Cost of dental work

[KennyLL]

My youngest daughter, 20, has a toothache. She lives about an hour from home in SFalls, SD. Turns out she needs a root canal $1365, 2 crowns $2800, and 2 small cavities filed $580. Are these costs what dentists are charging now, or is she being gouged by this particular dentist ? She had X-rays, a cleaning, and consultation today-$400. Any views would be appreciated

 

[Over9000]

I am curious as well. I have done some Google research and that seems somewhat consistent but I'd like a sure answer too. Do you guys have insurance?

 

[KennyLL]

No. We don't have dental insurance now. The way our medical insurance is shaping up to be this next, I'm betting dental insurance will be ungodly high priced also. I did ask a friend who works as a dentists version of a nurse practitioner about costs today. She told me that the prices we got are in the ballpark. Ouch!

 

[Over9000]

I hate the whole ballpark thing. Dental prices need to be regulated soon like most markets. Well, good luck. We'll both need it, haha...

 

[KennyLL]

I hate the whole ballpark thing. Dental prices need to be regulated soon like most markets. Well, good luck. We'll both need it, haha...

Charging like they do. No wonder these guys can go to Africa and shoot lions!

 

[Over9000]

Charging like they do. No wonder these guys can go to Africa and shoot lions!

Lol! So sad but true. Hope the lions get them.

 

[KennyLL]

I did some checking on dental insurance. Not really any bargains that I found anyway. An average coverage for a family of three is a premium of $125-150/mo., $100 deductible , and $1000 max payout. With that said after paying out around $1500 a yr in premiums, any major dental work is still going to cost a substantial amount of out of pocket money. Normally all we ever have is your everyday dental visits for a cleaning a couple times a year. Better off just paying without any insurance .

 

[Over9000]

I did some checking on dental insurance. Not really any bargains that I found anyway. An average coverage for a family of three is a premium of $125-150/mo., $100 deductible , and $1000 max payout. With that said after paying out around $1500 a yr in premiums, any major dental work is still going to cost a substantial amount of out of pocket money. Normally all we ever have is your everyday dental visits for a cleaning a couple times a year. Better off just paying without any insurance .

Interesting. I wonder if it's a similar situation for an individual, if one is just better off paying without insurance if it's just one big job you're interested in.

Actually, I'm pretty ignorant regarding how insurance works at all, anyway. What exactly is a "deductible", "premium" and "max payout?" And can you get help right away after just paying the monthly fee? Are there some kind of barriers to entry like credit rating? Man, being an adult sucks, haha.

It does seem that for a family you'd probably be better off without it though if usually you just need cleanings, I think.

 

[KennyLL]

Insurance can be very confusing. Probably because the more confusing they can make it, the less they have to pay out.
A deductible is an amount that you have to pay(excluding your monthly premium) before the insurance pays anything. Premium is your monthly bill or amount that you ( or your employer) pay to the insurance company. Max payout is the most the insurance will pay.
Give an example: say you need some major dental work done ( like my 20 yr old) costing $5000. You pay the first $100(deductible) leaving a $4900 balance. Insurance picks up the next $1000 leaving you with the remaining balance of $3900.
I think a lot of these plans are designed for an employers to pay part of the premium and the employee to pay part. The plans that I've looked at so far don't make ant math sense at all. Also many of these dental plans have 6 -12 month waiting period before they would make a max payout.

 

[Over9000]

Insurance can be very confusing. Probably because the more confusing they can make it, the less they have to pay out.
A deductible is an amount that you have to pay(excluding your monthly premium) before the insurance pays anything. Premium is your monthly bill or amount that you ( or your employer) pay to the insurance company. Max payout is the most the insurance will pay.
Give an example: say you need some major dental work done ( like my 20 yr old) costing $5000. You pay the first $100(deductible) leaving a $4900 balance. Insurance picks up the next $1000 leaving you with the remaining balance of $3900.
I think a lot of these plans are designed for an employers to pay part of the premium and the employee to pay part. The plans that I've looked at so far don't make ant math sense at all. Also many of these dental plans have 6 -12 month waiting period before they would make a max payout.

Ah, I see. You explained it quite well, now I think I understand. A 6-12 month wait period is ridiculous though, lol.

 

[Danny84]

My youngest daughter, 20, has a toothache. She lives about an hour from home in SFalls, SD. Turns out she needs a root canal $1365, 2 crowns $2800, and 2 small cavities filed $580. Are these costs what dentists are charging now, or is she being gouged by this particular dentist ? She had X-rays, a cleaning, and consultation today-$400. Any views would be appreciated

That sounds like alot of money, I live in the UK and we are lucky to have something called the NHS (national health service) which pays towards treatment or free of charge if you are not employed. I had a filling done and it cost me £51 on the NHS the same price for root treatment as well. I hope you find something cheaper, it's getting ridiculous charging those prices.