Even in most universal healthcare countries dentistry and vision are only covered for minors, because they’re seen as care that can be budgeted ahead of time (y

Even in most universal healthcare countries dentistry and vision are only covered for minors, because they’re seen as care that can be budgeted ahead of time (you know a tooth is sensitive waayy before you actually have it filled, so you can save up for the cost). Dentists and opticians are run like businesses. And yes, $200 is still ridiculously expensive for a filling. Here in The Netherlands I’d pay ~$104 for a multi-sided composite filling (the most complicated filling you can get). For the cheapest (one-sided amalgam) I’d pay ~$25. Local anesthesia would be ~$8.