The only thing I didnt think about preparing for my retirement.... My Teeth!

[sailor]

I have 313 mrem lifetime documented exposure to ionizing radiation from nuclear propulsion plants. (Note that's "documented", not actual, and for some reason we neglected to document the exposure to the nuclear warheads on POSIEDON ICBMs and TOMAHAWK missiles.) I don't remember the sievert conversion factor but dental x-rays used to be about 10 mrem.

Today's submarine nuclear plants are much cleaner. Hopefully the same advances have been made in dental x-rays.

I was curious once and looked up the one used at my dentist office.
At the setting they use it it's about 0.3 mrem per bitewing.
I typically get 6 of these once a year so 1.8 mrem.

313 mrem? That's less than some of CT-Scans or X-rays:
ANS / Public Information / Resources / Radiation Dose Chart

 

[Sue J]

Whoa, I just had a cleaning and x-rays and it was over $200. Maybe I should do a poll to see what everyone is paying.

They said that was their "coupon rate". I asked for a coupon so that I could give it to my son and they said, there is no coupon, just have him tell us that he doesn't have insurance and to use the coupon rate.

OTOH, when we go in and have insurance the prices are different -

Cleaning - Billed at $91 Negotiated rate of $51
Exam - Billed at $42 Negotiated rate of $25
X-rays (4 Bitewing) Billed at $48 Negotiated rate of $32

Total billed = $181
Total paid by insurance = $108

With or without insurance I find this dental practice to be a good value. My dentist is excellent, I've been very pleased with everything I've had done. On my last Cerec crown I told him my insurance covered only 25% of major restorative and he gave me a reduced price.

His best talent is that he has a cheek gripping/shaking technique to give the novacaine shot where you don't feel the needle, which is the worst part for me.

 

[youbet]

Down here it really wouldn't be unreasonable at all to live on $20K/year, with a paid off home and with even maybe $6K/year for unexpected large expenses.

Well, you're right, a couple living on $20k would be quite an accomplishment in our area. Actually, living on $20k/yr with $6k of that available for unexpected large expenses just doesn't sound possible up here. Our medical insurance alone is over $10k. Deductible and co-pays added about $2k to that this year. Real estate taxes on our modest (1400 sq ft) home are $5k. Home and auto insurance run $2k. There's $19k and we haven't even been to the dentist, purchased any food or clothing, spent a penny on vacations or entertainment, done any home maintenance, paid our utility bills, handled any car repairs or maintenance, bought a gift for the grandkids at Xmas, etc., etc.

Nope, can't do it. High dental bills would be a real problem for us if we were living on $20k. You've got a lot going for you in New Orleans if you can lead a normal life living in your own home, paying your own medical insurance and bills, etc. and still have $6k for unexpected large expenses such as dental bills all on an annual income of $20k.

 

[W2R]

You've got a lot going for you in New Orleans if you can lead a normal life living in your own home, paying your own medical insurance and bills, etc. and still have $6k for unexpected large expenses such as dental bills all on an annual income of $20k.

There's definitely one reason (among many) why we live here! There are lots of retirees who live on nothing more than SS/Medicare in places like this, so if you have more than that as a retiree you are a high roller, relatively speaking.

Many other places like Springfield are even cheaper to live in than New Orleans, and that is one reason why we were/are so interested in possibly moving to Springfield some day. Some other people would prefer to spend more in order to live in more popular and interesting places than Springfield, but that's a (perfectly valid) choice, not a necessity.

 

[Mulligan]

There's definitely one reason (among many) why we live here! There are lots of retirees who live on nothing more than SS/Medicare in places like this, so if you have more than that as a retiree you are a high roller, relatively speaking.

Many other places like Springfield are even cheaper to live in than New Orleans, and that is one reason why we were/are so interested in possibly moving to Springfield some day. Some other people would prefer to spend more in order to live in more popular and interesting places than Springfield, but that's a (perfectly valid) choice, not a necessity.

