When I was in the states recently, the BF had to go to the dentist, which cost an arm & a leg, and was decidedly less holistic in its approach than here. In NZ, the dentist typically x-rays everything, & will point out potential problem areas as well as fixing any current problems; stateside, the dentist only examined the problem area, and didn't bother x-raying anything else (not without having the chequebook out). Dentistry is not subsidised in NZ (like the US), however, value for money, the dentistry in New York ended up costing 4x what it would have cost in NZ.
It just seems that you guys pay far too much for the services.