Dentist Sticker Shock

[MadScientist]

I know medical costs are rising sharply but WTF is up with dentist's fees.

My wife and I have been lucky and have not had a cavity in the last 2 years but this year we got hit hard.

She had an abscessed tooth. Our regular dentist said her roots were angled and did not want to mess with them. He sent her to an endodontist (can you say specialist). Endodontist said she needed the abscess drained and 2 root canals.
I had a checkup and needed 2 small fillings by our regular dentist.

Costs:
First consult for wife from our regular dentist: $116.15
Wife's second consult from endodontist: $166.00
Wife's 2 root canals (temp crowns), incision to drain abscess, xrays: $2,455.00, does not include permanent crowns
My check up and cleaning: $216.20
My 2 small (1 side) fillings: $425.50
Total: $3378.85
This is what we would have paid without any dental insurance.

We have Delta Dental but it only covered part of the expenses and has a max of $1000./yr.
The second consult was not paid, only 1 consult allowed per year. The check up was paid in full. They paid part of the $2455. Dissallowed the cost of the incision, said it was surgical. Paid 80% of the my fillings minus my deductible. It cost us out of pocket ~$1900. total. My wife's $1000./year max is used up, and she still needs 2 permanent crowns.

I should have been a dentist.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Sounds like you need to weigh in to try to get better dental insurance or live with the financial burden of your wife's bad dental health.

Bad oral hygiene almost put me in the hospital until I got over my fear and bad ways and did the right thing. Sure, it cost me a pretty penny, but since then (more than a decade later) no problems, thankfully.

BTW, I would be more concerned in why your dentist isn't negotiating the fees with the insurance provider. I know this has been the case with my medical insurance and hospitals. There's the advertised rate, the negotiated rate with the insurance provider, and then there is the actual cost.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Brushing of ones teeth is cheaper.

 

[BeeBoop]

I think dentist can charge that much because it's like a mini surgery. I have a few dentists in my family and they seem to charge in the same rate.

 

[luv2liv]

i feel the pain man. recently had 3 root canals in 1 week!

total cost for 3 root canal + core fill in + porcelain crowns = 7300 without insurance.

im shopping around and finding out in network dentists charge a lot lesser! so in actuality, i may only have to pay around $2000, with insurance!

 

[sze5003]

My company offers the same dental insurance. One is standard the other is premium. I think it costs a couple bucks more for the premium and it just covers the same stuff but a higher allowance I think.

I brush my teeth every day as on should but I've had history of people in the family with cavities and such so when I was younger I had tons of cavities.

On my 21st b day my tooth broke and I had to have a porcelain one put in to fix it. I didn't have insurance so the dentist gave me a cash discount of $1400.

This is why I dont go to dentists. I know they will find shit and charge me an arm and a leg to fix stuff. That and the anesthetic shots don't work for me so the pain is ridiculous when they tried to do a root canal and we're not able to complete it.

 

[Zeze]

Why is it like this in US?

While my parents visited Korea for leisure, my dad replaced all of his old fillings and fixed his root canals for mere hundreds- without insurance of course.

And don't let some price psychology fool you. South Korea is one of the most developed nation, and their work is top notch, probably better than US.

 

[sze5003]

Why is it like this in US?

While my parents visited Korea for leisure, my dad replaced all of his old fillings and fixed his root canals for mere hundreds- without insurance of course.

And don't let some price psychology fool you. South Korea is one of the most developed nation, and their work is top notch, probably better than US.

I don't know but my mom would go back to Romania to visit in the summers. She would get all her teeth work done there for 2 to 300 bucks...everything.

Oh only downside is they don't use a lot of anesthetic because that can screw you up when they get close to your nerve and the dentists here use it like crazy.

 

[Zeze]

I really want to know why this is the case.

My coworker is getting some work done and it's costing near 10 grand. Who the f.. how the fuh- you kidding me?

 

[ponyo]

Those prices are pretty standard rate. The entire healthcare costs in the US is screwed up. It's not just dentist but other medical services too.

My older cousin's wife is a pediatric dentist with multiple offices and my sister is dental hygienist so I'm somewhat familiar with costs and the industry. Yes, we should have all been dentist. Most only work 40 hours a week and if you're specialized, you make bank. My cousin's wife is opening up yet another office and hiring another pediatric dentist. $320k offer for grad straight out of dental school.

