Hi

My son has just had his braces put on last month. The approximate amount comes to about 15,000 Francs for the whole treatment.

You can claim dentist expenses on your taxes.

Thanks all for your help!

I've been thinking about doing it in my home country, because even with the regular visits every 6/8 weeks it would probably work out to cost less than the amounts mentioned here...

I've just moved here to start a graduate job; so I don't have insurance yet. Is it possible to take out insurance covering part / most of the cost? I especially like the idea of claiming dentist expenses on my taxes

Is this a "normal" price in Switzerland???
We are moving in two weeks and were considering the supplementary dental cover for our daughter. However the standard cover gives a maximum of 600 CHF/year for braces and costs 36 CHF/month. Strangely I also found with the same company (Intras) a cover of upto 5,000 CHF/year for a monthly cost of 14 CHF/month. Regardless of this strange offer (8 times higher cover for 40% of the price, probably there is some typical insurance catch), it would indicate the cost level to be expected. 15,000 equals the highest possible total dental cover over a three year period.
Is the level of insurance cover inadequate or is 15,000 an exceptionally high price?
I do know that braces in Holland typically cost around 3,000 CHF and generally medical costs are definitely not 5 times as high in Switzerland as in Holland.

I am considering scheduling a dental appointment to get my teeth cleaned. I have never done any dental work in switzerland. Anyone know the approximate costs of such a procedure? Im trying to decide if I should do it here or wait till i go on vacation to the US and have it done there ~$200

I pay CHF 75 for teeth cleaning in Zug.

Dental exam = 21 tax punkte
Cleaning 9 tax punkte for every five minute period (you may need 20-30 min)
X-rays 5.5 tax punkte for every x-ray
Simply multiply the total tax punkte by the average value of each tax punkte which is about 3.50 CHF and you will find out how much you have to pay.
You will also realize why some people have different bills
Good luck

Is that the one at the Zug Bahnhof? I noticed they open for business till pretty late, which is good.

Since I have never got my teeth cleaned, I don't know what does it mean. Could you please tell me what it means- cleaning plaque or cleaning teeth as they turn yellow? If its none of these, what exactly does it mean?

A dental hygenist should do this yearly. They scrape all the plaque and stains off your teeth and floss/scrape out between the gaps. You would be amazed at the calcium that sticks to your teeth here too. The result is nice clean white teeth

I use Iten in Bundesplatz 4.

Doesn't cleaning leaves gap between teeth? Can those gaps be filled by dentists?

Dunno what you guys are talking about here, but the 2 times i went to dentists in Geneva, i got charged CHF 100 for the first 10 min, then 50 per 5 min, my total bill for fixing a teeth was CHF 385 (that's around 30 min of work + xray) + CHF 265 the second

If i'm going to cleaning, i guess i would be charged around 250 to 300.

UK: spend 1-2 mins at the end of the check-up doing a perfunctory scratch here and there with the little hooky thing, then a quick whizz round with a spinning brush and paste to make you smell minty.

Switzerland: spend 30-40 mins using a tiny laser drill thing to go in-between and around the edge of every single tooth where it joins the gum, both inside and out, to remove every trace of tartar (that hard white stuff), then buff each tooth with a polishing head, then finally polish up with paste to make you smell minty. It's uncomfortable to the point of being right on the edge of actual pain but, my word, your teeth are sooooo clean afterwards and stay that way for ages.

kodokan

No gaps are left between the teeth.

Thanks Marie and Kodokan for your replies but if there is plaque between the teeth (not on the teeth)and if they clean/scrap it off, doesn't it leave gap? I have seen people who have gap between their teeth after they visit dentists and I assumed it was because they got the plaque removed from the teeth. Ok, I do know I am sounding very dumb, but I really don't know

Nope, I've never noticed gaps. They don't actually shove anything right between the teeth; it's more like cleaning right down to the bottom of the valley where two teeth meet.

And for general info, I paid 140-something CHFs for my clean, by the local dentist in my village (I imagine she's cheaper than a big city one catering to English speakers, but she's still excellent; I had a root canal done - very thoroughly - there).

kodokan

Ask for a quote beforehand?

(That's why Swiss dentists never need to ask you to open wide.)

The plaque forms on your teeth not on its own between your teeth. It isn't just plaque that builds up, I have a build up that actually protects my teeth from plaque and tooth decay... but it gets stained from tea and wine and looks terrible. But my teeth don't get cavities.

Anyone have an experience here in Switzerland for a wisdom tooth extraction? I'm asking around work and every figure I've heard scares the crap outta me and makes me want to invest on a trip to Germany or even Hungary, lol.