(in Australia) I had to have a tooth removed due to a botched root canal that led to an abcess in the bone. The oral surgeon gave me the option of local or general - I went for general, in case he really needed to poke around. He was clearly good at what he did - ripped out the tooth, cleaned out the abcess, and stitched me up without the need for so much as an aspirin afterwards. Only the vaguest sense of pain, and then only if I tried to find it.<p>Also interesting in this life event was that it was done by the same surgeon at a separate private hospital. It was covered by private medical insurance, but the hospital took a $500 contingency payment up-front. The next week for my follow-up, I asked if there were any unusual costs, because I hadn&#x27;t got my &#x27;contingency&#x27; money back. He (quietly) hit the roof that this was an unnecessary payment and I never should have paid in the first place. He told me that I should demand the money back. This was at 5:30pm. 9:02 the next day, as I&#x27;m gearing up to do phone battle, I get a call from the hospital&#x27;s finance department asking where to send the refund - apparently in the intervening hours, this surgeon had torn the financial controller of the hospital a new one at the unethical behaviour. Colour me pleasantly surprised!