Dentist Prices??
 

Hi guys I have normally been going to the same dentist for years but recently had to change due to a move. Never really paid attention to costs since I have been covered fully, but do you guys shop around for dentist in terms of prices? I noticed none of them ever list the prices

Anyways my question is do all dentists charge the same fees for the same service? for example is the pricing set and standard or can they choose to charge whatever they want?

reason I ask is that I went in to see a new dentist the other day and when they submitted my insurance claim my insurance company wouldn't reimburse the full amount of the claim.

Ex) cost of complete oral exam $95, insurance company will only cover me based on $86 saying that they only cover up to the amount listed in the provincial dental associated fee guide. That just made me think, should I be shopping to see who is cheapest?

fee guide is suggested...they can technically charge whatever they want
but obviously most stay at or pretty close to fee guide because of competition.

just call in to ask how much an exam is...before treatment they'll propose you the plan and its associated costs.

cool thanks, ya after the exam the dentist recommended some work to get done for me, gave me an estimate. of course the estimate had a description that i clearly didnt understand and pricing which I have no idea what to compare to...should I be bringing this to other dentists to quote me on this to see if its cheaper lol?

ive got basically 95% coverage through work, however i think my new Dentist is just raping my coverage

i had 1 filling done, and 2 old silver fillings replaced with the new white fillings, total = $897

What do you need to have done?

With my dentist I just tell him how much my insurance covers. He adjusts the costs accordingly. So I don't pay anything extra. I simply asked him if he could do this, he said it's not a problem.

haha that is amazing!!

Composite (white) filling (23111-13) 113.00 113.00 0.00 90% 101.70
Composite (white) filling (23111-23) 113.00 113.00 0.00 90% 101.70
Composite (white) filling (23311-15) 131.00 131.00 0.00 90% 117.90
Composite (white) filling (23311-25) 131.00 131.00 0.00 90% 117.90
Composite (white) filling (23321-17) 143.00 143.00 0.00 90% 128.70
Composite (white) filling (23322-26) 219.00 219.00 0.00 90% 197.10
Composite (white) filling (23322-27) 219.00 219.00 0.00 90% 197.10

total: $1,069.00 total paid to you: $962.10

these are all old fillings that need to be replaced...one side is the old silver fillings

It's so expensive that I wouldn't go without any work dental plan.
I remember having no dental insurance a few years back and paying $900 for fillings.

Call around to get a quote, they charge differently.

wtf! I paid less than that for a root canal + cap!

Yea she is taping me coverage, one day she told me to sit down and this "gum specialist" came in and looked in my mouth for 5 minutes, I did not request that nor need it, so upon leaving to pay the reception puts a bill on the counter for $55 to see the specialist, I'm like wtfff..I'm not paying that I didn't request to see him and he told me the same BS the dentist tells me, the reception then says

"Oh ok..how about $10?"

I'm thinking lol wtf is this? Didnt know these rates are negotiable
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:badpokerface:

Your dentist sounds so sketchy. I would find another one.

From the guy who handles my work medical coverage, rates are negotiable. But who are we kidding. When you're covered, nobody really checks how they bill us.

I moved dentists at least 4x in as many years. Dentists are shady as hell. I remember this one newer office in the champlain mall area was the worst! as soon as they found out I had 100% coverage, they were suggesting all sorts of shit.
Also to those people that think silver fillings are old and need to be replaced. that's a scam. Unless your fillings are 10 yrs old and/or leaking, they are fine!
I would stay far away from any dentist that tries to upsell you on either "re-doing" stuff or even buying a sonicare or oral-b from them.
Im currently with a dude close to burnaby hospital. this guy is as honest as can be. NEVER tries to upsell me. And he even suggested I not get some stuff done until its necessary.

Well I think the white vs silver is simply a cosmetic thing, although the only person ever looking that deep into my mouth lol

Also I bought two of oral B from Costco for $85 this weekend on sale, best tooth brush you'll ever use as far as I'm concerend
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hmm can anyone recommend me a good dentist?...i just paid this dentist $240 for xrays and oral exam, something seems kind of shady, would I be able to request those xrays to show another dentist so I dont have to redo them? haha

white fillings are more expensive than silver fillings. with anything deep inside your teeth, you should suggest getting silver filling since its cheaper and with anything with your front teeth should get white.

yes you can request your xrays to be sent to the 'new' office. the new dentist may want to retake them, however, as sometimes depending on the form of the xrays, eg. just sent via email, they are not of diagnostic quality

this is generally true, but sometimes a white filling may serve to work better than silver and vice versa. white fillings tend to work better if they are not near areas where there is moisture, eg. near the gumline. silver fillings work better in these areas. the downside with silver fillings is that if they are too big the tooth may be more prone to fracture; the same holds true for white fillings but tooth fractures or cracks tend to occur less with large white fillings than with similarly sized silver ones. in any case, with large fillings, the dentist may suggest a crown.

what the person above said about replacing fillings is true - there is generally no need to replace silver fillings (and change them to white), unless they are defective or there is cavity underneath.

Every dental place has a minimum that they must charge according to some regulation. However, they are allowed to raise the price if they want to and a lot end up doing just that. Lots of well established places will only charge you the basic amount, but other than that there's not much you can do in terms of deals since they all have a set price that they cannot go lower on.

My girlfriend has a terrible plan and we had to do a lot of research this past month when she needed a root canal and two cavities fixed :fuuuuu: ended up taking to her my own family dentist who explained everything to her and showed her all the prices that were listed

This isn't really true, as there is no set minimum charge. However, it is unlikely that dental offices provide services for less than the prices in the fee guide.

I haven't been to the dentist in a few years, bad I know. Does anyone know what general costs would be for a cleaning and I'm assuming xrays?
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Depending on how extensive the exam is, the fee guide price ranges from around $36 to $85 ($36 for limited exam and $85 for comprehensive one). Cleanings are charged per amount of time, so if more time is spent it will be more pricey. I would say it is a minimum of $35-45 for the cleaning. Polishing and fluoride are additional costs ($33 for polish and $14 for fluoride). Xray costs are dependent on what type of xrays and the number that are taken. The minimum number of xrays to be taken for a new patient is two, this would cost roughly $21. If a panoramic xray is needed, eg. for orthodontic or wisdom teeth reasons, then this costs around $59.

So it is hard to give a general price for cleaning and xrays, especially if you just call into an office and ask the receptionist this. They will likely quote you a general number, eg. $150, but this is really dependent on what is required for you.

generally it's $100+
possibly more just because you haven't been in years