Dental Costs!!
 

I never really understood in general why health costs cost so much. I know if you go to see a doctor you're going to pay just for the visit. My focus on dentists. It's true I think a lot of people have trouble affording going to a dentist. I know the average cleaning costs close in United States about eighty dollars. I needed to get a root canal done and it was going to cost me seven hundred dollars just to have that procedure done. It's absolutely absurd to have to pay that much money to have one thing done, and then aftewards you have to have a crown put on that tooth. So to get that in perspective I had to have a temporary crown put on which costed three hundred dollars for them to make a mold of my tooth and crown it and then to get the permanent one done I had to wait a few weeks for it to come back it will cost another four hundred dollars.

I understand dentists go to school for years and are probably buried in debt the first two to three years of their practice but eventually a dentist charge so much money that they could live on having twenty patients who don't take care of their teeth. I just wished there were more dentist who were reasonably priced and not so concerned about whether they are going to have enough money to wash their yacht or something like that.

It breaks my heart, how much I owe my dentist.

I've had two root canals. The first one I had health insurance and it paid for quite a bit and I only owed them about 800+ after the procedure was completely done (that includes the permanent crown).

This second one I didn't have health insurance for.
The cost was 900+ for the first visit (procedure) and 900+ to get the crown on.
It's really very heart breaking for me because I don't work and as a full time student I'm usually broke.

At least the dentist I found was nice enough to form a payment plan with me.
And he also understands my not having insurance so he's yet to charge me for any x-rays/exams.

I agree, health care is ridiculous and I normally DON'T go to the dentist because I know how much it's going to cost and it's just frickin' depressing.

I don't think that they charge so much because they're greedy, really. They have a lot of costs of their own and at least with a dentist, they HAVE to do all the work involve with your tooth. I mean the drilling etc. And when you go to a doctor, you pay $90 for them to come in, sit down and say "I think it's..." and then they leave. :stare:

Malpractice insurance and lawsuits. That's why health care costs are so high, especially in the U.S.

Those prices for dental work seem reasonable to me though. Considering how much it costs to get the materials and the machines required to have a dentistry practice, not to mention that most clinics have to send their instruments (steel ones such as picks and mirrors) to a place that will re-sterilize them, since they can't afford to sterilize those things themselves. You've probably noticed that a lot of places will open the tools from their packaging right in front of you to show you that they're sterile and they're not re-using something that was just in someone else's mouth.

And, I haven't heard of much malpractice in dentistry (maybe orthodontics though).

I get so friggin upset about this kind of thing, it's nice that your dentist allowed a payment plan, but really, they should have some sort of income based subsidary from the government for those who really can't afford to go to the dentist. If someone gets an abssessed tooth then they really don't have a choice. If you get poisoning in your blood system it really could kill you. I think if everyone took better care of theirselves under a national health care plan, the whole thing with people going into the emergency room and just not paying for anything would be cut in half I'm willing to wager. Luckily my dentist only charges me three hundred and fifty dollars for a root canal, but the thing is that I have to drive al the way from north carolina to new jersey to see him. :( oh well I had four fillings, a root canal, and a temporary crown with a cleaning done all for only seven hundred and forty-five dollars!!! I was totally amazed at that price.

@Keoyori ~ Yea, there's that monster malpractice insurance. I still think seven hundred dollars for a root canal alone is a bit ridiculous. I also think they could still pay their expenses and make good money by doing it for a third less than what the most common price is these days. I also think that the government should give tax breaks for health care providers who give low income based individuals and families discount prices.

Tell me about it, I go to the dentist from time to time and I may go twice a year at most, but it costs so much that last year I just went once for a cleaning. I know I need about three fillings done. I'm trying to find some discount dentistry or denstist clincs I have heard some churches do to help low income families who just can't quite afford it. I know I definitely need some other stuff done. I once also thought about having some bleaching of my teeth to whiten them up some more to make it look like I have some shiny pearly whites going on. I think having good teeth is a very important thing. Also oine thing I noticed that when people talk about dental hygene, they don't mention how important flossing is. I think it is just as important as brushing of the teeth themself.

Back on topic, dental cost is definitely astronomical. I know I need to start saving up some more money for one tooth I'm pretty sure is going to need to have a root canal and then ultimately a permanent crown as they are quite expensive these days. I'm guessing for the root canal and crown it's going to cost me at least one thousand and two hundred dollars. I have about seven hundred dollars saved up in my savings account, was hoping it could go for something else but I guess not, makes me kind of sad actually.

Being a UK citizen my health and dental is free. And having spent a few months in California living with my SO, I'm not really sure what you guys are paying for. The service isn't really any better, wait times aren't any quicker etc. Here in San Mateo there is one physical therapist to serve a population of ~750,000 due to budget cuts...

Also my SO really needs braces but we're facing a cost of $5000-$6000 for it, which we just can't afford. I actually got an appointment at a UK dentist last time we were both in England just because, even for a non-UK citizen, it is so very much cheaper to get proper dental care.

