    Hey Bob
    LOVE your teeth/gums story – thanks for the giggle! It’s so refreshing to hear that more and more people are waking up to the fact that the majority of our ‘medical’ profession are not interested in curing you… it’s all about as many visits as possible for as much money as they can suck out of you.
    I stumbled across your blog while searching for info on gum grafts. I don’t have gum disease – just a bit of gum has receded at the front of my mouth so now part of the tooth root is visible (eewww, lol). My dentist wants to refer me to some other money-hungry prick so I want to know if there’s a natural way to help gums grow back. Every cell in our body has the ability to regenerate and renew so I’m fairly certain it’s possible! Also, I am well aware that our chronic thoughts manifest into our reality so the first thing I will do is visualise my mouth and gums to be – healed and healthy. As all the gurus say “BELIEVING IS SEEING”
    Keep smiling.
    Cheers – Kate

    • BobinOz July 16, 2018, 6:57 pm |

      My faith in humankind makes me want to think that there must be some periodontist’s and certainly others in the medical professions out there who do genuinely care about curing people. Hopefully for some of them is not all about the money, although none of them really come cheap.

      The periodontist I saw though certainly didn’t fit in the above category. Hope you find a way to reverse that receding gum in a more natural and healthy way, I’m sure Google will help you find some ways to do that.

      As long as I have teeth, I’ll keep smiling 🙂

  • John Paterson March 19, 2018, 11:30 am |

    Hi Bob,
    I have just had a Full Mouth Debridement(3.2018),in other words,
    deep clean to gums,and one tooth out,under General Anaesthetic,and it cost $2175.G.A. included.
    Turned out the $250 was for the dentist to travel to the Day Hospital in Ipwich qld,make the appointments,and would you believe,to take instruments to the hospital and back.

    Nothing to do with the anaesthetic,I am obviously questioning this charge,but its paid now,and probably won’t see any money back.

    I won’t be back,disgraceful,looks like just a rip-off. I know they have to study,and charge extra,for being so called experts,but it has left a bad taste ,in my mouth(no pun intended)
    John Paterson.

    • BobinOz March 19, 2018, 9:01 pm |

      That sounds a little crazy. You would have thought the appointment could have been made by telephone and the instruments taken to the hospital on the day of the procedure, wouldn’t you?

      Maybe there’s a valid reason why it had to be done this way, but I can understand why you feel the way you do.

  • Heather December 10, 2017, 2:40 am |

    I have a lump on my gum – been complaining of intermittent pain for a year to my Dentist who cannot find any issues on the X-rays. Referred me to a periodontist who charges $250 for the initial consultation plus X-rays!! This seems incredibly excessive. Does anyone know if Medicare or Bupa cover any of this?

    • Heather December 10, 2017, 2:41 am |

      Ps, thoroughly enjoyed your account Bob

      • BobinOz December 11, 2017, 9:07 pm |

        Yes, I think you usually get something back, Medicare normally gives a bit back and if you have Bupa, depending on your plan, they might even pay it all. The best way to find out is to phone the periodontist and ask, every procedure has a number attached to it and from that they can look up what your rebate would be.

        Hope you get it sorted, toothache isn’t funny.

  • Anna August 3, 2017, 1:07 am |

    Hi Bob,

    I really enjoyed reading your post, it made me laugh and I completely associate with you.
    I am in a similar position to you, originally from the UK, the dentists all said, you have good teeth but your gums are bleeding so brush and floss properly. I insisted that I religiously floss and brush twice a day but they didn’t believed me and sent me away with a large bill for cleaning.

    A few years later, I stopped going to the dentist because I was under the impression my teeth were fine. Then I had a toothache and discovered I needed a root canal when I moved to Melbourne. The cost here was too high so I went to Saigon and had it done there by the most expensive specialist they had there (it still worked out cheaper than in Australia). So far, it’s good and they even fitted a nice crown for me. I guess I will know after a few years if the treatment was successful. This would apply if I had taken the treatment in Australia, there is no guarantee, you just have to wait and see.

    Anyway, these dentists identified that I had severe and aggressive periodontitis. NO dentist in the UK or Australia picked up on this, they all assumed I was a smoker, drinker and didn’t brush my teeth and told me to stop. It was only these dentists in Saigon that actually said, look you have a rare condition and you need to see a specialist as soon as possible as you’re going to lose your teeth in a few years! They offered gum flap surgery but I was not willing to take the plunge yet.

    At the moment, I am contacting every expert in the world to help me with my case. It turns out, only 11% of the population have my condition. I’m in my early 30’s and I am starting to lose my teeth. It is not quite how I imagined to consider dentures/implants at such an early age! But oh well!

    So basically, I feel I might be of interest to some dental schools for research. I wanted to ask you, was your student dentist in Melbourne? If so, which university was it?

    I’d like to try that out myself.

    Many thanks.

    • Anna August 3, 2017, 2:11 am |

      By the way, do you have to fulfil a certain criteria to be seen?

      Thanks again.

      • BobinOz August 3, 2017, 6:51 pm |

        Hi Anna

        I’m always pleased to hear when I’ve managed to make someone laugh, thank you 🙂

        No, unfortunately not, the student who looked at my teeth was attending university on the Gold Coast.

        Sounds like you do have a bit of problem there that does need looking at. Maybe the best way is to find out which universities near where you are run the kind of dentistry courses associated with the sort of treatment you need. Then see if any of them need someone to practice on.

        If it really is 11% of people who suffer from this condition, I’d say that’s quite high, so there should be plenty of people who know how to deal with it and it’s a little surprising it took so long before someone picked up on it.

        Also, golden rule, do get a second opinion as well.

        Good luck, I hope you get it sorted.

        • Anna August 3, 2017, 11:55 pm |

          Hi Bob,

          Thanks for the tip.
          Yep, I have emailed the universities in Melbourne but they all seem to defer me to their dental clinic as a general patient and have no interest in my condition.

