Expensive dental work

**disneysteve** · 05-06-2015, 04:31 AM

Originally posted by elessar78 View Post

My wife needs some expensive dental work done, basically she had a root canal that "failed" and it needs to be redone.

The insurance sent us what will be covered and what is out of pocket and it's just a tad over $2,000 out of pocket.

I'll pay it if that's the price, but is there any way to get it done for less? My experience with medical procedures (non-dental) is that the "price" is just arbitrarily made up. Is it the same for dental? Would love to hear others' thoughts and experiences.

I think there are a few options.

If she wants it done by the dentist she's been seeing, go in and speak to them and ask if they would give any discount for a cash payment. Many offices will knock off 10 or 15% just for asking. They may even give the discount for a credit card payment. I recently had some minor work done. The bill was $125 and without me even asking, they marked it down 10% when I went in to pay it.

If she's willing to go elsewhere, get some recommendations from friends or coworkers and make a few phone calls. Not everyone charges the same price for the same procedure.

Finally, is there a dental school or any dental clinic in your area? Those are often staffed by dentists still in trainihg but working under the supervision of a more experienced dentist. The prices are often considerably less than you would pay in an established practice.

**elessar78** · 05-06-2015, 04:37 AM

Originally posted by disneysteve View Post

I think there are a few options.

If she wants it done by the dentist she's been seeing, go in and speak to them and ask if they would give any discount for a cash payment. Many offices will knock off 10 or 15% just for asking. They may even give the discount for a credit card payment. I recently had some minor work done. The bill was $125 and without me even asking, they marked it down 10% when I went in to pay it.

If she's willing to go elsewhere, get some recommendations from friends or coworkers and make a few phone calls. Not everyone charges the same price for the same procedure.

Finally, is there a dental school or any dental clinic in your area? Those are often staffed by dentists still in trainihg but working under the supervision of a more experienced dentist. The prices are often considerably less than you would pay in an established practice.

Thanks. Will look into those suggestions.

**bjl584** · 05-06-2015, 05:18 AM

Originally posted by elessar78 View Post

My wife needs some expensive dental work done, basically she had a root canal that "failed" and it needs to be redone.

The insurance sent us what will be covered and what is out of pocket and it's just a tad over $2,000 out of pocket.

I'll pay it if that's the price, but is there any way to get it done for less? My experience with medical procedures (non-dental) is that the "price" is just arbitrarily made up. Is it the same for dental? Would love to hear others' thoughts and experiences.

I had some dental work done a while back. I offered to pay cash and they gave me 10% off.

**elessar78** · 05-06-2015, 05:19 AM

Originally posted by bjl584 View Post

I had some dental work done a while back. I offered to pay cash and they gave me 10% off.

Cash for the whole thing or just cash for the balance that insurance didn't cover?

**bjl584** · 05-06-2015, 05:28 AM

Originally posted by elessar78 View Post

Cash for the whole thing or just cash for the balance that insurance didn't cover?

Cash for the balance that the insurance didn't cover.

**disneysteve** · 05-06-2015, 06:00 AM

Originally posted by bjl584 View Post

Cash for the balance that the insurance didn't cover.

Same here. They will negotiate your out of pocket cost.

**marklind** · 05-17-2015, 03:49 PM

I have the answer

I can tell you exactly what to do. My wife had the same problem. We were quoted over $4000 in dental work she needed done. I live in AZ and one of my retired snow bird neighbors told me about going to Los Algodones Mexico which is 13 miles from Yuma. I had heard of this place before but was very skeptical because it was in Mexico but I really trusted my neighbors opinion so we made the trip. It turned out GREAT! They have the same technology and equipment as here but 70% cheaper. If your interested in this let me know and I will give you all the details and doctors name. Let me know.

**disneysteve** · 05-17-2015, 03:53 PM

Originally posted by marklind View Post

I can tell you exactly what to do. My wife had the same problem. We were quoted over $4000 in dental work she needed done. I live in AZ and one of my retired snow bird neighbors told me about going to Los Algodones Mexico which is 13 miles from Yuma. I had heard of this place before but was very skeptical because it was in Mexico but I really trusted my neighbors opinion so we made the trip. It turned out GREAT! They have the same technology and equipment as here but 70% cheaper. If your interested in this let me know and I will give you all the details and doctors name. Let me know.

Medical tourism, as this is known, has grown tremendously. There are many places outside of the US where state of the art care is available for a fraction of the cost, sometimes even by ex-pat American physicians. My partner's wife had an elective procedure done in Dominica last year. They paid $2,000 for something that would have cost $20,000 here.

**JoeP** · 05-22-2015, 04:20 AM

Dentistry is a sore subject with me. I have excellent teeth (almost 50 with 1 cavity in early 40s) but take exception to how the practice in general comes up with fees. I know we all want to make a good living, but when I see a line item for $25 for an "oral cancer screening" that takes less than 3 seconds (yes, I actually counted a few times), it erodes the respect I have for the practice.

I sincerely hope you find a less expensive way to get your wife's situation resolved.

Expensive dental work