The one tip we have gotten is to try dental schools, with the work being done by dental students (and overseen by fully qualified dental instructors) you can get work done a lot cheaper. We're hoping we might be able to get the braces fitted at the local school of dentistry.

In England, dental care is cheaper?! That is truly amazing, maybe I need to go over there. I pay a lot of money for my dental care, it's really sad how Americans are so afraid of change, I hope this health care bill goes through. I think overall it will be beneficial to this country more than people think. I hate that United States is always the last one to jump on a bandwagon of change.

With my Medi-Cal (I'm disabled (or over 65 or pregnant, both of those I'm not)) insurance, the only thing available to me is the "Emergency Dental Clinic" for which sign ups are ONLY Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM at the county hospital. You then have to wait about for hours for them to take a couple of X-rays and examine your teeth. No matter what the problem is (in my case, a couple of cavities on my back teeth because I haven't been able to AFFORD to see a dentist in four years), their policy is "extraction or nothing". I was given a perscription for horse pill sized ibuproffen (600 mg, equivalent to three over the counter pills) and antibiotics in preparation for the surgery. Thankfully by the skin of my teeth I was able to find elsewhere just to give me fillings so I didn't have to lose teeth, but that money had to be paid up front.

I really definitely think that kind of thing is totally messed up about the country. I bet they charged you an arm and a leg for those over the counter pills. I am glad to hear you got to keep your teeth, I know I would do whatever I can to keep my teeth and that is no joke because I am pretty vain when it comes to making sure that I have a nice and pleasant smile.

That's really true, going to the dentist is very wallet breaking, I know that all too well myself. I'm in the same boat you are, I work a part time job and am going to school, luckily I know a dentist that really gives me some great deals, but otherwise I would be totally out of luck.

@Darke ~ So all dental care is free in Great Britian? How does it work over there if you need to go to the dentist? Here in the United States you can get proper dental care but you will pay out the arse for it and it really fucking sucks balls. I'm really interested in more of how things work over there.

@The Crow ~ X rays are where things can start getting expensive quickly, you can get three or four x rays when an x ray may cost you seventy dollars a pop, it is truly ludicrous that they charge so much for just one photo shot. I think it should be no more than thirty dollars. I'm not really sure about the initial cost of buying the machine and the pellets that are used to power the machine which contain the radiation to get the x rays. Health care in general in this country just sucks and I even think that someone who has money as opposed to someone who doesn't have money will be kept alive longer because they can afford the medical care. The ethics of the health care profession are totally going out the window these days.

Tell me about it. I know when I was younger, I was going to get braces but didn't because they were so expensive. I think it was around $4k, this was about thirteen years ago and in a different state so it's probably about a thousand or so more now.

I also need to get all four of my wisdom teeth out, unfortunately I can't afford it. I had gone about a year or so ago because one of my back teeth was hurting. X-Rays were taken and those were $100 for two freaking X-Rays! TWO! Of course I also needed cleaning and stuff, but I had to go on a payment plan for that too. It cost $600 for the cleaning alone.

Getting my wisdom teeth out? Not happening. $2k+ just to get all of them taken out, not to mention the $70 meds I'd need to take before, during, and after the procedure.

It's crazy to have to pay so much to take care of the things that I'll need for the rest of my life.

It's so sad that our society at least the part of them who take care of us health wise charge so much money for those people who really need to have to get procedures done and they know they have to have them done or they will be in a lot of pain. It's disgusting to me that people are being taken advantage of like this. Luckily I had all four of mine taken out for eight hundred dollars and that was lucky, I was one pain medication for almost two weeks thereafter on loretabs. It was no hayride, I hated being on pain medication and the pain medication was not cheap because I was no longer on my mother's health insurance and the meds cost a bit, though I don't remember the exact dollar amount of which that I paid for. Wisdom teeth are a necessitie to have out, if they start growing impacted or cause pain or absess.

I really think the whole entire medical profession is corrupted with greed in my opinion. Maybe not every doctor is corrupted, but there are a lot of medical officials that only like triffling with the insurance which causes everyone's health care insurance rates to skyrocket into astronomical proportions. It's totally ridiculous!! Removing wisdom teeth can't be that big of a deal, but since the competition is little to none we have no choice but to pay their prices. Dental health care is one of those that they don't have in the emergency rooms and usually if you have to have something done to one or more of your teeth then you have to have money up fron and it really sucks.

@Cannabilistic Cow ~ I wished I lived in Canada, free health care would be awesome, I don't know why so many Americans are afraid of the health care bill. I think overall in the bigger picture that it would help many more than it would hurt. Of course private health is always out there for those who can afford it.

Actually, removing wisdom teeth can be a big deal. The reason that people usually need to have them removed is because they are probably impacted, causing pain. They also are not easy teeth for a dentist to get to, seeing as they are all the way in the back of the mouth. Another thing to note is that wisdom teeth tend to be either partially emerged or not at all. That means that the extraction becomes a surgical procedure.

