I just want to tell you about my experiences with Dental care in Ireland and Poland.
My local West-Cork Dentist is a real artist with filling teeth
or molars. He can fill elements that I would say are hopeless cases.
However, after 59 years of a full life, everybody will understand that that some
of my elements indeed got to a state of "Beyond repair"
Now the dental system in Ireland works such that your local
dentist does the fillings and extractions but for more esoteric constructions
you need specialist consultants, usually based in regional cities. I already had
a negative experience meeting such consultant who on our first meeting first
wanted me to fill out a form rather then to meet in person and then let me
wait 20 minutes before my patience expired and I left. Not my idea of friendly
respectful personal service at a first meeting.
Nevertheless I enquired and was told that a budgetary quote for one crown was
2000 Euro. 2000 Euro? What is the hourly fee these guys ask for? Rip off
Ireland? or The dental mafia? Or both? I did not want to spend this kind of money
and be humiliated by an inefficient and arrogant consultant and wanted a
solution that I liked a lot more in terms of both Personal and Dental treatment.
You must know that I am used to dental service of the highest
standard. Because of previous business relationships both my wife and me have
been clients of a professor in the dental department of Nijmegen University, in
the Netherlands.
However, we don't live in Holland anymore and flying to Holland is the same as
flying to another country.
So I started to do research on alternative options. My Polish friend Kamilla
pointed me to Dental services in Poland, which she said were of very high
standard. My Chinese friend David pointed me to the possibilities in China. It
turns out that a crown with a respected Dentist in Shanghai is 50 Euro and with
your average Polish one 170 Euro.
I only needed one or two and felt that I had potentially better
communication with a Polish then a Chinese Doctor so I started to do some
research on the web.
It turns out that there are quite some dental outfits that offer services in
Poland and especially Szczecin as there is a well-known university there with a
Dental Department.
Many are big clinics and appear somewhat impersonal. Szczecin is a pretty city
with some Scandinavian influence in architecture near the German border in
Poland
One website appealed to me as it had a rather personal touch and was about
a young husband and wife team with obvious modern ideas and equipment.
I contacted Michal Wiklinsky and from the first contact throughout the procedure
Michal has been a pleasure to deal with. He was very concise in his
communication, he organized a chauffeured car from Berlin airport where I landed
and fetched me from my Hotel. Then he gave me a very thorough exam inclusive of
a
panorama x-ray of the total dental situation. We discussed the situation in some
detail and played with the various alternatives. Then Michal swiftly
started on the three crowns that we jointly decided on.
Worth mentioning is the
novel way of anesthetics he uses. Rather then stick needles in your mouth and
palate, he washes just the one element he works on with anesthetic with a
special probe-like device. You don't feel ANYTHING, no sting, nothing and you
don't have the feeling that half your mouth is tingling and swollen.
On the third day of my stay he placed the three crowns and they are perfect.
Cost:? 555 Euro for three crowns
Flight Dublin Berlin 88 Euro
Two nights hotel in Poland 50 Euro.
Total 693 Euro for three crowns and a very personal service. What 2000 Euro PER
crown?
Michal clearly is very experienced in this work. He works swiftly
and purposeful. He knows what he is doing. In his praxis he has an impressive
list of diploma's and certificates of all the latest technology and procedures
he has studied and mastered. He tells me he spends an important amount of time
keeping up to date with the latest developments in his field. He uses
German dental equipment and supplies of the highest quality. His chair, that I
was in for near three hours the first day is very very comfortable, other than
the antiquated chair of my home dentist that gives me a backache for three days
after each visit.
He does total makeovers, crowns, bridges, bleaching, implants, you name it. And best of all, he
does all this in a down-to-earth friendly and personal fashion that is
non-threatening, makes you feel respected, comfortable, well taken care of and
in the best hands.
I highly recommend him. Have a look at his site:
I have no financial link with or interest in Michal's services.
It's just that I know a good service when I see one and I think that a good
service deserves a good press!
Please feel welcome to
email me should you have any questions or comments.
UPDATE 11-2006
Since I made this site in November 2005, many of my friends here in Ireland and
some people I got to know through this site from other countries have been
treated by Michal. All of them have returned with a big smile and very
content with their teeth and Michal's service. They have had various treatments.
One of them needed a lot of work done and he saved 16000 Euros compared to his
quote from a German dentistry! Not to mention what it would have cost in
Ireland!
UPDATE 12-2008
My wife Lya had two old bridges of 20 years that came off recently. Michael replaced one of them with a new one made of a very new composite material. It looks beautiful and provides limited flexibility that will extend the expected lifetime of it. A second temporary bridge was made on the spot by Michal using a very clever 'before and after' molding technique. She also had two implants set that, after healing, will help carry the new permanent second bridge.
We took the trip with our friends Nel and Johnny who were
delighted with the work that Michal did for them. I took the opportunity to have
two crowns made so my front teeth now have all the same colour.
We had a great time in Szczecin as a bonus. We stayed on board the
Ladoga a Russian
ship with some rooms and a great restaurant.
UPDATE 05-2009
Lya went back to have the bridge placed on the implants that
have healed since being placed in December.
Once more she has a radiant smile and she feels the bridge is placed so that the
load is carried evenly on all implants. Good work. Thanks Michal!
Michal has proudly taken residence in a new building that now combines his house and dental practice. More space, more style and the latest in dental equipment. Here some impressions:
