Negotiating Cost of crowns

[BuckheadJim]

I am in need of major dental work and my insurance coverage does not help with crowns. I need 6 crowns and the estimate with any needed core buildup and pins is just under $10,000. I am hoping to negotiate this cost with the dentist or shop my dental needs with other providers in my immediate area. There are perhaps 20 dentists in a reasonable drive from where I live that could do the work.

Does anyone have any experience with negotiating prices with a dentist? If so, can you advise how the negotiating process went. I would be offering cash for the services as the work goes along.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[BuckheadJim]

I am in need of major dental work and my insurance coverage does not help with crowns. I need 6 crowns and the estimate with any needed core buildup and pins is just under $10,000. I am hoping to negotiate this cost with the dentist or shop my dental needs with other providers in my immediate area. There are perhaps 20 dentists in a reasonable drive from where I live that could do the work.

Does anyone have any experience with negotiating prices with a dentist? If so, can you advise how the negotiating process went. I would be offering cash for the services as the work goes along.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Since no one can help me, perhaps my further research can help others. I have purchased dental insurance from my Medicare Advantage insurance provider and will immediately have 50% coverage for the needed work up to a total of $2000 for the year., Furthermore, since my dentist office is in network the price of each crown has dropped by over $400. With the premiums I will pay the net savings through the insurance coverage saves me $1600 and the reduction in price saves another $2000.

 

[MattKW]

Do you have X-rays to show us? When you are considering post/pins/core build-ups, then the teeth are often in poor shape and perhaps spending money on teeth with poor prognoses would be better off towards a different treatment plan.
As for negotiating with dentists, I would be wary of what you might be getting; generally a higher price will get you better work.

1. Let's say you need PFM crowns (Porcelain-Fused-to-Metal). The metal can be of different grades - non-precious $, semi-precious $$, and precious $$$. The better quality metal will bind better to the porcelain, will give a better look to the crown, and not cause gum irritation. I only ever offer precious quality - there is no negotiation.
2. I could cut costs by sending my lab work overseas to SE Asia, but quality is often poor. I'd rather find a good local lab who do things properly and with whom I can communicate well on technical matters.
3. Maybe a cheap dentist will work faster in order to value quantity of turnover rather than more time on quality workmanship. If I do a quick, rubbishy job that last 5 years rather than a more expensive quality job that lasts 15-20 years, maybe you might be willing for this trade-off, but replacing crowns in 5 years will be harder to redo. It's not like buying cheap tyres for your care that only last 1 year rather than better quality that last 3 years - tyres are easily replaceable, crowns are not.

I'd suggest you talk to family, friends, workplace colleagues to find quality dentists. Then take copies of your current quote with Xrays for consultation and quotes.