I hope this question isn't too personal, but...how do you all go about financing the dental work you have received? I am lucky enough to have dental insurance- however, I'm unlucky in the fact that I've needed several "emergency" procedures in the past year that have gone far beyond the amount my insurance company is willing to pay.

Amount of work I've had done so far in the past year: almost $8,000
Amount covered by insurance: $1500

I guess I'm freaking out because I'm only 24, and I just found out yesterday that I need two more root canals. Aside from needing a dental implant, this should be the tail end of the work I need done. My parents, thank god, have financed most of the $8000 of work I've already had. But they can't afford anymore. So now I'm looking at doing a finance plan through my dentist- through Capital One, to pay for the two root canals I now need. This will be an additional $3000, again not covered by my insurance since I've used up everything for this year already.

Does anyone have any stories they'd like to share on this? I guess I'm just feeling pretty down right now, because it seems like this never ends...and while I recognize the importance of fixing my teeth, it's hard to spend money on something such as this.

I'm also having a really hard time telling my fiance about this. He has no idea. It's funny- I always get compliments on my great smile, but no one realizes how much money has gone into making that smile "great", and how much more work I'll have to go through... :(

You and I are in the same boat. I too need $8,000.00 worth of dental work done with insurance only covering $1,500.00 per year. Being that it is close to the end of the year...I am just slowly chipping away at it. I am doing a couple of the procedures this year to use up my insurance...and the rest at the beginging of the year. Doing the most important stuff first. The teeth that are giving me issues at the moment due to large amalgam fillings that are breaking down from my youth. These will need to be crowned...they are all 4 of my bottom molars....another crown on the top and onlay and two fillings. Not to mention a deep cleaning. If none of those need a root canal due to being worked on...then I will stay at 8 grand. Keeping my fingers crossed!! I absolutely hate the dentist...and I have already been probably 12 times in the last 3 months. It is an exhausting situation in and of itself without having to worry about how the heck you are going to pay for it. I know that my dentist offers some sort of financing through Capitol One. I chose not to persue that and will take each tooth step by step. I am working over-time to try to get some extra money...not to mention using my bonus (oh joy) to cover some of the costs. I wish you luck with all that you have to have done. It is nice to know that I am not alone in this situation. I hate that I am having all this dental work done...I feel that I am too young to be having to deal with this at 36. But, age is really irrelevant I suppose. :rolleyes:

You and I are in the same boat. I too need $8,000.00 worth of dental work done with insurance only covering $1,500.00 per year. Being that it is close to the end of the year...I am just slowly chipping away at it. I am doing a couple of the procedures this year to use up my insurance...and the rest at the beginging of the year. Doing the most important stuff first. The teeth that are giving me issues at the moment due to large amalgam fillings that are breaking down from my youth. These will need to be crowned...they are all 4 of my bottom molars....another crown on the top and onlay and two fillings. Not to mention a deep cleaning. If none of those need a root canal due to being worked on...then I will stay at 8 grand. Keeping my fingers crossed!! I absolutely hate the dentist...and I have already been probably 12 times in the last 3 months. It is an exhausting situation in and of itself without having to worry about how the heck you are going to pay for it. I know that my dentist offers some sort of financing through Capitol One. I chose not to persue that and will take each tooth step by step. I am working over-time to try to get some extra money...not to mention using my bonus (oh joy) to cover some of the costs. I wish you luck with all that you have to have done. It is nice to know that I am not alone in this situation. I hate that I am having all this dental work done...I feel that I am too young to be having to deal with this at 36. But, age is really irrelevant I suppose. :rolleyes:


I wish I could put off having work done until January when my insurance will turnover, but unfortunately I have two teeth that are thumping with pain right now, even though I've been on antibiotics and painkillers for a week. :(

It's just SO expensive! Part of me thinks I should go to school to be a dentist, haha. That's obviously where all the money is...too bad I've heard dentists have the lowest job satisfaction, as so many people are afraid/scared to go...


Anybody else want to share their woes? It's nice to know I'm not the only one in this boat.., :)

I'm sorry that you are having such a problem. I know your pain. This has been quite an issue with me...since it seems to be dragging on for a long time. (Bad crown experience...oh don't get me started!) So, I hope that all your work goes well for you with minimal pain if any. Good luck to you!

Hey sillygirl, even if you cannot put off the root canal until January, you can get a temp crown which will not cost much and do the permanent crowns with your new $1500 next year. I have had a temp crown on my root canal for over a year already and it is still strong. I don't know anything about capitol one and what they charge for financing but there may be some better financing options for you if you need to go the financing route. If yu have a student loan which is at a very low rate of interest, you can ask them for a deferment for a while and see if you can use the money you were paying them to help with dental bills until it is paid off. You might also see if you and your parents, may be willing to do a home equity loan if they have a home and trust you to pay them back. these loans are at very low rates. compare the rates. right now a home equity loan is somewhere around 4-6% interest i think.(have not checked lately). If the dental loan is very high like some loans are...could be as much as 20%!!!interest you would save a lot.
At 24 you have not had much time to put money into savings but i would recomend starting to do that as soon as you pay this off so that if another emergency happens you are prepared to cover it. And if no more emergencies, hopefully that will be the case, you will be ready for whatever else pleasing comes up or for a great retirement in 40+ years. Good luck and hopefully no more medical emergencies! Keep brushing and flossing.

Is it cheaper to go to Canada for dental work....I've heard that before?

chatty

Sillygirl

These days dental insurance is not a means to pay for dentistry. It works good for people with very low needs, that only need preventative maintenance. It often does not cover even the basics for many people as the insurance maximums have not increased in the last 20 years, whereas the cost of denistry has.

1. Sit down with your dentist and come up with a reasonable treatment plan. Explain your financial concerns. The first priority is to get the patient out of pain. If somethings need to be temporized until next year as other posters have suggested, that may be an option.

2. If work has to be done this year consider financing. I know Care Credit works with most dental offices and offers NO INTEREST financing for up to 18 months and 9.9% for up to 48.

3. Try to get the bare minimum done and try correlate all dental work with your dental insurance. This, however, is not always an option. But for example, if you have alot of fillings that need to be replaced then do a couple each year instead of doing them all at once. Obviously, do the worst ones first.


Good Luck