Budgeting for Life’s Surprises
My husband needs a lot of dental work. A lot. The reason it’s built up so much is because he hates the dentist. I mean, no one likes the dentist but he really really hates it. Like, really.
He found a dentist near here that will knock you out and do all the work you need in one shot. He liked this idea because, for one, it doesn’t drag out for years. And two, he gets to be unconscious during the whole thing. Which is nice for someone who wants to crawl out of their skin the whole time they are in the chair.
So a few weeks ago he scheduled a consultation with this dentist. We paid $200 for the consultation and some x-rays, then went back a few days later to find out what he needed done and how much it would cost.
We have been saving for a year to pay for these upcoming expenses. I expected his dental bill to be about $8,000.
Too bad for me.
The actual estimated bill was $33,000.
Um… no, thank you. Seriously? $33,000! How in H-E-Double Hockey Sticks are we supposed to afford that?
So I took his x-rays and the list of proposed work to another dentist. Just a regular dentist, not a knock-you-out-dentist. I handed him the paperwork and he looked it over. His eyes bugged out of his head like a cartoon character when he saw the total price. It made me laugh.
“That’s a big number.” he said.
He suggested some changes to bring the price down. Another big change would be that we could spread the work out a bit. This allows us to take better advantage of our dental insurance which pays $1,500 a year. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to amount of work that he needs but we’ll take any help we can get.
The first step is to go to the oral surgeon and get his wisdom teeth taken out as well a few others. The total bill is $2,700, of this we will have to pay $1,000 and the insurance covers the rest. He has this appointment this Friday.
After that he needs a deep cleaning which is two separate appointments and then some work on one molar that’s in dire straits. Not sure yet what the costs on that will be but it has to be done. Then we are at a stopping point until 2012 when our next round of insurance kicks in.
Ashley
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Comments
My dad used to avoid the dentist because every time he went there they found another problem. He figured if he didn’t go, nobody would find a problem with his teeth, lol.
$33k is a heck of a lot of money for teeth. I would think (this is an uneducated guess) you’d be able to replace all of them with dentures for less than that. Maybe not, but still. I’d do the same thing as you – spread it out over time and pay for it gradually.
This is an illustration where prevention is worth a pound of cure. There’s no way that had he kept up on the routine cleanings and such that it would have totaled $33k. I understand that he doesn’t like the dentist. Nobody does. Even dentists probably hate going to the dentist. But you still have to go. Your mouth is involved in so much of what you do, eating, talking, drinking, breathing, that you owe it to yourself to keep it healthy. Think of it as a gateway to your body!
@gharkness: I agree with you 100%, thanks for your comment. I’ve made him promise that if we get this done that he will go for regular cleanings. I know it’s a whole body issue, that’s one reason I’ve been pushing him to get this done. I obviously want him to be healthy. I try to save my nagging for the important things. haha. 
@Matt: He actually can’t wear dentures or even partials. It’s part of his dentist problem. He hates things in his mouth (other than food!) We are going to be looking to implants but those are like $4,500 each. We haven’t made any decisions yet. First we are going to stop the bleeding and then take an inventory.
For that price, you might consider flying to India, getting the dental work done, and then flying back. Even in terms of lost income, no insurance coverage, and the cost of a flight, I bet it’s a net gain. Plus, it’d make a heck of a blog post. 
That first dentist is really a lawyer, and does dentistry on the weekends. How else could could someone think of such a massive bill? Did you happen to notice a Ferrari in the parking lot?
It pays to shop around. My Father-in-law is in a similar situation. He freely admits that he has never had his teeth cleaned, and I don’t think he even brushes, smokes a packet a day, washes it down with a 6-pack, and wonders why his teeth are falling out. He blames the dentist!
Having a good dentist you can work with is important. I haven’t had a cavity in decades, however it is time to replace fillings or get crowns. Even with insurance, it adds up.
$33,000!?!?!??!
I’m glad you were able to find someone who was a little more reasonable!
As others have stated, prevention is really the best form of controlling costs when it comes to most things. The fact that you were so open about what you are going through will probably inspire many people to see a doctor/dentist, review their budgets, and other preventative things right away!
Thanks for your comments guys! My husband would like to assure everyone that he does brush his teeth. haha. I can verify that he brushes twice a day and uses mouth wash.
@JT: I actually did think of that! I have family in Belarus and some members of my family have gone their for their dental work. That’s a little extreme though.
@Hunter: hahaha… I know right!
@Krantcents: Having a dentist you like and trust is critical when you already have dentist issues. I think that has added to his problems. He has been to a few dentists around here and they have dismissed his anxiety. I’ve seen his new dentist a few times myself and was impressed with this chair-side manner. I also explained my husband’s issues to the dentist before they ever met so hopefully that helped him be more sensitve to his needs.
@Khaleef: I sure hope someone avoids this situation. That would be awesome.
Wow! That’s nuts! My husband recently (finally!) went to the dentist, and we certainly didn’t have a $33k bill! It wasn’t pretty, but it was worth it. Glad your second doc was less of a quack!
I could have written this post! Seriously, my husband has that phobia and will only go to knock-out dentists. Our last dental bill was $3600 out of pocket. If you do attack this in parts, offer to pay with a check when you can if they give cash discounts. We got 5% off that way. Good luck.
Like your husband needed one more reason to really hate the dentist.
As much as your husband probably doesn’t want too, spreading it out does make the most sense. Although I did like JT’s idea. Vacation and dental work?
I was about to suggest JT’s idea as well, except instead of India, I was going to recommend Bangkok, for the following reasons:
1) The ISO (International Standards Organization) ranks Thailand as one of the top medical nations.
2) When the Prime Minister of Nepal needs medical care, he flies to Bangkok — if that tells you anything about the quality of care there.
3) Both my boyfriend and I have had dental work in Bangkok; I also had a pretty complex surgery done in Bangkok. My surgery was at an international hospital that specialized in treating foreigners (mostly Americans) who were traveling there for the lower-cost medical care, so the doctors spoke English (most of them had gone to med school in the U.S., Britain or Australia before returning to their native Thailand to work).
Seriously, $33,000? I find you have to be really careful with dentists. I have been to two different dentists within a week of each other and had completely different results – one claiming I needed a bunch of expensive work done. I have heard many stories about being duped so just be careful. Good luck!
Um, WOW.
Gulp.
I have to say I agree that it’s great you found someone else to deal with!
For the husband I suggest earphones and music blaring – will take his mind off things – I don’t like the dentist either but I do go because I’m paying the price for when I didn’t!
Luckily now that we’ve switched dentists I don’t actally pay a PRICE – the odd deductible is all my new one ever charges us – the last dentist would have us in four figures a year [for me and the three kids - dh goes elsewhere] just for routine care! Insane.
Good luck with it all!
I do understand your husband’s dislike of the dentist (though I myself don’t have a problem with it), but please, please get the dentist to show him/tell him/insist upon some things he can do to keep his teeth from getting in such a bad situation in the future.
For example, once he has the deep cleaning, he needs, really NEEDS to spend significant time every single day to keep the plaque from forming on his teeth to that extent again. It can be done!
Many people don’t realize, but dental disease is not confined to the mouth. It does affect the rest of the body, and is frequently not only a result of, a cause of, and also a marker of, other disease (example: diabetes, coronary issues, which often result from inflammation.) Not saying he has those, but his whole body will be better off if he keeps his teeth very, very clean. Side effect: he won’t have to spend so much time at the dentist in the future (once he gets these issues cleared).