Cash price for dental cleanings?

[explanade]

Have had dental insurance for two years since ER and that covers two cleanings.

But they've raised the premiums so it's probably no longer worth it.

I may have a referral to a dentist who will charge $100 per cleaning visit. Is is in the South Bay Area (SF).

How much are people paying for routine dental visits?

 

[Bestwifeever]

$140 here in Chicago burbs, by a dentist. Billed as $100 for cleaning, $40 for the exam.

 

[Sojourner]

I worked out a deal with my dentist that covers routine cleanings and X-rays (one set per year). I'm charged $80 for a cleaning and $40 for X-rays. I'm pretty happy with this, as I've been going to this dentist for over 10 years and don't want to switch just for a slightly lower rate somewhere, which I'm sure I could find if I shopped around. This is in the metro Atlanta area.

 

[cathy63]

Just paid $125 for a cleaning only (no exam) here in So Cal.

I am thinking of getting dental insurance through Costco for next year. It's $145/yr for both of us, so cheaper than any of the plans available on the Covered CA exchange. We'd have to change dentists though so I'm waffling.

 

[Ian S]

I have a discount plan for which I pay $59/year here in Phoenix. Cleanings cost me $57 (including a $12 sterilization fee) and the oral exam by the dentist costs me $25. All other services are discounted as well (IIRC, periodic bite wings are free.) A full set of X-rays costs $56.

 

[explanade]

Just paid $125 for a cleaning only (no exam) here in So Cal.

I am thinking of getting dental insurance through Costco for next year. It's $145/yr for both of us, so cheaper than any of the plans available on the Covered CA exchange. We'd have to change dentists though so I'm waffling.

Yeah if you go to Delta Dental directly, they have some $80 a year plans. I believe that covers like 2 cleanings but it's a specific set of dentists on their HMO network.

I recall searching some of them on Yelp last year and they generally didn't have the best reviews.

Certainly could save a lot of money that way but maybe going for the lowest price when it comes to your dental health is not the best route. Though, how badly can they mess up cleanings?

 

[Bamaman]

Those paying a modest yearly fee are "discount" programs--not really insurance.

My BCBS dental insurance is $33 per month, which includes 2 cleanings a year and a $1,500 max coverage per year. I recently had to have some minor dental surgery, so it's been worth it for me. And it's good to have if someone has to have a root canal and crown @ 50% coverage.

 

[TrvlBug]

We pay around $135 on the SF Peninsula, cleaning and exam. DH just retired in August and we've decided to go with the 18 mos. (dental) Cobra as he's in the process of getting an implant. We'll drop and self insure once the 18 mos. are up.

 

[explanade]

Those paying a modest yearly fee are "discount" programs--not really insurance.

My BCBS dental insurance is $33 per month, which includes 2 cleanings a year and a $1,500 max coverage per year. I recently had to have some minor dental surgery, so it's been worth it for me. And it's good to have if someone has to have a root canal and crown @ 50% coverage.

When I initially signed up, it was like $21 and change per month.

I got some quotes for cleaning and exams and the insurance would have been worth it for two cleanings.

But they've raised the premiums a couple of times.

Well I spent $1000 on a crown under my insurance rates. Find out some people I know pay about that much for the cash rate.

I also had laser oral surgery on the recommendation of my dentist, who referred me to a periodontist, who charged me $1400, with some minimal payout from my insurance.

So I'm not sure how much of a discount I'm getting.

 

[explanade]

We pay around $135 on the SF Peninsula, cleaning and exam. DH just retired in August and we've decided to go with the 18 mos. (dental) Cobra as he's in the process of getting an implant. We'll drop and self insure once the 18 mos. are up.

The dentist I had for years when I was employed proposed a dental implant and it would have been about $2900 out of pocket out of total $4200 charged under my previous employer insurance.

So I could have had Cobra at like $800 a month to save $1300 in the total cost of the implant.

Needless to say, I didn't go with Cobra and I went to a $21 a month plan which covered cleanings through a network which didn't include my existing dentist so I switched.

The new dentist didn't mention anything about an implant but did refer me to a periodontist for a different tooth for possible oral surgery, which I did.

There are dentists who advertise like $1400 for a dental implant around here but it's not clear if that covers all the procedures needed for an implant. The plan that my old dentist proposed was 2 or 3 procedures to be done over several months for that one implant.

Anyways, I'll see if other dentists point out the need for an implant. Implants are probably discretionary since insurance doesn't cover most of it, dentists have to convince you that you need it. I remain unconvinced and it's been over 2 years since I was told I needed it.

 

[Texas Proud]

It used to be cheaper.... even last year....

DW just went in and it was $160 for cleaning and exam... no X-rays...


I will warn on people buying on the exchange... I had one early this year and we went to the dentist.... it said 100% for cleanings, however it only paid 50% or so of the bill... they want you to go to the 'cheap' dentists...


Also be careful of the cheap ones... the hygienist at my old dentist said she worked with one of them since had had gone part time prior to his retiring... said she had only half the time needed to clean properly.... so they would only clean the worst parts and leave the rest.... also tried to have you do work that was not needed...

 

[explanade]

Kaiser has a PPO plan administered by Delta Dental at $28.09 a month.

Two cleanings with any dentist, annual $25 deductible.

But that is an add-on if you enroll in a Kaiser plan directly. Not available if you enroll in the same Kaiser plan through the Covered CA exchange.

The health plans are identical as far as I can tell. The only "bonus" for enrolling with Kaiser directly is the chance to add on the dental plan and some kind of discounts for vision.

 

[braumeister]

In southern Ohio, my dentist charges $54 for a routine exam and $91 for a cleaning. Four bitewing X-rays (annually) are another $90.

