Dental work in Ukraine

[Jack]

How many of you have heard varing stories about dental work done in Ukraine?

I guess just as we hear of good Russian ladies and Russian women with low morals, good agencies and scam agencies, good Russian discussion boards and scam agencies influenced Russian discussion boards, many of you have heard good and bad dental stories.

My take is that you have some very good dentist and a have a lot of so-so dentist. You can run into good dentist as well as bad dentist. I know of several Ukraine and Russian individuals who have wonderful teeth due largely to some very good dentists (and have seen many good looking ladies who could have used some good dental work!).

Some 6 or 8 weeks ago I was talking with my Kiev manager and we somehow got off on the subject of teeth and some work I was going to do and she told me of some work she had done and how wonderful her dentist was. I got this crazy idea and asked her to ask her dentist what it would cost to make a bridge as I needed and I described the same type bridgework my dentist had described he was going to do for me, for $2400.

She got back to me a few days later and told me the dentist had said about $250. My first thought was we were not comparing apples to apples. But I thought why not just double check and see what it would cost for him to do what my dentist was going to do, so I made an appointment.

Upon landing in Kiev I was taken straight to the dentist office where they were waiting on me. No going to flat, no getting a cold brew, straight to the dentist office from the airport.

Dentist seems to be a cool guy with two really "fine" assistants. He has the type of modern dentist equipment you see in dentist's offices all over America. I notice on one wall is the photo of a beautiful looking, I would say about 23 year old woman who has signed her picture for the Dentist. I ask who she is and am told it is one of Ukraine's most popular young stars and singer. "Hey", I thought to myself, "He can't be too bad if he is taking care of this gorgeous woman's beautiful teeth". So we proceed with the exam.

Dentist doesn't speak much English but could tell over the years he has learned the important English words or phrases that would apply to his profession. But just in case I had my Kiev assistant manager Rostick with me serving as interpreter.

Dentist looks at my situation, does some measuring, more looking and then explains to Rostick what he recommends to do. It was the same as what my dentist was going to do. I asked how much? The dentist sat at his office desk with pen and paper and started figuring things, took out his calculator, and based on that days currency rate (5.30), said about $300.

I thought about it half a nano-second and said let's do it.

We don't have a lot of time as I have to catch a train to Odessa that evening and won't be back to Kiev for another couple of weeks. Dentist gives me a shot. I remind him again, the reason I like my dentist in Dallas so much is he makes sure I never feel a thing, so the dentist thinks a second and gives me another little shot. They had to do some grinding and re-aligning including pulling one tooth. He did all his work and I never felt a thing.

We figure out the day I will be back in Kiev and they reserve me a block of time so that as soon as I get to Kiev and after dropping my luggage off at the flat, I am theirs. I didn't know how much to pay him for the work he had done so thought I would give him a $100 bill if that was good enough for him. I go to give him the $100 and he refused to take it. I asked why and he said it was unlucky to get paid before the job was done. Well that was the first time I had ever heard that old saying but fine with me. As we were leaving I asked him to give me a prescription for some pain pills, I don't want to be hurting on the train that evening. He tells Rostick to get XYZ medicine for me at the pharmacy. I say wait a minute, we need a prescription, I don't want any over the counter Bayer's! He grins a little and tells Rostick just to get this medicine, it will work fine. So we go to the local drug store and ask for these pills. I guess I get about 20. I guess these pills worked because I never did feel any pain. I think we could never get these pills over the counter in America.

Upon my return to Kiev we get to the dentist about 10am, the dentist goes in, does some measuring, some more grinding and then a lot of measuring and taking of molds. Must have made four different molds. Guess I am in there for about 1.5 hours. I am to come back in a few days. Go back in a few days and they take this bridge they made for me, put it in, did some fine sanding here and fine sanding there and after about an hour have my new bridge in place. It felt pretty good.

I go to pay him and ask how much. He sit's down at his desk, takes out pen and paper, takes out calculator and then gives me a piece of paper that shows $267.

I look at this $267 and I say,...nooooo. He looks at me with a question on his face and says,...."nooooo". And I say, noooo. I walk over to the window, away from him, reach into my billfold and pull out three $100 bills. Turned towards him and gave him the three bills. I told him "You told me $300 so it is $300". The question mark look on his face then changed to a big smile.

Not many guys who are seeking a Russian bride will have the opportunity to maybe have this type of work done, although it is possible. I think guys who might be married or engaged might be more in the position to think about such if they so desired. The great difference in dental cost between here and there and getting the same type work done has got to be an attractive option to some. I think the work I got from this dentist in Kiev was as good as I would have received in America. I would have no problem in recommending this dentist to anyone.

[Antonua]

... in response to Dental work in Ukraine, posted by Jack on Jun 17, 2003

Could be worth a visit

[Jack]

... in response to Kool -  What's his name and contact deta..., posted by Antonua on Jun 20, 2003

Antonua send me an e-mail and I will give you his name and address.

[MarkInTx]

... in response to Dental work in Ukraine, posted by Jack on Jun 17, 2003

That's interesting...

I'm curious... have you, by chance, had your dentist in Dallas look at the work and render his opinion?

Maybe he wouldn't be honest, but still...

I think that if you found a good dentist in Kiev that you were very fortunate. But just going to Ukraine and getting any dentist to work on you might be asking for trouble.

Before coming to America, Victoria had a lot of dental work done because it was much cheaper. She went to one of the better dentists in Kherson.

She could have gone for free to one dentist, but chose the other one because she had heard that this dentist offered much better quality. (It was still a fraction of the cost a dentist in America would have charged...)

