gr8ness97

iTrader: (5)

I'm ashamed to say that I have had years of neglect of not taking care of my teeth, outside of the regular brush and stuff. Neglect as in visiting a dentist, as it was never really taught that the dentist should be a regular occurance. One of my New Years resolutions was to take better care of myself and I decided to make an appointment for the dentist...

After doing the checkup, the doc says that I'll need quite a few things done (one crown, several fillings, one bonding for my chipped tooth and a deep cleaning)...and then all hell broke loose when they told me it would cost....


8 grand out of pocket to take care of everything. My insurance would only cover $2000 over that.

WTF. The crown by itself is 1097 OOP + 986 insurance and the Deep Cleaning is another 700 + 700. Someone tell me that they are ripping me off.....

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

I think these are only $1.99

Always get a second opinion.

fsttyms1

Dentists work is a ripoff for what it costs and what insurance covers.

hornyleprechaun

Damn I just had my 6 month cleaning and got a full set of xrays done.. Didn't cost me a thing, and insurance paid $150-$200.

wrxyboy

iTrader: (2)

i am thankful that i been doing the 6 month visit's for the past 5 years. If not id probably be in the same boat as you. Yes please get a 2nd opinion. I hate going to the doctors to hear them say ohhhh you have good insurance so lets do all these tests.

Chuck_Norris

If anyone needs to get their teeth pull give me a PM and i'll knock them out for free.

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

Whiskers

doopstr

I'm in the same boat as the OP. I really should get over there.
I think Dentists like to put you in the penalty box if you aren't a regular.

Street Spirit

You can always get a second and third opinion to make sure they all believe you need the same procedures. Is the first dentist someone you have a history with?

gr8ness97

iTrader: (5)

No. I had to establish new doctors since I'm new to my area.

Just an update: It really appears that this first dentist is really gouging me. I used my Deep Cleaning as a baseline for pricing.

Dentist #1 Charges 313 Per Quadrant
Dentist #2 Charges 233 (referred by a coworker)
Dentist #3 Charges 215 (in my network)

Once I heard the pricing of the last two, all I could say is what gives?

bud760

Got the same BS prices for my deep cleaning. I don't know about your insurance but my insurance said I have unlimited regular cleaning. It's those deep cleanings where they charge you crazy prices. Don't forget about the special flouride mouthwash that they try to sell you after your deep cleaning

subinf

The dentist I went to my entire life retired a few years ago. I guess he sold his practice to some younger guy, who is pretty cool, but raised the prices two or three times what they used to be. I've been told that I have bad genes when it comes to my teeth so I have to go to a dentist at least once a year for a check up to make sure nothing gets worse.

edit - I realize I really didn't contribute anything

SuperTrooper169

iTrader: (2)

Just be thankful you don't need a root canal.

hornyleprechaun

I haven't had fluoride mouthwash since I was a kid.. I didn't think you were supposed to get those when you were an adult.

All my dentist does is scrape my teeth with a metal pick then she has a little container that she dips a motor controlled brush in to "polish" my teeth. Takes about 30 minutes.

svtmike

Get them fixed and cleaned (find the best price) and then keep them that way by brushing / flossing twice a day and going for your six month checkups regularly.

I was in the same boat as you, though I never needed a crown. Since I've been taking excellent care of my teeth and gums my general health has improved.

Dr. Colorado

I had the deep root cleaning when I was in residency for some gingival condition where my gum was separating from the root of some of my teeth. The periodontist said it was prolly hereditary since I am meticulous about my dental care (brush 3-4/day, floss 1-2/day). It was all covered by my insurance.

Right now I see my dentist twice a year and my periodontist (who is also my patient) twice a year. So basically I'm getting my teeth professionally evaluated every 3 months LOL. I have bruxism so I need to wear a mouth guard at night, I was getting comped for this since my old dentist was a family friend but I may have to pay for this now since he retired.

I have a $2000 annual limit for dental coverage from my insurance which I have managed to exceed for the past 2 years. One good thing about being in the medical profession is I get comped for any copays or out of pocket expenses above what insurance pays for. The bite guard may be an exception.

I even saw an orthodontist who is one of my close friends a couple of weeks ago just to make sure this gap between two of my left upper molars was kosher.

Bottom line is pay attention to your teeth. They are hard to replace and dental expenses without regular maintenance can be a byooitch.

subinf

How did the deep root cleaning feel? I also have gums that are pulling away from the teeth. Also apparently hereditary. I've had 3 root canals so I'm used to trip to the dentist hurting.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

OP, get your teeth worked on ASAP, and don't neglect them. This area of your body can be a source of much pain and concern as you get older.

Dr. Colorado

1st I have an extremely high tolerance for pain. I've sustained concussions from being kneed in the chin, got knocked out skateboarding, and been drilled face first into sand on double overhead shorebreak.

The pain from deep root cleaning was the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced bar none. They put so much lidocaine into my face that I had uncontrollable tearing from the ipsilateral side of the injection. Imaging jamming an icepick along the root of your tooth so that you can feel neural pain radiating along the bone and doing this a dozen times. They had to split the right and left gingivae on separate appointments so I had twice the fun.

Waterboarding may be slightly less traumatic

subinf

Hmm. Guess I have more mouth pain to look forward to. Yay

nep

yeah dental work sucks! gl man

dallison

i had two root canals a couple years ago and then had the crowns a year later. With the wife's insurance it cost about 400 for the root canals and just under $600 for both crowns.

gr8ness97

iTrader: (5)