Craig Cooper: $465 for one filling is proof the dental health system is in crisis

Craig Cooper: After, I completed my admittance form and wrote ‘yes’ where it said ‘have you ever had a reaction?’ I should have written “Yes, my reaction is - $465?” Photo / Getty Images

‘’Tap tap tap’' went the highly trained fingers.

The calculation was done in seconds.

“That will be $465 for today.”

Outside, Cyclone Gabrielle was beginning to cast its grey shadow over Napier.

$465. Two, maybe three weeks of essential groceries?

A week’s rent or mortgage payment?

Nope. A filling.

No wonder New Zealanders don’t go to the dentist.

I’ve left the offices of Napier health professionals in a bewildered state before.

The last time involved what is best described as a drastic communication mix-up with a GP, whom I thought had said I DIDN’T need a physical prostate exam.

I veered back to my car, like a saddle weary cowboy looking for a saloon, and in my discombobulated state, drove through a roundabout twice before finding the correct exit.

It cost me $40.

The $465 - albeit for a large filling - hurt.

As the anaesthetic went in, a facial nerve reacted and a sharp pain stabbed my left eye, and lingered with a burning sensation.

I briefly became a live cadaver as the dentist and assistant peered at the skin reaction - the track of the nerve had gone white.

The dentist was calm, and impressed - only one or two patients he saw each year react in this manner.

I wonder how many a year react badly to $465 for half an hour and a filling.

After, I completed my admittance form and wrote ‘yes’ where it said ‘have you ever had a reaction?’

I should have written “Yes, my reaction is - $465?”

Craig Cooper: ''In a slightly anxious state, I had parked in the rain and ran into the reception of the wrong dentist''.

You may be wondering, why I was completing an admittance form after the filling.

Well, for practical reasons, my admittance was carried out verbally, because I was late.

Dentists make me nervous. In a slightly anxious state, I had parked in the rain and ran into the reception of the wrong dentist.

For five minutes or so, I sat and smiled at staff who walked in, and looked at me curiously.

As they recounted to colleagues what they had got up to at the weekend, I frowned, and formed judgements on their professionalism and lack of communication.

My phone rang. It was a very professional employee of another dental service, asking where I was.

I apologised, swore, apologised again and shot out to my car in the rain, and drove to my dentist.

The service there was gracious, professional, efficient and gloriously expensive. I had waited three weeks for the appointment so it was a relief to have my tooth fixed.

I have no issue with the treatment or how I was treated.

But the cost was ridiculous, prohibitive and evidence something is drastically wrong.

No wonder this country has a dental health crisis.

Stories have been flooding into NZME in the past week about Kiwis enduring pain because they can’t afford dental care.

Somehow, along the way, we have been able to subsidise GP care, but not dental care.

No one begrudges the millions of dollars this Government has reactively delivered in times of crisis.

But it also highlights the slow-moving earthquake that has wrecked the health system.

If we can inject millions at the drop of a disaster, why can’t we slow drip subsidies to the dental health system so that the paying punter pays less for vital services?

New Zealand has become an expensive country to live in. We are now paying boutique prices for everyday needs and services, while we are mired in third world issues like dirty water and no power.

The cost is grossly expensive fee for a service that all New Zealanders should be entitled to be able to afford.

I tried to accept my experience with a dose of good humour but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t stick in my craw.

Add the dental health system to the growing list of things that are experiencing a crisis at the moment.