          To be honest, I am skeptical whether it’s worth spending money and discomfort in gum surgery, it doesn’t cure it and it just makes them last a few more years, or even sometimes they promise that they can restore your smile, but after thousands of dollars doing weird stuff like cutting parts of your bones from your hip and gluing them to your bone line?? However, I know that this isn’t a permanent fix, after a while, the disease will persist and eat that too…then you have to have more surgery…it’s just rather tiresome. Like most doctors in western medicine, they’ve only been trained to treat the symptoms and if a condition is as advanced as mine, there’s no cure and any treatment is just delaying the slow motion train crash.

          Much as I’ve wondered about dentures in my tender age, I would have liked to have it a lot later. However, being the hippy that I am, I am now contacting holistic dentists for their opinion on how to at least alleviate or halt the disease, which are less aggressive than surgery. After all, gum disease is health related and if there’s something wrong in my mouth, other parts of my body is probably going a-wire too.

          I think it’s always good to be more healthy and eat a proper diet, buy an electric toothbrush (because maybe my brushing isn’t meticulous enough), buy a water irrigator (because it logically makes sense to blast out food debris between pockets) and rinse with salt water instead of mouthwash (because it’s even not recommended by dentists it’s that bad for you). I haven’t done any of these measures yet, perhaps I’ll try and be a dental nazi with my routine first before I go under the knife.

          If by some miraculous chance I cure or halt my disease through sensible eating, vitamin supplementation or even meditating, I’ll be sure to report back after a year. Noone is perfectly healthy, we all have defects but it seems my genes make me more susceptible (and I wish my mother had chosen a different man).

          I’ve spoken to a lot of dentists (who were mostly clueless and money grabbing) and periodontitists who have a thirst for blood and placing as much pain in your mouth. However, they have given me some interesting and useful information which I have taken with a pinch of salt and some hippy dust to make my own treatment plan. The worst that can happen is I lose my teeth in a few years, the best that can happen is…I lose my teeth in 10 years. Either way, I have to try what I feel happy with, not what the dentists/periodontists want (which is to make you cough up as much money to be experimented on).

          We really are alone in looking after our health as we are the only ones who care enough. I wish there was dental and herbal/natural remedies taught in schools. It’s actually a part of traditional China where my grandmother would cut a slice of ginger and place it on a nasty mosquito bite or my Auntie would feed me half a whole watermelon a day to make Dengue fever unlikely to knock me out or to spray lemongrass oil to avoid being bitten by sandflies (it’s more effective than DEET, I’ve tested it in NZ much to misfortune of other travellers who didn’t believe me, they went home with swollen feet and I walked around in sandals with only 3 bites).

          Keep writing articles, I thoroughly enjoy them and it keeps me smiling, preserving my faith in humanity once more.

          Best,

          Anna

          • BobinOz August 4, 2017, 8:46 pm |

            Yes, I’m inclined to agree with you, you can end up paying these people endless amounts of money, spending a great deal of time sitting in dentist chairs having pain inflicted upon you and, in the end, still not solve the problem.

            All that really happens is you receive more pain and spend more money.

            That’s kind of what they wanted to do to me in the UK. After I’d had my £600 worth of treatment, they got me back for a follow-up and that’s when they said they wanted to do the gum flap stuff next for even more money.

            The idea of having my gums cut back, my teeth then very deeply cleaned, and then my gums put back into position and stitched up in my entire mouth wasn’t the most exciting proposition, and having to pay mucho ££££ for the privilege made it even less appealing.

            I’m sure you feel the same.

            So I’m with you really, I think you need to look at the cause rather than trying to treat the effects, and maybe a good holistic dentist will be able to help you with that. For sure, if you get a good result, or any kind of result, we’d love to hear about it here.

            If you’re looking for a decent electric toothbrush, the one I bought mentioned above has seemed to have sorted my problems completely after that cleanup from the student. My dental checkups are much quicker these days, I have no bleeding from my gums at all now and I used to get that quite a lot.

            Buying one of those (unfortunately quite expensive) electric toothbrushes will not do you any harm, and it could do you a lot of good.

            Good luck with your battle, I hope you win it, you are too young to lose your teeth.

            • Anna November 25, 2017, 1:54 pm |

              Hi Bob,

              I wanted to update you about what happened regarding my aggressive periodontal disease and for other readers who are experiencing similar problems.

              I read up many materials from independent sources of self-funded researchers and books written by those who believe curing gum disease was possible through natural means. It’s been nearly 4 months since I had my root canal and diagnosis of my periodontal disease. The dentist urged me to have gum flap surgery which I refused because of the low success rate and also, the side effects. I wanted a real solution.
              Also, if anyone if considering laser gum surgery, don’t do it! I have contacted periodontal specialists in the US, the UK and Australia, all confirming that it doesn’t work and it is just an excuse for dentists to overcharge – those were THEIR words! Obviously, I didn’t contact dental clinics for advice…they’d be the worse people to ask for advice. Hence, all my information came from researchers, professors and holistic dental experts who have their interests away from making a profit. They did recommend getting root and planing done every 3 months to see if it would improve but I decided to not do that just yet.

