Querying horse dentist bill…

[HollyWoozle]

I am one of those people who hates making a fuss about anything and usually just pays bills quickly, but I think I have to query the latest invoice from equine dentist and just want to make sure I’m not mad. I don’t want to have to ask but feel I should.

I called dentist to come and have a look at ageing pony as he seemed a bit unhappy in the mouth and just wanted him checked before winter (routine appt due in March). They proposed a date maybe 10 days or so later and I knew it would be more than our usual call-outs as we get multi horse discount and there is a free visit day by area.

Dentist came on Friday and was there maybe 30 mins. Pony was sedated (dentist is a vet but only does dentistry but always sedates, which is fine) and dentist said several times he couldn’t find much wrong at all, just a few rough edges he’d tidy up. I was there the whole time and he did use a little putty afterwards on some sore parts and said he’d like to give pony a jab of pain killers as his gums might be a bit sore. Fine.

The bill has come and it’s £289, including a £150 diastema/peridontal treatment. To give some context, their last visit was for an extraction from our big Appaloosa and that was £308 which I thought was great. Before that we had all five of them seen for a routine dental, inc. sedation, for £350.

I HATE quibbling and like to pay promptly, but I was really quite shocked when I opened the invoice. Would I be right to question it? Invoice lists visit fee, consultation fee, sedation, this £150 treatment and then the painkillers. Or maybe the other bills were just surprisingly cheap and I’ve lost track of what’s normal?

 

[Landcruiser]

If it's itemised and explained I think you just need to pay up. Vet bills HAVE gone up a lot and actually for all that inc. a visit charge and sedation I think that's about par for the course.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I’ve just the vet out to my pony who had a molar removed earlier this year as he still wasn’t quite right in the mouth and his lymph node was still swollen. Vet sedated and found two jagged pieces of necrotic bone in the socket which had grown since the removal were the cause of the problem. Antibiotics, sedation, wonky insisor rasped, bone removed and his annual jabs came to £200.

 

[Fieldlife]

I’ve just the vet out to my pony who had a molar removed earlier this year as he still wasn’t quite right in the mouth and his lymph node was still swollen. Vet sedated and found two jagged pieces of necrotic bone in the socket which had grown since the removal were the cause of the problem. Antibiotics, sedation, wonky insisor rasped, bone removed and his annual jabs came to £200.

that is incredibly cheap! Do you think they feel responsible for not fixing it properly the first time, and have knocked a fair bit off the bill for you?

 

[Fieldlife]

If it's itemised and explained I think you just need to pay up. Vet bills HAVE gone up a lot and actually for all that inc. a visit charge and sedation I think that's about par for the course.

Agree with this. For my vets sedation, visit, £150 actual treatment, painkiller injection would come to more I think.

 

[ihatework]

As it’s for a vet giving vet treatment in addition to dental then I think it’s pretty fair.
Expensive in comparison to an EDT but if you added a non-routine EDT to a vet call out for sedation, painkillers etc then that probably wouldn’t be that much cheaper

 

[TPO]

Last year I took my horse to a locally held clinic by Equine Dental Clinic for diastema and periodontal work.

Long story short horse had been under the care of same EDT for 9 years every 6-9mths on edt say so (since June 2024). I had a different vet look at him April 2023 who found diastema and periodontal pockets. Vet did some tidying up work.

Horse went to EDC for precise diastema and periodontal work. The bill was £512.46 and that included a few days worth of danolin. (19 April 2023)

The initial vet charged £141.24 for visit, inspection, sedation and flushing (14 April 2023).

 

[easteregg]

My two (horse and mini Shetland) had the vet today for routine dental checks, with sedation. She was on the yard for about an hour and a half. Bill was £224 and this included two wormers.

 

[HJJ]

IIRC when mine was done last month by my vet it was around £160 for visit, sedation and a bit of rasping of one sharp edge (I can't remember exactly as there were other things on the bill from a previous visit).

 

[The Xmas Furry]

My vet cost for std callout, sedation plus VAT is around 170ish, that's without anything else being done. I extracted those figures from invoices for Oct 23 and May 24, obviously there was other treatment etc on top. (That was for scanning and injecting etc)

 

[HollyWoozle]

Thanks all. To be clear this is an equine dental practice so they only do dentistry but obviously if that’s the price, that’s the price and have overall been happy with their service and, most importantly, the pony is ok.

I guess it was just a shock after their last bills which were recent… he didn’t seem to do anymore this time compared to the last time he saw the pony (bar the painkillers which are listed at £25) - that cost £70 but obviously that was with the multi horse discount so no call out fee essentially. I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be four times the price and almost as much as an extraction but I guess I need to manage my expectations when it comes to these things.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

that is incredibly cheap! Do you think they feel responsible for not fixing it properly the first time, and have knocked a fair bit off the bill for you?

