How did you pay for your treatment?

[goreycat]

I finally went to the dentist (two, actually, so I've gotten a second opinion) and now am trying to deal with one of the biggest reasons I put this off for so long - how to pay. The least expensive of the places - which is sliding scale so a lot of the procedures would only cost me $20-$40 - told me that to take care of everything I'd be looking at at least $10,000, quite possibly more. The other place is a dental school and would end up costing me about the same in the end. Right now I'm panicking because I went them to get a tooth pulled (would have been $20) and they couldn't get it numb enough. I've been referred to an oral surgeon and quoted $300-$500 for this, and an additional $500 if they had to use iv sedation. I'm in a lot of pain from this tooth right now so i feel like I don't really have a choice ... but I can't afford to get it taken care of. I've only got about $500 in my bank account, only make around $9,000 - $10,000 a year, with no insurance and no hope of getting insurance. None of these places offer any sort of payment plan or credit service. I don't know what to do or where to turn.

So I'm curious, not only for myself, but in general, how much people's work cost them and how you paid for it.

(Also I'm in the US so there's no NHS. And my state sucks so no ACA for me either.)

 

[lawlcano]

I got a treatment rundown totaling just over $2000 after insurance did their part. Insurance didn't help nearly as much as I was hoping but I have a lot of cavities up front and they don't cover composite fillings. I got amalgam where I could, but only 3 of my 9 fillings are amalgam.

So to my problems. As I just stated, I have 9 cavities (6 as I type this). I also need a wisdom tooth extraction but it can be extracted by the dentist, I don't need to go to an oral surgeon.

All of this ran me just over 2k. I paid up front. I didn't have to. My office (Aspen Dental) will let you pay 60% up-front, and the other 40% in installments as you get the work done. I initially paid the 60%, then just paid the other 40 on my next visit to get it over with.

If you can't pay up-front, they offer payment plans. My credit is crap so I'm lucky I had the cash on hand to get it taken care of. The payment route isn't a bad option though, and I wouldn't hesitate to take it if I had needed to/could have.

 

[redridinghood]

I have no idea. My dental work is being covered by my health insurance.

 

[Adanaca]

I had to have four front teeth extracted and a partial lower denture (metal type with clasps). The dental visits, x-rays and extractions cost me $1,000. The partial denture was another $955. All paid out of pocket, but I can put it on my income tax return as a medical expense (I live in Canada).

It has been a hard expense to absorb, but now that it is all done, I am very glad that I found a way to do it. I can smile again - and no wobbly teeth anymore!