I'm interested to hear other people's experiences with dentists

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  1. TIMETRAVELER2 profile image78
    TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years ago

    It is bad enough that medical costs have gotten out of control, but now it seems that dental costs are following suit.  Unfortunately, there is no insurance you can buy that really protects you in the same way that medical insurance does.  So, for example, if you want a specialist to give you an implant you can be looking easily at $5,000 for ONE tooth!  Since you have 32 teeth in your mouth, I would like to know how people are supposed to pay for a mouth full of implants...or even half a mouth full, if they become necessary.  Dentists and their staffers act like this is no big deal, but it is a real big deal for people who need serious dental care.  What think you?  What can we do?  Anybody?

    1. Brie Hoffman profile image60
      Brie Hoffmanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I wrote an article about this a couple of years ago.  The gist is..start oil pulling and you'll never need another dentist again!  If you want the article let me know.

    2. profile image0
      robhamptonposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      lol I hear you..  In the dentist office and they're setting up future appointments for stuff that's going to cost a fortune like it's nothing at all.  I must have been in the Rich and famous people's dentist office since they automatically assumed I could pull 5 grand out of my ass!

    3. profile image0
      calculus-geometryposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Delta Dental is an insurance company used by a lot of employers who offer dental coverage (my old workplace and my husband's both give coverage through Delta) but they also sell individual plans in select US states.  I don't know where you live, but it might be worth checking out.

      1. TIMETRAVELER2 profile image78
        TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

        calculus-geometry:

        I am aware of Delta Dental, but my problems with them are two fold:

        first, they are prohibitively expensive and
        second, you have to be with them for at least a year before they will pay for anything major.

        Most people cannot afford such limited coverage, even though in the long run it may pay off...or not!

  2. Sylvia Leong profile image82
    Sylvia Leongposted 10 years ago

    My husband & I are self-employed & have zero benefits.  We've always have to pay the dentist out of pocket.  We even paid the orthodontist (in full) for our braces.  This has been great incentive to both brush & floss everyday & eat nutritiously & thereby maintain healthy teeth.  The best insurance is prevention through taking care of yourself.  If you haven't done this, or have had an accident, then unfortunately, unless you have benefits through employment, you have to pay - even in Canada.  We have a friend in our building who had all her teeth pulled & has worn dentures for years.  Apparently, it was the least expensive way to go.

    1. TIMETRAVELER2 profile image78
      TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Sylvia Leong:

      I have always had terrible teeth due to a childhood illness, but at the same time have always done everything possible to care for them.

      I feel that the prices dentists charge are outrageous.

      Yes, they have their schooling, equipment, employee costs and overhead to pay for, but so does every other person who is in business.

      I once had a friend who was a dentist.  He told me how little he had to pay for lab work, etc., and laughed about how he was able to gouge patients for those same costs.

      From what I can tell, there is absolutely zero regulation with regards to costs, especially since there is very little real and reasonably priced dental insurance available to people.

      I think people need to start contacting their state and federal politicians to see what can be done about this.

      Dental work is a necessity, and one that should be available to every human being at a reasonable cost.

      I just recently read an article that stated that dentists now make more money than most doctors!

      What's wrong with this picture???

  3. paradigmsearch profile image59
    paradigmsearchposted 10 years ago

    I could relate a personal dentist story that would have the reader kicking in the nearest wall. But I don't feel like going through that memory again right now, so will save it for another time.

  4. psycheskinner profile image78
    psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

    I don't have dental insurance.  My last root canal cost about $3000.  My dentist let me pay it off in multiple payments.  I have no trouble at all believing that was the real cost of the procedure with not more than a fair profit margin.  I have some idea what specialist equipment, pharmaceuticals, commercial rent etc cost and I know that his simple extractions are the cheapest in town. But I chose to invest in keeping the tooth--which I was fortunately able to do as he spread the payments across my next several paydays,.

    1. TIMETRAVELER2 profile image78
      TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      psycheskinner:

      Really?  Why are dentists paying more than everybody else, and what makes you think that large profit margins are OK.

      $3,000 for a root canal is a high price for a job that can be done in less than an hour and by a doctor who has a waiting room full of patients.

      Other than doctors, lawyers and politicians, I know of no other career that allows people to have a license to charge whatever they like and expect people either to suffer or go broke paying.

      It's pretty obvious by the posts written here so far that people are not happy with the cost of dental care.

      You could have paid half of what you had to pay and your dentist could still have made a profit.

      1. psycheskinner profile image78
        psycheskinnerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

        My root canal took three visits and several hours using millions of dollars worth of equipment, a custom made crown, and the services of a man who went $250000 dollars into debt to get his education.  He drives an old car, wears old shoes, and does $50 extractions for people on low incomes. So no, I do not think he could have charged me half and been in profit at all.

