Is This A Lot Of Money - Page 5

mimomof4 · ‎03-08-2018

I would say its on the high side although I think in your area costs a higher than in mine. I would ask the office if they can do someone about the cost since you pay out of pocket. Usually if you pay out of pocket you can get a discount. Also call around to other offices to see what you would be charged. If others are lower, I would let your dentist know so they lower your price. Honestly I do this all the time with bills and repairs.

If you are paying $260 out of pocket for every visit, it is worth it to look online for personal dental insurance or through your local health department. You may find that insurance will cost you less than what you had been paying out of pocket.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@BirkiLady wrote:
@drizzellla I doubt it has anything to do with the type of payment. Insurance doesn't dictate how much a DDS charges for any procedure.

If you have qualms, ask to see the previous xrays. They probably won't show anything that your current xrays show. If the previous xrays do show the issues shown in your current xrays, you need an honesty DDS! Find a new, younger dentist. It's time to move on.

I worked in the medical billing field for all of like 10 minutes about a decade or more ago, and I was under the impression that what doctors in general charge is indeed based on insurance.

In general and simply put, they bill high because insurances have a set and low amount they pay. If the doctors bill higher for a long enough period of time, it gets the actual amount insurance companies will pay to boost. This is what I was told anyway.

Almost all healthcare prices can be negotiated for a cash payer, at much lower than the billed to insurance or quoted price.

PamfromCT · ‎05-22-2014

I would check out getting some dental insurance. Nothing we have found on the open market is what I would consider wonderful - but it still is to our advantage to have it.

We have the best Medicare supplement we can buy for our needs in CT. No referrals needed from PCP and freedom to go out of state if we need it. Good dental insurance for us trying to maintain our old teeth? No such. Just saying. How I wish one of our kids became a dentist. And our oldest GC is 10. I think we are out of luck.

bathina · ‎03-14-2010

It never made sense to me that teeth and eyes are not covered under standard medical insurance. As if your teeth and eyes are not part of your body and do not effect the health of other parts of your body. Who made that ridiculous decision?

Instead, I pay one premium for the innards, but skin is included, a premium for my eyes and a premium for my teeth. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

GenXmuse · ‎05-15-2016

@bathina wrote:
It never made sense to me that teeth and eyes are not covered under standard medical insurance. As if your teeth and eyes are not part of your body and do not effect the health of other parts of your body. Who made that ridiculous decision?
Instead, I pay one premium for the innards, but skin is included, a premium for my eyes and a premium for my teeth. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Absolutely! Gum disease is linked to heart disease and preterm birth just to name a few.

Jordan2 · ‎03-16-2010

@Lindsays Grandma wrote:
@NicksmomESQ wrote:
@Jordan2 I live in a Suffolk County.My son recently aged off of our medical / dental insurance.I called our dentist who we’ve been going to for about 25 years. I asked how much they would charge my son for a checkup & cleaning.I was quoted a price of $170.I don’t know if they gave my son a break or if that’s what they charge.
Jordan 2, I see you live in Suffolk County. We had a summer house in Wildwood when growing up and I spent a lot of time in Wading River, Calverton and Riverhead. I know this is off topic but I always love seeing some posters from New York. I lived in Queens until I moved to Levittown and Massapequa. Left NY in 1965 to live in Los Angeles which became my home for 40 years and now in AZ for thirteen yrs. Sorry this is so long, I get carried away sometimes.

@Lindsays Grandma, I actually live in Queens, but I do everything in Nassau County.

Jordan2 · ‎03-16-2010

@bathina wrote:
It never made sense to me that teeth and eyes are not covered under standard medical insurance. As if your teeth and eyes are not part of your body and do not effect the health of other parts of your body. Who made that ridiculous decision?
Instead, I pay one premium for the innards, but skin is included, a premium for my eyes and a premium for my teeth. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

@bathina, I like to go once a year to the ophthalmologist to have my eyes exam. This isn't covered by my insurance ( which is crazy, it's a preventive exam). What my ophthalmologist's office does is bill the insurance company as I had blurred vision, which is a way of getting around it.

sunala · ‎03-09-2010

@Jordan2 wrote:
I have been going to the same dentist for 20 years or more, he is in Nassau County, New York. I have no dental coverage so I pay out of pocket, his fees keep going up and up. I got a cleaning, several x-rays, and exam by the dentist, for $260. This seems rather pricey, I was just wondering what other people pay.

hi @Jordan2 - I live nearby, and that sounds like a normal price. Dentists charge a lot for x-rays, especially the ones that go around your head (I forgot what you call them). That actually sounds reasonable considering you had a cleaning as well!

Good luck!

"That's a great first pancake."
Lady Gaga, to Tony Bennett

sunala · ‎03-09-2010

@Mz iMac wrote:
@ahoymate wrote:
MD visits paying with cash is one thing, a price reduction, DDS, not so much. Very different billling & income between MD & DDS.
I was thinking about that. But, the OP stated she has been going to this dentist for 20 yrs! That should account for something.

@Mz iMac- it sure should make a difference! In many businesses, if they're going to give you a discount for longevity or anything else, they call it "the family rate." I've gotten family rates from several places. You just have to ask.

"That's a great first pancake."
Lady Gaga, to Tony Bennett

Jordan2 · ‎03-16-2010

@sunala wrote:
@Jordan2 wrote:
I have been going to the same dentist for 20 years or more, he is in Nassau County, New York. I have no dental coverage so I pay out of pocket, his fees keep going up and up. I got a cleaning, several x-rays, and exam by the dentist, for $260. This seems rather pricey, I was just wondering what other people pay.
hi @Jordan2 - I live nearby, and that sounds like a normal price. Dentists charge a lot for x-rays, especially the ones that go around your head (I forgot what you call them). That actually sounds reasonable considering you had a cleaning as well!

Good luck!

@sunala, are you talking about panoramic x-rays (I think that's what they are called) a machine that takes a whole view of your mouth while standing? I have had this at the endodontist, these were the x-rays that they take maybe 6 small films they place in your mouth, aim a cone and leave the room. The consensus is $260 is the going rate.