Routine dental costs-

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Beetle-Kill

Minister of Fire
Sep 8, 2009
1,849
Colorado- near the Divide
Does anybody check to see what their dentist charges your insurance co. for a routine cleaning?
If so, what are they billing at?
Mine is charging the ins. co. $400 a pop, 2 times a year.
This seems way out of whack to me.
 
I paid 100 cash, 2x a year each time I went. That included x-rays once per year. Once I had dental insurance, I see he billed 150, and the ins co responded that they'd pay 100, and the dentist accepted that.

I often wonder, if the dentist were to charge 100, what the insurance company would offer him.

pen
 
Costs me $185 cash. The Porsche is in the parking lot when I arrive.

All that $400 does is jack up your copay. The insurance company ain't paying that dentist that lately.
 
For both dental & medical (retired military...Tricare), I receive (electronically) for every visit/procedure/whatever, a thing called an EOB (Explanation of Benefit). This shows the provider's charge, Tricare's allowance against that charge, and my co-pay responsibility. It's always interesting. The providers all have fee schedules (wish lists), and Tricare has allowance schedules (this is what we'll pay, take it or leave it lists). There is invariably a large discrepancy between the two. But then something magic happens that I really don't understand...because my co-pay is nowhere near the difference between those two numbers. Provider might say, "This costs $300.00", and Tricare might respond, "We'll pay you $150.00"...and then my co-pay turns out to be something like $20.00. Huh? what happened to the other $130.00? I don't know, nor do I care. :cool:

ETA: I pay monthly premiums for dental, and they allow something like a couple check-up/hygenist visits/yr before they start charging me anything in co-pays. For medical, I pay no premiums, just the co-pays.
 
Recent dental work i had that was billed to my Ins

Cleaning $116 100% covered by Ins twice a year
Full X Rays $88 100% covered by Ins twice a year
fluoride treatment $42 100% covered by Ins twice a year
Root canal $580 80% covered by Ins
 
My wife is a dental hygienist here in upstate NY. They charge $75 for a cleaning, $30 for the dental exam, and $25 for a partial X-ray and $50 for a full X-ray. The most it would cost is $155, but this is on the cheap side compared to most dentists around here.
 
I go every 6 months.My last visit in July was $165 for cleaning,exam & full xrays.When I have insurance (dont right at the moment because of lack of hours worked past 2 quarters) they pay 100% for 2 preventive visits yearly including xrays.Deductible is $25 the first of every calendar year.Major stuff they pay 80 or 90%,depending on the procedure.
 
For any one near Rome, NY, there is a free SUNY Canton teaching clinic in the VA building at the old air base, (cleaning, X-rays, periodontal). Fully supervised hygienist students do a great job and are always looking for patients. Must have at least 8 teeth!

Ehouse
 
Thanks for the input. Now I know how he's planning on paying for all that new equipment and the re-model.
 
My wife is a dental hygienist here in upstate NY. They charge $75 for a cleaning, $30 for the dental exam, and $25 for a partial X-ray and $50 for a full X-ray. The most it would cost is $155, but this is on the cheap side compared to most dentists around here.

We don't have dental insurance, so this is about what I pay. We just go once a year and avoid x-rays as long as possible.
 
We don't have dental insurance, so this is about what I pay. We just go once a year and avoid x-rays as long as possible.

The dentist my wife works for is a great guy and we get everything for free. I go once a year because I don't get cavities, someone at home is on my case to floss and brush!:cool:
 
Got to find a different one 260 for cleaning and xrays
 
Anybody got a guesstimate on fixing two molars that have chips off the edges? One up, one down. I haven't been to a dentist lately, have no insurance, need to set $$ aside for a visit but don't know how much I'm lookin' at.
 
Also, kinda on topic... I read someplace that they use ice cold water to squirt ya because germs tend to develop in the equipment if the water is warm.

My teeth are very sensitive to cold. I'm tempted to take in a thermos of warm water and say, "Here, use this instead."

Am I weird?
 
Mine charges 125 twice a year although the insurance company only pays 89 of it. I dont know why the strange number.
 
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