My family and I get free dental care through them but if I had to pay out of pocket, I would either utilize the free or subsidized care through dental schools or fly to places like Poland or South Korea for cheap dental care.

 

[SunnyD]

My dad flew to Poland to have a couple of crowns and some other work done. Was a nice little sightseeing tour along with a bit of a homecoming for him too. All in all I think the dental work cost less than the plane tickets.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Brushing of ones teeth is cheaper.

Not sure I believe this ... my GF is a twin, and her twin never brushes his teeth, smokes, drinks, shit ton of pop ... teeth are perfect, no cavities and never brushes and rarely sees the dentist. My GF flosses, brushes, no smoke, no pop, and she always has a few cavities .......

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Well of course you need to floss and whatnot. Don't drink a soda 10 minutes before bed.

Common sense stuff. Pretty simple. Sure beats a mouth full of black teeth and high dentist bills.

It's kinda like fat people complaining about not losing weight yet they eat fast food 3x a day.

 

[Fritzo]

That pricing is about right. Dental work is absolutely outrageous, and for some reason Dental insurance always sucks. Typical dental insurance usually covers 50%-60%, has a deductible of up to $3000, and often there's up to a year waiting period before you can use its full benefits. Not sure why that is. I'm paying $30/month for me and my 2 kids, and it matches up well with my HSA account, but it still sucks.

Plus side is we did find a dentist that only charges you whatever your insurance pays for checkups. One of the few "I'm in it to help people, not for the money" medical offices left.

I had 2 crowns and a cavity filled: $4800, and my share came out to $2300.

It's kinda like fat people complaining about not losing weight yet they eat fast food 3x a day.

That's a stupid comment, as a lot of people's teeth are prone to dental issues due to their shape and spacing. My wife brushes twice a day with an electric brush, flosses, uses Listerine, and still gets cavities because her teeth are so close together in the back. I myself have a couple of gum pockets that I have to keep clean with a waterpik, but they still tend to harbor bacteria and I get root issues from it.

 

[surfsatwerk]

well of course you need to floss and whatnot. Don't drink a soda 10 minutes before bed.

Common sense stuff. Pretty simple. Sure beats a mouth full of black teeth and high dentist bills.

it's kinda like fat people complaining about not losing weight yet they eat fast food 3x a day.

you don"t understand my hunger!#!@!!1

 

[SunnyD]

What I don't get is orthodontic insurance. I pay a premium for it, and it only covers like a $2000 LIFETIME maximum benefit? Yeah, that doesn't even cover half the cost of braces.

 

[ponyo]

That pricing is about right. Dental work is absolutely outrageous, and for some reason Dental insurance always sucks. Typical dental insurance usually covers 50%-60%, has a deductible of up to $3000, and often there's up to a year waiting period before you can use its full benefits. Not sure why that is. I'm paying $30/month for me and my 2 kids, and it matches up well with my HSA account, but it still sucks.

Plus side is we did find a dentist that only charges you whatever your insurance pays for checkups. One of the few "I'm in it to help people, not for the money" medical offices left.

I had 2 crowns and a cavity filled: $4800, and my share came out to $2300.

It's because dental insurance is for suckers. Most dental insurance stink and is not worth the paper it's written on. Personally I would skip the dental insurance and negotiate discounted cash payment with the dentist. As for your 2 crowns and cavity work, you didn't save much money by having insurance. You could've paid cash and probably only paid $2300 for the whole thing.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

I know medical costs are rising sharply but WTF is up with dentist's fees.
[snip]
Dissallowed the cost of the incision, said it was surgical.

Piece of advice - check to see if your medical insurance covers oral surgery. If so, submit a claim to it for the cost of the incision. I ran into the same problem when my dental insurance would not cover the extraction of my wisdom teeth, because they considered the procedure surgical. My medical insurance covered nearly 100% of the procedure, thankfully. You might have the same luck.

 

[Schfifty Five]

I know medical costs are rising sharply but WTF is up with dentist's fees.

My wife and I have been lucky and have not had a cavity in the last 2 years but this year we got hit hard.

