As a health care card holder and jobseeker in need of a root canal, I considered the UQ dental…read moreschool because they were much cheaper than the private dentists. With my health care card I was given a free consult at the dental school, and the dental student I saw advised me that the root canal could be done. I was given a professional quote outlining the treatment details and cost - approximately $750 for a root canal with an amalgamation filling, or $1250 for a root canal with a crown. I scheduled in for another appointment a few weeks down the track. On the morning of the treatment the receptionist phoned to advise me that the dental student was sick and my appointment was cancelled, that it was suddenly too difficult to perform the root canal, and that I should seek private treatment. I had the feeling that something wasn't quite right, and asked why they now refused to give me the treatment despite having given me a professional quote. The receptionist phoned back after a chat with the lab manager, and offered me an appointment to 'begin the root canal' the next day with another dental student. The next day, a student with apparent little experience began the root canal as promised, but once the decay had been removed they once again advised me that the root canal shouldn't be done because there was little tooth remaining. In hindsight, its clear to me that this was understood by the dentists upon analysis of my x-rays at the consultation, that I've been used as a practising tool for the students, and that the cancelled appointment was indeed because the student was ill, but the advice to seek private treatment was given because they knew that the root canal would never be completed. You see, the students need to practise beginning root canals on live patients, and their concerns are clearly with gaining experience for themselves, without a care for wasting the patients time. Its true that you get what you pay for, and indeed I ended up with a free tooth extraction, but if I'd known that this would have been such an ordeal, I would have saved myself several appointments,a ton of stress, and instead taken myself to the free dental hospital at Woolloongabba to have an extraction.
My final appointment was for a tooth extraction, which was terribly painful. When I arrived I was advised that they might have to cut open my gum to remove the tooth, which would incur a prolonged healing time and a painful recovery. It seemed as though the managing dentist changed his mind about this after I mentioned I had a job interview scheduled for the next day, although I can't be sure that this is their reasoning because they went elsewhere in the clinic for their discussion. They worked within the socket instead, saying that this would be easier recovery for me and that its the way that most professional dentists choose to work. Whatever happened, whether they changed their minds at the last minute about giving the student the opportunity to practise a gum excision because they wanted to spare me the pain and give me a chance to attend my job interview, or whether they left the decision about the treatment until the end but made me aware of all of the possibilities when I arrived, it was a stressful experience. I imagine having a tooth removed would be stressful wherever you go, but it was my first tooth extraction so I don't have a comparison. The student performed the easier parts of the surgical extraction, and the experienced dentist did the more complex parts. It was about a week before I was able to cease pain medication, and a week and a half before the pain subsided completely. The dentist prescribed panadeine forte upon my request, which came very much in handy. They were also happy to provide me with a medical certificate in case I was in too much pain to attend my job interview.
Prior to this ordeal, I received a plaque removal from another student. With my healthcare card this treatment was free. The initial appointment was two hours long, and involved a medical history, a quick clean, an examination and a treatment plan. The students don't have access to dental assistants, it seems difficult for them to multitask, and it takes a long time for them to get things done. They're required to have each component of their work checked by an experienced dentist, and sometimes there is a wait involved in gaining their attention. I was lucky to make it in for an x-ray just in the nick of time, otherwise I would have had to come back in to have these done on another day. The second appointment was for the plaque removal, and I feel as though the student did a good job. She had informative answers to my questions and gave me a toothbrush with some toothpaste to take home.
The moral of the story is if you have the cash to pay for dental treatment, I think its worth going to a private dentist, but if you don't have the cash be prepared to be a guinea pig. At least I helped a few students to lear
