dentist visit

[Guest josephga]

I went to the dentist this morning. i lost a filling last week but when the filling came out it broke the corner out of another tooth. teeth 5, 6 since you can see these when you smile i wanted them fixed.. dang this new dentist i went too doesnt waste anytime getting the job done. what i thought was just the xrays turned into 4 1/2 hrs in the chair. i had a root canal on both teeth and crowns on both teeth all done within the same day. this little trip to the dentist with a discount card i have cost me 3164.00 oouch

[Philly Guy]

>i had a root canal on both teeth and crowns on both teeth all done

>within the same day. this little trip to the dentist with a

>discount card i have cost me 3164.00 oouch

>

I go on Monday. The Dentist is a real sleeper; they hate taking insurance and the bill racks up quicK. It is amazing that 4 1/2 hours can cost $3164. The supplies are negligable

[+ LIguy]

I'm in cosmetic and restorative dentistry but I am not a dentist.The markup that dentists charge is amazing.Dentists in my area of Long Island,NY are charging 900-1000 per crown.I charge a dentist from 70.00 for a porcelain fused to non precious crown to 125.00 for a porcelain fused to semi-precious crown.If your crowns were made in the same day then I suspect they are the new all porcelain crowns which are made by computer guided lasers right in his office and cost him about 100.00 bucks.Some dentists insist on using a 52% or 87% gold and charge about 1500.00 per crown.Most crowns are done in 2 visits.

Now many dentists are sending their crowns and dentures to China to be made at a fraction of the cost.Most pay about 29.00 per crown.However that is about to backfire on them as a few patients have become ill from the materials used there.

Dentures are another big markup for them.I charge them 250.00 per denture.They charge the patient 1500.00.

Repairs on dentures are an even bigger business.If a tooth falls out from a denture I charge 40.00 to repair it.The dentists charges 125.00 and rarely ever sees the patient.It's handled by the staff or the patient is sent directly to me.

In New York State it's a felony for me to repair that denture without a prescription from a dentist.They have a very powerful lobby in NY when it comes to laws regarding the practice of dentistry.

[Guest josephga]

i have temps on they had to seen off for the perm porcelain crowns. I'm allergic too gold.. i have a discount card even with that my crowns were 825.00 each then the root canals were 645.00 and 745.00

75.00 office visit. 40.00 exam then other stuff

[+ Lucky]

We visited a dentist in Ho Chi Minh City while there in January. Cleaning was $9.50. Laser teeth whitening on the bf was $110, and it turned out really nicely. Bonding was $10 per tooth. Not bad!

[lookin4hotties]

Yep crowns are $900 - $1200 each in the city where I live.

 

For crowns and 2nd opinions only (or if I ever need a

bridge), I drive out into the country 45 minutes from

where I live. There is a small farm town with 2 dentists

that have been practicing 25 years or more.

 

They charge $400 a crown. Sooooo worth the trip.

 

Lookin4hotties

[Guest Wetnwildbear]

I drive 15 minutes from Downtown Philly (we call it Center City or

 

CC) across the bridge into New Jersey to see the dentist.

 

In Jersey - 65.00 for Exam and Cleaning

 

In CC - Cleaning 95.00 + Exam 40.00m = 135.00

 

In Jersey New Crown - Porcelain on Semi-Precious - $545.00

 

In CC New Crown - Same as above =$1175.00

 

It is worth the $3.00 bridge toll - Plus while I'm there

 

I fill the tank (gas is about .30-35cents a gallon cheaper than in PA

 

and visit the liquor store - liquor is about 20-25% cheaper than in

 

PA).

[Guest zipperzone]

>i had a

>root canal on both teeth and crowns on both teeth all done

>within the same day. this little trip to the dentist with a

>discount card i have cost me 3164.00 oouch

 

I fail to understand why you're surprised! You must be forgetting that the good weather is almost here and dentist's need new swimming pools come May :-)

[Bart]

It is tough for me to bitch too much about my dentist as I have excellent insurance that covers my dental exams 100% and 80% for everything elseafter discounts. But I do look at the costs my company is paying and try to make sure I still find reasonable deals.

 

The amazing thing is that most companies could pick up dental insurance for a very small price and the dentist is someone everyone should see at least once a year but twice is best. Especially with all the foriegn objects I like to suck on its important to have good teeth. Going to the dentist can save on medical bills later in life.

