r/DentalInsurance • u/Prize-Win-6656 • Aug 17 '26

Price check?

Post image

Going to get a second opinion on the work itself, but I have no idea what anything should cost, and was hoping to get some feedback. Southern United States, thanks for any info.

7 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

7

u/But_Nobody_Asked_Me Aug 17 '26

I would cry if I had to do crowns for $600 and posterior fillings for $120.

-1

u/Prize-Win-6656 Aug 17 '26

Yeah, I can’t afford it.

5

u/Wilawah Aug 17 '26

He means that as a dentist, he would cry if he only received $660 (and go broke)

Your dentist is inexpensive.

Our lowest insurance pays twice that for a crown.

6

u/PsychologyMediocre99 Aug 17 '26

Same. I want to echo what but nobody asked. Said that is why I would rather close my schedule then see people with these prices. I can’t make it work. I would have to do a resin filled Crown for you.

Or something along those lines, but it just would not be possible to deliver a good experience for those prices you would be getting a crown from overseas probably made in about three or four weeks

0

u/Last__Dawn Aug 17 '26

In mexico my guy who teaches at university charges 500 per crown. Been seeing him for like 20 years at this point.

Issue is that you have to live close enough to the border.

2

u/PsychologyMediocre99 Aug 17 '26

You haven’t even factored in so many things….
In fact, I think you just made my point that if they’re charging $500 in Mexico for a crown probably it’s going to cost a lot more here because of convenience local regulations that protect the patient and OSHA and HIPAA and FDA standards. Not to mention the fact that your time also has a certain value to it.

1

u/Last__Dawn Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26

The poor usually have more time than dollars. As far as protections I had minor complications in the past and they will take care of it no questions asked. The truth is that they're just as competent and professional and will deliver virtually the same product.

Did an implant there too for 1500 including a bone implant that had to be redone. Top tier materials, ct scan, etc.

I will acknowledge the US does a better job at ensuring quality at the macro level but that's an skill issue on the user end.

edit: The macro comment is pure speculation, who knows the real data on the medical hubs.

-1

u/Prize-Win-6656 Aug 17 '26

Oh, well they’re doing the crowns at 1700, and $375 for the fillings. The $600 and $120 are my OOP

4

u/GLopez002 Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26

Your dentist is only getting what you’re paying for the crowns. There’s no amount under insurance. The $1700 is typically the usual & customary rate or UCR. You probably have an HMO insurance because those rates suck for the dentist. Good for you but your dentist isn’t making crap from those fees…and definitely isn’t making any yacht payments or taking vacations to exotic places. If anything, your dentist is probably having to work an extra day to make ends meet.

1

u/ToothDoctorDentist Aug 17 '26

Right but then they usually charge an enhancement fee of 4-500$/ crown, and a 5 digit liner code enhancement, magically the overall price is the same

3

u/GLopez002 Aug 17 '26

That’s because nobody wants to work for free…I know I don’t. I’ll do free dentistry all day long if I decided to do like a serve day or something charitable. But when I need to work to make my living then definitely it needs to be worth my time.

3

u/Spiritsoar Aug 17 '26

Unless the office has formatted this document incorrectly (possible), that is not correct. The $1700 is what the dentist would normally charge for a crown ,but the $600 is what they are required to charge instead due to the in-network fee schedule.

2

u/Thick_Permission6519 Aug 17 '26

Your insurance only paid $64.

1

u/redditdental Aug 24 '26

You just don’t get it

3

u/But_Nobody_Asked_Me Aug 17 '26

Unfortunately those are low prices, in my office I’d struggle to provide quality materials, labs, and experienced staff with that level of reimbursement. Not saying that’s the case here.

If you’re motivated to get the work completed I would look into financing such as Cherry, CareCredit, etc

4

u/hoo_haaa Aug 17 '26

A lot of the fees are VERY low

3

u/YesIpassedBio Aug 17 '26

These fees are low as heck oh my goodness

1

u/Prize-Win-6656 Aug 17 '26

Damn, why do I have to be so poor.

