Robert Hargrove

Unlike the Rest of the World Which is Geared Toward Delivering a Basic Service to the Public

There it was…Eeeyewww! In the process of brushing my teeth and rinsing out the foamy white toothpaste, I noticed the dreaded blood-red streaks indicating a gum condition. It was then that I decided to do what in dentistry is called a Deep Cleaning, the usual cure for this condition.

I first checked with my local dentist and was told that the procedure would cost $1775. Wow!!! To clean my teeth and gums! I decided on the spot to check with the dentist in China, which I would be visiting shortly thereafter.

Once in Shanghai, a family member with pull took me to a local dental hospital which was a real symphony in cultural differences. There were throngs of people everywhere lining up in front of a window that looked like the ticket booth of a movie theater. There people were getting appointments for that day (not weeks from now), as well as paying bills for the procedure to be done. Instead of having to fill out the usual 5 pages of forms, I was simply told to come back at 11:45 for the deep cleaning.

In the West, dentists usually go through the three step process: cleaning, x-rays, and a quick exam with a pointy metal stick which culminates in “displaying the case” or THE LECTURE. You are going to have to spend $5000 to $10,000 for root canals, crowns, periodontal work, or lose your teeth! This is in large part a scare tactic designed for the dentist to extract as much money from you as possible.

When 11:45 rolled around, I showed up at the hygienist’s cubicle. She was obviously very professional. She asked me to sit down and began the procedure with the latest high-tech equipment, a combination of pressurized water and ultra sound. About an hour later she was done and my gums have not shed a drop of blood since.

Amazingly, the total cost of this procedure was $40 USD. Even if you take labor cost and currency differences of the Chinese RMB to the dollar into account (1 USD = 6.67 RMB) and multiply the cost of $40 by 6.67RMB, it comes out to only $266. The Chinese save people money in other ways as well. For example, no private offices, no secretaries, no answering services, and no insurers to pay.

The experience of going to the Chinese dental hospital made it vividly clear why USA healthcare costs are so out of whack. They are set up for doctors, dentists, and hospitals to make huge profits, rather than to simply make sure that the general public receives the necessary dental and medical services they need.

If you think my experience was based on limited data points, consider the fact that Juris Ozols, a friend of mine, was told by his local dentist in New Hampshire that he would need a root canal and crowns for a cost of about $1500. He decided to fly home to his native Latvia where there is a government run healthcare program.

“The USA healthcare system is largely based on BS-ing, and lies,” he told me. The reason for such a strong statement? An examination by a top specialist in Latvia revealed that Juris didn’t need a root canal and crown at all. All that was required was to close a crack in a back tooth by filling with some ceramic material. The total cost to Juris was $200.