Dental work?

Question

How does anyone afford it. I have insurance and I still have to max out my credit card to pay for the procedures I need. Yes, my teeth are bad, and I need them fixed, but it looks like they;ll be getting worse until I have enough money to afford the work

Answer 1

I can sympathize ! I just went to my dentists office to get some work done and I was nailed for almost $5,000 !!! Granted I don't want my dentist making min. wage but I had to take out a loan to get this work done & my dentists rates are about middle of the pack . If your brave you can try to find a teaching dentistry office in your area they will be less expensive but you will have a student working in your mouth .( yikes !!) Good luck and I hope you can get your teeth fixed soon !!

Answer 2

Important! Putting off needed dental work is not a good idea. You have to remember that decay and broken teeth don't stay the way they are, the problem progresses -- then you end up needing root canals and scaling and root planing -- or worse. Almost all dental offices have payment plans, some without any interest at all. They will finance what your insurance won't pay. Sometimes if a crown (cap) is needed but the filling is cracked but with no decay you can wait until your benefits kick in again to have that crown done -- but it's a bad thing to put off having cavities and infections taken care of.

Answer 3

You're going to have to fix them eventually and the sooner you do the less it'll probably cost. I'm getting alot of work done and didn't have dental insurance so went to dentalplans.com and signed onto one of the dental discount programs (percantage discount applied to procedures). The first visit payed for the plan (about $125 for a year) so It's already paying for itself. First find the dentist you want to use, then find what plans they accept.

It makes me sad to think that if I had been taking better care of my teeth, with the money I'm spending (oddly, only 1 root canal and crown, but a lot of fillings) I could buy a top of the line plasma big screen TV!

Answer 4

WEHEREYOUAT brings up a really important question. Others have supplied great answers.

What has not been said is that when you open your mouth to talk or eat it is both a cosmetic and health issue.

It is so sad to often see a person who has spent lots of money on nice clothes BUT has neglected tooth care.

The best advice is to seek out a dentist that you can trust and make weekly payments, wether you OWE him anything or not. Just walk in and pay the nurse $25 every week, saying to "On my account please".

Then, months later you go for some work, the fee is merely deducted from your account. One friend said his account was $1100 credit. That summer he got dentures and he only had to pay $300 since his "credit account" paid the rest.

Answer 5

Many years ago I discovered that excellent low-cost dental care can be had through some teaching schools located at public and private colleges and universities. For about eight years I have regularly gone to a dental hygiene school at a community college in my city to receive routine check-ups, cleanings, sealants, fluoride, and X-rays. Originally I went to have my teeth whitened. I had full dental insurance though it didn't cover cosmetic services. In order to have the whitening done I first had to allow them to do a full check-up and cleaning. They provided and continue to provide better care than most private dentists I have visited. Some people may reason that the care isn't as good because students are doing the work. I think that the care can be exceptional because of the fact that students are doing the work. The student who provides your care is supervised by a fully accredited dentist throughout the entire process. The student signs up to have the dentist come and check their work several times during your visit. ALL of the students that have worked on my teeth have been extremely meticulous - almost perfectionistic. Remember, the students are paying a lot of money to take their courses and to have the opportunity to work on your teeth. They are interested in getting excellent grades. Student dental clinics are required to abide by all of the health regulations and practices that every private clinic must follow. When I started going to the community college for check-ups and cleanings eight years ago it only cost about $25. Now it's closer to $35.00 - that's still a lot less money than what you would pay at a private clinic. And that includes the cost for fluoride treatment, sealants, and X-rays if you need them. You do need to allow about 2-3 times as long for a visit at a student clinic because the students work at a slower pace. I don't even look at that as a downside because they seem to be more thorough than a lot of hygienists at private clinics. Because I receive such excellent care at the community college I have actually alternated visits there with visits to my regular dentist so that I end up getting my teeth cleaned a total of four times per year instead of the typical two times. Some dental hygiene schools can also do basic restorative fillings. If you live in a large metropolitan city then one or more of the universities in your area likely has a school of dentistry. I have also received care from students at my state university. There I am able to receive care from students who are learning to become fully accredited dentists. They are able to do major restorative, surgical, and cosmetic work. Once when I lacked dental insurance I went there to get a few fillings done. I was able to get composite fillings (mercury-free) matched to my tooth color for about half the cost of amalgams ("silver" fillings with mercury) at a private clinic. In addition, for years I had been told by several private dentists that it wasn't possible to repair a chip on one of my front teeth. They made it sound like it was just too difficult. One of the students at the university took one look at the tooth and said, "I can do that", as if it wasn't even a challenge. She repaired the chip with a composite and matched the color so well that it's virtually impossible to tell that it was ever chipped. The $100.00 I spent to get that 20 year old chip repaired was money well spent. I'm certain that I would have paid at least three times that amount if I had the repair done at a private clinic. I highly recommend you look up the phone numbers for colleges and universities in your area - if there are any - and call to inquire about the services they offer. No insurance can be applied toward the $35.00 fee for service at the community college I go to, though I think the university that has done my restorative work can sometimes bill insurance. And they're able to work out a reasonable payment plan for those who don't have any insurance.