$1500 for dental work

[street]

My wife goes to dentist twice a year and today she found out that she has a back tooth that is broke and need a croown. She also has a cavity and with a cleaning and the crown it is in the ball park of $1500 they told her.

Well that made my day but I know it has to be done but it seems like always something. lol When I was working we had such a good plan and now we don't have insurance so not use to the bills.

 

[Sunset]

most dental insurance has limits, often $1,000 per year.

The good news is this type of thing does not happen often.

 

[frayne]

I'd ask for an itemized list, it actually doesn't sound out of line.

 

[youbet]

it actually doesn't sound out of line.

It's the round number I'd have thrown out if asked to take a guess at what it would cost.........

 

[bingybear]

We've had crowns the last 2 years.. both of us.

Without insurance we found a dentist that does the cleaning/checkup/ex-rays for $88... cash. I asked about cash discounts for the crowns and got a reasonable reduction.

you can look at what it will cost for insurance.

When I quit working I looked at the cobra cost for dental insurance. About $500 for each of us.

so... you still can likely buy the insurance, or pay as you go. There are dentists that will give some discounts. You can also look for dental schools to do work on your teeth. They usually cost less.

 

[Texas Proud]

Heck, my DW is getting 4 'crowns' and 3 of something to connect them to her implants... total cost $7,300...


This is on top of her 3 implants that cost $10,000...


Dental can be very expensive... and as someone mentioned, 'insurance' just does not cover these kinds of costs... even good insurance...

 

[athena53]

$1,000+ for anything related to a crown or a bridge sounds about right. I haven't shopped around- I really like and trust the dentist I've had for the last 10+ years and I have enough expensive work (including 4 implants) that I want someone good.

I know you didn't ask about dental insurance but there are a ton of previous discussions on that subject here. Most of us have decided it's not worth it.

 

[MRG]

I was just quoted $1205(-5% for cash) to replace an existing crown, (actually 2*1205), due to decay on the remaining tooth(teeth).

This is a new dentist to me. The price is very much in line with the work my previous long term dentist charged last year.

 

[street]

Ya it is crazy but what do yo do. The tooth that needs crowning does need extra work to build it up because it was broken so far down. This dentist is very good and we know them so that is that. My wife would never ask if there is a better deal for cash so it is what it is. It could be worse and hope for a better year at the dentist. lol I told my wife that she doesn't have any more allowance for the rest of the year and she that is about right. Lol

 

[scrabbler1]

$1,500 for a crown plus some smaller work seems reasonable to me.


Back in 2007, when I reduced my weekly hours worked and became ineligible for group health (and dental) coverage, I switched to COBRA and kept the dental coverage because I knew I needed some costly dental work - I needed to have 2 useless wisdom teeth pulled. With COBRA, my copays were $10 for each tooth.


I needed an inlay on one tooth earlier this year, cost me $750. That's the only work beyond a few small cavities I have needed since 2009 after the COBRA ran out and I lost my dental insurance. Without the inlay, dental insurance plus copays and deductibles came out about the same as going without insurance, I figured out.

 

[Bamaman]

I recently broke one of my crowns. My regular dentist charges about $850 for a replacement.

We have another local dentist that scans your mouth and teeth. She has a CNC machine that automatically carves a new tooth out of a solid chunk of ceramic material in 6 minutes. A 30 second adjustment and I'm on my way. And the price is just under $800. It sure beats 2 weeks and 2 sittings at my regular dentist.

Note: Crowns are required after most root canals. Our local husband/wife team specializing in root canals charges $850--cash only. No insurance accepted.

In other words, $1500 sounds too high for the services you're expected to get.

 

[street]

Ya probably is but she isn't going to say anything. Now the $1500 is a cleaning, a cavity to do and the crown but the tooth needs to be built up before it can be crowned. There is extra work that needs to be done that is what he said.

Last fall I had a tooth that a filling came out and I broke a piece off the same tooth. I go to a different guy and he had to fill and build this broken part up and only charged me $40 for the job. I have known him for 35 years and has always done a great job for me. My wife won't go to him so that is that. lol

 

[Dawg52]

My wife goes to dentist twice a year and today she found out that she has a back tooth that is broke and need a croown. She also has a cavity and with a cleaning and the crown it is in the ball park of $1500 they told her.

