Luvd_Lioness:

I am just curious, what do others do when they do not have dental insurance?

 

We have never had dental insurance. Our dentist of 30+ years was very good. He would bill us, and we faithfully paid a (good) sum every month. With six children, it was never paid off...until now. We now only pay for three of us, but sadly he decided to retire early. The new dentist wants the money paid up front. I was told, however, that you could ask for a payment plan. If you need work, maybe the dentist would be willing to work with you. In all probability they will admonish you to come in for a cleaning/check up more often. That could open the door for a discussion concerning the matter. 

Our plan is to save the money ahead of time. Staying with the new dentist is still up in the air. 

Your other option would be go to to a dental school. I was going to do that with the last one for braces. My dentist, who graduated from that school, told me that they did good work, but he thought the distance (1.5 hrs one way) and traffic could be a problem. We opted to stay local, but it might pay to look into this option. 

I always feel that the little guy, you and I, loses when it comes to insurance. It isn't for free; someone has to pay. In the end, we do. Dental costs have gone up quite a bit over the years, but at least they are manageable without insurance. I hope it stays that way.

 We do have dental insurance which does help.  However, last year our dentist told me I needed a crown.  He charged $1200 for one!  I also had to have a filling.  I went to the dental school and got the filling done for about $30 and the crown was $250--much different than $1200!  It did take a lot of time and more than one visit, but I felt confident that I wasn't being conned or ripped off.  When my husband went in for his routine cleaning and checkup they told him he needed some extensive work done and quoted a price.  He told the dentist that the charge was out of our budget and didn't get the work done.  I think that dentist charges more than others because he always has the latest, newest equipment.  We stopped going to him and since then have gone to another one.  I worked at the dental school for a brief time several years ago and while I worked there I saw an ad on the bulletin board.  In essence the ad was for a "part-time" dentist position and the expected salary for 3 days a week was about $80,000-100,000 for year!  Also, a friend told me she always uses a "hard" toothbrush.  When she used a "soft" one she had a lot more plaque build up.  I know most dentists tell you not to use a "hard" brush but I think it may do a better job of getting your teeth clean.  Also, I've been using a mouth rinse that helps fight tarter and plaque build-up.  I don't know how much it helps, but at least my breath is fresh!!

No dental insurance here either. I try to save up for these type of expenses. I have put off regular cleanings/visits in the past, but need to get better at scheduling & budgeting for these. I just had a cleaning in May, first time in over 2 years. I thought I needed a filling, but wasn't sure. So, I scheduled a cleaning which isn't much more than if they check for a problem & don't find anything. I did need a filling & decided to have x-rays to make sure there weren't any additional problems. It had been years since the last x-rays. I received a small discount from my dentist since I do not have insurance, but alway ask about charges when making appointments or before having any additional work done when I'm there. I expect to pay as I leave, but would need to discuss payments if extensive work was needed.    

Tebaliah:

I think that dentist charges more than others because he always has the latest, newest equipment.

Our dentist is the same way and our insurance reimbursement barely covers the work. However, the up side is that my dentist can always get us in an emergency and his work is flawless. I once had a root canal through a porcelain crown and had no pain, swelling or bruising the next day.

I've always worked jobs that provided medical and dental for me and my family, I think its just my standard of living becasue we always had medical and dental when I was growing up.  Right now my dental isn't as great as it has been in the past so I have one mercury filling that won't be replaced this year.  I had all my filling replace with porcaline mini crowns over the last four years on a different dental plan.  I have nice teeth and I aim to keep it that way.  My son only has two adult teeth right now so his dental is just cleaning, x-rays once a year and an exam once a year.  When he was a toddler he had some trauma to his top two front teeth and those had to be pulled...kids...*shakes head* I think it was more tramatic for me then it was for him because I'm so anal about oral hygene. 

Thankfully, I have a great dental insurance plan. But up until about 3 years ago I didn't. But the dentist I went to would let me pay half then and half billed. I'm sure that if you call around you may be able to find a dentist that will let you pay on a payment plan.

I have horrible teeth! They don't LOOK bad but the inside is a different story. I have a lot of "natural grooves" that the dentist warned my mom about when I was a kid. He said that I should have ceilings (sp?) put on my teeth, otherwise I'd have problems with cavitys. Well, my mom was cheap and didn't do it so I pay for it now! For as long as I can remember, every time I got ot the dentist, I have a cavity! The last time I went (right before DD born, about 2 years ago), I had 10 cavitys to take care of!!! I got 5 of them done but haven't been back since to take care of the other 5.

My problem is that it's so hard to take off of work for a dentist appointment. I already take off a ton for my daughter's checkups, if she's sick, my pregnancy appointments, etc. But I will just have to make the time for it soon because I know that they are probably 100% worse by now. Not to mention that I think it's stupid to pay for great dental insurance if I'm not even using it!!!

God bless,

Julie