Todays Dental costs

[Granbonny]

What in the world has happened to todays Dental cost?..I can understand the adult dental work.....Root canals , crowns, ect....as we grow older.....Was even shocked at hubby's cost of having 7 bottom teeth extracted and a new bottom denture.total cost..$4,000.. only $1,500covered by dental insurance...just shook it off. because at his age he needed the work done.....BUT..today..son received a dental bill for Grandson.....he had his braces removed..went to dentist for a cleaning..found 4 cavities.(NEVER one before because I had been taking him since age 3 for yearly cleanings......Normal for someone coming off of braces after 2 years.I took him for the dental visit. he was in/out in 30 minutes for fillings..didn't feel anything. they gave him sleeping aid?...did great. shopped all afternoon....the bill?...Ready..$800.00 Insurance only paid 50%leaving son with a $400.00 for 4 small fillings.and the sleeping aid?I asked the checkout lady at desk..How much do we owe on top of Insurance?she replied..Oh, nothing today..we will bill you..Guess , she was too embarrased to let me know.. ..............Grandson has been going to this same dentist for yearly cleanings...in an older house...Now, he has a practice in a new brick building.......No..do not want to change dentists..because I think they (dentists) all over are going nuts on their rates. .Thankfully , Grandson brushes..ect..maybe that will be the end of his cavities.. Bonnie

 

[Rich]

Bonnie,
You are right, today's costs are going thru the roof.
We have pretty good dental insurance, but thanks to General Motors our co-pay this year jumped to 20%.
So my latest crown cost $896 so figure 20% of that.
Also if people are fortunate enough to have dental ins, always check with your ins provider before having work done. The dentist doesn't care who pays the bill so find out ahead of time if the procedure is covered.

Rich

 

[Ross]

Anything to do with our bodies and fixing them is absolutely absurd financially. I had a tiny filling, one that didn't even require anesthesia and it was $140. Not bad for 20 minutes worth of work.

 

[Dennis S]

You won't believe this:

You won't believe this:

I have two friends. One is a brain surgeon. The other is an oral surgeon who used to do complicated facial reconstructions, etc. The oral surgeon has been making so much money doing implants that he has stopped doing everything else. And---he makes twice as much money as the brain surgeon.

Yes, they both do very well--but something needs to change, especialy when it comes to dental implant fees.

 

[hensylee]

We have two dentists in town, mine is the most expensive (sigh), but he takes very good care of me and has for about 15 yrs now. He has done much work for me. One day, however, when I went in for cleaning, he popped in afterward as always and when I went to pay the bill there was an added fee called 'consult'! I was disappointed in him.

 

[sue943]

Unlike the UK, all dental treatment locally here is private and VERY expensive, much more so than private dental work in the UK. We cannot get dental insurance.

A crown here is $1000 at today's exchange rate - and the pound is strong against the dollar.

 

[Rich]

My previous dentist suggested I might consider an implant to replace an old crown.
So I went to this peridontist the dentist recommended.
My out of pocket expense would have been $4000.00 and that did not include the $900 crown over the implant!
This also was the guy who said he could do it while on Coumadin, all I had to do was keep my INR at exactly 2.0 for at least four days!
It was very hard to keep from laughing until I got out of there.
Fortunately my current dentist has a very good option and it is paid for.
Rich

 

[Ross]

What gets me is that I've had so many fillings that for all the money spent there, I could have had 2 pairs of dentures.