Well that made my day but I know it has to be done but it seems like always something. lol When I was working we had such a good plan and now we don't have insurance so not use to the bills.

Probably time to trade her in for a new model.

Could be worse, she could have broken the tooth below the gum line requiring an implant. I'm going through that right now to the tune of $3,500. Two years ago, same tooth on the other side.

 

[street]

Yep it could be worse that is for sure. I could trade her in but a new one will cost me more I'm afraid. lol

 

[socca]

Heck, my DW is getting 4 'crowns' and 3 of something to connect them to her implants... total cost $7,300...This is on top of her 3 implants that cost $10,000...

Looks like I need to increase my allocation to reserves for major dental work to $1200 / yr starting with my 2017 budget. I've never had major dental work, but you never know what's coming...

 

[2017ish]

I had 17K last year, with 5 or 10% discount. MANY crowns. Hopefully no more...

Saved receipts for when we pull out of HSA.

 

[Texas Proud]

Ya it is crazy but what do yo do. The tooth that needs crowning does need extra work to build it up because it was broken so far down. This dentist is very good and we know them so that is that. My wife would never ask if there is a better deal for cash so it is what it is. It could be worse and hope for a better year at the dentist. lol I told my wife that she doesn't have any more allowance for the rest of the year and she that is about right. Lol

I do not see why not Either they have it and you can save money or they do not and they say 'no'....

If you pull out a CC, then they just take it and you would never know...


BTW, my dentist does have a 5% discount for paying with check or cash.... check being the same to them (no CC charge).... and we saved $375....

But hey, if you do not want to spend 20 seconds to see if you can save $75 then go right ahead and pay it as is....

 

[Texas Proud]

Looks like I need to increase my allocation to reserves for major dental work to $1200 / yr starting with my 2017 budget. I've never had major dental work, but you never know what's coming...

For me it is a big cost... she has horrible teeth and over the next 10 to 20 years she will probably have every natural tooth pulled and an implant in its place... so probably a total of $200K when all said and done!!!

 

[Bamaman]

For me it is a big cost... she has horrible teeth and over the next 10 to 20 years she will probably have every natural tooth pulled and an implant in its place... so probably a total of $200K when all said and done!!!

In that case, they'd do 4 implants and screw false teeth plates into the implants to hold'em solid.

 

[Amethyst]

That's about what I pay for a crown with insurance.

 

[frank]

200k for implants. they must be a cash cow. why do people in that situation not use dentures, instead of all implants? its been done for years.

 

[scrabbler1]

Insurance paid for 50% of the cost of my crowns, so it paid for $500-$600 for each one.

 

[Dawg52]

In that case, they'd do 4 implants and screw false teeth plates into the implants to hold'em solid.

While waiting to see my doc the other day, I watched a film being played showing this procedure. Looked like a more cost effective way to replace teeth when doing all at once. But for people who are having implants done for a broken tooth here and there over a period of years, it's going to add up. It's just going to depend on the situation.

 

[athena53]

200k for implants. they must be a cash cow. why do people in that situation not use dentures, instead of all implants? its been done for years.

If they're done all at once they're more like $30-$40k. Mine ran $5k each but I still have most of my own teeth.

Why implants? My understanding is that when you get dentures the jawbone shrinks over time because it's not stimulated by the chewing action of natural teeth. So, you need new dentures every once in awhile and the narrower the jawbone, the harder it is to fit them well. Hence the clacking you hear when people with ill-fitting dentures talk. It also can limit what you eat- the dentist who did mine had a friend who couldn't eat a hot dog on a bun at a baseball game. He said the implants changed his life.

Remember, too, that fresh, crunchy fruits and vegetables are out if your dentures don't fit- so then there's the impact on nutrition.

 

[euro]

If you live near a university with a dental school, consider signing up for services there - you can get pretty significant cost savings. Downside is that the appointments/procedures tend to take a little longer because the work is extremely thoroughly supervised and double/triple checked.