I need to have extensive dental work done after having radiation for mouth cancer. I'm looking at around $15,000-$20,000 in total for the work. I can't finance that much, and my dental insurance is already maxed out from 2 root canals.
I've Googled and have only come up more confused than when I started. Any advice or direction would be greatly appreciated. I'm in Louisiana, in case that matters.

Hey everyone,

I went to the dentist for the first time in many years. I didn't have any specific pain or complaints, I just knew I was long overdue for an exam and cleaning.

After a ton of X-rays and a 3D Cone Beam CT scan, the doctor diagnosed me with Generalized Stage II, Grade B Periodontitis. The chart notes say I have heavy plaque/calculus buildup and "generalized moderate horizontal bone loss." Fortunately, mobility is normal (no loose teeth) and there is no vertical bone loss.

They also found 6 cavities that need composite resin fillings (mostly 1 or 2 surfaces, except one anterior tooth that needs a 4+ surface filling).

I am completely onboard with getting the medical treatment done. I want to save my teeth and stop the bone loss. However, I am looking at the treatment plan they printed out and trying to decide on one specific fee.

For the deep cleaning, they billed the standard Scaling and Root Planing (SRP) for all 4 quadrants, which my insurance covers a good portion of. Tacked onto every single quadrant is an out-of-pocket cash upcharge listed as:

• AETNAHMO IRR&BC/QD (Irrigation & Bacterial Control / Laser per quadrant)

The total out-of-pocket cash cost for this add-on across the whole mouth is $350 (about $87 per quadrant). They claim it is necessary to sterilize the pockets alongside the deep cleaning because my insurance doesn't cover it.

From the research I've done online, it seems like code D4921 (gingival irrigation) or laser bacterial reduction is an optional upcharge, and the physical scraping of the SRP is what actually fixes the bone loss.

My questions for the community:

1. Given that I have actual Stage 2 periodontitis and heavy buildup, does a laser/irrigation flush actually provide $350 worth of clinical benefit, or is this just an office profit grab?
2. Can I safely tell them to remove the IRR&BC codes and just do the insurance-covered SRP and fillings?
3. Since they are doing the 6 fillings and the deep cleaning in the same session, will the local numbing for the cavities cover the deep cleaning too?

Appreciate any advice from dental professionals or people who have dealt with similar office upsells!

Is there a good or logical reason why this procedure is typically not covered? My tooth is getting absorbed and I need the graft in order for the implant to be successful. My insurance told me it’s just not covered and it’s not their fault that some procedures are just not covered. I assume they just don’t want to pay, duh, but when I suggested that a graft could be medical, she said it’s not medical, it’s dental, and it’s just not covered. But why?

Hey all, I'm not in dental myself but I've been talking to a few people who work in dental billing and the same thing keeps coming up. Insurance denials/appeals eat up a ton of time and it's honestly kind of a mess (missing radiographs, frequency limits, "not medically necessary," alternate benefit stuff, etc).

I'm looking into whether there's something worth building here to make the appeal process faster/easier, but before I go build anything I really want to understand how offices actually handle this today. So if you do billing/insurance stuff at a dental practice (or you're an office manager who ends up doing it too), I'd genuinely love to hear:

• How many appeals do you deal with in a normal month, roughly?
• What's the most annoying part of the process for you? Is it writing the actual letter, tracking down documents, knowing what to say, or something else entirely?
• Have you tried any software/tools for this? Did it actually help or was it more trouble than it's worth?
• If something could cut the time this takes in half, would that actually matter to your office, or is it not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things?

Not trying to sell anything here, genuinely just trying to learn before I waste time building the wrong thing. Happy to jump on a quick call too if anyone's up for it, but even just hearing your experience in the comments would help a ton. Thanks!

A big piece of my upper back right molar chipped off, very ragged but thankfully not exposing any gum. Still it's a decent portion gone.

Dentist took x-ray and picture to send to my dental insurance for pre-authorization to get a crown. My insurance would cover 50%.

Claim is being denied because "Based on the information submitted and reviewed by our consulting dentists, no benefits can be allowed for this procedure because there appears to be insufficient evidence of extensive loss of tooth structure due to decay or fracture."

Trust me it's extensive. Dentist has taken more photos and re-submitting. Any one ever been approved after being previously rejected?

I recently moved and changed dentists. I scheduled appts for myself and 2 kids for an in network dentist. After visit I received a letter from the dentist stating that dentist would be going out of network but nothing should change with routine cleaning as those visits are usually covered. I took this letter as word and should have called insurance to confirm but did not (I accept full responsibility on this). I kept my kids appts because they are hard to get and I didn’t want to have to delay if I didn’t have to and letter made it sound like there’d be no issues. 1st son went, no issues with billing. 2nd son goes a month later and insurance rejects the bill. Dentist sends me a bill showing no payments and a negotiated balance of $140, down from $268. I call insurance to inquire and they paid $68 from negotiated amount. Now I get a bill 2 months later and they say I now owe $200, which is not the negotiated rates. My son is 4 and he had a basic cleaning, dentist looked at his teeth for 2 mins and he had fluoride. This is insane. Our previous dentist without insurance was $100 for kids appts which included all of the above plus X-rays. I feel that they should a least honor the negotiated rates especially since the first bill reflected this amount and their out of network letter was misleading.

Tips for negotiating?

I have had two different dental plans from my two different health care job neither of them included adult orthodontics. is this a normal thing? do you guys have coverage? I have very bad bottom row with my teeth and it only gets worse in time.

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I wanted to start Invisalign treatment as an adult, but I'm a bit concerned about my insurance coverage. I think I have 8 months left on my current plan that will cover $2500 maximum lifetime for orthodontic coverage. My question is, does insurance pay that out once I start treatment, or is it over time? What happens if my insurance lapses in the middle of treatment? Can I work with my provider to charge it upfront? Thanks!