              So, at the moment, my gums don’t bleed and they haven’t bled since I have started my new tooth cleaning routine. I have yet to have my next dental check up in a few months to confirm my pocket depth has reduced, but I can feel a difference. I don’t feel I have cured my condition, merely preventing it from getting worse until I feel ready for something more radical or a better solution comes up.
              In the past, every few months or so, I would get pain between one of my molars which usually progress onto bleeding, a sign of active gum disease. This is in addition to daily amounts of blood present in my spit after brushing my teeth. However, it’s the first time for nearly 10 years, that I brush my teeth and there’s not a drop of blood. This is a significant triumph for me.
              I don’t take any special supplements or use a Sonic toothbrush (though I think it may even make my routine faster/better). However, I have purchased an Oral Irrigator…the Waterpiks are expensive and have been known to not last for many years according to reviews on Amazon. So instead of spending AU$130 for one that will last 6 -12 months, I bought a Chinese version called H2O Floss for $30 off ebay that may last the same. Not only was it cheaper, it is portable, rechargeable cordless, and small enough to fit in my handbag as a carry on so I can take it travelling. I’ve used it for nearly 4 months and it’s still packing out a good punch, the motor hasn’t died but the screws underneath are showing a bit of rust from constant water exposure.
              All I do is, wash my mouth with it first, sometimes adding salt or tea tree oil or clove oil to the water. Then I get a SOFT toothbrush with a drop of tea trea oil (warning, it’s poisonous if consumed even in small amounts), being careful not to swallow, I brush my teeth as normal, making sure the brush really gets into my gums. Then I floss with tape and a dental pick. Finally, a final rinse using the oral irrigator. The tea tree disinfects your mouth, so I never use toothpaste (it does nothing other than freshen your breath), and the irrigator is supposed to stimulate blood to gums (I’m assuming this is also the same advantage from a sonic toothbrush from the vibrations). I had also been using medium brushes which aggravated my gums, that was the first mistake.

              Anyway, my next step is to continue this routine and work on preventing cavities and decay under my current fillings that I have. The key is a healthy diet so I’m doing my best to have bone broth soups and increase the mineral content of my foods such as seaweeds and lots of greens. Of course, I limit my sugar intake and increase more healthy fats such as avocados, fish, eggs, olive oil, goat dairy and ‘real’ greek/fermented yoghurts. Another thing I discovered regarding diet is to reduce your grain/legume intake and replace it with more vegetables to increase mineral intake. This has been harder to do as a meal with predominately just Kale for example, without rice or some sort of bulky starch, I get pretty hungry quickly. So I haven’t been following that.

              I heard from another forum that a girl was taking over 20,000mg of Vitamin C a day which she claimed stopped her gum disease. Nothing was said afterwards and although a few have replied saying it helped them too, noone has said whether they have continued to do this long-term nor whether they’ve been cured completely after verification from a check-up. I suspect the girl may have been promoting supplements…it just sounded too suspicious and there was no logical reasoning behind it other than Gum Disease is similar to Scurvy. I know that high doses of Vitamin C can actually cause harm in the long-term, it is widely known in Chinese Medicine as fruits with high Vitamin C are used as laxatives on a short-term basis. If used for too long, it disrupts your digestive system and that leads onto a heap of other issues in your health. This is from eating the fruit alone which may carry other benefits so to take pure Vitamin C, who knows what else can happen! Therefore, I strongly recommend that people do not do this to cure gum disease, at least on a long-term basis.

              Also, if you’ve taken antibiotics, it’s a good idea to restore your healthy flora in your gut as it would have been flushed out. Many dental patients who have taken antibiotics for oral treatments have noted that they suffered constipation/diarrhoea or problems with their digestion and often, noticed a weaker immunity against common colds/flu etc. Taking a probiotic for at least 2 weeks, whether from food sources such as miso soups or capsule form, can benefit in restoring your immunity and stop digestive issues. IBS is also closely linked to the overuse of antibiotics. I don’t know how true this all is, but for me, this information from Holistic Dental experts (not dentists) was very beneficial as I also suffered similar problems.

              Obviously, I’m not a doctor or a dentist, but I’ve spoken to at least 5 different expert Periodontists who are pioneers in their field from all over Europe, USA and parts of Australia about this condition. I have enough information to write a book! They were all kind enough to relay this information and advice onto me, talking about what they do in their personal routine to maintain oral health and what they do for their close friends/family when there is a problem. They admit that most dental students only want to become dentists because of the money earning potential, not because they actually want to cure patients of their condition; that’s what researchers and scientists do, and these are the people we should be talking to regarding our oral health.

              I will have a check up in a few months, I will update on what my dentists say (you bet I will be getting a third and forth opinion!).

              • BobinOz November 27, 2017, 6:25 pm |

                Hi Anna, good to hear from you again.

                Sounds like you are throwing everything you possibly can at fixing your gums, but I have to say, 20,000 mg of vitamins C a day sounds an awful lot. As you say, it’s not something people should consider doing long-term.

                Thanks for all the good advice you have given here, I’m sure many people, including myself, will find it all very useful. As for the Oral Irrigator, my wife went to the dentist just the other day and she gave her a fat, plastic syringe with a pointed nozzle to spray in between her teeth. The dentist suggested salt water or a good mouthwash like Savicol. Even cheaper than the cheapest irrigator I would think. Obviously worth doing as well, otherwise our dentist wouldn’t bother handing them out.

                Thanks again and keep up the fight, hopefully you will see some improvements when you next visit your dentist.

              • Jax January 15, 2020, 2:41 pm |

                Hi Anna,
                Did all this work for your gum disease? Did you ever go get the initial deep clean?!

                • Anna January 17, 2020, 9:38 am |

                  Hello Jax,

                  Yes it has. Last check up, my dentist said I have no active problems with my gums and he did note that I had a receding gum which he felt had not changed since the photos taken after my root canal 3 years ago. Bear in mind that at that time, the dentists advised me to have gum surgery else all my teeth would fall out within a year…so far, I still have my teeth! A scare tactic to make me spend money in their clinic and years of high maintenance work for life! Dodged a bullet!
                  My pocket depths have either remained the same or decreased, but he did note I had some cracks in my molars – that’s a different issue. However, I have been mostly avoiding sugar in my diet other than fruit and eating a normal diet of wholegrains, veg and proteins including dairy and some treats. I have found that my dental problems are more to do with my fillings and less about my gums these days.
                  Being vigilant with your brushing, tape flossing, water flossing and using tea tree is all you need really to have healthy gums.
                  I suspect my next major appointment will be about getting my fillings done again but my dentist did say a deep root and plane might benefit the tooth that has a lot of the gum already receded. However, I still believe that if you open up your gums this way, then yes it would be clean for a short while but you also allow a passage for new bacteria to enter at a much DEEPER level than previously, aggravating the situation much faster than if you just left it alone. It only works if you have this deep clean every 3 months for the rest of the life of the tooth – high maintenance, more cost and only truly benefits the dentist. Since there is no cure, the best treatment is self-care and time.
                  Gum disease progresses fast if you eat a diet that is mostly acidic. In addition to a good brushing routine, eating well can delay the progression and preserve your gums for a long time before anything major is required. By then, you’ll be too old to care. 🙂

                  • BobinOz January 20, 2020, 7:37 pm |

                    Great advice here Anna for anyone with receding gums, and really pleased to hear that everything you have done has helped improve your situation.

