Two visits to the dentist yesterday. Appointments don’t work here. “Be here between 10 and 11 in the morning”, said the dentist’s assistant. I was there at 10. I wrote my name down in the pad on the table. I was third on the list. I waited in the small busy room. The assistant popped out of the inner room, every once in a while and called people farther down the list, about 3 of them, before he called me in.
The dentist was an aging man. He had two or three other dentists to assist him. After getting my teeth inspected by two different dentists, I came to know that I have 7 teeth to be filled, one that requires a root canal treatment, and a broken tooth that requires a crown. I broke that tooth waiting in line at the Tirupati temple. There was a guy there, in the queue, selling something like peanuts. “Time pass, time pass”, was his signature selling note. After I was done with the exceptionally hard peanuts, I noticed I was missing a quarter of a molar. So I have grown softer, at least, my teeth have.
So, to get back to the dentist, after the inspection, I was asked to return in the evening. After an x-ray of the fractured tooth, a young dentist went to work on the tooth requiring the root canal treatment. I am promised a perfectly functional set of tooth in the next ten days. I have to keep visiting the dentist everyday until we are done. I have some pain killers to keep me numb for the stretch.
Now comes the best part of this post — the total cost of the entire treatment:
Rs. 1500 for the new crown
Rs. 1500 for the root canal treatment
Rs. 2100 for filling the cavities in 6 teeth
Rs. 300 for cleaning all the teeth.
At 43 Rupees to the Dollar, that is a total of $125! I cannot beleive it, almost.
My father however has something else to say — he thinks the dentist is ripping me off because I told him that I am studying in the U.S. I hope to God my father never learns how much a root canal treatment alone costs in the U.S.
Hi Cash,
Interesting Blog n very interesting post on ur root canal treatment!!!
Caught up with vasu some days back.Told me bout the coorg trip.In regular touch with nikhil.
Presently am in bangalore , with wipro tech..finished my mba from symbiosis pune…Joined as a consultant in the retail vertical….
Ciao
Shubham
“7 teeth to be filled, one that requires a root canal treatment, and a broken tooth that requires a crown.”
Whoa, that’s a lot of dental work.
first off, welcome to the club!
what your dad thinks is right, atleast in an Indian perspective. Its costly as per Indian standards
Having said that, prices that you’ve mentioned are a bit lower when compared to Bangalore prices. But Dentists are in plenty here and you can find one in almost any notable street – donot need to wait in long queues (usually).
Even in Russia the same work would cost far much. $500 at least, depending on the clinic: is it commercial or state-owned…
India is a great country. And you don’t have winters there!
This is the private practise of a dentist, so, no, it is not state operated. If it were a government hospital, I could have got it done for free, but would have had to wait for a month or so.
You are lucky!… my wife is having almost the same work done by our dentist here in America… WITH INSURANCE, total cost $3,500 USD!!… $125 was just for them to tell me I gotta pay $3,500!!
I got to say that its still way cheaper in India. When I went to the US for the first time, I still had some root canal/fillings to be done. Was stupid enough not to get it done while in India.
When I got the bill, I realised that it would have been a whole lot cheaper for me to take a flight back to India, get the dental stuff taken care of and fly back
.
hey can u tell me where u got this treatment. can u tell me the adress of that clinic plz man its so urgent. u can send me email on my id its saahil_alone_4ever@yahoo.com.
Please reply to this email where this clinic is located ASAP
Hi Sunny, geetha – take your pick of the dentists in Trivandrum. I don’t remember the dentist’s name, but his house was close to Puthenchanta in Trivandrum.
I have a question ?
Can Half broken tooth be fixed as it is or else they need to be replaced with a new one?
How can the tangy sensation in your broken tooth be reduced?
Prabhakar, they usually cap it after filling in the holes. The best way to figure out the best way to fix it is to visit a dentist.
Root Canal also requires Crown similar to a broken tooth.
I paid 3000 for root canal recently.
I also have a broken front tooth which need a 1500 Rs cap to hide it.