Comments on: Seriously, he looked at me like I had 2 heads

By: WHatchest

WHatchest — Wed, 05 May 2010 07:55:20 +0000

Instant messaging not incoming Nashville, but I've got wind that Angie's listing delivers got to lean mends and dentists. That mightiness live worthy a crack!

By: tee

tee — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:04:01 +0000

I was reading through the original post and your dental dilemmas in Nashville. I am a senior dental student at Meharry dental school and if anyone is interested in coming to the school for dental work email me at tthom09@gmail.com. I could probably make an appointment for next week or so.

By: lele

lele — Mon, 26 May 2008 00:42:30 +0000

If it makes you feel better my Uncle is a dentist and I still can’t afford to go to him…hes in a multi practioner practice and they don’t give family discounts or take payment plans.

By: sonia

sonia — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:14:59 +0000

I have just spent $6600 for 2 extractions, deep gum cleaning, 2 root canals, 3 crowns, 3 fillings. This is with a sedation dentist. I’m TERRIFIED of dentists. I had to use capital one healthcare financing. It’s worth it to go into debt for this. It’s unfortunately…..but you have to do it. If you keep letting your teeth go, it can damage your heart. And the infection can go into your bloodstream!

By: zJ

zJ — Sun, 18 May 2008 08:50:13 +0000

I realise that the dentists are the big-bad around here, (and as I’m in the UK with no hope of a NHS dentist anytime soon), but have you considered what the dentist is thinking? My ex is a private dentist, and he’s had many people try to scam him (one even filed false sexual harassment charges against him, only to offer to drop the charges if he’d forget the bill). The reason he won’t work on a piece-by-piece basis (especially for new patients) is that too often those patients promise they’ll be back in a month/when they’ve got the money, and are never seen again, and he’s worried that they’ll turn up a couple of years later, find that the teeth are too bad to have whatever it is they wanted done, then turn around and file a complaint/charges against him.
Which is not to say that I don’t think some (many) dentists are just out to scam as much money out of the patients/government/insurance companies as possible.
Do you or your husband know personally/live next to a dentist (or the mother of one). Everyone is more likely to take a chance on someone they know (or who their mother recommends). Other than that, elderly dentists (who remember what it was like living hand-to-mouth) new practices (who need patients) and alternative dentists (don’t laugh, my ex works with a guy who specialises in people with phobias, mouth piercings or who want ‘fangs’, he’s so flexable it’s unbelievable).
But anyway, the point of this rambling post was that not all dentists who are unwilling to work on a “when I’ve got the money” basis are inherently evil.
[And yes, my ex does look at my teeth every once in a while without charging me, but he won't do any work on them.]

By: Mary@Turkeyfarmtreasures

Mary@Turkeyfarmtreasures — Sat, 17 May 2008 23:32:21 +0000

This topic hits close to home. My husband and I were hit with unexpected dentist bills this month. Our dentist has given us a 20% cash discount for dental work over the last eight years. (No dental insurance.) Even with the discount we did not have 1,500 lying around. I held a two-day yard sale, sold some dishes and furniture on Craig’s List, and am selling some items on Ebay to raise the needed funds.
A lot of effort but I would rather go through labor than the pain of a toothache.

By: Heidi @ Carolina Dreamz

Heidi @ Carolina Dreamz — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:03:40 +0000

Oh and yes, its true, that dentists are in great demand and don’t technically need us, as patients..

But don’t forget that you are the customer. Do your homework and then make the appointments for the services that you want them to render.

PERIOD.

By: Heidi @ Carolina Dreamz

Heidi @ Carolina Dreamz — Fri, 16 May 2008 21:56:48 +0000

Ivy,

I gave up on the comments about 50% of them ago.

We sit in the same boat, with this, except I have a dentist who is babying me, right now.

I was surprised to recently learn that most insurance caps at $1000/year. Mine is slightly higher, and I still will run out of insurance, this year, before I get 1/2 of what I need done, started. Or so it seems.

