My 23 year old daughter needs a root canal & crown

[auntie]

Just curious why you are still paying for your 23 year old's dental care, is she still in school?

I'd be willing to bet you don't have a 23 year old.
They don't stop being your child because they finished college. They don't instantly graduate with a job and full medical and dental coverage.

My 23 year old daughter is actually back in school (started last week...she's so happy..she has two semesters until she has her bachelors). Previously,she had to go to work full time so as to have a job that provided full medical benefits. Our health coverage at the time only covered the kids to age 21. Now with the change to health care, she has the opportunity to go back on our health care plan (through age 25). This has allowed her the unique opportunity to finish up and get her bachelors.
In any case, we don't have dental..other than a discount plan. (we are self employed). We pay out of pocket for dental expenses and would pay for my daughters expenses if she were to need them.

 

[NotUrsula]

While a crown is good to have, it's possible to get by with just a filling. If she cannot afford the crown right now, she can get the tooth filled and then go back when she's saved the money and get it crowned. (IMO, a root canal is worth going into debt for, but a crown generally is not.)

The other option, depending on which tooth it is, is to get the tooth extracted. Most of the time if it is the molar in the far back, it won't really be noticable, and an extraction normally costs less than $300.

 

[Planogirl]

I'd like to know why dental care is so expensive. I need oral surgery soon and I shudder to think of what I'll have to pay and I have insurance!

 

[simba20]

Hmmm was my dentist off?

I was quoted that my part of a root canal was around $160-$200 and that the crown would be another $150-$200.

Hmmm, maybe I just have some really good dental insurance.

I had to cancel it though, will reschedule for another time. Work was to be performed by my "local-all-around-had-fillings-and-teeth-pulled-by-him" dentist.

 

[MoniqueU]

I have been through so many dental issues of my husbands and my kids over the years oh and my mom too. I have tons of advice and knowledge to share. My DH has horrible teeth it was a genetic thing as he is obsessed with brushing and flossing. He has been on his own since 18 with no help. In fact when I first met him one of his front teeth was rotted. His grandma begged me to have him get it fixed before the wedding so he did with my family dentist. No real insurance so that was our honeymoon in his mouth. He had a downpaynent on a house put in his mouth by that dentist and yes I do believe it was necessary. But still over the years he k kept getting abcesses and more and more dental worj done by other dentists including an implant by a fancy dentist out in an exclusive area of Orange County. They played games and frauded our insurance to help pay for it, which I will get back to.

After my husband genetics I was super vigilant about my kids dental care. My son woke up one day with his entire face swollen up so I took him to an MD who claimesd he must of been hit with something. I knew he hadn't and by gut instinct swung by the dentist and he had ground his teeth so bad he needed a pulpotomy, (paby root canal) Since he was over age 5 my insurance wouldn't pay to put him under.

Then my oldest daughter got in a razor scooter accident and knocked out 8 teeth 2 of tham permanent. Our huge mistake was taking her to the er because there was blood everywhere we thought that needed to be looked at first. They had her sit in the waiting room and never told my husband to put her teeth in milk. She got referred to loma linda school of dentistry where they worked hours on her to save her teeth. They could only save one and she wore the same retainer until she had braces put on. I got the best darn ortho money could buy and even bypassed any insurance discount to get her the best He graduated from Harvard. He has worked with us since she was about 5 years old. Within the last 6 months between he, my daughter and I we decided to move the teeth rather then do an implant. I left it up to her, I would of paid whatever it took to make her happy, not an issue. He is very honest and did my sons braces as well but he is also out in orange county an hour away.

But after her accident we got such crappy care from our insurance dental plan that I ultimately sought out the one in OC that played games with our insurance and would bill them for services they never gave. I liked them but have found out how much money they had been making off us in unnecesary work. I asked about my sons wisdom teeth and they said my insurance didn't cover it. I found a new dentist by accident when I needed my teeth whitened right away. She took my insurance and could see me the same day. I LOVED her, so calming and for the first time in years I wasn't told I didn't needed a deep cleaning like I was at all the others. I ended up having to pay for my cleaning as the other dentist had billed my insurance for one I didn't recieve. I took all my kids in and low and behold for the first time in years they didn't have cavities either!! They all loved her too. I can't wait to get my husband in. Oh and she ran my insurance and wisdom teeth removal is covered 90 percent and alot of other procedures are covered as well. I did opt for the highest level of dental coverage at my husbands work but this one actually pays for stuff.