                    My dentist recently recommended that I buy a water flossing machine, and she specifically recommended the Waterpik Water Flosser and I think it’s great, I use every day and it only takes a minute.

                    I used to hate flossing with those different coloured picks, so much that I didn’t bother, but water flossing is really easy. I think it’s made a difference to my guns as well, but I suppose I’ll find that out for sure at my next dental appointment.

    • Robyn Castles August 3, 2017, 1:10 pm |

      Hi Bob, it’s me -your long-term reader & subscriber. Let me inform you all that there is life after gum disease. A few scripts of antibiotics & numerous Dentist visits later, I am completely cured of active gum disease & now relishing the restoration of my teeth. Good luck to all of you.

      • BobinOz August 3, 2017, 7:03 pm |

        Excellent news Robyn and very encouraging, not just for me, but for many people reading this thread. I think the key is to not give up on your teeth, keep looking for answers and hopefully you’ll eventually see the right person, with the right treatment and, hopefully, at a reasonable price.

        Sounds like you will be smiling again very soon 🙂 cheers, Bob

        • Robyn Castles August 4, 2017, 9:31 am |

          Thanks Bob. Good luck to all of your readers.

  • Dental Excellence May 21, 2017, 9:39 pm |

    Hi BobInOz & everyone here!
    Im so glad to have stumbled accross this blog site, BIG THUMBS UP!!!
    Periodontal disease can be a on-going LARGE cost if we are just treating the symptoms and not the disease. Getting rid off the barnacles (calculus) cleaned off your teeth every dental visit or periodontal visit is only temporary if the disease bugs are still there and active.
    In Adelaide, at Dental Excellence (look us up on Facebook to watch a video that explains this well) or go to our website http://www.dental-excellence.com.au check out the LANAP – Laser Assisted New Attachment Procedure we offer at Dental Excellence giving many patients we gave treated their smile and hope back. Many patients who have come to us after almost loosing hope and multiple visits to the periodontist, have actually burst into tears with happiness that the results are not only remarkably noticeable but that they have been able to retain teeth that were once diagnosed by other dentists as ‘no option but to remove’ the teeth have one from flapping loosely to firm chewing teeth. Their gums no longer red, puffy and bleeding and instead nicely pink and firm.

    With the combined effort of the professional technique performed by Dr Renu Karn using a especially designed laser that is gentle and as thin as 3 human hairs to eradicate the diseased tissue and make way to allow for ones gums to naturally do the work to promote new attachment and healing. Additionally, the commitment form the patient to follow maintenance and care recommendations is a crucial part of improving the success of any treatment.
    Patients have flown in from overseas, interstate and remote countrysides of Australia to seek this alternative treatment option suitable for most people.
    Please feel free to contact us on 08 8223 4400, visit our website or send me an email i’d be more than happy to assist you with more info or an initial complimentary consultation for people on this blog site…
    Kind Regards,
    Karen Harris
    Practice Manager

    • BobinOz May 22, 2017, 6:50 pm |

      Thanks for the advert, sorry, I mean information 🙂

      • Dental Excellence February 13, 2018, 2:59 pm |

        It is a pleasure Bob. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help get the message accross to others who may be seeking an alternative to the conventional root planning (scraping of the teeth for life)! Thanks Karen Harris 08 8223 4400

  • Ben May 16, 2016, 4:12 pm |

    I can’t believe after two years of reading updates that this was all an ad for Philips! 😉 Seriously though, thanks for the tip. I’ll check out reviews and get one.

    • BobinOz May 17, 2016, 5:21 pm |

      Ha ha, subliminal advertising is old hat, ‘Long play’ advertising in which extreme patience is the key is the big new thing; write an article, wait a few years, and then introduce the advert.

      Now I just have to work out what to advertise on my other 1200 pages 🙂

      Yes, check out those reviews, and if you end up getting the toothbrush, let us know how it goes if you get the chance.

  • BobinOz May 16, 2016, 3:59 pm |

    Last week I went to the dentist for the first time in over a year, something quite extraordinary happened. So I have just added an update to this post, any of you who are still struggling with gum disease might want to check it out.

    Cheers, Bob

  • Robyn Castles March 6, 2016, 10:14 pm |

    I’ve just had the best dental experience of my life, in Bangkok, the week of February 4th, 2016. Used to have periodontal disease but have been rid of it with treatment. I had a planning & clean done at Bangkok Dental Hospital, Sukhumvit 49, Bangkok, without local anesthetic, painless too. I can highly commend & recommend this Government accredited Hospital that tends to all the embassy workers in Thailand. Had all my problematic Prosthodontic work finished & am totally happy with the price & the great outcome. That’s even after I had so much initial trouble with the unnamed Dentist last year, in Bangkok (retracted name) I was quoted $18,000 for the work in Melbourne & got it done for $8,000 in Bangkok. I hope you don’t have to extract the name & address of this Dentist/Hospital. People deserve to know where to go that’s cheap & of high standard compared to others. Thanks.

