A hard nut to crack: What to expect from Russian dentistry in the era of sanctions

According to compulsory health insurance, the list of services provided by dentists is small, but even here problems can arise. How to find a doctor by the teeth?

Irina Mishina

As children, almost all of us were afraid of dentists because of the drill. Now we are afraid of dentists for a completely different reason: the prices for their services beat all records. The complexity of the situation is that a fairly large part of dental services is not included in the CHI. That is, of course, they can put a simple gray ugly filling on you, but if it comes to tooth reconstruction, prosthetics or just an aesthetic inconspicuous filling, this is at your own expense.

The main problem of Russian dentistry is a huge dependence on imports in everything from tools and equipment to filling materials and medicines. Although no sanctions were imposed on medical devices and drugs, procurement prices are seriously hit by logistical problems. Because of this, in March, prices for many positions soared and did not decrease, although the dollar exchange rate is completely different. Private dental clinics in Russia have alreadyraised prices by 10-15%. This was confirmed by a blitz survey "NI" of the capital's dentistry.

In the dental clinic No. 23 of the DZM, we were informed that all compulsory medical insurance services are provided in a planned manner, there is no shortage of materials. X-ray for free, for the money only a panoramic shot. Caries is treated for free, but light fillings and reconstruction of teeth are from 5 thousand and more. "For almost 3 months, these prices," - explained to us at the reception. At the same time, the Moscow Health Department responded to our request more than optimistically:

“As for dental clinics, there is currently no shortage of consumables and dental instruments. In state dental clinics, a wide range of various consumables, including domestic production, is presented. In addition, we inform you that the tariffs for compulsory medical insurance services are established by the Territorial Program of State Guarantees of Free Medical Care for Citizens in the City of Moscow for 2022 and for the planning period of 2023 and 2024, approved by Decree of the Government of Moscow dated December 24, 2021 No. 2208-PP.

However, the prices for light fillings (not included in the CHI program) in state dental clinics are almost equal to the prices in private ones. For some private traders, a light seal is even cheaper than in the state.

And here the most interesting begins further. A common service - teeth whitening, which is not included in the CHI - has begun to approach 30 thousand rubles in some clinics. Prices for 1 light filling in Moscow seem to be about the same everywhere, from 3 to 7 thousand. But in pediatric dentistry, everything is much more rigid. By the way, it is not at all easy to enroll in a district children's dental clinic to treat teeth according to compulsory medical insurance. For example, for a year now I have not been able to show my child to a dentist in the city dental clinic of the Western District. Yes, and there is little use from such a visit: for one visit, the compulsory health insurance doctor has the right to heal only one tooth for a child. To heal another one, you have to sign up again and wait for an indeterminate amount of time. Of course, parents do not wait and enroll their children in private clinics. I remember that a year ago we healed one tooth for 8,000 rubles in one such well-known clinic for a child. This year, pediatric dentistry has raised the price banner even higher. So, one of the children's dental clinics in the West of Moscow announced the following price tag: caries treatment from 5 thousand rubles, plus a filling 2,600, plus anesthesia 650 rubles, and this is not counting the cost of the consultation itself. That is, in order to heal one tooth for a child, it is necessary to pay about 10 thousand rubles.

But the most interesting begins when it comes to prosthetics. The price for one veneer ranges from 14,000 to 46,500 rubles. Thus, if you change several teeth or the entire jaw, you will have to pay from half a million rubles. And dentists advise solving problems with teeth right now, because tomorrow it can be 3-4 times more expensive.

“Purchase prices are now two to three times higher than they were before February. In our clinic, the price for the treatment of caries has risen by 20-30%. The treatment of caries cost 8 thousand, now about 10 thousand. Regarding implants, the situation is as follows: European and South Korean implants are mostly popular. European ones have risen in price by two or three times. Korean implants have practically not risen in price. But other related materials - anesthesia, suture materials, bone materials that are required for implantation, have also risen in price. Thus, implantation has risen in price by 30-40%,” says Sergey Goykhman, orthopedic dentist at the Department of Digital Dentistry clinic.

What materials do doctors use now?

“Consumables, powders for cleaning teeth and oral cavity - suppliers have raised their prices quite strongly. In our clinic, this procedure until February 24 cost from 7 thousand to 12 thousand, depending on the bite, milk or permanent, depending on the condition of the teeth. In April, this procedure began to cost from 8 thousand to 14 thousand. Prices have risen, for example, for sterilization. It's also all imported. In our country, they may produce something, but we are not satisfied with the quality”, - says Vera Konstantinova, a pediatric dentist at the Lancet clinic.

And yet, dentists do not remain without work: business does not tolerate empty spaces, and doctors find workarounds.

“Now we are changing the materials to Chinese and Korean. We conduct private purchases through Israel. However, almost everything has gone up in price. For example, cement for fixing crowns now amounts to 8 thousand in purchases. A month ago, prices were exorbitant, now they have dropped. If you take the price difference, braces, teeth whitening - all this has risen in price by at least 10%. But at the same time, there is everything. We also use our Russian: aprons, cups, saliva ejectors, consumables, antiseptics. In general, dentistry never stops. Remember how, under the USSR, materials were carried in suitcases from Israel, from Europe. Dentistry is an international industry, many countries producing equipment and materials are integrated into it. Among them are China, Korea, Iran. Moreover, in Iran, all materials are much cheaper than other countries”, - Moscow dentist - IP Anastasia Georgiyevna K. told NI.

Why is it impossible to replace imported materials with Russian ones? After all, they are, as the Moscow Department of Health assures. The reason is that their quality, as a rule, leaves much to be desired. Perhaps worthy Russian analogues will appear over time, but it will take more than one year to certify them and bring them to the market. In the meantime, you will have to adapt to the changing market. And yet I would like to hope that we will not have to collect money for prosthetics and other dental procedures via SMS, as for some operations.

Now dentists advise to solve problems with teeth as soon as possible. By the way, some clinics already offer to fix the price with an advance payment of 50% of the cost of treatment. This allows you to buy all the necessary consumables in advance and not shock patients with an increased price.

But it is also true that it is impossible to raise prices indefinitely. The concept of solvent demand in dentistry has not been canceled.