So I have been on every side of the coin. Desperately needing work asap, being lied to and also not having good coverage. So if you feel anything is hinky or want a second opinion see if you have a dental school in your area. They literally worked on my daughter for about 5 hours non stop and I think I paid 500 bucks in payments, nothing due up front. I am not afraid or unwilling to pay the bucks to get it done I am just a bit more skeptical now. I also paid for about 5 crowns for my mom since she is on medical/medicare etc and now I am questioning whether she even needed that at all? You really do have to look out for yourself some of these guys are sheisters!!

 

[mill4023]

$1900 seems high to me, but maybe that's the going rate wherever you are.
It's been a couple years since I had a root canal and crown, but I think it was around 800 or 900 total.

 

[BeenHereB4]

I'd like to know why dental care is so expensive. I need oral surgery soon and I shudder to think of what I'll have to pay and I have insurance!

I'm with you on this. Why does the dentist need to get nearly $2000 for this work? Is there that much of a materials cost? I mean even if materials were $1000, he needs to make $500 an hour after that? No wonder dental insurance coverage usually stinks.

 

[Wonderlandmom]

Hmmm was my dentist off?

I was quoted that my part of a root canal was around $160-$200 and that the crown would be another $150-$200.

Hmmm, maybe I just have some really good dental insurance.

I had to cancel it though, will reschedule for another time. Work was to be performed by my "local-all-around-had-fillings-and-teeth-pulled-by-him" dentist.

YES, you do! A root canal is around $950 and a molar crown is $1005 here. Our insurance pays about $200 towards each. We may change dental insurance for next year.

 

[golfgal]

I'm with you on this. Why does the dentist need to get nearly $2000 for this work? Is there that much of a materials cost? I mean even if materials were $1000, he needs to make $500 an hour after that? No wonder dental insurance coverage usually stinks.

He has a mortgage/lease on his office, staff to pay, equipment to buy, light bills to pay, etc. All of this is factored into their costs, not just what the dentist himself makes.

 

[BeenHereB4]

He has a mortgage/lease on his office, staff to pay, equipment to buy, light bills to pay, etc. All of this is factored into their costs, not just what the dentist himself makes.

As someone who is self-employed, I understand this. BUT, I'm wondering if it's like Drs and hospitals. Self pay patients pay a huge amount, but when they get paid by the insurance companies it's teeny. For instance, my dr. charges $300 for a physical. No insurance - you pay $300 or whatever you work out with him. Maybe $200 or $250. My insurance company pays him a mere $70 for the same physical.

 

[golfgal]

As someone who is self-employed, I understand this. BUT, I'm wondering if it's like Drs and hospitals. Self pay patients pay a huge amount, but when they get paid by the insurance companies it's teeny. For instance, my dr. charges $300 for a physical. No insurance - you pay $300 or whatever you work out with him. Maybe $200 or $250. My insurance company pays him a mere $70 for the same physical.

Depends on if the dentist is an in network provider for any insurance companies or not. A lot of dentist are not signing contracts with insurance companies any longer because the payout is so small. They still accept insurance, will file for you, etc. but the patient is then responsible for the costs above and beyond what the insurance company pays.

 

[BeenHereB4]

Depends on if the dentist is an in network provider for any insurance companies or not. A lot of dentist are not signing contracts with insurance companies any longer because the payout is so small. They still accept insurance, will file for you, etc. but the patient is then responsible for the costs above and beyond what the insurance company pays.

Ah, gotcha. I know my ex had a choice of insurances. The one we chose uses only certain dentists and we don't pay anything - at least we haven't yet. The other was a pay up front, get reimbursed type. We didn't know exactly what they'd be reimbursing so we went the other route. But these dentists are not in the modern offices, the receptionist is the hygenist, etc. Kind of like a step up from clinics I guess. So far it's good enough for the kids.