Seeing a Dentist in Ukraine

During the past year I developed a tooth cavity that needed filling. Never having set up a dentist visit on my own, I didn't know how to go about doing it. I talked to a couple friends and asked for recommendations, but didn't get any specific advice. So, after waffling for a few weeks I finally just went to the state dental clinic on the corner.

It was a lot like any Ukrainian state clinic or hospital. The interior was dilapidated, with rickety seat rows in the open areas for people to wait. Middle-aged women walked around in white robes, and information was posted near the entrance behind a glass screen. I looked at the prices for various dental procedures, and it seemed too low to be true (15 UAH for a filling, for example — that's just $2 USD). It turns out the actual prices are higher.

I asked the administrator (in Russian) how to go about seeing a dentist to get a filling (поставить пломбу) and have plaque removed (снятие налёта). I was worried that I would only be able to obtain services if I was a registered resident of the local district. The lady asked me when I wanted to see the dentist — "now" or "later." I said, "how about tomorrow?" "What time?" she asked. (This is a typical situation in Ukraine. You ask a general question, and they respond by asking you a specific question. Most people don't like to answer general questions.)

Apparently my registration, or lack thereof, made no difference. The lady took down my last name and gave me a scrap of paper with the appointment time, room number, and dentist's last name on it. The next day I came in for a filling and was in and out of the clinic in just under 20 minutes, paying 195 UAH ($24 USD) for the procedure.

The dentist was working in a large room with 4 dentists total and 4 dental chairs that appeared adequately equipped. She took a look at the cavity and told me it would cost about 200 UAH for a "good filling" and that the price could be lower for a lower-quality filling substance. I opted for the better filling.

The procedure didn't require anaesthesia, and she worked quickly and seemed to do a good job. In less than 15 minutes it was over. She told me to go to the administrator to pay, then bring her back the pay slip. I did so and arranged for a teeth cleaning directly with the dentist, and she wrote me out a note with the time and place. And that was that.

A few days later, I returned for the teeth cleaning (plaque removal), which took under 10 minutes and cost 70 UAH ($9 USD). This time I paid the dentist directly. Don't quite understand how that works.

The really interesting part was when I shocked our house guest from the U.S. by returning home in just 20 minutes after leaving to get my filling. Apparently getting a filling is a far more complicated procedure where she is from in the U.S. and takes no less than an hour. After telling her what my visit was like and how much it cost, she began to wonder whether all the procedures performed at her clinic were really justified and whether they might have been making things more complicated than necessary to jack up the cost.

I don't know the answer to that question, but I do know that getting a filling in Kiev involved about 1 minute of paperwork (giving my name and signing up), almost no wait, and a bare-bones, but efficient procedure that took about 10 minutes.