A survey of dental costs has uncovered significant variations between counties and even surgeries in the same area.
The research from the Irish Independent found that some people are paying nearly 5 times more than others for routine procedures, such as fillings, with huge disparity at a local level.
In one example, one dentist in Kilkenny was found to be charging double the amount for a filling than a surgery 300 metres down the road.
Caroline Robbins is a dentist at Kiwi Dental in Carlow, and is the President of the Irish Dental Association. She told KCLR News that when people are shopping around for dental care, they tend to focus on relationships rather than price.
“The thing with dental care or medical care, I always think you have a relationship with your dentist, you have a relationship with your doctor, you have a relationship with your hairdresser, these are three things that people have very, you know they go find somebody that they like, they go find someone that they trust and like medicine and dentistry we are doing very specialised stuff, so it’s not so much about price it’s about the relationship”