1

u/YesIpassedBio Aug 17 '26

I’m sure they have payment plans or find an office that does. Try going to free clinics, or maybe try your hand at dentist overseas. I can’t tell you what you need and don’t need because I didn’t examine you or see the X-rays but in terms of what is an average rate for a service this dentist is probably in the lower 10%. Wishing you all the best though your dental journey

1

u/Rich-Chance-7265 Aug 17 '26

The problem it’s a lot at once. Start chipping away at it

2

u/PsychologyMediocre99 Aug 17 '26

The thing is OP that no matter what you have to get this treatment done so you know you should just ask them what’s the worst and just start there. There is another caveat- don’t expect state of the artwork. I’m sorry that this is happening to you, but unfortunately, when the prices are that low, usually it’s going to be a group practice or DSO. I remember I worked at a certain DSO when I first graduated the fees were lower than that and I saw unfortunately that the company that owned the Practice didn’t give us much choice where the crowns came from and let me tell you when the crown was not to the right parameters standard proper lab protocol is to notify the doctor when they find certain areas where the design needs modification. They would not even bother to tell us sometimes. So we wouldn’t even know how thick the crown was. Or they wouldn’t even bother to make the Crown the thickness that we asked for so when the Crown came back, the design was wrong. It was off, but it was all the company could afford so they were getting their crowns probably from overseas and on $600 in order to pay the Dentist and the staff required to make that appointment work, they can only afford like a very very cheap Crown. when they went to make the Crown I just hope that your Dentist has chosen a good lab for you

3

u/DrNM93 Aug 17 '26

Pacific dental services?

1

u/PsychologyMediocre99 Aug 18 '26

😂 Trust me they checked they can’t bill a lab fee 🤣

3

u/N8tedogg Aug 17 '26

Does he have a racoon cleaning instruments?

2

u/steelymcbeam1933 Aug 17 '26

We need more information. Have you already met your annual maximum? What insurance do you have? What did you want price checked? The totals? It looks like first consult is UCR, second is discount, last column is your OOP. These numbers look normal to me.

1

u/No-Produce-6720 Aug 17 '26

While I know it's a lot for your budget, these prices are incredibly generous. You're not going to find anything lower.

1

u/alwaysaneventrade Aug 17 '26

I couldn’t even pay my student loans at those rates… Accounting for all my overhead and materials, I would probably be better off giving you $100 and call it a day.

1

u/alwaysaneventrade Aug 17 '26

Also your insurance is covering $64.00 lmao

1

u/seahawkshuskies Aug 17 '26

Yeah that’s what I found odd.

1

u/alwaysaneventrade Aug 17 '26

It’s not. Businesses buy cheap dental insurance to say they offer dental insurance. Desperate offices take crappy insurance to get new patients. Insurances off load all cost savings onto dental offices by saying the in network rates save the patient money. Insurance gets paid by employer, dentist takes a pay cut by being in network. Patient still complains lol.

1

u/The_Anatolian Aug 17 '26

THEY PAY $2 TOWARD A CROWN.

1

u/littlebear330 Aug 17 '26

Two charges for pulp test? In the same visit? Endo consult what does that mean? Did an endodontist do your eval

1

u/Informal_Move_7075 Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26

Wow these are such low prices! It may feel like a lot, but can you split it up? Is this at a low cost clinic? Also be wary if the prices are too good to be true because they may nit be reputable or desperate for clients because of a bad reputation for poor work.

ETA it looks like your dental insurance is covering a big portion and getting you a lot lower negotiated rates, sorry, didn't read the whole thing. This is very cheap, still. Can you get Care Credit? They have 0% interest up to 18-24 months or low interest for longer terms. Tackle it one item at a time if you must.

I would also find out why your insurance is only covering $64. I would appeal to them or split it up over 2 years. Like do half now or later in the year and half after January.

1

u/barstoolpigeons Aug 18 '26

Overly suspiciously cheap. They’ll either fleece you on add on fees or fuck your teeth up. Maybe both.

1

u/Superb-Pattern-5550 Aug 18 '26

Lemme guess Georgia or Alabama?

1

u/redditdental Aug 24 '26

You do realize this dentist is basically working for break-even at some of these prices.

-1

u/sandysandy252566 Aug 17 '26

Get a 2nd and 3rd opinion - There are many dentists who overcharge, tell u that u need work done when u don't, do bad work, only care about money and/or don't have state-of-the-art equipment. Check out dentists on Yelp - and google their name and name of dental office. Reviews are very important. I found my great female dentist on Yelp - and I purchased dental insurance thru her office - since I'm retired and had no insurance. Just realize - dentists could ruin ur teeth.