Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Dental costs
- This topic has 22 replies, 16 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 2 months ago by dee kalani.
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March 14, 2014 at 4:59 am #610733
elikapekaParticipantI’ve been going to the same dentist for years now and it seems it’s getting pretty spendy. I just had full x-rays and cleaning and it set me back $480.00. Just curious how that compares to what others are charging, whether that’s about right or out of line.
March 14, 2014 at 7:15 am #805623
JanSParticipantdo you ever get to thinking that if they keep going up, and the insurance doesn’t get any better, we’ll all be eating baby food? That’s outrageous!
The sad part is, ignoring the dental work can be quite hazardous to your health…should be included in health care costs? Why is dental insurance so crappy?
I can’t help with suggestions, though. My last dental work was part of getting ready for kidney transplant, so paid for by transplant clinic…
March 14, 2014 at 2:46 pm #805624
anonymeParticipantWhat really strikes me as bizarre is that, according to insurance companies, your mouth and teeth are apparently not part of your body. It makes no sense that certain essential aspects of health care (like mental and dental) are excluded from coverage. Dental cleanings are essential preventative medicine.
March 14, 2014 at 3:54 pm #805625
skeeterParticipantI am insanely fortunate that my employer’s medical plan includes fairly generous dental benefits. So I don’t even know what it costs for preventative care because my dentist direct-bills my insurance company
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But—I dug up an old statement from before we went electronic. In 2009 my insurance company was billed $221 for a cleaning, exam, and x-rays. Sorry that data is five years old!
March 14, 2014 at 4:14 pm #805626
biankatParticipantJust got my cleaning and xrays done. My insurace was billed $65 for bitewing xrays, 109 for the cleaning, and $60 for the exam. Total of $234.00.
March 14, 2014 at 4:46 pm #805627
LindseyParticipant@anonyme, actually, after the passage of health care reform, all health plans are required to cover mental health services as an “essential health benefit.” Pediatric dentistry is also covered as an EHB, but not adult oral health.
March 14, 2014 at 6:45 pm #805628
maddyParticipantMy suggestion is that if you have a good dentist, stick with him rather than switch around trying to find someone with lower costs. It is a once/year cost and will help detect upcoming problems – so in the long run will save you money. New dental equipment is very expensive & thus dental costs have been raising rapidly in the past few years. Not all dentists are good ones & a mediocre dentist with outdated equipment can cause severe dental problems in the future.
March 14, 2014 at 8:49 pm #805629
JanSParticipantwhat really gets me is that they want their money up front(time of service) unless you have insurance. There is no way on earth I could afford $450 up front. If payment were an option , then yes. But for someone on Medicare, limited income..it’s daunting…at a time when one needs the care most…
March 14, 2014 at 10:27 pm #805630
DianaParticipantThere are several individual dental health insurance plans available and are typically about $250 annually…not a huge expense. Dental insurance doesn’t cover a lot so I look upon it as a great discount. And it does save a lot on dental care. I recommend http://www.dentalhealthservices.com. I’ve been using them for a long time and have been very pleased with the dentists and the services. If you are an employer they also have group plans available.
March 15, 2014 at 8:32 pm #805631
margaret from vashonParticipantI would be interested in comments on great dentists in the area. I’ve looked up the plan mentioned above and see Dr. Brun and Dr. Buchanan listed as participating. There may be others I am missing. I have a really tricky mouth and need a GOOD dentist. What say ye?
March 15, 2014 at 11:56 pm #805632
JoBParticipantWe use William H Raleigh on California..
he has been very good with my complicated issues..
and.. he’s affordable
March 16, 2014 at 5:10 am #805633
DianaParticipantDr. Albert Lee, 5425 California Ave SW 206-935-0929
March 16, 2014 at 8:22 am #805634
JanSParticipantDiana…is Dr. Lee who you see?