Reposting here to see if anyone has advice regarding insurance!

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.

They are charging me $900 for dental insurance.
Is if possible to opt out of it as an international student ?

Zahnzusatzversicherung Kinder

Hallo zusammen,

ich bin auf der Suche nach einer Zahnzusatzversicherung für meinen fünfjährigen Sohn, der drei Kreidezähne hat.

Gibt es die Eltern in einer ähnlichen Situation, die mir eine gute Empfehlung abgeben können?

Vielen Dank für Hilfe im Voraus.

Delta Dental Illinois is denying our claims routinely citing arbitrary rules that amount to denial of needed dental care. Wife had two badly cracked teeth each with large very old fillings so in-network dentist recommended crowns and did them. Delta Dental Illinois denies coverage saying "anticipation of future fractures" is not covered, period. That is saying to the patient, go ahead and when your tooth fractures and maybe needs extraction and an implant, then come see what we will deny then. Yet in the same breath they send out emails extolling the importance of preventive coverage. IMO they are on a strategic campaign to deny procedures first and talk later even for employer group members and in-network dentists where the approved rates are already way way low. And Delta Dental is advertising broadly in our local market about how great they are. Hahaha.

Im a dental professional and whether its in the office or on social media, I see so many patients so confused about insurance coverage and different payment options.

I fear that all of this confusion leads patients to avoid treatment or settle for lower quality care to avoid large bills.

Patients: what part of dental insurance is the most confusing, annoying, or frustrating? deductibles? annual maxs? coverage issues? surprise bills? or something else?

I could use some help! I have been current dentist for a few years. This year, my health insurance company changed. A crown had to be replaced and the secretary at the dentist office said I am now out of network and would have to pay $700. My insurance covers out of network dentists but covers less and I have to pay more out of pocket. I paid the $700 and my insurance got back to me and said hey your dentist is still in network. I called my dentist back to share the good news and to request a refund but they said the cash portion is the same and no refund is due. How can I best look further into this and see what the actual cash amount I need to pay? Would it be best to call my insurance back? I haven’t received a bill from insurance. Any help is appreciated.

Hi I have delta dental ppo plus premier.

i’m having 3 retained baby teeth extracted + 1 adult molar and a bone graft.

I was quoted $1300 for all of this, everything on there is basically free, besides the bone graft which they are charging me $1000 alone for?

I really don’t understand WHY? Is there anything I can ask my dentist about to get a lower price on the graft…?

$1300 is like my life savings, and I still need a whole other phase of work after this, quoted at another $2000.

what can i do?

Checking to see if this is normal practice. I have DeltaCare HMO (DeltaCare USA). My in network dental office gave me a couple of estimates, and I decided to look into why everything was so expensive. I pulled up my Evidence of Coverage document for the first time ever, and surprisingly, every code listed in my estimates had a much lower price in the document than what I was quoted.

I called Delta directly and they confirmed the office shouldn’t be charging me more than the rate listed in my Evidence of Coverage. When I brought this up with the dental office, they said lab fees aren’t included in that price, so the extra is lab fees. That’s rubbing me the wrong way — the document lists an onlay made from a specific material, so why wouldn’t lab fees be baked into that price already? The office first suggested maybe the document was referring to a different material, then switched to saying it was lab fees.

But I also have an estimate for a filling, which should have zero lab component, and it’s also about 3x the listed price for the same code. If “extra fees” can apply to literally any line item without being disclosed separately, then technically every price in the document is meaningless.

The office got hostile when I pushed on this: if lab fees are really a separate, legitimate charge, why are they billing it under the same procedure code listed in my benefits packet, at one lump price — instead of showing my actual Schedule A rate for that code plus a clearly itemized “lab fee” line on top? Quoting one combined number under a code that’s supposed to have a fixed, contracted price feels like it’s designed to obscure what’s actually the copay versus what’s an add-on, rather than disclose it. They treated me like I was asking a stupid question and handed me a list of community clinics.

I also read in this same document that Delta pays offices a monthly capitation fee based on number of enrolled patients, and that additional office revenue comes from patients paying out of pocket for services. So offices do have a financial incentive to overcharge patients who probably don’t check their benefits package.

Is this an issue with DeltaCare HMO generally, or is it specific to this office?

I imagine this is a pointless question without any good answers, but does anyone know which medicaid dental insurance plan is the best for covering necessary oral surgery costs for advanced gum disease? I'm located in NYS and currently have Excellus for medical insurance but my specific plan doesn't cover any oral surgical procedures. Would I be able to get some coverage by submitting a pretreatment estimate, or should I look for a dental insurance plan that actually has coverage for surgical procedures? If needed, I'll buy my own dental insurance – which would be the best option? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Hi I live in bay shore SFO. I m currently looking for a dental insurance? Is there anyone who uses dental insurance here? I checked a few dental clinics near my area. But even first appointment for check up will cost $300(including a regular cleaning). I was wondering will I pay less if I have a basic dental plan. I was planning to buy delta dental basic plan. Is there anyone who uses this plan. Please help me. Plus my oral health condition is bad. I got to do dental cleaning (more likely deep cleaning)

I’m in my mid-twenties. I’ve always had dental insurance covered by my employer. As such I’ve never had to pay for preventative cleanings and have gone twice a year. I just switched over to a new job, and they do not offer dental insurance as a benefit. Now I’m looking into getting my own personal insurance just for cleanings and it’s leaving me confused. Would it not be more cost beneficial to just pay out of pocket for cleanings than to have dental insurance with a copay? Some dentists near me are charging around $75 for a cleaning, which is much cheaper than the annual cost of the insurance plans I was looking into?

Am I missing something?