After a week of scrambling to get a filling refilled with no dental insurance, I've decided to share my new found ideas about saving money when taking care of your teeth, mostly without insurance, so hopefully this will help you!
As mentioned above, I noticed a filling for an upper molar had fallen out and further decay had set in. Immediate dread of a root canal set in as realized it was a Sunday, no dentist was open, and I had little time to figure things out the next morning. I'm a single mom so a root canal is not in the budget.
Plan A was to call my original dentist who filled it originally to see if she would refill it, or at least take a look free of charge. Wrong. She wanted $129 for a problem focused exam, and $179 for a comprehensive X-ray. This did not cover the cost of repair, but exam only. (I had insurance when I previously used her almost 9 years ago. Now I'm self-pay)
I knew that wasn't in the budget so I turned to my daughters dentist, and being cash pay, the staff helped me purchase a cheap savings plan that ended up saving me around $300 to get it fixed.
I paid $129 for the X-ray, drilling, anesthetic, and new composite in my molar. Not bad at all, but here's a few tips that may help when it comes to saving money in the dental area.
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Prevention is key- Brush twice daily and FLOSS daily. Folks, flossing is so important. Get every tooth at least once daily, and floss properly. Prevention will keep the bills and cavities at bay!
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Get regular checkups to detect problems early. Look and learn to recognize tooth decay and gum disease. It's better to get a small cavity filled than to wait until you need a root canal and crown- as these can come out in the thousands. Many dental issues can be reversed early on, such as caries! Get them taken care of while the cost is low, before it creeps into the thousands.
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Many fairly priced dentists can get a bad reputation for being on the lower end of the pay scale, but if you have any doubts, you can always check their licensing. My previous, overly priced dentist had disciplinary action I was unaware of, while my new, fairly priced dentist had a squeaky clean record. So, call around and get those prices!
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Talk about payment plans & cash pay discounts as many will give you a discount for cash pay! Many dentists are more than willing to work with you. Also, legit savings plans are great if you don't want or can't afford insurance.
So to sum things up and TL:DR. Prevention and regular check-ups end up saving you much more down the line, plus you get to have pretty, healthy teeth!
March 20, 2019 at 03:01AM