  • Robyn Castles July 3, 2015, 8:16 am |

    IN Melbourne, the University Dental Clinic is approx. half price for all requirements, yet it’s private. I’ve been attending an Orthodontist there as I’ve returned from overseas & after being treated very badly wanted to find an alternate option to finalise treatment. Be careful if you’re looking at traveling overseas for dental work. I’ve just returned from Name removed by admin Dental Clinic in Bangkok, Thailand, & had a CT Scan & other investigative treatments at the Melbourne University only to find that I’ve returned with three of four failed implants, one of which was implanted right into the root of the neighbouring tooth, ouch. Also, a non-vital tooth that now has a brand new crown requires removal -then there’s the gap to attend to. Much waste of money later, I say don’t go to Dr. Name removed by admin. If you air your grievances on his facebook page he’ll remove it quickly so it always appears that the customers are happy with lovely smiles but the inside story’s very different. I met people there who were very disappointed. One man had facial paralysis. Of the $18,000 spent, that’s exactly $9, 700 down the drain & more for work required to fix his mistakes.

    • BobinOz July 3, 2015, 9:41 pm |

      Sound advice Robyn, and I’m sorry I have had to remove the specific name of that dental clinic in Thailand. After all, you could be Dr Name removed by admin’s fiercest rival trying to slander his name :-), and anyway, I can’t afford to get sued.

      The point is a good one though and one I’ve mentioned as well here in the comments; it is a big risk when you go abroad for dental help, if it all goes wrong, who do you turn to? You don’t, you have to pay to dig yourself out.

      Looking for a university dental clinic is a much better option here in Australia and anyone who needs this kind of treatment should probably consider that first before going abroad.

      Thanks for your story, hope you get it all sorted out. Cheers, Bob

      • Deb October 8, 2015, 12:50 pm |

        Good site with great feedback on these money sucking periodontists. Bravery award goes to you for allowing a student to perform any periodontal cleaning. The procedure absolutely terrifies me, and I haven’t even been for consultation yet. I was told $280 for consultation, so that seems rather high compared to your $ mentioned. However, this person was recommended as being good. Would be interested to know statistics on those that opt not to spend thousands on periodontic work, did their teeth fall out a lot sooner. Did the $’s outlaid actually help longterm??? All the unknown answers. Have you got any good soup receipes?

        • BobinOz October 8, 2015, 8:35 pm |

          I know nothing about recipes, if it doesn’t come in a tin, I can’t cook it.

          I have to say that student did a fantastic job, I had no problem trusting him whatsoever. What the stats are on people who don’t bother with this treatment, who knows? In many ways it doesn’t matter, all you really want to know about, and me too, is will our teeth fall out?

          If they do, as you say, there is always soup.

    • steph March 5, 2016, 3:13 pm |

      Damn, just seen the above comment – can either of you somehow message me in regards to which clinic this was that you experienced a negative outcome. Im off to Thailand in the next few months for dental implants, in bangkok and now im concerned i may of made the wrong choice in my selection of clinics.

      • BobinOz March 6, 2016, 9:16 pm |

        For the reasons I’ve already mentioned in this thread, you can’t mention the name of the clinic publicly on this website. If anybody does want to send a message to Steph about this, please send it privately to my email and I will forward it on.

        You can find my details on my contact page, the link is in the footer of every page. Thanks, Bob

      • Jillian Millar October 16, 2018, 8:06 am |

        I had dental implants and crowns done in Bangkok thirteen years ago and all are fantastic. Four implants, twenty five crowns! I have absolutely no complaints. Name removed by admin; my quote in Australia was 85,000 all done in Bangkok for 14,000. That was some time ago now and I know prices have gone up but I thoroughly recommend this place

        • BobinOz October 16, 2018, 7:31 pm |

          Thanks for the tip Jillian, but I’m afraid I’ve had to remove the name of the dental surgery you used, for reasons given in an earlier comment above.

          Since writing this post, I’ve had complaints and praise about some Bangkok dental surgeries. In this internet world of ‘fake news’ I have to be careful.

          I am really pleased to hear that you found someone to do a good job and I’m sure there are plenty of dentists in Bangkok that are genuine, but I’m still concerned that there are plenty that are not.

          As I made the decision to not allow people to either like or dislike certain dentists, I do have to stick with that. I think anybody looking to get dental treatment in Bangkok should do their own thorough research; as they say, buyer beware.

          Thanks for your comment though, at least it shows that there is still value to be had by going abroad as long as you pick the right place to go to.

          Cheers, Bob

  • Trina M May 22, 2015, 8:28 pm |

    I have just stumbled on your website, reeling from the diagnosis today of severe periodontal disease. I have gum bleeding when brushing, but no other symptoms that I was aware of, so I am horrified at what the periodontist has told me I now have to go through, not to mention the cost!! 4 x 45 min sessions, with local anesthetic in each tooth at a cost of $1870. Then he says I will probably need surgery (access flaps or something which sounds hideous!!) at goodness knows what cost. He hasn’t suggested any treatments I might be able to do at home to try to help the problem. I have been reading about salt water, mouthwashes, and vitamins which may help, but nothing concrete. Can anyone suggest treatment that may help prevent the surgery? I don’t want to line the dentists pocket any more than I have to, as can’t really afford that, but don’t want to loose my teeth. Overseas is an option but as a single mum with kids, not a good option at the moment. Then there is the ongoing treatment every 3 months for the rest of my life…..I am not a cash cow!! Very distressed by this diagnosis……any help or suggestions are appreciated 🙂

    • BobinOz May 24, 2015, 8:39 pm |

      That’s pretty much the same position I found myself in Trina, but I was lucky, I found it orthodontist student who did a lot of work for me much cheaper, see my reply to Ben here.

      That’s all I can suggest really, try and find a student, maybe call some local dentists or even find out where orthodontists get their training and give them a call, see if any of them are getting some practical work experience in a local dentist surgery somewhere.

      Abroad is an option, but it’s risky in my view, that’s been mentioned as well in the above comments.

      Good luck, Bob

      • AussieDave May 25, 2015, 3:44 am |

        Hi Bob,

        As always straight up no BS advice.
        I’d be following that lead and getting on the phone. Most if not all capital cities have a dental hospital, where student dentists complete their final year of training. I’m sure there are similar places where orthodontists/hygenists complete their basic training – orthodontists are Dr dentists with specialist training.