I gave up on an abscess. I was able to call around, to the specialists, after being referred out.. endodontics vs oral surgery. I asked them specific cost questions and determined that I will NEVER be able to afford implants.

I opted to have a tooth removed, again, instead of the specialists root canal.. solely based on cost.

My dentist has filled me with the “they can shift” fears and has told me that the bridge (basically three crowns, in price, which avg about $600/ea here) is urgently necessary. A helpful receptionist settled some of my fears, with “you can’t do what you can’t do. you aren’t wanting to never fix it.”

Btw, an abscess is technically a medical problem and some health insurance companies will cover you, when dental insurance won’t.. like for anesthesia. I got this info, from a blog-friend, who works for an insurance company. My coverage wasn’t that way.. but it comes down to how the problem is coded. Sometimes we can’t control THAT. I tried.

The oral surgeon told me that the office girls are pros at knowing what is covered. The office girl told me that the doctor coded it (and gave me the code) which is what determines the insurance coverage.. really. So its a vicious unending circle, it seems.

With my abscess, I not only had to see a specialist, for extraction, but I was then faced with the chemistry side of the possibilities of the acidic/alkaline neutrality and the local anesthetic not working! That’s when I was informed, as I was debating decisions, that “not working anesthesia” is not a medical necessity for an alternate form of anesthesia.

My oral surgeon is also out of my network and wants 100%, up front, while we wait for insurance payments.

Here’s what I’ve found helpful. Look for a clinic type dentist office that has more than one dentist on staff. They tend to be more flexible in the “do what they need to/can to help you now” (at least from my experience.)

My running joke, right now, is that dentures ARE financeable. (is that a word?)

I need about 8+ crowns and I’m living every day with the knowledge that a tooth can break any minute.

I’ve had one crown, two specialist extractions, and a few fillings so far, this year. I have enough insurance for a few more fillings and the rest is sitting on a wing and a prayer.

BTW, I was told that the inplants price does not include the follow-up to have the stud crowned. Here we are looking at around $3K a tooth.

I bet you could get a free consultation at a specialist that does the partial dentures.. exclusively. Specialist services seem to have that feature that the standard dentist hasn’t given me. yet.

I’m still hopeful??

Best of luck to you. *hugz* ~Heidi

By: LoriW

LoriW — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:53:34 +0000

Ivy, you’ve inspired me to get my teeth fixed! I’ve been putting it off. After a freelance job, I’ve said, “this money is earmarked to get my teeth worked on,” but it was so much easier to put that money in Savings. I checked out BCBS dental insurance — and you know what? They will not pay for any major work for 12 months! Those little **&%!!##!!!
Best of luck, girl!

By: AA

AA — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:49:47 +0000

Just went to my dentist yesterday (crown and root canal – eek!) and wanted to revisit this topic. I asked about their pricing and explained why I was asking (your post). I specifically asked if they had a standard rate for procedures and was told “mostly yes.”

Apparently, root canals vary the most b/c it is based on the number of roots and since that varies from molars to incisors it can be more or less. Everything else pretty much has a standard rate, BUT if they need to do additional xrays, etc to check on progress those could be added expenses.

She said that many dentists are going to fee only, which means the patient is responsible for the full amount up front and is then responsible for getting their insurance company to reimburse them. She recommended looking for recommendations (looks like you’ve got some great ones here!) and also looking for older practices b/c they tend to be more lenient and understanding with their patients.

The biggest problem I see is not your unwillingness to go into debt (good for you!) but that you state you cannot afford another monthly bill. No matter who you go to, you will have to give them some money on a regular basis. The amount will need to be negotiated, so maybe if you re-review your finances and go in saying .. “I have x dollars I can give you each month, I need y done .. can we work that out?” you’ll find someone willing to give you the time you need.

Best of luck!!