Since December 2001, I have spent over $3000 on my teeth (all of 2001 & 2002 were without dental insurance). I’ve had a deep cleaning, three wisdom teeth pulled, one wisdom tooth surgically extracted, two cavities filled, and gum grafts done on my canines. I’ll have to have a gum graft done on six lower teeth in the near future.
Mrs. Blue Sky (who has always had teeth problems) started going back to the dentist last year when the insurance kicked in. A month or so ago, she discovered she had a broken tooth. Today she comes back from the dentist with the news that the tooth had to be pulled. She also needs two crowns on the teeth to either side of the pulled one. She’ll end up getting the crowns and having a false tooth put in.
The price for that?
$3200!!
The dentist won’t do the work until he gets paid. My insurance considers all of this to be “Category II” procedures and will only pay 50%. The dentist will write up what needs to be done and submit it to the insurance company to see what they will actually pay and then we have to come up with the rest.
Holy freakin’ schnit, teeth is costly!
I guess the good news is that this should be enough to meet the medical deduction on next year’s taxes.
I’m getting two crowns on Wednesday. Three hours in the chair and $2000. I have to pay the entire amount up front and after several months, I will get back 50% of whatever is “reasonable and customary” to my insurance company. Hurray.
2002 was the year of the dentist for me. A combination of aging teeth and some alignment issues that needed correction meant a boatload of crowns along with some other work. $26,000 and four long sessions in the chair (including one 10 hour humdinger) later and I’m good as gold!
That made my wife’s $7,500 last year seem like child’s play.
Oh well, I probably would have spent that money on something stupid like the kid’s college fund or stocks or something anyway.
For my gum graft, I was told how much it would be up front. I called the insurance company and verified that they would cover 50%.
The dentist figured a 6-month no interest payment plan (w/o factoring in the insurance payment) and I had the choice to bring in either 30% of the total or 1 month’s payment.
I just checked the insurance company’s website and the told came out to be $1410. That means I’m responsible for $705. With my down payment, I’ll have a $430 balance. On my policy, the most they’ll pay in a single calendar year is $1500. I may be able to do the other graft this year. My wife can wait a little bit longer. Of course, we’ll have to in order to pay off my last bit of work AND save up for hers.
I don’t feel so bad after reading all of your dental horror stories.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: being a grownup can really suck sometimes.
My friend’s mother will be going to Estonia in a few weeks to get some major dental work done. Even considering the airfare, she’ll probably save over $10k.
Ohhh, maybe we can make a doper meet in Estonia? Everyone who needs major dental work shows up, saves a ton of cash and enjoys each others company while on narcotics?
I’m so smart. Gonna google Estonia when I get home.
Someone had told us to go to Mexico where it is cheaper.
Well, after the teeth were finished, my SO had to go over 20 times to have the teeth re-aligned, filed, re-adjusted, etc. etc. and that was all “included” in the $15,500. Assuming he had had it done in Mexico for say, $7,000…how much would it have cost in time and energy to go back down there 20 times for the adjustments? And if he had had the adjustments done here, the cost of an American dentist doing the tune-up would mean all the savings were for naught. So - I wish your friend’s mother the best of luck, but let’s hope she doesn’t have to fly back there to get them adjusted.