        As they say, ask and yea may receive. Don’t ask, get nothing!

        cheers

        Dave

        • BobinOz May 25, 2015, 9:29 pm |

          Thanks AussieDave and yes, I think one or two phone calls could yield results. Just like hairdressers, these people have to start training on real humans at some point before they finally qualify, so I would imagine they are out there, just need to find them.

          • AussieDave May 26, 2015, 12:46 pm |

            YVW Bob 🙂

            One question mate – “real humans”… are they’re fake ones about?
            Sorry mate couldn’t help have a friendly dig at that 🙂

            • BobinOz May 26, 2015, 7:32 pm |

              Yes, they are about, I know a few 🙂

  • Danny Harcourt April 23, 2015, 2:19 pm |

    I’ve had pretty much the same experiences as Bob. I think as you get older and your gums recede, you become more prone to minute particles of food and plaque collecting around the gumline. I’ve begun flossing regularly and interdental brushing. I also bought a dental spray, as I was getting pain in an area up the back, where the gum between my two back teeth has gone. My conclusion is that like doctors, dentists live very well, however unlike mainstream medical needs, our gums and teeth are not considered important; health funds and government assistance doesn’t go far. I notice a difference if I fail to clean immediately after eating. I’m considering having an extended holiday in Malaysia, and getting work done there.

    • BobinOz April 23, 2015, 8:27 pm |

      Or it’s just part of getting old 🙂

      Yes, I think quite a few people travel to places like Thailand and Malaysia to get the work done, and a few of my readers have written about it in the comments above. I have thought about it, but I was lucky in that I was able to get some pretty good work done here by a student orthodontist.

      That meant I was charged dentist rates which are much cheaper. He did a really good job all from the safety and comfort of my regular dentists offices which he used on the Saturday’s.

      I’m sure the vast majority of people who seek treatment abroad get a good job done at a bargain price. But as Dave pointed out (Dececember 2013) in these threads, what happens when things go wrong? That’s when you want to be on home soil.

      It’s a fair point.

  • leonie April 6, 2015, 7:31 pm |

    Hi smf, fluoride is a scam affecting our sovereign rights and health and conforming unconsciously by trusting the authority of an Australian Health Department may have serious health consequences for all – if you read all the literature on fluoride on what it does to the body and your immune system you would ditch it immediately. Highly toxic (especially in our drinking water – depending upon where you live). There are massive amounts of scientifically proven evidence that fluoridation does not prevent tooth decay! It has been scientifically proven that fluoridation gives a host of untoward effects, like the mounting cancer death rate and the statistically proven lowering of the IQ in children who are born and grow up in fluoridated regions. Without awareness first, there is no choice, it’s just habit and conditioning. Think for yourself – don’t follow the crowd – get informed, question, question, question.

  • Thao March 23, 2015, 6:28 pm |

    Dear Bob,
    I was so sad after visiting a periodontist today and by typing “periodontist so costly” in the Google, I found your website…great, at least my horrible teeth/gum brought something good for me…just looked through few posts, I felt your website very useful for me…Actually, I forwarded to two of my friend this post to read for fun and to other two friends your post about migration advice…Thanks Bob…
    Back to periodontist…I had gum bleeding and having puss few month ago and I came to see a dentist…She suspected that I might have gum problems but suggested me to do some fillings (4) and cleaning whole teeth first to see whether it helps..All cost me more than $1000 but the gum was still not OK so she referred me to see periodontist…$150 for initial consultation and then an appointment for 45-min clean-up with $630…luckily he mentioned that I might not need a surgery to stitch my gum something, which I guess will cost > $1000 as your case…
    Great if you or others can introduce some students in final year which can do a good job as your case…I’m based in Brisbane…
    Thank you in advance!

    • BobinOz March 24, 2015, 4:44 pm |

      Glad you arrived at my website and that you found interesting, hope your friends do as well.

      Yes, I have to say, that student did both me and Mrs Bob a great service, we each went to see him about three times and I don’t reckon we spent more than $700 each for all of those visits. We got a bit back from Medicare on each occasion, so that helps.

      Alas, the student has now gone back to studying and is no longer available, I actually think we are very lucky with our timing to have been able to use him.

      I think maybe a solution could be to find the nearest periodontal college or university to where you live and give them a call. Just ask them, say you’ve been to a professional periodontist and the fees quoted were simply too high, and ask if there is a student available who is interested in a bit of paid practice.

      If there is, I think that student would have to find a properly set up dentist to work with, our student just worked Saturday’s from my dentists premises. It’s a long shot, but worth a try.

      Hope you get it sorted, Bob

  • Ben October 31, 2014, 11:29 pm |

    Thanks for sharing your experience. I arrived at your blog post after searching for periodontal costs in Australia. My experience was that I had bleeding and tender gums for years, with overseas dentists trying very hard to solve it by thorough cleaning, but to no avail.
    The first dentist I visited back in Australia immediately recognised that the problems were deeper than a dentist could solve, and referred me to a periodontist. I was glad, and appreciate that something needed to be done.

    All was good. I had the non-surgical periodontal treatment over four 30-minute sessions at $350 a pop. With the initial consultation and follow-up, the costs came to $2,100, before partial coverage by medical insurance.

    The periodontist treatment has worked well and I was very happy with the periodontist. The concern I have (hence searching in the first place) is that he wants me to visit for checks and ‘maintaining the foundations’ on a four-monthly basis indefinitely.

    I don’t want to lose any teeth. But the idea of uncomfortable and expensive visits three times a year, above the biannual visit to the dentist, isn’t a pleasant one. I’d love to buy a caravan, to travel far-and-wide with the kids and see us into retirement. If my life expectancy is as I hope, the periodontal maintenance will cost much more than the caravan. It seems ‘rich’ to me that after years in the non-periodontel wilderness, that I need to have checks and treatment three times a year to keep my teeth.

    • BobinOz November 3, 2014, 4:34 pm |

      That’s the exact same problem I had with them Ben, the follow-ups. The periodontist I visited wanted me to go every three months, that’s way too much. A nice little earner for him, but I’m not so sure. Is not just the money either, who wants to go to the dentist that often?