We have insurance (subsidized by DW's former employer) that covers 90% of that, for which we pay $29 a month for two of us.

We love our dentist.

 

[zinger1457]

I drive 25 miles to Mexico and get dental cleaning and exam for $30, very good service..

 

[Options]

My dental COBRA coverage just ended this month as well. My plan is to use Groupon deals for bi-annual x-rays/cleaning/polishing. I've seen some for as low as $23 in the LA area.

I have heard stories of going to a new dentist only for that dentist to suddenly "find" thousands of dollars of major dental work "urgently" needed. I'm safeguarding against this by (1) having been just given a completely clean bill of oral health by the highly trusted dentist I had been seeing for years when covered by employer and COBRA insurance; and (2) should something unexpected actually do occur (tooth pain, etc.), I'll join immediately join Carrington's 500 plan and go back to my aforementioned prior long-time dentist who I trust to get whatever needed work, if any, done. I've already checked and my prior long-time dentist accepts Carrington and coverage is Carrington coverage is immediate upon enrollment.

 

[Sue J]

At our dentist cleaning, xrays and exam are $103. Last year the same thing was $99, so the increase is very reasonable. They call this the "coupon rate" but there is no coupon needed, it's just the rate without insurance. This is the same dentist that we had before DH retired. When DH worked we had a dental insurance plan and our cleanings, xrays and exam were at no cost.

Our dentist suggested we look into Careington, which is a discount plan. We didn't buy it.

 

[ziggy29]

I've run the math on our employer group dental plan. It costs us very close to what we'd pay out of pocket for regular cleanings, exams and X-rays (which are all paid 100% by the plan, and the plan has no deductible for other covered services), maybe an extra $50-100 a year. But getting to pay the premiums pre-tax and being covered for occasional larger expenses more or less makes that worth doing.

If the insurance cost more than that it might not be worth getting. But we know we'll be doing regular dental maintenance anyway, and the cost for two of us (about $600 a year, about $500 after tax) is very nearly what we would pay for the services anyway, and our dentist is in the network, so for us it made sense since even if we have no other dental work needed, we roughly break even. YMMV, of course.

 

[explanade]

Hmm, I hadn't heard of Careington.

Another network of providers to research ...

 

[W2R]

$125, all inclusive. My dentist is considered to be a bit on the expensive side for this area.

 

[rodi]

$80 for cleaning.
Another $40 for exam (one time per year)
Another $40 for xrays (one time per year).

Our dentist doesn't take any insurance less than a PPO and doesn't offer a significant cash discount - 2% if you pay in actual cash (vs check or credit card)... I think they want to discourage that.

But - our dentist is great. He caught the cyst in my son's jaw that didn't show up on the regular x-rays... gave us the referral that led us to my son's jaw surgery this past Tuesday.

 

[braumeister]

DW has had some serious dental issues in the last few years (related to a fall), so I looked up the records for the 3-year period 2013 through 2015.

Dentist billing: a little over $4,500
Insurance paid: about $2,200
We paid the difference, plus those 3 years of insurance cost a little over $1,000.

So the insurance is definitely worth it for us, partly because we can stay with our wonderful dentist. He has taken care of DW for nearly 40 years (me for over 25 years). His daughter followed in his footsteps and took over the practice a couple of years ago. He still comes in and works several days a week to help out and give her guidance (she's excellent herself), and it's just a wonderful experience to go there.

 

[TrvlBug]

The dentist I had for years when I was employed proposed a dental implant and it would have been about $2900 out of pocket out of total $4200 charged under my previous employer insurance.

So I could have had Cobra at like $800 a month to save $1300 in the total cost of the implant.

Needless to say, I didn't go with Cobra and I went to a $21 a month plan which covered cleanings through a network which didn't include my existing dentist so I switched.

The new dentist didn't mention anything about an implant but did refer me to a periodontist for a different tooth for possible oral surgery, which I did.

There are dentists who advertise like $1400 for a dental implant around here but it's not clear if that covers all the procedures needed for an implant. The plan that my old dentist proposed was 2 or 3 procedures to be done over several months for that one implant.

Anyways, I'll see if other dentists point out the need for an implant. Implants are probably discretionary since insurance doesn't cover most of it, dentists have to convince you that you need it. I remain unconvinced and it's been over 2 years since I was told I needed it.

When DH retired we had the option of Cobra for dental and Cobra for vision. Very small premiums for each so elected to go with both. As DH is of Medicare age, medical Cobra did not apply. Our yearly dental and vision Cobra premium is $1,500 for the both of us with $2K yearly dental for each of us. Assuming no teeth issues for me, insurance will make a few $$$, but DH will definitely use the $2K next year and maybe some $ early the following year.

We're already $3-4K into the implant process. DH had insufficient bone and needed a graft. He elected to go instead with stem cell procedure and recent x-rays showed good bone growth took place . Next step is early Dec with crown next year. He had the option of replacing his bridge, however, decided to go with implant.

 

[explanade]

Yeah my COBRA premium was for medical or it included all 3 for about $800 a month.

 

[TrvlBug]

But - our dentist is great. He caught the cyst in my son's jaw that didn't show up on the regular x-rays... gave us the referral that led us to my son's jaw surgery this past Tuesday.

This is why I won't go to a 'cheap' dentist. We've been with our dentist for years and years and they are out of network so we always have to pay a few $ of the bill. She did however also catch a tumor in DH's throat necessitating throat surgery. Fortunately the tumor was benign.

 

[mn54]

If you live near a dental school and have more time than money I would look into going there. At the school that I teach at a routine cleaning is $30, $15 for seniors. 4 bitewing xrays are $10, $5 for seniors. Very good care but it takes more time.