We had our first French dentist appointments last week. It was incredibly efficient. I think all three of us were in and out in less than an hour. They took us one at a time, too.
The first step were some basic x-rays using a machine where I bit down on a piece of plastic while it whizzed around my head. The dentist used that to see if there were any areas of concern that she needed to look at further. Mine looked fine, so she went right into a cleaning. She brought out those metal tools that we’re all used to… but she didn’t really use them. Instead, she used what I’d call a “water pik on steroids” to blast the plaque off of my teeth. It wasn’t what I would call pleasant, but it was super quick. During his cleaning, Kristian mentioned to her that everything gets scraped in the US and she apparently recoiled as if he’d told her that Americans use cave paintings to store their dental records.
After the cleaning, they took a further set of x-rays using the kind of x-ray machine I’m used to (the one that gets aimed right at your face).
I still don’t qualify for French social insurance, so I had to pay out of pocket. It was a whopping 120 euros. I think I’ve paid more in the US for a cleaning and X-rays with insurance. I’m starting to understand the appeal of medical tourism.
Lilian’s x-rays revealed the presence of a tooth that’s lurking up in her gums, hiding behind a baby tooth that didn’t want to leave. Our dentist back in the US wanted to keep a watch on it, but the dentist here made an appointment for Lilian to see an orthodontist this week.
Lilian was super anxious about what was going to happen with her lurker tooth, but she was quickly put at ease by the orthodontist. He was so kind and reassuring! He also speaks English really well, which helped a lot. He explained everything matter-of-factly.
She’ll need to have the baby tooth pulled, and then they’ll use braces to pull the other tooth into position. It will likely take 1-2 years. Lilian is going back to the US for a few weeks this summer, so we scheduled everything for September. She’ll have one appointment to have mouth molds and x-rays done, then a second appointment immediately afterwards for his colleague to pull the recalcitrant baby tooth. She was scared about having the tooth pulled, but he reassured her that baby teeth are really easy to remove.
(I also reminded her that she once pulled out one of her baby teeth and then handed it to me all bloody. On Halloween.)
About a week after the initial appointments, Lilian gets her braces. We got an estimate for the more invisible braces, but she can do traditional metal ones if she prefers. Either way, because she’s starting her orthodontics before she turns 16, French social insurance will pay for part of the cost. She happens to need braces to prevent further dental issues down the line, but they’d pay the same amount if it was purely cosmetic.
We have supplemental insurance through a “mutuelle” which will pay for the bulk of the remainder. We did the math and we’ll pay about 800 euros out of pocket for the entire 2 year treatment. Every six months, we’ll have to pay up-front for the non-social insurance costs and then we’ll get reimbursed. The orthodontist offers payment plans, in case that would be a hardship.
This was basically my reverse “Dental Plan? Lisa needs braces!” moment.
Note to self: don’t move back to the US before Lilian is done with braces.
Obviously, it’s not a perfect system. The reimbursement from social security is a set amount, but most orthodontists aren’t obliged to cap their rates to that level. So, you can only take advantage of the social insurance if you have the means to pay the difference. We also need to be able to front the money before our mutuelle reimburses us. And if you want braces after the age of 16, social insurance won’t pay for anything. (Although you might have some coverage through a mutuelle).
But, hey, Lilian’s orthodontist told us his cousin just paid $14k for his kid to have braces. So, I think I’ll take it.