W2R- I have lived near Springfield before, and actually completed my Masters there at Mo State (SMS) It is a lower cost of living location area, but its still not free. Im sure many people live on less than 20k there, but the question is do they have their teeth still? As Im sure you know, Hillbilly country isnt that far away from Springfield

 

[Chuckanut]

I was surprised (and not in a good way) after I RE at how much more routine dental costs were without dental insurance. Basic services were costing me about 50% more since I was no longer receiving a negotiated rate..

Thank you. I had not considered this. I can buy into a dental insurance policy after I retire (100% paid by me!) but I was not going to do so. Now that I have given some thought to losing the negotiated rates, I think I will do so.

 

[clifp]

"
I have 313 mrem lifetime documented exposure to ionizing radiation from nuclear propulsion plants. (Note that's "documented", not actual, and for some reason we neglected to document the exposure to the nuclear warheads on POSIEDON ICBMs and TOMAHAWK missiles.) I don't remember the sievert conversion factor but dental x-rays used to be about 10 mrem.

Today's submarine nuclear plants are much cleaner. Hopefully the same advances have been made in dental x-rays.

I was curious once and looked up the one used at my dentist office.
At the setting they use it it's about 0.3 mrem per bitewing.
I typically get 6 of these once a year so 1.8 mrem.

313 mrem? That's less than some of CT-Scans or X-rays:
ANS / Public Information / Resources / Radiation Dose Chart

I was thinking the figure was near 10 Mrem in which case my more or less monthly dental Xray for the last couple of years would have given me 240 Mrems. However I bet Sailor is right and the new X-ray give a much smaller dose so I should be fine.

 

[pb4uski]

........It's also worth asking for a discount. When I retired from active duty and no longer had dental insurance, our pediatric dentist's insurance clerk shouted "Woo-hoo!" and discounted our visit by 20%. ....

A few years ago my wife broke her leg and even though we had insurance, the hospital bill was substantial (the deductible). I guess the hospital was keen for cash flow because they offered a 20% discount for prompt payment so i put it on my credit card and got the 20% plus the reward from the credit card company.

So now for almost all such bills I call and ask if they offer an additional discount for immediate payment and get a substantial discount every time.

I had a similar think happen with my propane pre-buy this year. They had quoted me a price and I called to place the order and asked "Can you do any better than that?" fully expecting the person would say no. Instead, she went away for a half a minute and came back and offered me an additional 30 cents off per gallon.

Ask and yee shall receive I guess

 

[easysurfer]

My dental expense is gonna be a whopper this year. I've decided to not have insurance, pay for it, then reimburse myself each year out of my HSA.

I look at my HSA contributions and withdrawals as shuffling the money around (legally, with proper records, of course) each year and taking advantage of the tax benefits now.

No way would I be able to afford the dental expenses without the HSA.

 

[walkinwood]

Shop around for dentist prices - they vary a lot & as usual, no correlation to value.
Dental Care at Discount Rates - NYTimes.com

 

[Sue J]

A few years ago my wife broke her leg and even though we had insurance, the hospital bill was substantial (the deductible). I guess the hospital was keen for cash flow because they offered a 20% discount for prompt payment so i put it on my credit card and got the 20% plus the reward from the credit card company.

So now for almost all such bills I call and ask if they offer an additional discount for immediate payment and get a substantial discount every time.

Ask and yee shall receive I guess

Earlier this year I had a test in an outpatient facility at a hospital. When I registered they told me that they offered a 30% discount if I paid up front. We didn't know how much would be applied to deductible and how much the negotiated rates would be so she put a note in my file and the 30% discount was still good through my first billing statement. The 30% only applied to the procedure, not the radiology or the pathology but it still was a nice chunk of a discount.

 

[MichaelB]

My mouth has two new crowns, both in the past month. Just part of becoming vintage, I guess. The pain and discomfort was more financial than physical. I am fortunate, though, to have a very good dentist, she charges reasonable prices, and she gives me a cash discount to boot.

