MadRad

I have toothache and am trying to psych myself up to visit a dentist. I hate all things medical and avoid them as much as possible, so in my two years here I have not been near a dentist. Prior to that it must have been at least six years since I last saw an NHS dentist, before they went private and chucked everyone off their list.

Can anyone give me a rough estimate on costs? Is it going to cost me 500 bucks just to walk through the door the first time? I suspect I'll be looking at replacement fillings, maybe a crown, and they might want to hoik out a wisdom tooth or two.

Is dentistry here better (especially less painful) than the UK? I am the biggest coward on the planet when it comes to teeth - I generally have a complete meltdown before I even get to the chair (my last dentist had to remind me to breathe while I was in). I've never experienced a private dentist in the UK so all I've got to go on are my (mostly bad) encounters with NHS dentists.

Please persuade me it's a wonderful experience beaten only by lying on a desert island beach having grapes peeled for me!

Uncle Ebenezer

It's going to depend on whether you have dental insurance and what it covers. I had a crown a couple of months ago and my portion of the cost was about $660.

tonrob

Dentists hate you and want you dead. Fact.

Most of the American dentists I've come into contact with are robbing bastards. If I'm told I need a root canal, my solution is simply to change my dentist. Funny how the next dentist, after examining me, never mentions such a need...

Scouse Express

$900+ for a Root Canal. I had one done a month ago.


Jim.

MadRad

$900 for root canal!!

I do have dental insurance, but I don't know what it covers. Might have to keep going with the painkillers till I can figure that out!

kimilseung

I have always been nervous about going to the dentist (despite no bad experiences), but since going in the US, I am getting better and better, more relaxed with every visit. Looking back on my NHS dentist, I think he did not have enough money coming in from NHS care to be bothered. I think he used to just give up on me (I would be all tensed up and I know he struggled against me) and tell me all was done. They make more money from the insurance here, and I have found that means more time, they try to put you at your ease (and with me succeed) they explain what is going on, going to happen and why. I can not say it is like lying on a beach, but I am no longer rigid with tension, I am relaxed.

Mind you (from Tonrobs post) I have been told that I need an old root canal sorting out, but that is a referral (but who knows what commission or relationship they have)

Lion in Winter

Yes, that's about the right cost, and that was my cost after insurance coverage.

Depending on where you live, you can also look for a teaching clinic/hospital which can offer services for lower cost.

Do not delay. The longer you wait the more expensive it gets.

cranston

Our dentist charges $50 for a 5 minute checkup, X-rays $68, hygienist clean $94, filling $190 and a crown is $1100.

ChocolateBabz

Our check up's are covered by insurance but whenever I have needed anything done, root canal, crown it's been a few hundred even with insurance.

Primula

No, it will not.

Much much better. (Sounds like British dentists haven't changed a bit since I left in 1976. They were the worst back then.) I've had two dentists here and they were both fantastic. I have a lady dentist now and she is so gentle. She knows that I am very scared and sensitive and she adjusts accordingly.

I even had a root canal a couple of years ago and I survived it quite easily. When I got to the root canal doctor, I burst into tears I was so scared, but he was so kind and gentle too. That cost me about $1,000, but it did save the tooth.

That's been my experience exactly.

When I had my emergency root canal, my dentist referred me to the root canal doctor who did hers so that was good enough for me. He was fantastic.

One thing I hated though was the dental dam. I was sure I was doing to suffocate.

SultanOfSwing

You should be able to go in for a check up/X-ray and your portion after insurance shouldn't be much more than $20.00 (make sure they know you only want a normal office visit, mind.)

At my dentist (my insurance seems to cover about 60% of the total cost) my portions have been; fillings between $100.00 and $170.00 depending on the tooth. Root canal (including crown) was just under $1,000.00. My wife had a wisdom tooth removed and it was only $25.00. Extractions are usually pretty cheap, I think - all you pay for really is the novocaine.

I ****ing hate the dentist - I'm not a fan of pain and I can't be doing with people faffing around in my mouth at all. Don't like it. The root canal was only done because the pain of the giant hole (I saw the X-ray, it was bloody huge) in my tooth was so agonising there was little else I could do.

Primula

I don't know whether this is the case for everyone, but my dentist is not trained for extractions. Unlike the UK, American dentists don't extract teeth at the drop of a hat. If I needed an extraction, I would have to visit yet another specialist.

SultanOfSwing

That's because it's the cheapest option, obviously.

Doesn't change the fact that my wife's dentist extracted two of her wisdom teeth and they cost $25.00 a pop, though.

Geordie-Tex

Wow, as a young man (twenty-four) these prices are currently half my monthly wage in full time employment. I had part of a tooth fall out a few month ago and have been unable to eat on that side of my mouth, I've yet to get dental insurance, still waiting on the workside to get the papers back to me.

SultanOfSwing

I'd advise against going until you get your insurance sorted. Prices are astronomical.

The majority of our credit card debt comes from paying dental bills, right after unexpected horrendously overpriced car repairs ...