A portion of healthcare which we often take for granted is dentistry. While proactive prevention is often the best idea for our teeth, we always forget about needing a dentist until we start to get tooth pain. Here is my account of a similar incident.
My name is Elfi, and I am an international student from Azerbaijan studying for a bachelor’s in Science and Technology at the University of Tartu. Like most Azerbaijanis, I have a sweet tooth and a raging “Azərçay” (a type of tea) obsession. Life was going well in late January. I was done with most of my exams and assessments when I started to feel a toothache when I drank hot tea. Immediately, my first thought was to check my insurance to see if there was any way I could decrease the costs of the unavoidable dentist visit. Upon research, some things became evident to me:
– Dental care for any resident of Estonia under the age of 19 is totally free!
– At the time, there were no insurance plans that covered dental care, with the exception of emergency dental care (in case of a fracture, chip, etc.) and only if you visited the dentist within the following 48 hours of the accident.
– Dental care in Estonia would become way more expensive than I thought!
Prompted by my tooth pain, I stumbled across this website, where I found all the necessary information. I understood that in my situation, I should prioritise the dental clinic that could take me in as soon as possible. So, similar to a job hunt, I wrote to many clinics in Tartu with my name, age, student status, and dental issue in an email and asked when they would accept me for an appointment as soon as possible. When looking for a dentist yourself, be sure to also ask your friends in Tartu about their experiences with dental care. Sometimes, you can get very recent and valuable information about which dental clinics to avoid (possibly due to a dentist’s lack of English language skills), or the opposite, which dental clinics would be worth visiting!
I ended up going to Dr. Siim Kirpson at Dental Hambaravi OÜ, located in Turu 3, 19. To my surprise, this was a private little dental clinic, and I got very lucky with my dentist, who spoke English fluently. I explained my issue to him, and the entire process was quite smooth. Going in, I was extremely stressed because this was the first time I would ever receive dental care in a foreign country, and I was so accustomed to my dentist back in Azerbaijan. However, there was nothing for me to fear. Both the dentist and the nurse were very careful, with the dentist making sure I was informed of every step of the process. I felt very well taken care of, and my anxiety decreased significantly.
I must note, however, that anaesthesia and X-rays cost extra, so if you happen to be a redhead or just a person who generally needs more anaesthesia, good luck! It is worth mentioning that students can get up to a 10% discount on dental services.
In total, I paid around 117 euros for one cavity filling, X-ray, and anaesthesia. This hurt my soul a little since I was 19 at the time. I would not have paid any money if this had happened last year. When I shared this news with my Azerbaijani friends, they thought it was extremely expensive. However, my European friends said I got lucky and this was a very cheap service.
Overall, I was pretty happy with the service provided, and to this day, my cavity is feeling great! However, it is very important to note that a huge part of dental care is prevention, which is free and accessible worldwide! Make sure you brush your teeth twice a day, floss daily, and stay away from overly sweet foods or staining drinks such as coffee and Coca-Cola. Small daily habits such as these have an immense impact on your oral health, making the difference between an expensive dentist visit and not having to visit at all.
Remember to floss, brush your teeth regularly and be mindful when eating sweets!
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