patrick.net

I have, and recommend a good dental insurance policy.

GNL says

The first thing they ask is if I have dental insuranc

Avoid foreigners and Jews when looking for a dentist.

If you live near a university with a dental school you can get free dental work.

Booger says

I have, and recommend a good dental insurance policy.

It's just discount dental, right?

all insurance related to health is pure bullshit. it’s cheaper to pay cash for me. its stupid how this system became so corrupt and inefficient. and those corporations that sell insurance… they are not paying taxes either. you’d think they can at least offer valuable product… but nah just shit.

FortwayeAsFuckJoeBiden says

all insurance related to health is pure bullshit. it’s cheaper to pay cash for me. its stupid how this system became so corrupt and inefficient. and those corporations that sell insurance… they are not paying taxes either. you’d think they can at least offer valuable product… but nah just shit.

Yes, I believe you are right. I was just thinking about my HSA and how to invest it. Jeeze, this will all just end up in the hands of an industry whose costs/fees go up faster than inflation. They're robbing America. Any industry that goes up faster than inflation year after year would qualify as a racket.

I have Delta Dental insurance; for me it is worth it. As I got older, my old fillings needed to be fixed, particularly the 8 molars.
The price in Florida for the same insurance was cheaper than in Santa Cruz; I think it's $60/month but I'm not sure.

The insurance pays 100% of some stuff, like cleaning, and 50% of some stuff, like a crown.

My dentist charged me therefore about $700 or $800 per crown, instead of the usual $1500 or $1600.

If you get a crown, only go to a dentist who has CEREC; this is a device which takes a little block of zirconia and carves it to fit on your prepared tooth like a lego block. CEREC crowns are a one visit procedure, and is the state of the art today.

The problem is that if you go to a top dentist, they don't accept you if you don't have the insurance they like; you're not getting an appointment.

I recently paid a dental bill with my Fidelity HSA account debit card; everyone needs an HSA.

Tip: you will probably end up buying 7 or 8 crowns (your molars) if you had amalgam fillings in them when you were younger.

Delta Dental has several plans, and I bought the most expensive comprehensive one.
Tip #2: Don't get a crown made of some shit like porcelain onlaid a metal crown; you want Zirconia.
Tip #3: Crowns do not last a lifetime, but do last a long time. I had an old gold crown replaced, and there was some decay under it (fuckin gross).
Tip #4: Get flouride mouthwash. Don't drink it.

It's all very expensive a private dentist might be interested in cash but a franchise is all insurance and credit cards. I wanted a gold crown and they did everything they could NOT to deal with that metal. I guess they never did one. Of course they will want to rework all your old work and do 12 xrays.
Good luck. Deep cleanings are a major ripoff at $200

My cash price for a crown is $850. But the cash price for a deep cleaning is $600.

First thing is to find a Dentist with good credentials and reputation that you can build a relationship with. If you have that, insurance is best.

Crowns for $850 run away.

clam i i got a question for you man. i have one golden crown. are those all right, they last? you sound like you really know your crowns.

Gold crowns are great.
They are durable and proven.
I didn't like mine for aesthetic reasons.
I felt it made me look old, and of course it doesn't have the appearance of a tooth.
I had all my amalgam fillings replaced with resin, and the molars needed crowns except for one.
I decided to replace the gold crown so now everything looks like a tooth.
I also prefer the CEREC method which is a one visit process. The machine mills the crown while you wait, amazing.

Dental and vision are the only insurance I've ever paid for every time. They're super cheap, and if you have a family, definitely cost less than out-of-pocket. We always look for holistic dentists, no mercury fillings.

clambo says

Gold crowns are great.
They are durable and proven.

Way better than porcelain.

@clambo

You said you paid $700-$800 for a crown but said I should run away if they want $850? Anyway, thanks for the advice on the type of crown.

No, the cost with insurance paying 1/2 ends up about $800.

The actual bill from the dentist was $1600 or so.

My dentist won't take cash nor give deals, but insurance reduces the bill significantly.

clambo says

No, the cost with insurance paying 1/2 ends up about $800.

The actual bill from the dentist was $1600 or so.

My dentist won't take cash nor give deals, but insurance reduces the bill significantly.

Hmm, the bill he showed me was very close to $1600/crown but cash discount is $850. I called them today and they confirmed they make the crowns in-house using zirconia.