 

[citrine]

I was doing a craft show earlier this month and ran into a woman who teaches at a dental school by us. She told me that the students are always looking for clients to work on and everything (cleanings to xrays to crowns) are only $20 a visit!
My bf and I will be doing that in the next couple of weeks....will let you know how it works out

 

[NYEXPAT]

For basic cleaning and xray, I've noticed an increase of specials by local dentists via Groupon and Living Social. This weekend, I saw one for $59 for cleaning, xrays, and fluoride treatment.

For any major tratment, I would actually consider dental tourism in costa rica, philippines, or somewhere you might consider for a vacation. I had a cleaning in Manila for $10 last year. I would do more research for crowns, etc.

Google "dental tourism" and insert a foreign country see if there are any results. A crown in Manila was $200. We ran short on time, so we didn't do it. I asked since DW had 3 suggested for future consideration. In the US with insurance we are looking at $1500 out of pocket with 50% insurance.

I typically pay $10.00 for a filling and $120.00 for a crown. I always go to a private hospital ( I belong to) as the prices are the same, I am guaranteed the safety standards are better than a Dentists office and god forbid there is a problem the emergency room is two floors down!

I have a friend that tells me implants are $2000 a pop and take about a year. He recently paid $2400 for another one (last week) as it was necessary to put in artificial jaw bone in the area as it was to thin to bond properly with the titanium implant.

 

[Mulligan]

I typically pay $10.00 for a filling and $120.00 for a crown. I always go to a private hospital ( I belong to) as the prices are the same, I am guaranteed the safety standards are better than a Dentists office and god forbid there is a problem the emergency room is two floors down!

I have a friend that tells me implants are $2000 a pop and take about a year. He recently paid $2400 for another one (last week) as it was necessary to put in artificial jaw bone in the area as it was to thin to bond properly with the titanium implant.

As improbable as it sounds you never no, a person I knew went in just to get a tooth pulled, an infection occurred and next thing you know he is completing a 5 day hospital stay a few months ago. Of course this did no good in my need to get mine pulled as I have put it off 2 months. But I have come to the conclusion the problem is not going away and I manned up and set appointment for next friday. I have read thankfully that upper wisdom teeth arent as likely to get dry rot or infection as lower ones do. I think I am going to keep a toothbrush and floss pick in my mouth every waking hour after reading some of these dental posts. I dont think mentally I could handle these that have been written.

 

[mf15]

Interesting I was just going to start a thread. Just happened to need two root canals two weeks ago. At the endo 999 and 1100 per tooth, plus about 125 for the initial evaluation, plus 45 for antibiotics, and the funny thing is I take care of my teeth,on a 4 month cleaning schedule.
So I go to my dentist for the first crown 1350 per tooth, for two teeth close to 5 grand. No dental insurance since retired, all I can say is wow at the price, anything goes wrong with these teeth they are getting pulled.
I pay as I go with dental since retired, but that is a little much.
Then again what can you do when you are in severe pain,if I get anymore might just get them yanked. My dentist is personal friend and it still cost that much,once I hit 65 then can get 10% discount.
Old Mike

 

[HFWR]

I have retiree dental insurance, which makes routine visits affordable, but I "need" two implants, at $3500 or so apiece. So far have passed; should try the local dental school. Nothing like being a test dummy...

 

[Mulligan]

Just got back from the oral surgeon who pulled my wisdom tooth. My wrist hurt more from signing off on all the potetial problems that could occur from this procedure than my mouth did. I wonder if the local barber back in the day made his patients initial to the fact they might get infection or bone fragments in their sinuses? Anyhow the fear was 10 times worse than the procedure, and the price came in at the low end $280 which included a $100 xray. They wouldnt do it without one. I told them it would come out fine without an xray, but they werent interested in my cost saving " dental advise".

 

[SkisALot]

Thank you. I had not considered this. I can buy into a dental insurance policy after I retire (100% paid by me!) but I was not going to do so. Now that I have given some thought to losing the negotiated rates, I think I will do so.