 

In the upper midwest, the dentist charges $110 for exam and cleaning.

Fortunately I have a hygentist who is very good. I am actually looking to have a molar crowned as I have a crack in it. Crowns are running $600 here.

 

For those who do not have insurance check out dental schools in your area. I know most offer discounted dental care although dental students do most of the cleaning, the accredited dental staff is usually up on all the latest dental techiniques and has all the new laser type equipment. Most major metropolitan areas have an accredited dental school. A member of my staff has been going to the local University for sometime and had have laser work done on his gums and the cost differential was half and he is very pleased with the work. In addition, great excuse to see college men.

[Philly Guy]

>>i had a

>>root canal on both teeth and crowns on both teeth all

>done

>>within the same day. this little trip to the dentist with

>a

>>discount card i have cost me 3164.00 oouch

>

>I fail to understand why you're surprised! You must be

>forgetting that the good weather is almost here and dentist's

>need new swimming pools come May :-)

>

>

Lord knows; most of them don't spend money on the technology in their offices. My friend went to a Dentist the Insurance Company sent him to and he said the equipment still had motors and pulleys. I hate to think about the Xray Machine.

[+ Charlie]

My dentist sent me to a periodontist for an evaluation of a potential problem area. The periodontist--a very attractive young man just out of dental school--looked in my mouth and saw an interesting project, which would cost thousands of dollars. I went back to my dentist and asked him what he thought of the recommended procedure, on which he would have earned about $6000 for his part. He said, "Unless you don't care about the money or the pain, I wouldn't do anything at all until a real problem arises, which may never happen." An honest man!

[raulgmanzo]

I'm suspicious of how often some dentists seem to do root canals. Maybe I've been lucky as even with considerable work including crowns (thanks to a bike race crash) and major fillings over the years I've never had to have a root canal. Several times my dentist has warned me that he might need to do one because he needed to drill near the root. But he has always tried and succeeded in preventing such.

 

My dentist has always been a little old-fashioned. Usually he asks pointed questions, bangs, feels and then describes in detail what he thinks is going on. Then takes xrays. The xrays always supported his "most likely" diagnosis.

 

Years ago when my teeth hurt I considered choosing a closer dentist so I visited a couple others. Boy the list of things they said I needed was extensive and expensive. The one thing I did believe was that they said the work in my mouth was very good. So I went back to my dentist and he said I only needed a filling.

 

The other thing is he has no receptionist, or assitants. He says that way his overhead is low enough that he only needs to see a few patients a day. When I first arrive he spends 15 to 30 minutes in the waiting room talking to me asking how my teeth feel, what I eat etc. Then after a very relaxed session in his chair he goes back in the waiting room and spends another 15 to 30 minutes explaining any procedures and pecularities of tooth anatomy. When I've had a crown done he would insist on going with me outside along with his color charts to see how it would look in the sunlight.

 

I don't think they make too many dentists like him anymore.

[OneFinger]

>I'm in cosmetic and restorative dentistry but I am not a dentist.The markup that dentists charge is amazing.

 

Got to agree with you on that one!! I worked as a Dental Technician (family business) for a few years before getting my degree.

 

At the time I made dentures I could do a full upper and lower for less than $100. The dentists would then charge about $1500!!

 

In my state it is illegal for a Dental Tech to perform work directly for a patient. Everything has to go through a licensed dentist. But, that sure eliminated the need for malpractice insurance and I'm not aware of any lab getting sued for any mistakes.

[Guest zipperzone]

>At the time I made dentures I could do a full upper and lower

>for less than $100. The dentists would then charge about

>$1500!!

 

I think it's time we started bartering with our dentists. We should tell them that we know what a set of dentures cost and that we refuse to be ripped off. Tell him that if he is not willing to supply them to you for a reasonable markup, then you will simply go to another dentist and he will see no more business from you.

 

If enough people did that, they'd get the message real fast.

[Guest josephga]

when i was laying in the chair last week it was funny i could hear this lady in another room raising hell over how much work they said that she needed. they named off like 7 or 8 teeth and she said god damn i could get all my teeth pulled and get dentures cheaper than that..

[edjames]

The basic principal is simple. Dentists and Doctors are businessmen first. There in the practice to make money.