She had an abscessed tooth. Our regular dentist said her roots were angled and did not want to mess with them. He sent her to an endodontist (can you say specialist). Endodontist said she needed the abscess drained and 2 root canals.
I had a checkup and needed 2 small fillings by our regular dentist.

Costs:
First consult for wife from our regular dentist: $116.15
Wife's second consult from endodontist: $166.00
Wife's 2 root canals (temp crowns), incision to drain abscess, xrays: $2,455.00, does not include permanent crowns
My check up and cleaning: $216.20
My 2 small (1 side) fillings: $425.50
Total: $3378.85
This is what we would have paid without any dental insurance.

We have Delta Dental but it only covered part of the expenses and has a max of $1000./yr.
The second consult was not paid, only 1 consult allowed per year. The check up was paid in full. They paid part of the $2455. Dissallowed the cost of the incision, said it was surgical. Paid 80% of the my fillings minus my deductible. It cost us out of pocket ~$1900. total. My wife's $1000./year max is used up, and she still needs 2 permanent crowns.

I should have been a dentist.

Can this be covered by your medical insurance then?

 

[Fritzo]

It's because dental insurance is for suckers. Most dental insurance stink and is not worth the paper it's written on. Personally I would skip the dental insurance and negotiate discounted cash payment with the dentist. As for your 2 crowns and cavity work, you didn't save much money by having insurance. You could've paid cash and probably only paid $2300 for the whole thing.

They had the option to pay out of pocket with a 20% discount. You save quite a bit of money on big jobs, but the little things are what kills you.

 

[mcurphy]

What I don't get is orthodontic insurance. I pay a premium for it, and it only covers like a $2000 LIFETIME maximum benefit? Yeah, that doesn't even cover half the cost of braces.

Next week our daughter goes in for braces. She is 12, and our insurance (Delta) covers $1,500 lifetime. Total cost will be ~$5,500, and that is the best price we found shopping around to 4 ortho's in our area. So we pay $4k out of pocket. We have already saved $1k of "our" cost, and my wife has a flex spending account to cover the rest. From my research, it appears braces cost even more in highly populated areas. It will be a rough couple of years, but will be worth it for my daughter's self-esteem. Her teeth are terribly crooked.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Well of course you need to floss and whatnot. Don't drink a soda 10 minutes before bed.

Common sense stuff. Pretty simple. Sure beats a mouth full of black teeth and high dentist bills.

It's kinda like fat people complaining about not losing weight yet they eat fast food 3x a day.

Not that simple. I brush once a day and floss... well maybe once every 2-3 days if I remember. Don't drink soda so that's good, I guess. And I've never had a cavity or any other dental issues. I even still have my wisdom teeth thanks to a huge jaw with lots of room, and my teeth all came in straight and I didn't need braces or anything.

I just happened to luck out. Other people are surely much better about taking care of their teeth than I am, and have had cavities and other issues.

Oh and as far as I know, pretty much all dental insurance is terrible and doesn't really cover anything.

 

[Slew Foot]

Dentists are a bunch of asshole scammers.

 

[HumblePie]

When I had my first crowns put in, I paid out of pocket. It was $500 a crown. This was without insurance. That sucked badly. If I had insurance at the time, the price would have been $350 a crown. This was 5 or 6 years ago

Fast forward to today. My fiancee needs a crown replaced. Cost now? $800 without insurance. It's pretty ridiculous. This was the cheapest quote I found in all of SA from anything but the UT Health and Dental center. I have no idea the cost there yet because we are on the waiting list to get into the program for her. The most expensive quote I got back for a crown replacement was $1800 without insurance. One fucking crown replacement.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Not that simple. I brush once a day and floss... well maybe once every 2-3 days if I remember. Don't drink soda so that's good, I guess. And I've never had a cavity or any other dental issues. I even still have my wisdom teeth thanks to a huge jaw with lots of room, and my teeth all came in straight and I didn't need braces or anything.

I just happened to luck out. Other people are surely much better about taking care of their teeth than I am, and have had cavities and other issues.

Oh and as far as I know, pretty much all dental insurance is terrible and doesn't really cover anything.

You brush only once a day? Morning or night? either way, you're pretty disgusting.