<p>Wow, just switched dentists & D has a whole mouthful of cavities that were not noticed & neglected by our previous dentist that the new dentist has shown us (on her molars primarily). The dentist will be having 4 one-hour appointments with her to apply porcelain fillings. She is also getting her 4 wisdom teeth extracted with IV sedation. Fortunately, it is somewhat covered by our insurance which has no cap on it, but it is still more expensive than her old dentist who was not nearly as thorough. Oh well, glad she has the summer to get them done & can relax the month of August after she’s had all of this done before she heads back to college for her SR year.</p>
<p>I’d get a second opinion. My brother is a dentist but doesn’t live near here. If someone in the family needs expensive treatment I tend to run it by him. He has saved us a lot of money in the past.</p>
<p>My children had a dentist for many years who was very concerned about radiation and rarely took xrays. Fortunately, they still have no cavities or fillings.</p>
<p>Maybe you can take them to Larry Ellison’s new resorts, which I’m sure will have primo dental care:)</p>
<p>Don’t believe everything a new dentist tells you. </p>
<p>Seriously.</p>
<p>Get another opinion. I strongly recommend it.</p>
<p>Edited to add: I can’t find the original article from the Readers Digest, but this is an article discussing the original article: <a href=“http://www.dentalangle.com/03.97/devore-archived.html[/url]”>http://www.dentalangle.com/03.97/devore-archived.html</a></p>
<p>I agree that if it involves a lot of money to get another opinion. My son was referred to an orthodontist for braces when he lost his front teeth. A second opinion said to wait. His teeth are perfectly aligned. That first ofthodontist had expensive plans for him that we would have gone along with.</p>
<p>We are hit hard this year too. My one son’s filling fell out and a wall of the tooth crumbled. Rootcanal and crown for him. Another one got an impacted wisdom tooth. DH had an expensive issue as well, and I have one pending. We have insurance but it is capped at $1500 a person. I think we are skipping our six month check ups if we are having work done this year and hope next year isn’t as expensive. I’m going to start my dental work in December, running it through next year so that the entir procedure is covered since my cost will go over $1500. </p>
<p>We all need eye exams and some of us new glasses. Our eyeteeth are very expensive this year. Sigh.</p>
<p>HImom, if she does need it done you could always purchase a 2nd dental insurance plan to pay the portion that it doesn’t. Cavities and Oral surgeries are covered right away under most plans.</p>
<p>Actually, our out-of-pocket costs for all of these fillings are not THAT high (no root canals nor crowns). We can afford our share & for the oral surgery, the insurance will pay 70%. Unfortunately, few/no dental insurers in HI seem to cover porcelain crowns, only amalgum (cheaper). Our insurer does cover about 1/3 of that.</p>
<p>I had a bunch of amalgam fillings replaced with porcelain fillings in my 30s and early 40s and it was quite expensive. The fillings typically cost $300-$500 each. These weren’t crowns which can cost in the $1,000 neighborhood.</p>
<p>I’m quite happy to have replaced the amalgam fillings - performance and appearance of porcelain fillings has been fantastic compared to amalgam fillings. There are problems associated with amalgam fillings to the point where my dentist won’t do them.</p>
<p>On expensive dental stuff: my son had a crown done early this year that used up my entire dental benefit plan so the rest of the year is on me. Timing wasn’t great as he got full dental coverage (better than mine) from a job shortly thereafter. At least his teeth are no longer on my dime. His crown was my fault - he had a cavity and I forgot to make an appointment so it got a lot worse to the point where it required a crown.</p>
<p>I guess a second opinion would mean another set of x-rays and some cost involved. In general, I would just go with our dentist as my side of the family has had expensive teeth.</p>
<p>The total cost of the services for filling 11 teeth is about $1600+, with insurance covering about 1/3 & us covering 2/3, in four 1-hour visits. I was just surprised that there are so many cavities, which she did show us on her software & in digital xrays of the teeth. The cost and work seem fairly reasonable, I guess. I’m just surprised.</p>
<p>Do you really need porcelain on molars?</p>
<p>HImom, that’s about $145 per cavity and not a bad price. My son had a cavity filled today and it was $220! It was a simple, small cavity and the first cavity he’s ever had (he’s in his 20’s). The typical cost for a routine cleaning/dental checkup here is about $200.</p>
<p>Porcelain is cheaper now than gold, and unless it is a crown, it will be a different material that is the color of the teeth.</p>
<p>Ten years ago I had a dentist that said I needed lots of dental work, it would cost us about $800 after ins. Cavities filled, root scaling possible root canal.
Whoa Nellie.
Didnt have it done, got a sonic care toothbrush, started taken vitamins daily and eating crunchy food. ( apples, not potato chips :))
Five years later, I decided I could afford to get the work done, but I went to another local dentist that also taught in the dental school.
He didn’t find anything, even though complete digital xrays, except suggest I wear a night guard, cause I clench my teeth.</p>
<p>There are creepy cheating dentists, true, hopefully not many, but when I moved 25 years ago I had a check up from my lifetime dentist, then tried two in the new area, one of whom said I needed a dozen fillings, which was not accurate.</p>
<p>However, there are also differences of opinion & more/less aggressive treatment options- large filling versus crown, watch and wait versus fill it small. If I were you I would look for some dental blogs online (daily grind), read the posts and see if you can figure out the right questions to ask. Some of the new technology shows issues we never knew we had 20-30-40 years ago, but sometimes it is something that does not really need fixing.</p>
<p>Some dentists feel that being more aggressive is safer in the long run, especially if they are not sure you will come in regularly in the future.</p>
<p>I would get a second opinion!!!</p>
<p>I think it makes sense to be more aggressive in filling cavities in molars that are had to clean before they get larger. This was the first dentist D has ever seen that checked her gums & scored them. She said she has never gotten this thorough a dental check up and cleaning. She is NOT interested or willing to have another exam or 2nd opinion. </p>
<p>I misunderstood–she will be having plastic composite NOT porcelain for the fillings. No one has mentioned having gold fillings. Our insurance & most of the dental insurance in HI only covers amalgum. Thanks for the range of answers–fascinating!</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s unique to Hawaii to only cover amalgum fillings. I know that’s what our insurance covers. It’s worth it to get the composite - yes, they do show even on molars. I have had most of mine replaced over the years and love not having that dark stuff in the back of my mouth. When I was 19 my dentist said I had some pinholes in my molars that needed to be watched. The next year they were all significant cavities and needed my first ever fillings. I think early adulthood is prime time for this type of cavities (did she have sealants as a kid? ).</p>
<p>No, neither of the kids had sealants. Dentist is happy that the cavities are all on molars & none between the teeth, showing that she WAS flossing (unlike S who wasn’t & had cavities between teeth). The old dentist was in fact about 70 years old & VERY conservative. D has a lot more confidence in this dentist.</p>
<p>I too am glad not to have silver amalgum fillings – mine have also been replaced by composite & look more attractive (like “real” teeth).</p>
<p>Composites are much less expensive than porcelain and do have a much better appearance than amalgam fillings. I think that the price he quoted is reasonable.</p>
<p>Our insurance only covers amalgam fillings too but we’ve always chosen composites or porcelain - whichever made sense at the time.</p>
<p>FWIW, they are sending me digital xrays via email that I’ll have my BIL (a dentist) review, just because having 11 cavities seems like quite a few to us.</p>