 

I am glad I have some level of dental coverage available to me which helps keep my costs low, but when you realize I have a $1500 maximum coverage, it really doesn't go very far. Surprisingly in the 15 years that I have had dental insurance, that amount hasn't changed one bit!

 

I think I can agree that dental fees are certainly exorbitant these days but are we forgetting some basic economic factors involved in dental fees?

 

Rent? Here in NYC dentists pay a premium for office space. Insurance? Malpractice premiums are at an all time high. Salaries? Dental assistants, receptionists and bookkeepers don't come cheap. Add in the cost of supplies and equipment, and the ball has started to roll. Dentists, of course, like many others contribute to their 401K's and pay a hefty share of taxes. I bet the net profit on your dental work isn't all that much.

 

Here's a tip. If you have dental insurance and you need a crown or some expensive work done, consider holding it off till the last month or the year and then continue the work on the first month of the year. Have your dentist bill your insurance in December and then again in January cutting down the amount you have to pay. of course, if it hurts and is infected, fix it immediately.

 

 

Lucky...did you factor in the cost of airfare, hotels, meals and sundries on your excursion to Vietnam? LOL

 

ED

[+ Lucky]

Ed, unless I had thousands of dollars worth of work to be done, I wouldn't go all the way to Vietnam to see a dentist. It just happened that we were already there!

[+ deej]

>Ed, unless I had thousands of dollars worth of work to be

>done, I wouldn't go all the way to Vietnam to see a dentist.

 

Mexico is closer.

 

I saw a recent news report about booming dental clinics in Mexican border towns. They're typically US-trained, standards are as high as in US clinics, the work is good, and the cost is about a quarter of the same work in the US.

 

Hop across the border, have your teeth done, pick up cheap meds, and even if you find someone to mess around with you're still back home same day. ;-)

[Guest backbaygayguy]

>My dentist sent me to a periodontist for an evaluation of a

>potential problem area. The periodontist--a very attractive

>young man just out of dental school--looked in my mouth and

>saw an interesting project, which would cost thousands of

>dollars. I went back to my dentist and asked him what he

>thought of the recommended procedure, on which he would have

>earned about $6000 for his part. He said, "Unless you

>don't care about the money or the pain, I wouldn't do anything

>at all until a real problem arises, which may never

>happen." An honest man!

 

I've been with my current dentist for 14 years, and have had similar experiences twice when he sent me to specialists for evaluations. Of course, the specialists wanted to do more work. When I asked my dentist if he thought the work was needed, he looked at the x-rays some more and thought about it and answered that if it were a member of his family, he would not recommend the work. And he's conservative, doesn't rush to do fillings or restorative work -- we've monitored some areas for years without tackling them.

 

Three dentists ago, I had a guy I really liked, saw him for 4 years with just occasional fillings. I read in the paper that his wife was suing him for a divorce and wanted lots of alimony, a messy case involving another woman. Amazingly, at my next appointment, my dentist announced that I needed major restorative work (big bucks!), which somehow had appeared since my last cleaning and needed to be undertaken ASAP. On the way out, I canceled my next cleaning and found a new dentist -- and never had any of the "needed" restorative work.

[+ Charlie]

The "if it were a member of my family" comment was exactly what my dentist said! And he was trained in Boston. I wonder if there is some connection.

[whipped guy]

Funny that you mention Boston… There is (and I certainly hope that this way of thinking will become a thing of the past) a so-called “Boston School” of periodontal philosophy. This viewpoint advocates extensive and aggressive periodontal surgery to “cure” various gum conditions… In a nutshell they advocate cutting your gum tissue back to your toenails. Not a pleasant thought… Fortunately this position is slowly being considered to be a valid approach by fewer and fewer periodontists… Unfortunately many unsuspecting patients are still being exposed to these less that ideal (if well-intentioned) treatment plans that probably in the long term will do more harm than good to not only their dental wellbeing but their bank accounts as well! Perhaps the conservative Bostonian dentists backbayguy and Charlie saw were reacting against this very philosophy of overtreatment.

 

Finding a conservative dentist is perhaps one of the most difficult challenges out there.

[+ Charlie]

I used to have a dentist who was so conservative that he didn't believe in using painkillers when he worked on a tooth (hmmm...that might that appeal to some posters).