Holy Cows, we should all be dentists

[rsummer]

I need $900 worth of dental work, umm actually make that $3000 worth of dental work, um let me not exaggerate, I need $2700 dollars worth of dental work. My portion is $900 and $600 of it (again my portion) needs to get done before I can get pregnant. So yeah. Merry Christmas to me! I'll be getting a crown, some fillings and some other stuff she explained to me before I started blocking it all out. Oh and my husband, he'll be getting my crown, and my fillings, etc. I nearly had a cow, my husband actually did. This, tuition, the holidays... it all adds up, and up and up and up.

[littlecityfarmer]

Merry Christmas, indeed! Think of how nice your teeth will feel once they're all fixed, though

[Oka-san]

I feel your pain. Yesterday I had a root canal: $950. And then I’ll have to get a crown on top in two weeks: $1000. For ONE tooth.

Amazing. I’m feeling very, very grateful that we actually have the money to pay for this. What would I do if we didn’t? Go into debt or lose my tooth, I guess.

Think of it as a gift to yourself -- of good dental health! Does that help??

[my2girlz]

I hear ya!

I put myself on the back burner when I became a mom over 8 years ago. I was forced to go a few months ago when I was in so much pain from an absessed tooth. Now I'm paying for it, literaly. : Right now I'm waiting for a bill for about $700 (after insurance) since I needed more work than just that 1 tooth. I have tons more work to get done, but I just can't afford to get it done all at once. Good thing my kids came back all cavity free at their check up.

[annethcz]

I hear you, I have dental work I've been putting off for years. First, because I couldn't find an oral surgeon who was willing to work with me on BFing friendly medications. Now that I'm not nursing much anymore, it's not really in our budget...

[SugarAndSun]

I hear ya! I used to have full dental before kids... two cleanings a year and I was good. Now I have no dental and my teeth are like falling out of my head. The dentist said it is from pregnancy... women used to joke, oh I lost this tooth with Johnny, this one with Sam, etc. I owe him a ton right now and should go back for more work!

[Jadzia]

What I hate is when you get into your mid-thirties, all those fillings you got when you were younger start to wear out/fall out. I finally had my entire mouth full of fillings replaced in 4 sittings. It was expensive, even with insurance, but I was glad to get it done (and to get all that old mercury out of my mouth).

Hopefully I won't need more work for awhile! But now my it's my husband's turn. He needs quite a few crowns.

[asianyoushi]

i need to get 4000 dollars worth of work done on my teeth--- and the dentist i saw for a basic cleaning gave me that estimate and that price and its only good til march 08..... and they expect u to pay when u leave the office.( no payment plan options or anything so i am SOL!)
merry christmas

[rsummer]

So seriously, who is going to dental school and willing to work for trade...

Hmmm I have some videos and a cuisenart icecream maker that I would like to trade for a crown. I'll throw in some high quality toddler toys and my husbnands record collection for all services necessary!

Seriously, we can't "afford" this right now, but at least we are paying cash.

[rsummer]

By the way, I am glad to see we are are getting hose raked for this invaluable service together!!!

[Ruthiegirl]

Ouch! That is mighty expensive dental work.

Just as an aside:

I have a friend who is a dentist. Between dental school and starting her practice, she is $1,000,000 in debt. Yep, a million bucks. She lives more frugally than I do and I am a tighwad.

I still tell her that it hurts to sit in her chair and it hurts to write the check.

[newmainer]

i work at a restaurant, and the other night the staff from a dentist's office was in for their holiday party.

guess what the dentist gave each of his *staff of 17* for a christmas present?

A FULLY PAID FOR TRIP TO ST. CROIX!!

um, i think a few people are getting some fillings (root canals, etc....) they might not need...

[mightymoo]

Yup, my dentist is seriously loaded. He makes a ton of money and is a workaholic. It's good to be a dentist.

I go to him even though he's out of network for me (so I get less benefits) and he's more expensive because my last dentist F-ed up my mouth so bad, I don't trust anyone else.

[GinaRae]

Last year my son needed $750 in work and luckily insurance paid all but $150.

But it was still too much for us AND it was mostly work done mostly on BABY teeth that are falling out anyway!

Unfortunately I approved the work though because most of it was needed (he had a hole between two teeth and cavities and other problems starting in others) and as a mom, how could I tell her no, I didn't feel my son's mouth was worth protecting?

But boy was I torqued! : My son is special needs and oral hygiene had been low on our list of things to deal with. We've had to up the priority. BOY was that embarassing when facing that dentist!

Luckily she saw the other two kids had perfect teeth and our next appointment with him should go well. He's brushing twice a day almost every single day now.

I shudder to think what mine and hubby's will cost!

[sanguine_speed]

Is this insurance through people's employers, or private insurance? Here, it is very common for employer insurance programs to cover most dental work. In our case, we pay nothing for cleaning, fillings and most basic dental services. Some things are covered 50% like braces.
This is normal in my geographical area (Ontario, Canada), and I am always surprised how many of you have insane dental bills...

[shayinme]

Originally Posted by sanguine_speed

Is this insurance through people's employers, or private insurance? Here, it is very common for employer insurance programs to cover most dental work. In our case, we pay nothing for cleaning, fillings and most basic dental services. Some things are covered 50% like braces.
This is normal in my geographical area (Ontario, Canada), and I am always surprised how many of you have insane dental bills...

Here in the US, it seems the trend is now that fewer employers offer dental insurance. I am embrassed to say I have not been to the dentist in 5 years, that was the last time I had dental insurance. Even my last job that has health insurance did not have dental insurance, its even worse in my state which is rural and means fewer dentists. Lots of people here have bad teeth, in fact its a joke. :

Shay

[texaspeach]

I'm so glad we have really good dental insurance. my SIL had enough dental work done to cover the cost of a house. seriously.

[boysrus]

My dentist rocks! He takes Medicaid and although Medicaid doesn't cover nonmercury fillings, he does them anyway and just bills medicaid for mercury ones. He gives cash discounts. When I called to schedule a $400 deep tissue cleaning and told him I don't have dental insurance, he gave it to me at the regular cleaning price of $97!! And he is fast and almost pain free.

[jennlyn]

I've never been fortunate enough to have dental insurance. What bothers me is when the dentist is very nonchalant about how much your dental work will cost. For me, it is several thousand dollars worth of crowns. Not to mention the dc and braces, oral surgery and the regular necessary cleanings. The last time I had a crown I used Capital One healthcare for a no-interest for a year loan. It is worth checking out if you have good credit and feel you will be able to make the payments in the stated amount of time before they begin charging interest. Not every dentist accepts this, the oral surgeon wants to be paid in full at the onset, the orthodontist had a monthly payment plan or a small cash discount if paid in full before treatment began.

[asianyoushi]

i would love to get the capital one health card thingy but my credit score is in the crapper.
i never had dental insurance. the only reason i went to the dentist this year was because they sent a 100 dollar coupon for new patients. lol..