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A few years ago my cat needed his teeth cleaned my local vet charged me £125. The same vet, now owned by CVS, is now going to charge £250

NegativeK 2y ago
$250 for a cleaning in the US is still a loss leader. The actual cost to the clinic of a dental cleaning is ridiculous for how often it needs to be done.
madaxe_again 2y ago
That was €10 here in Portugal.
- sib 2y ago
  How long does the process take? What is the overhead (space / equipment / other costs)? And therefore, how much is the provider earning per hour?
  - madaxe_again 2y ago
    About 20 minutes, some disposable gloves, a disposable toothbrush head impregnated with toothpaste. So about €25 an hour. Commercial rents for small spaces are dirt cheap here - probably about €600/mo. That’s probably the driving factor in the U.K. - commercial property is eyewateringly expensive.
    - DiggyJohnson 2y ago
      What about labor costs? I'm not GP but I appreciate this sort of breakdown. I wouldn't have considered that commercial RE for small business is much cheaper in Portugal than GB.
    - NegativeK 2y ago
      Respectfully, that's brushing the teeth, which is a subset of dental cleaning. Dental cleaning requires dental tools and anesthesia.
floren 2y ago
Here in the Bay Area I've been quoted $800 to clean a dog's teeth.
- kstrauser 2y ago
  Lucky! Our ancient Maltese has a heart murmur and was referred to, I kid you not, a canine cardiologist. The estimate started at $10K and went up from there. The affected teeth got loose. We pulled them. The dog is happy and healthy. I would have liked for a professional to have done that for us in a more controlled and methodical manner, but there's no way I could justify spending at least ten thousand freaking dollars on a 13 year old dog who was at significant risk of dying on the table.
- sokoloff 2y ago
  That sounds like a "we're not in the teeth cleaning business; go away!" price. I love my dog and spend pretty freely on him, but no way is he getting an $800 teeth cleaning. At that point, you might as well locate your practice on the airport and cater only to people who fly their dog in on a private jet.
  - JackFr 2y ago
    Please. Those folks have a canine dental hygienist on staff. They don't go to walk in clinics.

NegativeK 2y ago

$250 for a cleaning in the US is still a loss leader. The actual cost to the clinic of a dental cleaning is ridiculous for how often it needs to be done.

madaxe_again 2y ago

That was €10 here in Portugal.

sib 2y ago
How long does the process take? What is the overhead (space / equipment / other costs)? And therefore, how much is the provider earning per hour?
- madaxe_again 2y ago
  About 20 minutes, some disposable gloves, a disposable toothbrush head impregnated with toothpaste. So about €25 an hour. Commercial rents for small spaces are dirt cheap here - probably about €600/mo. That’s probably the driving factor in the U.K. - commercial property is eyewateringly expensive.
  - DiggyJohnson 2y ago
    What about labor costs? I'm not GP but I appreciate this sort of breakdown. I wouldn't have considered that commercial RE for small business is much cheaper in Portugal than GB.
  - NegativeK 2y ago
    Respectfully, that's brushing the teeth, which is a subset of dental cleaning. Dental cleaning requires dental tools and anesthesia.

floren 2y ago

Here in the Bay Area I've been quoted $800 to clean a dog's teeth.

kstrauser 2y ago
Lucky! Our ancient Maltese has a heart murmur and was referred to, I kid you not, a canine cardiologist. The estimate started at $10K and went up from there. The affected teeth got loose. We pulled them. The dog is happy and healthy. I would have liked for a professional to have done that for us in a more controlled and methodical manner, but there's no way I could justify spending at least ten thousand freaking dollars on a 13 year old dog who was at significant risk of dying on the table.
sokoloff 2y ago
That sounds like a "we're not in the teeth cleaning business; go away!" price. I love my dog and spend pretty freely on him, but no way is he getting an $800 teeth cleaning. At that point, you might as well locate your practice on the airport and cater only to people who fly their dog in on a private jet.
- JackFr 2y ago
  Please. Those folks have a canine dental hygienist on staff. They don't go to walk in clinics.