      I was lucky in the end, my regular dentist put me in touch with a student periodontist who is currently going through university and approaching his final year. He was working part-time on Saturdays and I ended up having four appointments with him over the period of about eight months where he systematically cleaned up my teeth and did quite a thorough job.

      He has now done all he can do, and my action plan going forward is to just see my regular dentist every four months and have her clean my teeth up as best as she can. I now floss every day as well, and I’m pleased to announce that I haven’t noticed any bleeding of the gums for many months now. So that’s as good as it’s going to get for me and my teeth, we’ll just have to see how we cope going forward, I’m just not up for paying the equivalent of just over $100 a month to a periodontist.

      Like yourself, I’ve got better things to spend that money on. Everyone has to make their own decision about this kind of thing though, sounds like your decision might well be similar to mine.

      Good luck, Bob

  • Ashikaweymouth June 6, 2014, 11:34 pm |

    The price for dental in aus is crazy. I do have periodontal disease and I keep putting off going to the dentist because of the cost. I just can not afford it last I went it cost $150 and that’s just for cleaning and her telling me I had that disease. I am a single mum were the hell am I going to pul $$$$ out to pay for it.

    • BobinOz June 9, 2014, 11:28 pm |

      And you are lucky, $150? That’s cheap 🙂

      What are they quoting you for the full treatment? Have they given you figure?

  • BobinOz January 9, 2014, 12:45 pm |

    It is with great sadness that I have to announce that tooth number 26 is no more. Please see the update at the foot of this post.

    Bob

  • yash January 7, 2014, 4:38 pm |

    Hey guys, thanks fort this insightful writing! Well my dad got this bad case of periodontal problems. Here in Australia, I live in Perth, it is HELL EXPENSIVE to go to the dentist!!! He really needs to see a good periodontist to get this treated but it costs so much money… to put it clear- can’t afford that much 🙁

    All the people here Australia, does anyone of you know a good periodontist who charges good affordable prices? In Perth? I really need your help guys! Thank you 🙂

    • BobinOz January 7, 2014, 8:49 pm |

      Well, not my periodontist, obviously 🙂

  • Dave December 22, 2013, 12:54 pm |

    Hi smf,
    Thanks for feedback and info 🙂
    I got hooked up to the net in 95′ and was paying $5/h on a 28.8k dial-up. 1’st month ran up a bill of $1K. These days that would cover my bill for almost 2 years, not to mention my average d/l speed is 1.5Mbit/sec. As an inquiring mind, I’d have though with so many Dentists these days, the cost of materials/equipment would have decreased. Just saying 🙂

    Cheers, Dave

  • smf December 19, 2013, 11:34 pm |

    Hey Bob! Dentist here!
    1) Dentistry in aus is expensive!
    2) Don’t throw away the fluoride! We love fluoride, you should too :-). With gum disease the necks of your teeth become exposed and are at risk of developing cavities, your fluoride mouthwash will help prevent that. Tooth 26 has three roots and the area between them is terribly hard to keep clean, fluoride will help prevent decay in hard to reach places.
    3) Different dentists will suggest different treatments for the same condition.
    4) Get a second opinion from another periodontist.
    5) Go with your gut feelings on whom to trust!
    6) The earlier you start your treatment the better. You don’t want to wait until its too late. I don’t know what the prices are in aus but saving your own teeth is always financially and physiologically better than placing artificial teeth in the long run.

    If you have any questions let me know :-). PS. Love the website!

    • BobinOz December 20, 2013, 2:27 pm |

      Hi smf

      Thanks for the extra tips, very helpful. I think you have made a very important point as well, and that is for me to do something about this because, even though the prices may be very steep, life without my own teeth wouldn’t be much fun so I’d need to do whatever I can keep them attached.

      Will definitely be getting that second opinion in January.

      Cheers, and glad to hear that you love the website.

      Bob

    • Dave December 20, 2013, 6:07 pm |

      Hi smf,

      Why is dentistry so expensive in Australia?

      Cheers
      Dave

      • smf December 22, 2013, 1:25 am |

        Hi Dave.
        Dentistry is expensive because the materials are very costly, it takes a lot of money to become a dentist, running a small business is a constant headache with a lot of red tape involved, you need to setup various aspects according to the guidelines provided. Plus you have to hire highly trained staff, pay for thr training, keep them updated on immunizations. Dentists have to provide there own post retirement funds. Oh and don’t forget malpractise insurance! And a million other factors 🙂

  • Dave December 19, 2013, 11:14 pm |

    Hi Bob,
    I don’t have a gum disorder but I’ve always had teeth problems. My dad had all his out at 23; he’d be 92 if he was still around today. Point all this is, shop around mate. I’ve had quotes which I’m sure are paying for four brand new tires on the Porsche. I’ve shopped around and saved $1,000’s. I find the Asian dentists are excellent. I ditched to toffy nosed boutique dentist suites for less lavish surroundings and came up trumps. Fact is, they’re qualified for Australian standards so it’s not like going cheap is like visiting shonky brothers or alike.

    Cheers
    Dave

    • BobinOz December 20, 2013, 2:23 pm |

      Hi Dave

      I will definitely be getting a couple of other periodontist to have a look and give me their costs, only problem with that is that most charge $180 for the consultation, that’s the cost of one good tyre for my car 🙂

      I am also going to talk to my regular dentist in January, she’s Asian incidently, to see what she thinks. I’ve even heard some people in Australia travel to Thailand for dentistry and have a good holiday at the same time, maybe I’ll look into that as well.

      Cheers, Bob

      • Dave December 20, 2013, 6:12 pm |

        Hi Bob,

        Yeah I’ve heard of people going to Thailand and Malaysia. The only thing which would concern me, is if anything went wrong with a procedure. While screw ups can happen anywhere, I’d rather be on home turf. Just saying 😉

        Cheers

        Dave

        • BobinOz December 20, 2013, 10:36 pm |

          That’s what I thought as well, it’s a long way to go back if there’s a problem.