The difference between negotiated and non-negotiated rates can be substantial. A few years ago I got a crown, negotiated rate $638, non $850. I'm in California and have a dental policy through Delta Dental sold by (gulp) AARP. It's around $60.00 a month but I did not have dental care as a child and so I feel the insurance is imperative. DH, on the other hand, has very good teeth and had great care as a child. He does, however, have a Blue Cross plan for seniors aged 65 and above for $30.00 a month. (I can't wait until I can get that plan.) We considered dropping it for him, but figured it all out and after 2x a year cleaning, the real cost of the plan is about $10.00 a month. Right after we made the decision to keep it, he wracked up a $1200 bill that we didn't have to pay.

 

[aaronc879]

I lost 2 fillings a couple months ago and they're now getting painful so I went to the dentist for the first time in 13 years. I left with an estimate of almost $4000 of work that needs to be done to eliminate the pain. That's a lot of money for me but I don't think I have any other good option. I guess it's not too expensive if you look at it on a per month basis. 13 years is 156 months. That's only $25.XX/mo over the last 13 years. Chances are it's going to get worse though since I have a mouth full of 15-20 year old fillings. Up until now(age 32) I haven't thought much about dental costs but now i'll have to include it in all future budgets.

 

[Mulligan]

I lost 2 fillings a couple months ago and they're now getting painful so I went to the dentist for the first time in 13 years. I left with an estimate of almost $4000 of work that needs to be done to eliminate the pain. That's a lot of money for me but I don't think I have any other good option. I guess it's not too expensive if you look at it on a per month basis. 13 years is 156 months. That's only $25.XX/mo over the last 13 years. Chances are it's going to get worse though since I have a mouth full of 15-20 year old fillings. Up until now(age 32) I haven't thought much about dental costs but now i'll have to include it in all future budgets.

Ouch! Both physically and financially. Teeth pain will eventually convince you that the cost is " cheap" to fix them, no matter what the price is. I have fillings that are older than you have been alive, I sure hope they never fall out. Unless you want dentures, bite the bullet and fix them as you will just wind up with more problems if you delay.

 

[ksr]

I lost 2 fillings a couple months ago and they're now getting painful so I went to the dentist for the first time in 13 years. I left with an estimate of almost $4000 of work that needs to be done to eliminate the pain. That's a lot of money for me but I don't think I have any other good option.

Have you considered any dental discount plans? I was able to find a plan in which my dentist participates for around $100/year, and it saves me money even if I just go in twice a year for routine stuff. If I need work done, it saves me even more. You can search online or PM me if you want more info.

 

[aaronc879]

Ouch! Both physically and financially. Teeth pain will eventually convince you that the cost is " cheap" to fix them, no matter what the price is. I have fillings that are older than you have been alive, I sure hope they never fall out. Unless you want dentures, bite the bullet and fix them as you will just wind up with more problems if you delay.

You have fillings that are more than 30 years old? I was told that the average filling only lasts 12 years and that I should feel lucky mine have all lasted at least that long.

 

[MichaelB]

I have fillings that are older than you have been alive, I sure hope they never fall out.

So do I. Does this call for a poll? A thread topic that has never been discussed before? how old are your fillings and what are you going to do about them?

Aaronc879, not making fun of your situation. Teeth problems are painful so get them fixed and budget for more. I had two broken teeth last year so I can honestly say I shared your pain - physical and financial.

 

[aaronc879]

Have you considered any dental discount plans? I was able to find a plan in which my dentist participates for around $100/year, and it saves me money even if I just go in twice a year for routine stuff. If I need work done, it saves me even more. You can search online or PM me if you want more info.

I have a plan like that. It costs $30/yr and gives a discount of ~30% off the customary cost. Without the discount it would cost $5657. With it it costs $3961.30. That's for 2 root canals, 2 crowns, and 2 fillings.