? about dental stuff, need input!

pink_fortitude

pink_fortitude

Banned
I went to the dentist a couple of weeks ago about a tooth that was bothering me. I knew I needed a root canal; I don't get cavities, my teeth just go straight to crap as soon as decay gets anywhere. Well, the dentist sent me the estimate and it is $2003!!! For a single crown and a root canal... I almost fell out of my chair when I got his email and then when I could move again I almost started crying... is it me or is this RIDICULOUSLY overpriced? Here is the price breakdown: Porcelain Crown $976, prefab post/core $294, root canal $733. Am I justified in feeling like he is trying to price gouge???

Missy
 
yikes!!!
i have no idea, actually.
can you get a consultation w/ another dds and get a 2nd opinion?
 
Missy,

I haven't had a root canal (yet!) but fear the day it might happen! I had quite a few fillings last year and it about broke us. :( My dentist thought one of my fillings could need a root canal and I am just praying that it won't. Do you trust this dentist or is he new? My father once took a two week vacation to Hawaii and had his cousin do his dental work b/c it was cheaper than seeing another dentist. That tells you something :eek:

I am hoping one of my DD marries a dentist! ;)
 
Yes, I actually plan to. The offices are all already closed for today, I just wanted to get some ideas from other people before I made the calls so that I could know what to look for... or to prepare myself for what I might be in for in case this IS what they are charging these days! (the last one I had was 9 years ago - and it was SO not this much!)

Missy
 
My2girls said:
Missy,

My dentist thought one of my fillings could need a root canal and I am just praying that it won't. Do you trust this dentist or is he new?


I am hoping one of my DD marries a dentist! ;)
Click to expand...
This is a new dentist. I didn't like mine so I went to DH's... he is VERY nice and I love his office, but... like you said, if my DD married a dentist it would be very nice! :p Do you mind if I ask how much your fillings were?

Missy
 
My fillings were roughly $250 each. One was much larger than the others (the one that might need root canal) but I don't think it cost that much more. The dentist I go to doesn't use the silver fillings so they might cost more for the composite (white) stuff. I could have spent less, but would now have a mouth full of silver. Now, no one can tell I have about 7-8 fillings!

Get a few other opinions if you can. Good luck. Such a sad way to spend all that money. :(
 
I'd get a few more opinions. That seems like a lot of money. Then again, I've never had a root canal. (Knock on wood)
 
I had a crown put on one tooth and it was about 800.00. A few months later that same tooth needed a root canal. That was also about 800.00. My bill was 1600.00 for the whole procedure, and that was all white, no silver.

I consider myself very lucky to have dental insurance, so my portion of the bill was about 375.00. WAY better than 1600.00.

I will admit, I would pay a pretty price to keep my teeth. It would drive me crazy to pull it and have a hole.

Good luck, it's not a fun thing to spend $ on.

Annie
 
pink_fortitude said:
I went to the dentist a couple of weeks ago about a tooth that was bothering me. I knew I needed a root canal; I don't get cavities, my teeth just go straight to crap as soon as decay gets anywhere. Well, the dentist sent me the estimate and it is $2003!!! For a single crown and a root canal... I almost fell out of my chair when I got his email and then when I could move again I almost started crying... is it me or is this RIDICULOUSLY overpriced? Here is the price breakdown: Porcelain Crown $976, prefab post/core $294, root canal $733. Am I justified in feeling like he is trying to price gouge???

Missy
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, it's not too overpriced, depending on where you live, and I'm assuming we're talking about a molar. I work for a dentist, and our fees are slightly lower, but we're in a fairly small town. I know it's shocking, but that's the only tooth you get!
 
My last crown/root canal combo was 3 or 4 years ago and it was right
around the $1600 mark. Filings run about $200 or so. So, the $2000 he quoted seems high. Could be where you live though. If you don't have insurance, ask for a discount. Some will go as low as what the insurance co pays. If they won't go that low, 15-20% is reasonable as a self-pay at time of service payment. Or ask for a payment plan. My dentist will do a payment plan w/out interest,over a short (3-6 months) timeframe, but I've been going there for 20 years or so. They also offer loans/financing, which I've never done. Its expensive, and it sucks, but you've gotta get it fixed.

