Budget buster...root canal and crown!

[mickeyplanner08]

I was in for my routine cleaning about 10 days ago. A few days after one of my crowns started to ache. I finally gave in and went to see my dentist today. Turns out it is not a tooth that is already crowned, but an abscess on the one in front of it. Grrr! Thanks goodness for dental insurance, but my OOP is still going to cross $500, I'm thinking. YUCK!

So how was your Monday?

 

[kat3668]

Yah I feel your pain!!!!!!! No dental insurance 3 root canals and caps 6 fillings and $6000.00 later I'm really in deep guano!!

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

ACK! I hate expenses like that.

 

[mickeyplanner08]

Yah I feel your pain!!!!!!! No dental insurance 3 root canals and caps 6 fillings and $6000.00 later I'm really in deep guano!!

OK, so there could be something worse. THAT is just not right! I just keep thinking how nice of a car we could have if I didn't have to keep fixing things in my mouth

 

[kat3668]

OK, so there could be something worse. THAT is just not right! I just keep thinking how nice of a car we could have if I didn't have to keep fixing things in my mouth

Yah thats what I get for working a job that offers no dental coverage for the past 20 years!

 

[Frannie115]

Same here - cracked an old crown and ended up with $600 bill. This is with dental insurance that I pay a premium for and deductible

I should be thankful we are able to get insurance.

 

[QVCshopper]

I am thankful everyday that I have three dentists in my family... FIL, BIL, and SIL.

Sorry to all of you with big bills, but hopefully you'll be out of physical pain soon!

 

[foltzy]

I feel your pain. I have to have my wisdom teeth out, no dental insurance I don't even want to know how much that's going to cost. On top of that I have to have a root canal on one tooth and some fillings done. We're thinking about 3-4 thousand by the time all is said and done and it might be more, I'm not sure.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I feel your pain. I have to have my wisdom teeth out, no dental insurance I don't even want to know how much that's going to cost. On top of that I have to have a root canal on one tooth and some fillings done. We're thinking about 3-4 thousand by the time all is said and done and it might be more, I'm not sure.

my son just had his 4 wisdom teeth out.. ins covered 100% but the cost was $1300


I just had a root canal 2 months ago and had to pay $900 bit total was $1800 so your total is probably about right.

 

[pezheadmeg]

I just had crown number 2 of the last year finished this morning. 2 root canals 6 months apart on totally opposite sides of the mouth. It's not been fun.

What made it worse is root canal and crown 1 ate up dental for the year. Draining my flex spending account to pay for root canal 2 and that's with the cash discount from the endodontist.

And I'm the dentist's favorite niece, he's being nice enough to post date the crown. Plus he tossed in my cleaning for free--I'm paying for the fact that my mother tortured him through childhood.

 

[Madison'smommy]

Ugh... I had tons of dental work done this past year. I have good insurance, and still paid a few thousand out of pocket. No Bueno :-(

 

[KarlaG4Kids]

Really bad weekend/Monday for me dental wise. We leave for our WDW/1st Disney cruise in 3-1/2 weeks. This weekend a front tooth broke off right at the gum line. (previous root canal in it). Off to 2 dentists today. It had to be pulled and now I will have to get a flipper and then a bridge, to the tune of about $3200. Insurance will pay about 1/2. The only good thing is I can spread it over 2 flexible spending years because mine re-sets in June. I was even more horrified to think of going on our trip missing a front tooth!

 

[mickeyplanner08]

Really bad weekend/Monday for me dental wise. We leave for our WDW/1st Disney cruise in 3-1/2 weeks. This weekend a front tooth broke off right at the gum line. (previous root canal in it). Off to 2 dentists today. It had to be pulled and now I will have to get a flipper and then a bridge, to the tune of about $3200. Insurance will pay about 1/2. The only good thing is I can spread it over 2 flexible spending years because mine re-sets in June. I was even more horrified to think of going on our trip missing a front tooth!

Yikes! Glad there is a way to fix that. It really is amazing what they can do, but I'm so tired of spending my money there!

 

[Coll0610]

For the wisdom teeth, check with your medical insurance if you don't have dental or it isn't covered. I've heard sometimes it is covered under medical - probably worth a phone call at least.

 

[MomToOne]

I have the world's worst teeth. Really. I just finished with a rather messy extraction due to a severe cavity under a crown, on a tooth had already had an elongation done so there just wasn't enough tooth left to save. I had a bone graft done at the same time in preparation for an implant. The extraction was covered by my insurance, but not the bone graft and they won't cover the implant. If I'm lucky, I'll get away with a bit less than $4k total - but with my luck, it will end up being more.

And next year I get to do it all over again, because I have another tooth that was crowned but was too weak and broke off right at the base....

Some days I still feel like dentistry is still in the dark ages. I mean, we can cure so many diseases these days, but we can't conquer tooth decay??

 

[nunzia]

Yep...no dental insureance..DH and I have both had crowns in the last year. Total:$2,450...

 

[kinntj]

I just got a root canal last Thursday and our cost was $152.00. I go in on the 20th to be fitted for a crown and our part for that will be $95.00 and then to get the crown put in will be $525.00. That's one tooth costing $772.00 with insurance.

I feel your pain...literally.

 

[ceecee]

Some days I still feel like dentistry is still in the dark ages. I mean, we can cure so many diseases these days, but we can't conquer tooth decay??

Well actually, decay can be prevented, but it starts early on! With Fluoride and sealants we have a ton of patients that are decay free.

 

[Gina]

And next year I get to do it all over again, because I have another tooth that was crowned but was too weak and broke off right at the base....

Some days I still feel like dentistry is still in the dark ages. I mean, we can cure so many diseases these days, but we can't conquer tooth decay??

I couldn't agree more. I also had the same thing happen -- went through the pain and expense of having a root canal and crown done, "to save the tooth! You have to save the tooth!" and it ended up snapping right off at the gum line. Nothing like holding $800 in the palm of your hand and just throwing it away.

I have a cavity in a tooth and an appointment next week to get it looked at. Hopefully they can just fill it, because that's the only option I'm giving them. If they give me b.s. about it needing a root canal, I'm just telling them to clean out the decay as best they can and leave it at that.

It amazes me that after all thes years - centuries - the only options they still seem to have available in their arsenal is root canal or extraction. Seriously??

 

[kinntj]

Well actually, decay can be prevented, but it starts early on! With Fluoride and sealants we have a ton of patients that are decay free.

Fluoride is doable, but sealants aren't covered by insurance completely. My kids have sealants on those important teeth and we were willing to pay out of pocket for the part that insurance didn't cover. Totally worth it, but I can see some not being able to afford that.

I love that dentists today focus on preventative care with sealants.

At least they have improved on root canal procedures. My endodontist said that it use to take 3 hrs to do one and now it takes no longer than 40 minutes. I didn't think it took that long once they started working.