What people do with very high Dental bills?

We have Medicare, a Medicare Supplement Plan and a Plan D drug plan.

As you are aware none of these cover Dental. For that we have a Dental Plan that cost me about $75 a month and covers what was described in your post. I know of no reasonably priced Dental Plan that would cover an expense that was $40,000. I would wonder if there wasn't some underlying medical cause for this Dental condition that is covered under Medicare/Medical Insurance. This would be a question for a Dentist/Doctor who understood the situation and was willing to work with an individual.

Shopping around for a good, qualified Dentist at the most affordable price would be a first step. Then having a common sense discussion with the Dentist Office that this for the most part would be paid for out of pocket and negotiating the best price - payment schedule- might be a 2nd step. Depending on your location and personal feelings, contacting a University with a Dental Program and that offered discount treatment programs as part of their schools training program is another avenue.

Dental Insurance is not set up for the situation you describe as it would make it impossible for the Insurance company to provide the necessary insurance and make a profit.

Another avenue depending on your income level is to apply in your state for Medicaid.

Even getting Dental Insurance can be a tricky process. When we bought insurance for myself and child (wife is covered by my old employer- I aged out of coverage when I went on Medicare) we had to prove we had been covered by a previous Dental Plan and had no underlying Dental problems before they would accept us into their program. Dental Insurance companies as all business ventures are set up to turn a profit and can't do that making expenditures that you described in your post.

 

It’s go with bad teeth or pay. In retirement I pay next year $31/mo for up to $1000 in benefits from Delta in a group plan from my employer retiree plan. It’s almost like nothing. Another way, pull them all out and get a set of false teeth.

 

We pay as you go, no safety net Most we’ve had to pay for one deal is around $5k CDN, that was me for a pair of implants. But yeah that hurts (joke…). Never got to pay-by-instalment, hope it never happens.

Canada has been making noises about a federal plan to cover some, currently just for children, and our dentist says it’s poorly implemented, a cash hand out with little accountability. Shes given us numerous “breaks” too, really helps.

 

Complete teeth extraction and dentures is very common for a situation and treatment for a mouthful of uncared for/bad teeth

 

Maybe talk to your Medical Plan as this may arguably be a Medical Plan root cause for the Dental Work which would then be covered by your Medical Plan.

Just a suggestion and you may have already done this.

 

There's oral health, and there's pretty teeth.
Sometimes our Vice President's venn diagrams for these two things are a little bit further apart than the market might appreciate.
That's why more than one dad has had to drive his truck another 100,000 miles or so to pay for a kid's orthodonture.

I have a distant relative that's a dentist doctor and some friends that are doctor doctors.

The dentists are wealthier by far.

Why?
SOME people say that it is because market forces are 'sometimes' more efficient at incentivising, which is why implants are getting cheaper and cheaper.

I suppose that another reason that some dentist doctors are doing better than doctor doctors because they have a much lighter parasitic load to bear.

YMMV....

 

DO you have TMJ or another medically Jaw Maxiofacial issues? If you find a Dentist who makes implants in house or works with a lab...that could reduce costs. I had hand surgery many years ago for $9k I talked to the Dr who owned the surgery center connected to his practice. I paid $2k right then and there on a credit card and he was happy for no claims to file. I don't know if dentists work the same way. Otherwise its a HELC loan.... super low rates or put money in a HSA and just make sure that implants are covered

 

Well it sounds to me that a full front implant would be medically necessary. Not sure of her age but maybe Medicare/Medicade/VA options are an option? My brothers friend had a similar experience. He went to a dental school and the cost was much less. But for peace of mind.
Maybe local DD is better

 

we've had three extractions a nd a few crownsthe last couple years. delta picks up some and we pay the balance.
i guess if we had to cough up 40k and couldn't afford it, i'd look into the lowest cost loan i could find.

i have no idea what a home equity loan costs these days, but i suppose they are pretty high.

 

Ugh...

 

awful, we've had tons of expensive medical procedures fully covered by medical insurance. i don't understand why dental and vision are excluded.

 

What's that, complete upper or lower? And how does it work, say intermittent implants and bridges to fill in?

Just getting a 4 tooth bridge with an implant at both ends cost me around $5K for the implants (pricey specialist), and about $1300 for the bridge (our reg dentist; we're her charity case ). Winth the implants, would have been another $500 for IV drip sedation (not fully under). I asked and they said it wouldn't be too bad, so I waived that. (All CDN $'s)

New progressive bifocal lens were $800, plus $50 for exam.

We're pay-as-you-go.

 

yeah, i just paid $850. for progressives. and the profit margin is like 10,000%. and the frames are mostly controlled by one worldwide company from what i saw on 60 minutes a few years back.

 

Original lens were Nikon. Went in a year back and they said replacement Nikons would be about $1500 CDN, that was the way to go, and if the frames broke in the process, too bad. Scared me off.

This time, new staff, the said "noone's going with Nikon, too expensive", and proposed a cheaper alternative. And no mention of possible frame damage. And they're great. What a diff a year makes.

 

So you didn't buy a plan that included dental and eye care? Or your employer didn't offer one? Why am I supposed to be sympathetic?

I just paid $702 US this week for an exam, bifocals, metal frames, light sensitive tint, coated, and prismatic lenses because my eyes are crooked. I paid it by credit card because it gives me 1% back. I could have bought a more expensive insurance plan but I go to the dentist every 5 years and the eye doctor every 3 so no return on investment. I'll go to COSTCO with my prescription for a backup pair.

 

Do you come out ahead, with the premiums? I guess so. Maybe cus the insurance place bargains harder with the providers?

For me and the wife, roll-royce plan through blue cross would be $548 CDN monthly.