Thursday, November 12, 2009

Serious question about paying for dental surgery?

Well, now I found out from the dentist that I need a root canal, and that if I don't get one the infection (I have an abscess) will come back once my antibiotic runs out, but I can't afford to pay for the root canal, and they said they don't have any kind of payment plan I could do and that I need to pay them up front for them to do the dental work. What should I do?

Serious question about paying for dental surgery?
Check your county hospital. In Los Angeles county the hospital does emergency root canals regardless of ability to pay. You get the bill, and see a social worker. Depending on your income they work out a payment structure or forgive part/all of the debt.





Another alternative is dental schools. They often give significant discounts if you are willing to have students work on you. It may not sound like fun, but it is a little safer -- you always have two sets of eyes double checking everything, the student who wants a good grade and a teacher who wants to make sure nothing bad happens during his class.
Reply:THEY DON'T DO THAT WHERE I'M AT- EVEN IF IT'S AN EMERGENCY. Report It

Reply:THIS REALLY SUCKS. Report It

Reply:They may be the cheapest, but they don't sound very flexible. I would look for another dental office that is a little more accommodating when it comes to payment plans.
Reply:You need to find one that does accept payment plans....obviously. Or I think Capital One has some kind of dental loan plan. Or apply for dental insurance. I have Aetna which has worked out ok...but that is through my employer. If you are really broke, look into a state insurance plan like public aid. Here in Illinois, if you make below a certain amount, you can get free health care. A friend of mine has it and she doesn't pay a dime and gets all health care for free. With the cost of healthcare and insurance, it's almost worth it to not work at all and just get free care.
Reply:Check into "Care Credit" they offer up to 12 months interest free. www.carecredit.com You just make payment plans with them %26amp; they pay the dentist. We have had pretty good luck with it in our practice. If you are afraid your credit may not be the best in the world see if someone would apply for you %26amp; you could be the co-signer. It's worth a try =)
Reply:As far as the cost is concerned, if you're poor like me, you can go to a university with a dental program. They normally have clinics where they have dental students under supervision of the Dentist do the procedure. You can even insist on the Dentist (professor) to do the procedure which is much much cheaper than the dentist with an outside office. These University Dentist are not that bad since they have to teach the dental interns on how to do the procedure.





They can be very reasonable and very good at the same time but it differs from university program to program.





Good Luck,





Rob.
Reply:If you can get help in a University where you can get your work done at hugely reduced rate; that would be the best for you.





If you are not able to get this service, then you may contact me. I can help you to get a very affordable program that can save you significant amounts of money.





But first, please give me your zip code for me to look up the providers(dentists) in your area.
Reply:If there is no way that you can afford the root canal then ask them to pull it. The dentist probably doesn't want to pull it b/c it is the his job to make sure you keep as many teeth as possible for as long as possible. But anyways, an extraction is usually cheaper then a root canal and then getting a crown on it. Well good luck and ask about the extraction and the price difference.
Reply:Ask your dentist if he has a credit program in his office called Care Credit. If he does, you can apply for this program on-line.


What Care Credit is is like having a dental credit line that allows you to pay for dental treatment with interest-free periods, or if needed, longer durations with reduced interest.





There are also programs that you can buy into like Northeast Dental Plan where participating dentists accept reduce fees and the patient percentage is also fixed to a schedule... far less than the average fee for dental treatment.





If all else fails, some hospitals have dentist on call for emergencies.





It is unfortunate that you find yourself in this situation. People who do not have any dental insurance, even though most dental insurance is minimal, usually wait too long to seek care and when they do finally seek care they have major problems. Expensive problems that mean that you have to spend a lot of money to save your tooth.





Catching dental problems when they are smaller, and less costly, is they way to go but it sounds like you're past that point now.
Reply:Go to Costa Rica, have a great vacation and have your root canal done, much cheaper and great proffessionals and infrastructure. Two birds with one stone... hahaha
Reply:I use carecredit and it is great, instant apply online, www.carecredit.com

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