        I do not begrudge him a lower middle class income for his skilled services.  In fact is his net income after honoring his debts is almost certainly lower than mine. So I have no basis to begrudge him his fee whatsoever.

        My dentist offered three levels of treatment in a straightforward way with no implied judgement.  I went for the most expensive and he worked with me to pay for it.  I have nothing but the utmost respect for him and trust in his ethics and skills. This despite it being the single most expensive thing I have ever bought. Not even my car was that expensive.

        1. TIMETRAVELER2 profile image78
          TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

          psycheskinner:

          Well, my dentist is an outstanding and highly trained Endodontist with a very successful practice and many employees.

          He, too, paid a fortune for his education and has expensive equipment, staffers and all the overhead any dentist has.

          Someone paying cash for a root canal in his office pays $1200.

          With insurance, it costs less than half of that.

          He is a great guy I have used for years, and is not one I would ever complain about, just as you would not complain about yours.

          The only difference is that your guy is charging more than twice what my guy charges!

          1. psycheskinner profile image78
            psycheskinnerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            For a complex procedure due to my other medical conditions, in an area with high commercial leasing rates--not all root canals are the same.

            1. psycheskinner profile image78
              psycheskinnerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

              "After all, what's a few thousand to them!"

              A lot, I suspect.  How exactly do you expect them to act?

              1. TIMETRAVELER2 profile image78
                TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                psychskinner:

                Well, showing a little compassion for the plight of the patients would be nice.  They don't have to act like people are paupers when the baulk at the exorbitant prices their bosses are charging!

  5. Don Bobbitt profile image76
    Don Bobbittposted 10 years ago

    Timetraveler2- I understand you totally. If there is a health issue that needs a light shined on it than Dental care.
    We all work our whole lives with whatever dental coverage our employer provides and then we retire. And WHAM! You are OLD and your teeth are going (pardon the phrase) to Hell.
    SO you go to a dentist (another word for an unregulated medical service technician) and he checks your teeth and gives you a quote that has no constraints other that what he nd his peers have set up.as acceptable.
    And, you either pay, or if you have good credit, he hands you a form for a special credit card. You see he gets paid, and your teeth are not his problem.
    If you have money, or credit, you get your teeth fixed. If not, you suffer and your teeth degrade even further. Not his problem.
    With any other physical illness you can get help regardless of the problem and your financial situation. Not with dental work.

    In fact, I was in the emergency room a month ago wth a blood clot and what did I see? three different people who were in the emergency room with extreme pain in their teeth. You see, this will get treated with a drug, at least.
    We need Dental managed by Medicare like the rest of our physical problems.
    Sorry about the Rant! DON

    1. profile image0
      robhamptonposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Well put,  Don.  This has been an expense that has been abused forever.  No mercy at the dentists office!

      1. TIMETRAVELER2 profile image78
        TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

        robhampton:

        Don't you just love the way the clerks in those offices toss those figures around like they are nothing?  After all, what's a few thousand to them!

        1. profile image0
          robhamptonposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Yep!

          1. psycheskinner profile image78
            psycheskinnerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            The clerks in those offices earn little more than minimum wage.  Why are you assuming they are wealthy?

            We should have socialized medicine or effective dental insurance.  But the absence of these things is not the fault of evil dentists or their millionaire secretaries.

            1. TIMETRAVELER2 profile image78
              TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

              psycheskinner:

              What in the world made you think I said that office clerks are wealthy?

              You misunderstood my statement.

              What I said was they "toss those figures around like they are nothing"...meaning that they are telling YOU prices that would scare the skin off a rabbit but acting like those costs are no big deal.

              It would be a real BIG deal if they were the ones who were getting skinned!

    2. TIMETRAVELER2 profile image78
      TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Don:

      Don't be sorry...you are expressing my feelings exactly...and probably those of many others as well!

  6. Sed-me profile image78
    Sed-meposted 10 years ago

    I am sitting in the library, gauze in the back of my mouth to stop the bleeding. I just had my back tooth pulled. In 2011, I broke a tooth before I flew to my brother's wedding. 'No biggie, I will have it taken care of as soon as I return.' It was during the recession, and I came back to find that my husband's work was downsizing drastically, starting at the top... and he was out of a job. After 3 years, I finally have dental again (though not medical, of course... let's not get crazy!) And with the ins. it cost me $125 to have him rip a tooth from my jaw. And I still have it better than the majority of the world. It sounds like Im complaining, probably b/c I was just assaulted by a man in a white coat, but I am actually very grateful.

    1. TIMETRAVELER2 profile image78
      TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yep:

      I remember when having a tooth pulled cost about $20 without insurance.  Not any more.  Even with insurance it will cost about what you paid...makes it hurt even more!

      1. Sed-me profile image78
        Sed-meposted 10 years agoin reply to this

        For sure. lol

 
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