Ways to pay for dental care

RatherDashing89

My wife and I are trying to catch up on some much needed dental care--she has damage from improperly done dental work when she was a teenager, and I have a wisdom tooth that broke at the beginning of the year. My work does not offer dental insurance, although the health plan does include a 20% discount at participating dentists. We typically have gotten work done at a dental school for much lower costs--I got a root canal and crown last year for about $500.

Anyway the work my wife needs is scheduled for January (they want to start it when the new batch of students comes in so the same student handles the work from start to finish) that is going to be about $2000 all told. My wisdom tooth cannot be extracted at the dental school--it needs a dental surgeon and the school won't take it on as the tooth is oddly shaped and connected to my sinus. I have no idea how much it will cost.

What I do have is the luxury of having a bit of time to decide (or get vested in a dental plan, if they require you to be on the plan for a certain amount of time before doing the work) so I want to explore my options while I can. My broken tooth isn't causing me regular pain anymore but it comes and goes, so it can wait but I still want to get it taken care of eventually.

Someone suggested a Care Credit card, they seem to have absurd APRs but I suppose would be an option if nothing else is available. I have quite a bit of CC debt right now...maybe not as much as many in the country but enough to make me feel like I'm drowning. Personal loans are usually available in a pinch and I have a bit of equity so might even be able to get a small HELOC.

Someone else suggested a dental savings plan instead of insurance. I'm seeing stuff at like $20 a month that say they save up to 50% on bills, which for a $3000+ bill could be better than an insurance plan that only covers up to $1000 or whatever. Of course I don't know if that would be accepted at the dental school, or whether it would "stack" with the 20% from my health insurance, which might already be essentially a form of dental savings plan and I don't have to pay for it.

Dental insurance itself seems very hard to find information on, and seems to mostly cover the little stuff which is nominal cost at the school anyway.

This is a bit of a whine as much as an ask for advice, as I just feel very financially overwhelmed, but I honestly would appreciate any tips on ways to pay for dental care as it's a very confusing world for me and sometimes there's options available that I'm not just even aware of.

Xaquin

My dentist (MD, USA) had me go through care credit and they had 0% interest so long as it was paid off on time.

I literally signed while they were grinding my teeth down for crowns =/

Burtletoy

I dunno where specifically you are located, but I've heard that there is a thriving industry of "dental tourism" in Mexico for often times a fraction of the price

https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/threats-to-dental-health/what-is-dental-tourism

Dental care in the United States can be expensive, even with insurance. Dental tourists spend less in another country, even with travel, lodging, meals, and incidentals added to the dental bill. The Washington Post article noted an 18 percent savings that included a dental procedure plus travel expenses. The Ontario Academy of General Dentistry reports that procedure savings alone can range from 40 to 75 percent.

Jasconius

a dental savings plan discount just sounds to me like a discount derived from what you'd get through standard insurance

since you do have health insurance, you should have SOME coverage, especially for serious dental work with actual health implications (like a wisdom tooth in critical condition)... if not outright coverage you should at least be able to get non-ridiculous negotiated rates

i have both kinds of insurance and im quite certain i've had stuff get run through my regular health insurance because it was a slightly better deal

unless you have some crazy wisdom tooth that requires space age technology i would not expect that to cost more than a 500

"dental surgeon" sounds intimidating but really thats just a specialist who has a one-chair office and all he does is wake up, drink his coffee, do 10 extractions in a row and goes home...

there are SOME places where if your credit is good you can do a 6-12 month same-as-cash repayment plan

finally, explore your options... what dentists charge can vary wildly from practice to practice.... a 300 dollar filling at one office can magically be a 140 dollar filling at another

Brainleech

Burtletoy wrote: »

I dunno where specifically you are located, but I've heard that there is a thriving industry of "dental tourism" in Mexico for often times a fraction of the price

https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/threats-to-dental-health/what-is-dental-tourism

Dental care in the United States can be expensive, even with insurance. Dental tourists spend less in another country, even with travel, lodging, meals, and incidentals added to the dental bill. The Washington Post article noted an 18 percent savings that included a dental procedure plus travel expenses. The Ontario Academy of General Dentistry reports that procedure savings alone can range from 40 to 75 percent.

There were ads that played on tv here about a bus that would take you from the Albuquerque area to across the border in Mexico some of the early ads claimed the price for the round trip and visit for less than 1k but those ads disappeared during the trolls reign

MegaMan001

My brother in law is a periodontist and this is what he told me when I pitched him your story as a hypothetical.

1. Ask around to people you trust for a referral to a dentist.
2. Send email to dentist detailing how you heard about their office (mention referrals patient's name). Clearly describe more or less what you need done, what you have in terms of financial support and or insurance.
3. Emphasize your history of paying the dental college. You are not looking for free care, you're looking for just a payment plan or something.

My BIL is sure you'll find someone quickly who can help you out either with a straight forward payment plan or will use you as a discounted care case to reduce their tax liability.