Nan
 
That sounds about right if they are molars. I had to have two root canals at 1k a piece and the crowns where $600 and the crowns @ $600 were with a discount insurance called Denitcare or Assurant where you go to an assigned dentist and they give you a discount. The crowns were porcelain to metal.

I had a root canal on an incisor and it was about $400 and the crown again was about $600.
 
I work for a dental office in California. That is actually a bargain by about $500. It would run you way more at the office I work for. A root canal depending on how hard and how many canals, . . . . anywhere from $700-$1200. If you go to an endodontist you are looking at the higher end of the fee. Prefab post and crown depending on the type of crown (yes there are some that cost more-metal is cheaper, . . .uglier though but they last longer) can run you another $1500 price combined. Here's the worst of it, . . there is a slight chance that if you do it that the root canal fails and you end up having to have the tooth extracted, . . and yes, you'd have to pay for that too. Also be very leary and cautious of a dentist who perform root canals. Find out how much experience they have. If they've only recently been doing this procedure you might want to think twice about being a guiena pig. Going to a general practice dr. with experience will be cheaper though. I reccomend Carecredit.com. Check out the website and see if your provider accepts it most do. Unfortunately most people only go to the dentist when they feel pain. I hate to go on a soap box here but preventative care is soooooo important. Your twice a year cleanings and yearly x-rays would have caught this problem before it got so big. If this makes you feel better, . . .although I doubt it will your problem could be worse. I've seen patients with periodontial disease that was so bad that nearly all their teeth could fall out if she bit on an apple. This is one tooth. I reccomend taking care of it as soon as possible, . . . and if you don't trust this Dr. get a second opinion, . . ask for a copy of your x-ray so you won't have to pay for another and you'll only have to pay for the exam. Oh one more word of advice for everyone don't forget to floss once a day! :)
 
I had my first root canal about 15 months ago and the endodontist charged $1200-1300 (insurance paid half). The crown was another $1200 (insurance paid $500). So, you're paying about 20% less than what I was charged overall. The endodontist was awesome BTW. In fact, my dentist refuses to do root canals because he says this endodontist is much more skilled. IMO, it was worth it.

FWIW, I do get semi annual cleanings and check ups and my emergency root canal came out of NOWHERE! (It was about 3 weeks after a routine cleaning and exam.) ITA that regular check ups, care etc. help enormously, but weird (and expensive!) stuff can happen w/ teeth.

Sorry for what you're going thru. ((((((Hugs))))))
 
I just checked my dental bill. My bicuspid root canal was $927, the post was $350, and the crown was $1250 . Luckily, I have dental insurance that covers 80% of the root canal and 50% of the crown and post. Still, it is very expensive.
Lorrie
 
Thank you guys for all of your replies! I see that I am going to have to make the "investment". Thanks for the encouragement, and I feel for everyone else who went through it as well!

Missy
 
Sorry to disappoint, but I don't think he is crazy high. :( I had a root canal/crown about 5-6 years ago and if I remember the root canal was about $700 and the crown nearly $1000. This was in the midwest, for point of reference.
I wish they would hurry up and figure out how to grow new teeth in a lab so you could just have a new one grown and implanted! Of course, that would probably cost $10,000!
 
No more root canals for me!

pink_fortitude said:
I went to the dentist a couple of weeks ago about a tooth that was bothering me. I knew I needed a root canal; I don't get cavities, my teeth just go straight to crap as soon as decay gets anywhere. Well, the dentist sent me the estimate and it is $2003!!! For a single crown and a root canal... I almost fell out of my chair when I got his email and then when I could move again I almost started crying... is it me or is this RIDICULOUSLY overpriced? Here is the price breakdown: Porcelain Crown $976, prefab post/core $294, root canal $733. Am I justified in feeling like he is trying to price gouge???

Missy
Click to expand...

I had a hideous experience with a root canal years ago, and swore I'd never get another one. A couple of years ago I had a bad tooth yanked out & had another pulled because it was cracked, & got a partial. It was better than getting another root canal - the tooth that had the root canal actually fell apart some years later, but then I didn't get a crown on it either.
 
Last edited:
wlorrie said:
I just checked my dental bill. My bicuspid root canal was $927, the post was $350, and the crown was $1250 . Luckily, I have dental insurance that covers 80% of the root canal and 50% of the crown and post. Still, it is very expensive.
Lorrie
Click to expand...

Do you mind me asking what type of dental insurance you have?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top