So my 5 year old has 4 cavities. The rear teeth top and bottom. The dentist claims the decay is due to poorly formed teeth pointing to the lack of decay on any of her other teeth as evidence. The quote is running $1,708. There are a few things like sealants on the other teeth we can skip at $58x4, but that still leaves us with a big bill. Currently carrying no dental insurance. You guys know everything so I'm throwing it out there. Any ideas to reduce costs? Thanks in advance.
Are these permanent teeth?
In reply to Dr. Hess:
No, Molars A, T, J, and K. Not permanent but last ones lost at 10-12 years old IIRC.
Ask about making payments. Tell them up front you don't have that wad of cash. We did it with my sons wisdom teeth and they directed us to a 6-month interest free payment program.
Shattered teeth, and subsequent removal, sucks. Got another one I need to have pulled.
But it's cheaper than having the cavities filled.
I've got no real advice here, except I refuse to spend money on me, but don't blink when it comes to the wife and daughter.
Datsun310Guy wrote: Ask about making payments. Tell them up front you don't have that wad of cash. We did it with my sons wisdom teeth and they directed us to a 6-month interest free payment program.
This. You aren't the first person to be faced with a large unexpected medical bill. They will work with you, I'm sure.
If they aren't permanent teeth, and more importantly, they don't hurt her, I'd say leave it alone. But I'm waiting on a reply from my friend. There is like a month to month dental insurance you can pick up, for like 50 bucks, that could help cut the bill down a lot. As soon as I hear back on the right name, I'll edit this post.
The company is called Avia. Was like $100 for a whole year of coverage for an adult. I don't know if they sell for kids but I imagine they would or know of a company that does. They are based in Wheeling, WV but work over a pretty large area.
Second edit: My local community college has a dental program and always needs patients. It may be between class times now, but if it's not hurting, and could wait, check with your local school. They'll probably hook you up.
I would shop his price, hard.
Then I would contact the University of Florida, College of Dental Medicine. It looks to be local to you.
My wife has rotten teeth and constantly needs work. MUSC College of Dental Medicine is local to us and they do 95% of her work for pennies on the dollar because their students need teeth to learn on. They may not take children, but it might be worth the phone call.
Edit: I wouldn't hesitate to let your dentist know you are shopping his price either. I did that to my cardiologist and cut the price of a echo and nuclear stress test by $700.
A check online indicates a typical filling costs around $200, so 4 x 200 = $800. Unless they're unusually large cavities it would seem your dentist is pretty expensive. It may be worth shopping around. Is there a dental school in your area? They sometimes offer services at a discounted price.
I second the dental school route. I got a bunch of work done on my oldest daughter for penny's on the dollar that way.
Dentists won't tell you about it. You have to go find them.
Get a second opinion, those teeth are going to fall out on their own.
I needed (yet another) cavity filled 10 years ago and my wife needed a very expensive crown done at the same time.
This work simply had to be done or our children would be born naked, cats and dogs would be living together, etc.
I got tired of funding my dentists expensive car hobby and told him to forget it.
He drove a lotus and I seemed to constantly need work done. Funny how the suggestions of huge procedures petered out right when I changed jobs and my dental benefits went away. The crown and filling were his last try at the trough.
Get a second opinion, but just letting them fall out probably isn't a great plan. Aside from the fact that they actually use those teeth, they provide protection and proper support for the teeth growing in under them. Both of my girls had sets of teeth with bad enamel, they suspect it's from fevers during the time those teeth were developing, but it's not proven yet. With those teeth it's more than just filling a hole, they more or less cap the tooth to protect it. It's a much more involved process than regular filling.
I support the second opinion thing, but you're usually paying for an office visit to get them to really look at teeth and figure out what's wrong. It's likely you'll spend $100 to find out the first dentist was right. And re-think those sealants, they're a good preventative tool on kids that are cavity prone due to tooth shape or composition.
I'm not a dentist, just a dad who has spent a LOT of time talking to the dentist about treatment options with my four kids.
Definitely shop for a better deal. Definitely do not ignore the problem. The fact that they aren't permanent teeth does not mean that they won't cause deeper problems after years of unchecked decay.
Yes please don't ignore the problem. Tooth pain can be very problematic in children, and losing those molars now would cause her ongoing problems. I had two molars pulled as a kid and had to wear a dental prosthetic to keep the teeth around them from closing the gap until the permanent teeth grew in eight freakin' years later. However the prosthetic didn't work - the teeth didn't come in on their own. The dentist had to go in there and scrape bone away from above the teeth. Then when they came in they jacked up all the teeth in my mouth and I ended up with TMJ. I had trouble eating for years. I had to get braces and a TMJ splint, and that cost a lot more than $1700.
Dusterbd13 wrote: Shattered teeth, and subsequent removal, sucks. Got another one I need to have pulled. But it's cheaper than having the cavities filled. I've got no real advice here, except I refuse to spend money on me, but don't blink when it comes to the wife and daughter.
To me that makes no sense. Take care of your teeth - you use them a lot. I'd rather spend money on keeping my teeth than own any cars at all.
If you are near a border you could check pricing on the other side. I've heard Mexican dentists can be considerably cheaper for same quality work. You will need to be more diligent in your choosing though.
Where are you located? If you are located near a dental school it can be extremely cost effective to schedule a appointment with them. The dental students are all seniors, near graduation, and are graded on their work, so it may take longer then usual and more then one trip because they want to do everything correct.
+1 on "seems a little too expensive" unless there is more work included than just filling the cavities.
Back when I was younger and broker I also had some work done at a dental school and would go back there if it still was around the corner. Yeah, they're practising on you but OTOH they have every incentive to do the job right rather than squeeze in another patient to bump up the day's turnover...
I'm not saying you shouldn't have the work done. I'm saying that you shouldn't always listen to the opinion of someone who has their hand in your pocket.
When I'm selling something, I always recommend the most expensive option.
Have him crash a bike real hard and loose the teeth early. He'll get some neat scars and you'll save some money
More opinions!
Also more dental school - I think I'm thirding it. That's what my Mom did for us when we were kids and she was soup-kitchen poor, living with her Mom and getting $0 in child support.
Kids are expensive. Sell something, get the work done.
Quit your job and go full on section 8! Ok that wasnt serious but i shopped 3 dentists when i had to have dental work done. Didnt end up with the cheapest but hes been fair on prices for my entire family.
My sister had some work done by a dental school somewere down south and was happy with the work and the price was about 1/5th of the cost for the same procedure from my dentist.
The sealants are done free by the dental college once a year here so if we skip them now they will be done later. I don't plan on waiting and letting the teeth fall out, the decay is rather deep so we will be getting all the work done sooner rather than waiting. The prices do include a crown and all the other fun/cost associated with that, but the prices do seem to be slightly high. Gainesville is typically expensive for health care so that factors into it.
We are looking into dental insurance which knocks off 80% of the filling cost and 50% of the crown cost, but this office bills the difference between the Insurance companies agreed cost and their preferred billing amount back to the patient. We will see how that pans out.
I think you need a different dentist. I mean, 4 baby teeth. One point eight large.
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