Recently, Victoria went to my dentist here, because she had a filling come out. Turns out to be worse than we originally thought. The tooth didn't have a filling in it, per se... Nearest my dentist could determine... they did a partial root canal and stopped before getting all of the decay, and put on her what is essentially a temporary filling.

Keep in mind that this dentist was reputed to be very good. And she did not know that Victoria was heading to America.

Well... As a complete X-ray of Victoria's mouth showed, Ukrainian dentists have some rather strange practices.

They seem very prone to want to do bridgework -- even when bridgework is not needed. For example, they put a bridge between two of Victoria's molars, even though both teeth are healthy, and there is no reason for it. (All it does is make it more difficult for her to brush there...)  They put metal caps on her wisdom teeth for no apparent reason.

The dentist here is going to redo most of her bridgework, which is weak. He will probably end up removing the wisdom teeth entirely. The tooth that gave her problems will have a root canal done, and a crown put on it.

This isn't as bad as it sounds, but Victoria has a new appreciation for American Dentistry.

And, admittedly, Kherson is not Kiev.

Also, there is the possibility that the dentist here is doing this work out of professional pride ("If it wasn't done here, it can't be good, so I must redo it!") But I don't think so. This dentist is a really good guy, who has always trried to save me money in the past. And he was almost apologetic as he showed us the X-Rays and explained what needed to be done.

Again, it is possible that you saw a great dentist in Kiev, and he did exactly what your dentist here would have done for a fraction of the cost.

But, personally, I'd be leary of going to Kiev and turning one of their dentists loose on me...

FWIW

[T P Cornholio]

... in response to Re: Dental work in Ukraine, posted by MarkInTx on Jun 18, 2003

My wife felt the same way, she *thought* she had been receiving great treatment for cheap and she was/is concerned about the cost here (even with insurance).  But after visiting the dentist here a couple times, she's become more of a believer.  We know some people who fly back to Ukraine to get their dental done while visiting relatives, but my wife isn't so convinced anymore that it would be better.

Yep, communist times were great, all medical in Ukraine was free -- we've all heard that argument.

[Cal]

... in response to Dental work in Ukraine, posted by Jack on Jun 17, 2003

How amusing, no wonder Lydia at the dentists office here
could not believe what I was going to get charged for an
implant - she's from Ukraine.  Which, by the way, is where
I'm going to be in a week or two.

Jack, how's about getting a hold of me regarding hiring
your services while I am in Kiev?  There was a last-minute
change and the girl I was going to hang with for a few
days bailed on my.  Suka!  I was gonna stay in her flat!

Cal

[Ryan]

... in response to Dental work in Ukraine, posted by Jack on Jun 17, 2003

Jack rules…
Flying in to get the shooter treatment.  Ya, it’s always cool to play the big shooter role.  But more to the point Rostick rules.  Ya know, this is what it takes.  Havin the balls to let some dude mess with your teeth.. lol….  Only the duke.. (Who’s your daddy)…I mean it’s like the duke in cyber with the nano-seconds and all. .. So cool…   I tell ya these people in the Ukraine really will do ya right, hey been there done that, ya ain’t telling me nothing.  

Now many guys who are seeking a Russian bride...ROFLOL!! CLASSIC ....trust me the duke rules.    

[BubbaGump]

... in response to Dental work in Ukraine, posted by Jack on Jun 17, 2003

I don't think you could offer a dental tour by itself so make it a combo girl-dental tour deal or a sightseeing dental tour.

[Scaught]

... in response to Do a combo tour deal, posted by BubbaGump on Jun 17, 2003

n/t

[wsbill]

... in response to Dental work in Ukraine, posted by Jack on Jun 17, 2003

Where they strap a guy in a chair and start drilling into the guy teeth to get to the nerve...something about diamonds and the nazi/jew past...

Boy howdy, talk about a NERVE wrenching movie!!

Geez.

Gee, Jack you could have gone down to the Baylor Dental College and gotten some of your work done for free.  They might have to do it a few times before they get it right..

[tfcrew]

... in response to Re:What is the name of that movie ........., posted by wsbill on Jun 17, 2003

Baylor Dental is far from "free".

[wsbill]

... in response to Marathon Man?, posted by tfcrew on Jun 18, 2003

Running all over the place, but just hearing that drill was pretty nasty.

Now Imagine how your girl feels when she see that movie!

[tfcrew]

... in response to Dental work in Ukraine, posted by Jack on Jun 17, 2003

Yeah!
That's what we're doing.
My wife saved enough on dental bills to pay for her tickets back to Ukraine this spring.

[John K]

... in response to Dental work in Ukraine, posted by Jack on Jun 17, 2003

From what I've heard on the subject, if you go to a dentist that is payed out of pocket (like what you did), you get excellent service.  If you go to the polyclinic, which is free or almost free, woe unto you!  

My fiancée found that out the hard way a few years ago.  I was having some extensive dental work done and she decided that if I was so brave to do all that work, she could have a little work done herself in Ukraine.  It was the most painful experience in her life!  The doctor wouldn't give her any anesthetic and when Marina tried to leave, the dentist wouldn't let her.

I tell you what, if anybody tried that on me, they'd be fishing that drill from out of their nether regions, while I would be making my escape out the nearest door/window/skylight/whatever I could find...

[Ryan]

... in response to Re: Dental work in Ukraine, posted by John K on Jun 17, 2003

I tell ya I mean the duke */* is cool but I think I will stick with the staff at the U of M here in my old home town let the insurance take care of it…