[tjumper78]

i'm sure i'm not the only one who's spent so much on teeth. how do you pay these ridiculous amount of money when you dont have dental plans?
4 root canals & gold crowns + one filling = $5050
i brush my teeth twice a day, floss often, but i still get cavities on my big teeth.
the dentist told me that some people are just extremely prone to caries, and get it no matter what they do. i guess i am one of them.
these things crept up silently, and hit me all at once. no signs of pain, then bam! they hurt like hell. i wish i could've done it one by one over the time but they were just too painful and i could not eat anything. my company only provides health insurance, no dental.

i managed to squeeze $2000 out of my ass, and told them i would pay the rest soon. i do not know how i'm gonna pay.

i guess i just wanted to rant and vent.
how do you guys deal with the dental bills?

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

ughh... that's a killer bill. You may be able to find a stand alone policy for dental that you can apply for. The stand alone ones have a pretty high deductible, but I think you'd likely hit it judging from your last bill.

I have pretty crappy medical insurance, which covers nothing until I hit a very high deductible. I wish there was a way to get my prescriptions renewed without my physician dragging me in for a $100 out-of-pocket 5 minute talk to "make sure everything is okay" =P

 

[Blitzula]

Ideally (for others), you get dental insurance on your own if your employer doesn't provide it. It's much less expensive then health insurance, although the coverage isn't as good and it's not easy to find an individual policy.

Even a good dental policy is likely to have a $1,500-$2,000 yearly cap and require a 20% co-pay or so on major dental work. But it's worth it if you're prone to the expense or just want to be safe.

 

[ecclesand]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjumper78 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...i managed to squeeze $2000 out of my ass...

Hey...where can I get an ass like that?

I'm fortunate that I work for a company that has a very good dental plan, but even with it, I would still have to pay 20% for fillings, root canals, caps, etc. My wife has needed several crowns lately and those little buggers add up.

That sucks that you have no coverage at all. Do you at least have access to a flexible spending account at work so you can pay for your dental expenses with pre-tax dollars? Make sure you consider your dental expenses when you do your taxes. If you itemize deductions, you should be able to deduct a portion of it.

Here's hoping that you have no more dental problems for a long while!

 

[AlanY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjumper78 /img/forum/go_quote.gif i'm sure i'm not the only one who's spent so much on teeth. how do you pay these ridiculous amount of money when you dont have dental plans? 4 root canals & gold crowns + one filling = $5050

You got a good deal, believe it or not... $5050 for 4 root canals+crown. I've paid $2200 for just 1 root canal+crown. After that I became obsessive about regular dental checkups... got to catch any cavities before they reach the root canal stage.

 

[fatcat28037]

Seems high but then I'm use to NC prices. Take a look at this website to help determine how your dentists fees compare to others in your area.

Dental cost calculator

 

[IceClass]

Check out what I did to myself on Monday in a fit of clum$ine$$:

I'm hopping on a $1500 jet plane ride in half an hour so I can go throw heaps of money at a dentist in the south.

 

[tjumper78]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlanY /img/forum/go_quote.gif You got a good deal, believe it or not... $5050 for 4 root canals+crown. I've paid $2200 for just 1 root canal+crown. After that I became obsessive about regular dental checkups... got to catch any cavities before they reach the root canal stage.

holy crap.. did you get a diamond crown?

luckily(?), i dont think i have to worry about getting cavities anymore. i only get them on my big teeth (8 of them, right?), and 7 of them have been bling'ed now.
i was looking into those private dental plans but theyre either very expensive or the cheap ones dont really help much. i'm just gonna have to get the checkups as often as possible.

 

[Rednamalas1]

so far, 12 root canals, 6 crowns, 1 implant w/ bone graft

I think my dental bills run up to 19000$ so far, although it could be more.

I'm obsessed with brushing, cleaning, and flossing. but my teeth are simply too brittle. My mum has the same problem as well.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rednamalas1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif so far, 12 root canals, 6 crowns, 1 implant w/ bone graft I think my dental bills run up to 19000$ so far, although it could be more. I'm obsessed with brushing, cleaning, and flossing. but my teeth are simply too brittle. My mum has the same problem as well.

In my case, I think it was the mean dentist that we used to go to as kids that scared the crap out of me!

So some 30 years later (earlier this year), I finally went in to get a complete tooth by tooth assessment of what it would take to set things right.

It was mostly a process of replacing old silver fillings with new white ones, a couple of teeth needed to be pulled, one needed a root canal, the chipped tooth up front needed to be fixed, etc.

Then when everything was done, on the last of 10 appointments, we did then whitening thing. Now I go back every 3 months for a cleaning.

Total cost was about $14,000 (in US money). Well worth it because now I can

with more confidence than ever.

 

[aaron313]

Even with insurance, if you don't have good teeth or are bad about dental hygiene, the bills will stack up. Dental plans are stingy, and so I'd recommend saving some dough for tooth emergencies (and medical emergencies in general).

Now, a general health note, since my family are experts in prescription pill purchase

. I can tell you right now that if you need a medication that is either not offered as a generic, or if the release of the generic is not suited to your needs, you are in for a shock. My dad is on a pill that he cannot take in generic form, and we spend over $300 per month on it ($371 I think). With insurance. I just purchased a generic prescription, and it cost me under $1. But I've taken some pills that are not offered as generics yet, and thankfully they were under $100 per month

(I am not on them anymore, but not because of money). When I start working, I'm going to save, like, $20k just for medical issues, since I basically need constant supervision by doctors and whatnot, and insurance will usually cover only a certain number of doctor's visits.

Anyway, good luck with the dental issues!

 

[amphead]

There are 2 things you can do to prolong your teeth. Chew gum, because saliva keeps the cavities at bay. The other thing is to hold a shot of the yellow Listerine in your mouth for 2 full minutes every day. It kills the bacteria that cause cavities. Listerine is strong stuff, a version of it was used in the civil war as an antiseptic for bullet wounds.

 

[krmathis]

That hurts.
Dentists know how to charge large money for their work. So better do your home work (brush teeth, ...) and stay clear of them.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amphead /img/forum/go_quote.gif Listerine is strong stuff, a version of it was used in the civil war as an antiseptic for bullet wounds.

They also used salt, honey, and onions. Seems surgeons weren't terribly concerned with what they poured into some Irish immigrant's musket-wound.

 

[dsavitsk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlanY /img/forum/go_quote.gif You got a good deal, believe it or not... $5050 for 4 root canals+crown. I've paid $2200 for just 1 root canal+crown.

I've paid close to this, with dental insurance, for work on one tooth. It needed a filling, then another filling, then it cracked and needed a crown, then it needed a root canal through the crown, then, because the first one didn't take and the end of the root got infected, it needed another root canal through the original root canal, and it needed a filling to seal the last root canal. It has been healing for 10 month, and so far is pretty good -- it does flair up occasionally. I am told that if this root canal is rejected, a very real, though increasingly remote, possibility, that I will need surgery that will go in through my sinus to repair things.