The vet was astonished to find the necrotic bone and I know it wasn’t there when he left the hospital as I have the tooth which came out in one piece with no root missing and the post X-rays were completely clear so it wasn’t anything they left behind.

They are an independent practice and they price competitively. The whole procedure from first yard visit to deal with the wonky incisor and the molar, antibiotics to try and clear the abscess, sedation and many many X-rays all the way through to removal in house and the after care visit was only £1700. The vet also took the time to not only contact me between visits but also my equine dentist who had noticed the problem to start with to discuss it before surgery and then afterwards to let him know how it had gone.

 

[dougpeg]

Sounds about right to me to be honest.

 

[fredflop]

Sounds about right, maybe a bit on the “high” side of average

 

[HollyWoozle]

Thank you all for your input. I thought I would update, just for interest.

I sent a polite message on Whatsapp (their communication method of choice) saying I would pay the invoice but could they let me know if this was along the lines of a standard charge for this kind of call out, just for budgeting purposes for the future, and reiterating I've been happy with their service but it would help me to know for managing finances (since we have five senior horses and ponies and may need this sort of appt again, in addition to the routine rasp). I have received a very pleasant reply with an apology, saying it should have been £75 less and they will send me a new invoice.

I will pay it as soon as it comes. I also checked my initial message wasn't rude or grumpy first, especially since so many of you felt what they had charged was fair, but I am glad that I did essentially query it in a roundabout way... I would definitely have paid the original amount otherwise and accepted that was simply what it cost.

 

[Tiddlypom]

That was worth checking, wasn’t it .

I wonder where the extra £75 slipped in first time around.

 

[Polos Mum]

Did they explain where the £75 came from

Odd on an itemised bill for things to be 'wrong' if you thought you'd essentially had all the 'items'

Maybe a polite discount for a recurring customer rather than an 'error'?


Vets / dentist / physio costs have all gone up loads in the last 18 months or so - hence I suspect it should be on all of us when booking to confirm the price - range of likely pricing if treatment not known at the outset.

 

[HollyWoozle]

It's definitely possible they just decided to discount it, the message from them basically said "the dentist apologises as he had only meant to charge half the diastema treatment" or something along those lines.

I agree that it is on all of us to confirm prices when we can, or get a range if possible, which is why I decided to ask this time if this would be a standard sort of charge to expect for future and then I could be more prepared. I think the dentist could have said (given that I was stood there next to him) "this needs a little more than just a rasp" if you see what I mean. Instead he said several times that there wasn't much going on in there which is really why it caught me off guard that it was so much more than previous visits, that's the crux of the issue basically

To be clear I am not saying vets or dentists cost too much or grumbling at their prices, I know costs have gone up across the board and have always paid bills on time, being willing to pay for essential care (and beyond) for our little herd. I was just genuinely shocked I suppose... but I hear (read!) what you are saying and acknowledge that many of you felt the original invoice was about average. In future I will be more prepared and I will know to query it further at time of treatment. We have overall been really happy with the services of this dental practice, will continue to use them and I'm glad I called them out.

 

[Clover Girl]

I am one of those people who hates making a fuss about anything and usually just pays bills quickly, but I think I have to query the latest invoice from equine dentist and just want to make sure I’m not mad. I don’t want to have to ask but feel I should.

I called dentist to come and have a look at ageing pony as he seemed a bit unhappy in the mouth and just wanted him checked before winter (routine appt due in March). They proposed a date maybe 10 days or so later and I knew it would be more than our usual call-outs as we get multi horse discount and there is a free visit day by area.

Dentist came on Friday and was there maybe 30 mins. Pony was sedated (dentist is a vet but only does dentistry but always sedates, which is fine) and dentist said several times he couldn’t find much wrong at all, just a few rough edges he’d tidy up. I was there the whole time and he did use a little putty afterwards on some sore parts and said he’d like to give pony a jab of pain killers as his gums might be a bit sore. Fine.

The bill has come and it’s £289, including a £150 diastema/peridontal treatment. To give some context, their last visit was for an extraction from our big Appaloosa and that was £308 which I thought was great. Before that we had all five of them seen for a routine dental, inc. sedation, for £350.

I HATE quibbling and like to pay promptly, but I was really quite shocked when I opened the invoice. Would I be right to question it? Invoice lists visit fee, consultation fee, sedation, this £150 treatment and then the painkillers. Or maybe the other bills were just surprisingly cheap and I’ve lost track of what’s normal?

I’m in Ireland and we pay 80 per horse, this includes sedation and wolf teeth extraction if necessary, min time of appointment is 45 mins. I think your dentist is charging too much for sure.