Wellness

[Deanie]

My DH had a capped tooth fracture and he had to go to an oral surgeon to have it removed. He has no dental insurance. He was given two options, to have a dental implant for $2200 then to follow at a dentist for the remainder of the procedure to the tune of $2500. The second option was a bridge and that was $4000. I am flabbergasted. This is entirely self pay? Good grief, what is up with these prices? Does anyone have any other suggestions? .

[shoppersince1989]

We can relate.  My husband needs 2.

I'm going to shop around, read reviews.  And call Metlife to see what they cover.

I'm even going to check with BCBS.

And I always throw in a possible senior discount. 

Try anything.

And might even try to negotiate with the specialist.

It's his bridge, and the 2 teeth that are falling apart.

He doesn't want false, or another bridge.

Good luck to you.  Hope we both can work out an affordable option.

[Kachina624]

Do you by chance have a university dental college in your area?

[Moonchilde]

Just throwing this out here -

With MDs, most offices will offer a large “cash discount.”  We upped ours from 30% to 40% before I retired.  You might ask if the dentist will do that. If doctors do it I don’t see why dentists wouldn’t.  I don’t know if they consider a credit/debit card as usable for the “cash” vs writing a check, but it’s worth asking for that amount of discount.

All dental work is expensive. Implants are particularly expensive.

[shaggygirl]

Welcome to today's world of dentistry. Not going to get into the details but I was in for just under $7,000 last year when the teeth under 2 permanent (cemented in) bridges started decaying. Guess I shouldn't complain as I got many many years out of them before trouble started. I was not going to go the implant route so instead I have what I call my medieval torture device, otherwise known as a partial....well partial something or other. It's 3 teeth on either side (on the top towards the back) joined by a thingy that goes across the roof of my mouth. If I'm not going out anywhere and no one is joining me for dinner I don't even put it in and I stick to soup and yogurt. And oh yeh, ice cream, lots of ice cream.

I just came back to add....I actually do have dental insurance but aside from the 2 yearly cleanings and the every other year x-rays it helps with other things but not a heck of a whole lot. I still had to pay that large amount out of pocket.

[SleepyTime]

That sounds about right, sadly. I have had a couple of implants myself. Now, since you don't have dental (btw, most plans don't even pay anything for the extras) see if you can negotiate a cash price. 

[patbz]

Using Care Credit at least is interest free for 18-24 mths.

[coconut1818]

A co-worker's son is a dentist and he told me to go to KU (Kansas University), dental school part, that they do a great job and it is much cheaper and there is a licensed dentist there watching everything.  My ex went to a teaching dental school, I think in or near New Orleans, and his implants look great!  There is also some type of plan where your dentist is paid and you make monthly payments but I do not remember the name of it.  Good luck and I hope you find something that will work for you!  Dental work is so expensive, even with dental insurance. 

[Q4u]

Aetna offers a "Discount Plan".  That's what we use along with putting aside what we would have paid per month for Dental Insurance, creating our own dental account.  It's worked for us so far.... but the Aetna Dental Plan is a discount off, right off the bat.

However, go over your billing once the work is done.  Go on line and figure out what their coding means.  I had some work done and realized (too late) that I was overcharged for a fillilng that never occurred!! 

BTW, Aetna isn't the only Discount Plan available, there are quite a few and well worth the trouble of sorting them out to find the best plan for you...  

[highmaintenancejan]

I'm not shocked at all....I had 2 dental implants back in 2012.  With the crown and implant probably $5K each!!!  Ridiculous   I had insurance that may have paid $1,500.