On another note, there are costs that I think are being looked over. There are usually other people who work in the office, such as dental hygienists [who made median wage of $66,570 as of May 2008]* and dental assistants [median wage as of $32,380 in May 2008]*. That's not including any benefits that are provided to these employees. There is also the cost of the building and taxes. Dentists do need malpractice insurance because just like with doctors, there are going to be people who try and take advantage. Also, like many in the medical world, they need to keep up to date with procedures and all the different products out there.

So yeah, I can see why costs are kind of high when it comes to dental care.

Those are really good points, I wonder what kind of strategy would it take to have lower costs as far as overhead is concerned? Smaller buildings-- fewer hygeneist-- and internship receptionist with salaries starting at only twenty thousand a year? The government could also give dentist breaks who operate cheaply by cutting their business operating taxes in half. I'm sure there are other things that could be done in order to give dentists cheaper operating costs, also, cheaper malpractice insurance-- like maybe deals they could provide for dentist who don't have any problems should get discount rates that never have any problems. Anyways, I'm just brainstorming on ways that could cut the dentists operating costs so that way they could pass on some of the savings to their patients, I understand they need to make money too after all the time they spent going to school to become a dentist in the first place.

Those really sound like some great ideas that could decrease their operating costs. I agree with all of that, but getting it to happen would be a different story.

Removing wisdom teeth IS a big deal, and involves removing something connected to your jaw. It's not quite as simple as a haircut.

Anesthesia on its own is a huge deal, especially for people who are younger. Complications from anesthesia alone can severely impede the procedure.

Often, the gums have to be cut, the tooth removed, several nerves severed properly (so to not cause chronic pain or other nerve damage), and stitches put into place. Additionally, this procedure is never performed by just one person, so it's not just one joe shmoe yanking a few teeth out and sending you on your way. It IS a big deal, or you'd just do it yourself at home.

That's true, it's something that has to have all of this surgery. I had to pay my twelve hundred dollars to have all of my wisdom teeth removed. I had to go to an oral surgeon. It definitely was not cheap to have done. I know a lot of people in the same boat I was in that have to work two jobs and just save money and stay on antibiotics and pain killers in order to make living with it bearable until you are able to afford to have the procedure performed.

Really? I thought all health care in Canada was free? I guess there are exceptions to the rule huh? There are so many things that we here in America really do not know about. I'm sure there are rules and exceptions which we are totally in the dark about unless some of us have lived over there in Canada.

I get that there's a lot of stuff involved with getting wisdom teeth removed, unfortunately there are people [like me and a few posters in this thread] who still can't afford even paying $1,200 to get the teeth taken out. That right there is what I could use for two months for food, gas, my rent [roof over my head], electricity, and the few other things for cost of living.

If I had to get the teeth removed, I'd have to take on another two jobs just to make ends meet so that I could get the procedure done, take two days off, and use the meds for the procedure. It's sad that some people have to choose between things like this [or taking necessary meds for their health] and getting food for the week.

@Kole: Yeah, that's a long drive but worth it if you only have to pay that much. I have to make a 45 minute drive to my dentist but I'm okay with it because he's really nice.

[I][URL=https://www.menewsha.com/forum/member.php?u=24360]Crow[/URL][/I]: I have the Oregon Health Plan but they don't cover hardly anything for unpregnant women over 21 years old. I also have an ASSIGNED dentist that I can go to but I use to go to this guy when I was younger and he's a fucking joke (pardon the language). With this last tooth that I got a root canal on, my jaw was SWELLING. I looked like I was carrying a softball. I called my assigned dentist (this was back in like May) and the person making the appointment said their first opening was in AUGUST. I was like "you've got to be kidding me" and decided I would call the dentist I went to when I had Aetna.

He was outta town so my friend suggested that I go to her dentist. I figured since OHP wasn't going to be paying for my root canal anyway, I had better see someone sooner rather than later and save myself from DEATH because my dentist couldn't fit me in until August.

I did call my dentist back and let them know my jaw was swelling even bigger and they said

It was Friday. x__X; I hung up on that skank face.

And since OHP doesn't cover root canals on me I decided I'd rather pay out of pocket than have my tooth pulled.

I have nightmares about losing my teeth.

Um... I'm sure that someone is paying for health care in Canada... Whether it is directly or not. The people probably pay for it through their taxes. So it really isn't completely free... >.> Just saying.

Textless Soul: Have you tried shopping around? I'm sure there are lots of dentists who could work with you, getting you either a financial plan for paying for the service or something. I know in the office I just went to a few months ago, they work with a company that sets up an alternative payment plan option. These plans usually aren't amazing or anything because sometimes you may end up paying more in the end but you don't have to worry about the total cost up front.

I know I've considered it but that is because I would rather get a dental implant than a bridge put in where I had my tooth extracted. And dental implants can cost $2000+ and are not covered by dental insurance at all.

Estrella: I had my tooth extracted back in January and I'm only 21. >.<; The procedure wasn't as scary as all the possibilities if I don't get something in the empty space within 2 years...