I did a bit of research myself…and I found plans that ranged from $23 /month to $67/mo. And some of the pricier ones had a yearly benefit top of $750 per person. The highest amount of top limit paid per year was $1000. Some covered preventative with little to no deductible, some didn’t, some didn’t.You really have to do your homework, and hope that you don’t have any dental problems that are expensive.
JoB…have heard nothing but good things about Dr. Raleigh. Have also heard good things about Peter Yi and Joon Kae
March 16, 2014 at 8:47 am #805635
JanSParticipantelikapeka, I realize this doesn’t really have anything to do with your first post (or maybe it does)…Just thought I’d throw it out there:
http://www.sscdentistry.com/servicesprovided.html
http://www.swedish.org/about/blog/february-2012/swedish-introduces-new-specialty-dental-clinic
http://www.yelp.com/biz/seattle-special-care-dentistry-seattle
It’s not in West Seattle. It’s on 25th NE across the street from Univ. Village. I had work done there on referral from Swedish Transplant Clinic, and will be going back for post transplant work now. It’s a wonderful office, and if someone goes through Swedish for a referral from their in hospital dental service, the care is sometimes covered if you me the (low) income criteria.
March 16, 2014 at 4:26 pm #805636
elikapekaParticipantThanks for the suggestions, everyone. I have to confess that I just realized I made a typo – it was $380, not $480. Still expensive, though. I remember way back when good dental coverage was usually part of your employment benefits, but that is less and less common these days.
March 19, 2014 at 11:36 pm #805637
service dog academyMemberHave you tried a dental school? Everything takes 5 times a long but costs much less than a traditional dentist.
March 20, 2014 at 12:28 am #805638
anonymeParticipantI had a root canal at UW Dental School last year. The estimate was for around $700, but it ended up costing over $1,000 due to necessary items they “forgot” to include. I still had to pay for their error. I was told the cost was about 30% of what a root canal would be in a regular dentist’s office, but everyone I’ve spoken to has paid under $1,000. The grad student did good work, but it was not the bargain they claimed.
The Swedish plan sounds interesting, must look into it.
March 20, 2014 at 4:41 am #805639
JanSParticipantanonyme..the office they have on 25th NE is wonderful…the people, the care, the facilities, the equipment. And they deal with people who have an aversion to the dentist…that’s a plus.
March 20, 2014 at 4:34 pm #805640
photonMemberMargaret from Vashon,
I would not recommend Dr. Brun for you. Neither my husband nor I were impressed with his attention to detail, and once he fixed something cosmetic without asking first (and charged me for it). I’m sure he had the best intentions, but I’d like to know what’s going on in my mouth before it happens!
February 7, 2018 at 9:24 am #908264
GAnativeParticipantSmiles at Southcenter. Dr Doreen Roseto is a West Seattleite. Our whole family goes there and they don’t do anything without you knowing the cost ahead of time. I leave every visit with a treatment plan for the next visit and what the total and my out of pocket cost will be, even if it’s just a cleaning. Sorry I can’t tell you what those cost are as I don’t have a treatment plan with me right now. They also use CareCredit so you can make payments if needed.
http://www.smilessouthcenter.com/new-patients/insurance-payments.aspx
February 7, 2018 at 12:29 pm #908274
Michael WaldoParticipantMy employer has dental coverage but it is capped at $1,500 a year. I had one crown last year and that blew my whole rest of year. Had to pay cash for cleaning and a cavity fill. Crazy. Why is dental insurance so bad?
February 7, 2018 at 1:05 pm #908281
dhgParticipantI can enthusiastically recommend Dr. Garrett Reed at http://westviewdentalseattle.com/. He’s very enthusiastic, works to keep the mood in the office up tempo. He offers a dental plan and will talk to you upfront about costs.
February 13, 2018 at 9:15 am #908803
dee kalaniParticipanti have very good dental insurance however i need a implant and a sinus lift which my insurance won’t cover the sinus lift . out of pocket for this one implant $2,700 ouch , that’s a vacation
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