No Dental Insurance

[ABLE2KnowUser2]

At 75 years old I had half my teeth left. Extraction costs ranged from $100 to $200 from 2000-2022, so I didn't bother with insurance the last couple of years.
Two weeks ago the dentist referred me to an oral surgeon to remove the lower right located right next to an impacted wisdom tooth. Guess what it cost me.

 

[LostDollar]

$782.99

 

[goillini52]

$225.77

 

[ABLE2KnowUser2]

less than 782 by about 60 and more than 228 by about 500. And, in my opinion it wasn't even the right tooth. The oral surgeon was right, but I only asked the dentist to please stop the pain. So during the two weeks after the extraction, the exact same pain continued. I returned. She asked me if I wanted a filling for the tooth causing the pain saying it would probably last a couple more years. I said yes. She filled it for $394. It continued to be in pain for 7 more days. I called and she referred me to the same oral surgeon. He pulled it for about $460 (I guess including taxes and whatever cause they told me three hundred and something). Finally, the pain is gone. But I really wonder - wonder about a lot of things. One thing for example, I wonder if they are mad at me because I no longer have insurance! Are they able to get more money if you have insurance? One other thing I wonder about is whether I made them mad because I asked if I could pay half the price for cleanings because I only have half my teeth. I wonder about a lot more things - even like maybe at 75 years old and retired, is it that they consider me a drag on society.

 

[ABLE2KnowUser2]

So now I have bought Dental Insurance again. But I wonder about that to because it's costing me $63/month. But my wife only pays $22/month through her medicare. Sorry, I don't understand a lot of this stuff. I have never really understood money.

 

[Chazm]

They definitely rather you pay cash.

Medicare doesn't cover dental, so she probably has it with her Medicare Advantage plan. Or, she bought a stand alone plan that probably covers less than your $63 plan.

 

[SUNus]

A couple of years ago, I needed a tooth extraction, and without insurance, I was floored by the costs. Mine wasn't even complicated like yours with the impacted wisdom tooth—it was a straightforward removal, and it still set me back over $250. It's wild how prices have climbed over the years.

 

[LostDollar]

A couple of years ago, I needed a tooth extraction, and without insurance, I was floored by the costs. Mine wasn't even complicated like yours with the impacted wisdom tooth—it was a straightforward removal, and it still set me back over $250. It's wild how prices have climbed over the years.

Are you willing today to accept the same compensation today for your work that you got "years" ago?

If you are running a business, would you expect to have the same cost levels for business overhead that you had "years" ago?

Keep in mind dental insurance is an ongoing cost commitment. When working on responses to recent threads, I had reason to look at my annual cost for dental insurance. I am paying around $1K / year for dental insurance coverage.

I have paid that in years where I have been told I have to plan for somewhere between $3k and $5K in dental services. I have also paid that in years where I had $0 to 1 cleaning visit. That is not a situation many would be willing to accept.

If your dental visits are mainly preventive visits, your $250 outlay is trivial in relation to the cost of dental insurance that would provide any benefit level of value when you need it.

( just personal opinions from a non-insurance agent.)