          • BB November 19, 2014, 2:41 pm |

            Hi Bob

            My family and i had a stop over in Bangkok on our way to Europe and decided to get our teeth look at, clean and 2 of my wisdom teeth out. The place was clean, professional and all the staff were friendly and spoke good english. The bill came to NZ$380 for my partner and i, thats including painkillers for me. Been recommended to us by our thai friend. Midtown, easy to get to. Will definitely go back again! Going to leave you the link, incase you are heading that way.

            http://www.primadentalclinic.com/

            Do a stopover in BKK next time on your way to England. Save lots of money
            🙂

            • BobinOz November 19, 2014, 7:05 pm |

              Hi BB, thanks for the tip, I’m pretty sure we’ve all heard the pros and cons of getting treatment in Thailand, it’s nice to hear from someone who’s been through it and had a positive experience.

              For the rest of my readers (and for my own comfort) I did check your IP address just to make sure you weren’t based in Thailand 🙂 as it wouldn’t be the first time somebody placed a little advert like this for their own business.

              I can confirm you are definitely from New Zealand (hope you didn’t mind me checking) so this really is a genuine recommendation.

              Thanks for taking the time to let us know, hopefully it will help somebody out. Although if I go I won’t be on my way to England, I have no great desire to go there for a holiday, too many other places in the world I’ve not yet seen.

              Cheers, Bob

  • Nick December 12, 2013, 11:53 am |

    I also have gum disease and have a good few years on you Bob. While in the UK, my dentist told me over many years that I had gingivitis and that I needed to see the dental hygienist every 3 months to have a scale and polish. I has never offered a referral to a Periodontist, maybe because I was using an NHS dentist. Eventual 2 molars became loose and had to be removed. I arrived in Australia 21 months ago and after 12 months went for a dental checkup where I was told that a molar on the other side was now not viable and needed to be removed and I was also referred to a Periodontist.

    The costs there were $300 for a consultation and then $1360 for deep cleaning of the whole mouth, done in two 45 min sessions. This was followed by a further $300 consultation to check progress (good). I have another consultation after 6 months and assuming all is well I expect to have an annual consultation thereafter. So, a total of $2260 in the first year with a $370 rebate from my health insurance.

    Expensive but not as dear as your quote and as I’ve already lost some teeth I’m keen to hang on to the rest even if it does cost a bit. At least here I feel that something is being done whereas my NHS treatment seemed more like supervised neglect.

    Good luck with your self treatment.

    • BobinOz December 13, 2013, 2:05 pm |

      Thanks for the price comparison Nick. Yes, your costs do appear to be well below mine, but then your periodontist only did two 45 minutes sessions, mine is suggesting two three-hour sessions.

      Either my guy is much slower than yours, or my guy is milking it a bit, or even scarier for me, my teeth are three times worse than yours 🙂

      What I am going to do though is get a second opinion and I’ll be talking to my regular dentist in January when I next visit to ask her who else she can suggest. I’ll also be interested to hear what she says about my tooth number 26, because last time she looked at it she described it as being “very solid”, as in not wobbling at all. It will be interesting to see if she thinks it should be immediately removed as well.

      Cheers, Bob

      • Nick December 14, 2013, 11:28 am |

        I was told that if the first two 45 min sessions didn’t fix the problem, there was a more intensive (more expensive) option that would be recommended. Perhaps your guy is bundling the treatments into one.

        • BobinOz December 16, 2013, 2:27 pm |

          Yes, that would make sense; I’ve heard there are two kinds of treatments, I think the more expensive one requires the gums to be cut and peeled back and then stitched back in place. That’s probably the difference between what you have had and what I have been quoted for, possibly.

      • Julie Douglas March 23, 2015, 10:03 pm |

        Hi Bob,

        I have been told I have gum disease. I got charged initially $280 for consultation and analysis and then going 2 have 2 sessions of deep clean which will cost me $1800 and then a third maintenance one after 3 months which will be $460. So it’s pretty much around the same ball park figure. But what I have heard is that it is cheaper to do your teeth in Asia and you could still have a good holiday included in the amount it cost you to maintain your teeth in Australia. I am Indian by origin and so I am getting a second opinion and how much it would cost me in India. And if it is cheaper I plan to go back, visit my mother have a bit of holiday and get my teeth done all in the amount it would cost me to go to a periodontist in Australia. And dentistry in Asia is considered good. So you not only will get a reasobable price but also a good job done and a bonus of a holiday paid with expenses included. The only thing is you need to know someone who can refer you to a good periodontist out there.

        • BobinOz March 24, 2015, 5:22 pm |

          Hi Julie

          With massive reservations, I kind of agree with you, I’ve heard exactly the same thing. As you have so rightly pointed out though, the trick is knowing somebody who can refer you to a good periodontist out there.

          I would like to wager, although I don’t know and I’m guessing, that for every good periodontist they have that there is at least another very bad one. Maybe the odds are better or worse, I don’t know. The danger is, there are no guarantees and that’s why it’s essential to get a very good and solid recommendation.

          There was a story on the news just last night, a young woman went on ‘holiday’ to Mexico, she died there in hospital under strange circumstances. Turns out she was having some minor cosmetic surgery in there, so clearly she had gone to Mexico have a holiday and to save some money. Instead, she lost her life.

          Even worse, she had no insurance, so her parents need to pay something like $20,000 to bring her back home. Of course, they don’t have that kind of money.

          A cautionary tale for sure.

          Bottom line is get an absolutely solid recommendation from a very trusted friend. Or, think about it good and hard, and decide how important to you it really is to save $3000 (at most).

        • Sandra July 15, 2018, 10:02 pm |

          Do you know about a laser treatment called Lanap for a non surgical treatment?
          Also another called perioscopy?

          • BobinOz July 16, 2018, 8:42 pm |

            No, I hadn’t heard of either of them, but I’ve just done a Google. They both look like interesting new treatment options. It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has been through either of these treatments and find out how it went for them.

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