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Curious on your dental expenses

Patri

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I believe many of us do not have dental insurance. I am curious what you pay for services. I was at the dentist today (no cavities!). My private pay charge was $225 for exam, cleaning and bitewing xrays. I think it is reasonable. I get no discount for not having insurance.
Of course, it stinks when you have a root canal or crown, as insurance usually pays 50% for those.
 

Luvtoride

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I believe many of us do not have dental insurance. I am curious what you pay for services. I was at the dentist today (no cavities!). My private pay charge was $225 for exam, cleaning and bitewing xrays. I think it is reasonable. I get no discount for not having insurance.
Of course, it stinks when you have a root canal or crown, as insurance usually pays 50% for those.

I don’t think you’re missing out too much on Dental insurance. Yes, having it covers the semi annual check ups and cleaning (in full) but at a cost that is significantly more in premiums than what those services would cost for me and my spouse. As to other bigger services it usually only covers half or less as you stated. I just had 2 extractions done at the oral surgeon and it barely covered 1/3 of that cost.
I’m dropping dental for next year (we just had our open enrollment period) and maxing out my HSA account to cover medical expenses of any type no matter what year they occur.


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amycurl

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That sounds about right, with xrays. I pay out of pocket, too. And I broke a tooth before Thanksgiving last year, and it was the first crown I've had done direct pay. Talk about ouch! A former dentist gave a 10% discount if you paid by cash or check, but my current one doesn't. And she just sold her practice to someone else, so now I'm dentist shopping once again...
 

clifffaith

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I believe many of us do not have dental insurance. I am curious what you pay for services. I was at the dentist today (no cavities!). My private pay charge was $225 for exam, cleaning and bitewing xrays. I think it is reasonable. I get no discount for not having insurance.
Of course, it stinks when you have a root canal or crown, as insurance usually pays 50% for those.

$126 for cleaning done by the hygienist. Bite wings bring us up to about $200. This is the Los Angeles suburb price.
 

northwoodsgal

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My husband had a crown replaced earlier this year ($1,670), I had a front tooth filling ($338) and a routine exam ($53), cleaning ($108) and x-rays ($170). Green Bay, WI prices.
 

WinniWoman

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I can tell you from
my background working in health insurance- commercial lines- dental insurance is rarely worth it unless you have a decent group
plan- and even then it’s suspect.

This is our last year having it through my husbands employer. Cleanings we don’t pay for and we go twice per year. I just had a filling replaced- have a $50 deductible so had to pay $56.

Need a crown and that is close to $400 for my out of pocket.

There are discount dental
Plans out there- not insurance- but as far as I know you would be dealing with networks and such.
 

elaine

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we have metlife and it paid 50% for DS wisdom teeth, plus if using a network dentist/oral surgeon, they accept the negotiated rate, which was significantly less than the rate otherwise normally charged. That knocked at least $1k off the bill. I know some people say to negotiate yourself, but I'm not really comfortable doing this with a long-time family dentist. This great dental ins. plan ends when I retire. But I feel like we'll need something, just to get the better negotiated rates as our teeth age and need more
 
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Luanne

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Dh and I don't have dental insurance. When we figured what we normally spend each year, it just wasn't worth it. I've had a couple of folks who do billing in dentists' offices tell me the insurance isn't worth it for us.
 

SmithOp

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all the plans we are offered have a $1000 max, doesn't take long to hit max.

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easyrider

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$30 for a cleaning from the dentist. $30 a cavity.

That is about what we pay in Nuevo Vallarta. I can't remember exactly the cost but it was under $500 for my wife and I to have cleaning, a root canal, a few fillings porcelained, teeth whitening. I had the root canal on my front tooth and the dentist drilled it out and shot whitener into the tooth three times before whitening all my teeth. I will be seeing him this winter for an implant and then later in the year for a crown.

Bill
 

Free2Roam

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Years ago a friend of mine who didn't have dental insurance always used the clinic at one of the local university dental schools (I can't remember if it was University of MD or Howard University in DC.) She said it was much cheaper and - of course - monitored/supervised by the professors.
 

bogey21

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I've had Dental Insurance for the last 15 or 20 years. In all but two of the years I have spent more on premiums than I would if I paid the Dentist out of pocket. All in all I have spent more with insurance than I would have spent without it. Why do I keep it? Beats the heck out of me but I do...

Currently I pay $57 per month...

George
 

Luanne

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We have had a couple of friends who have gone to Mexico for dental services. They were very pleased and said even with the cost of travel it was much cheaper than having it done here.

@bogey21 I could get dental insurance for less than what you are paying and it isn't worth it to me. My dd was paying nothing in premiums for dental or vision care her first year of work. She said it's going up, but very minimally. When I was working my premiums for dental were well within a range that made it worthwhile to pay them.
 

Icc5

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We could have kept dental insurance as retirees with the same dental company we had when we were covered but it definitely wouldn't be worth it because so little is covered as a retiree and at a steep cost. We both have always taken good care and gone regularly to the dentist. I started going 4 times a year just to make sure I stay good. I'd rather pay small amounts to stay good then big amounts because I didn't pay enough attention. The prices from the original poster sound about right.
Bart
 

WinniWoman

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My private individual health insurance has a dental add-on for $25 per month. 2 free cleanings and annual x-rays per year and maximum coverage of $1500 per year. I buy it as it is well worth the $300 per year.

I think some Medicare Advantage plans have dental included, as vision as well. I also think some Part D RX plans also have a component for things like dental, vision, chiropractic, etc.
 

DancingWaters

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I just started with retirement dental insurance this past June. My premium is $29 @ month with $1500 yearly max. I went with the insurance since I was in the middle of the long process of getting an implant. Right now the insurance has paid $433 and I haven’t went back to the dentist yet to get the tooth put on. This year the premium has been worth it.
 

WinniWoman

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Really- why not just set aside $2000 for dental care and call it a day? Put it in your budget. Go for cleanings once per year. Figure in xrays- you can even do those every other year- and maybe something like a filling. Things like a crown- that is something you can't predict needing.

Most plans only pay up to $1000-$1500 anyway.

Ask for a discount- maybe if you pay cash- whatever.


https://www.thestar.com/business/pe...ement_is_dental_insurance_worth_the_bite.html
 
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bogey21

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My private individual health insurance has a dental add-on for $25 per month. 2 free cleanings and annual x-rays per year and maximum coverage of $1500 per year. I buy it as it is well worth the $300 per year.

My Plan is via my ex-employer. It is with Humana and the maximum coverage is something like $2,500 per year. One negative is that it only covers 2 cleanings/exams/x-rays annually. My $57 per month cost equates to $684 per year. IMO it is not worth it but I keep it anyway. It might be because my Dentist charges less because I have insurance. I'm not sure and am too tired to go look...

George
 

am1

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Very little insurance is ever worth it overall. That is how the companies make money. Dental insurance is at the bottom of the list as the max is capped low and so is the amount actually. Wedged is quite low. Anyone who can pay dental insurance should be able to come out of pocket to pay in cash. House, car and health are different.
 

Tia

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Friends have gotten dental care in Algodones,Mexico. Had good luck til this last time, they had to go back as crowns broke x2. She says there's a new dentist, wanted her $ back, but they are only offering a little $ back.
 

Snazzylass

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Very little insurance is ever worth it overall. That is how the companies make money. Dental insurance is at the bottom of the list as the max is capped low and so is the amount actually. Wedged is quite low. Anyone who can pay dental insurance should be able to come out of pocket to pay in cash. House, car and health are different.
Maybe more true of individual policies? I've always found my big corporate policies to be a terrific value.
 
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