How do you get low cost dental care?

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Allagash
Posts: 128
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2016 9:34 pm
Location: WA State

How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by Allagash »

Was just at the dentist today and have to get about $3,000 in work done (crowns, root canal issues). Is it worth getting a second opinion? Can be hard to tell if a dentist is just doing things they don't need to do to just to make money. Has anyone got dental done in Mexico? I read a lot about a lot of full time RV-ers that go to this Mexican town right over the border from Yuma. I would have to cost of getting down there and hotel.

slowtraveler
Posts: 722
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 10:06 pm

Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by slowtraveler »

I used to get tons of cavities that required annual work. Then I started flossing twice a day and spending 2 minutes brushing slowly as I cover my entire teeth area with soft small ovals and I stopped getting cavities. I almost never go to the dentist and this is what I think is truly low cost dental care.

For the damage already done, going cheaper has ended up more expensive for a lot of people I know as they had to get more work done in the future or if they wanted no-mercury fillings. If you have a connection to someone abroad who knows what they're doing, well, medical care is less expensive abroad and medical tourism is a whole industry.

Dragline
Posts: 4436
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:50 am

Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by Dragline »

With crowns and a root canal you are probably looking at multiple visits unless they put you under and have the mold/crown making equipment on-site. So Mexico may not be a good option, although it would certainly be cheaper.

It is best to get it fixed right the first time -- and then swear off candy and sweets.

Allagash
Posts: 128
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2016 9:34 pm
Location: WA State

Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by Allagash »

I really don't eat any sugary stuff and eat overall extremely healthy. I haven't been the best over my life, but the last 10 years at least I have brushed and flossed twice daily. I seem to have teeth prone to a lot of dental work over the years. I do drink a lot of tea (with no sugar in it), not sure how that is for your teeth.

tommytebco
Posts: 257
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2012 4:48 pm

Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by tommytebco »

You don't. with the exception of low cost extractions. at least in my experience in west central Florida.

halfmoon
Posts: 697
Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2016 10:19 pm

Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by halfmoon »

Since you live (I think) in the Puget Sound area, you could look into the University of Washington dental school. As I recall, the cost is about half that of a private dentist. Pre-trained students perform the procedures under the eyes of faculty. It's kind of inconvenient because you don't have much scheduling flexibility, but you can save a lot of money if you're looking at extensive work. I know several people who use the school for all their dental work and swear by it. Having said that: I had a bad experience and ended up going to an excellent dentist in Canada to fix an error on a student dentist's part. The Canadian dentist was cheaper than most US ones due to exchange rates, and he used the latest technology. Teeth and eyes are something I've decided I'm willing to spend money on.

Farm_or
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Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by Farm_or »

I also have bad teeth genetics. Had to pay $500 for a root canal this spring (got hit in the mouth ten years ago practicing martial arts).

We don't cost justify dental insurance, so pay out of pocket. My strategy has been to find an excellent hygienist, develop a good professional relationship with that person and listen and depend on their advice. I spend very little time and money on the dentist. The hygienist matters most!

radamfi
Posts: 143
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Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by radamfi »

Central Europe is a well known place to get cheaper but high quality dental care, particularly Hungary. There are package holidays available combining hotels and a visit to the dentist.

BlueNote
Posts: 501
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 6:26 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by BlueNote »

Felipe wrote:
Tue Jul 25, 2017 5:54 pm
Then I started flossing twice a day and spending 2 minutes brushing slowly as I cover my entire teeth area with soft small ovals and I stopped getting cavities. I almost never go to the dentist and this is what I think is truly low cost dental care.
I agree. I had a really strict hygienist who advised that I floss and brush after every meal and before I went to bed. I did that for about 2-3 years and my dentist and hygienist were quite surprised and happy with how much healthier my gums were and how free of cavities I was. I only floss about 1-2 times a day now and brush about 3 times a day. I still don't get cavities but the hygienist is definitely doing a lot more work removing tartar and other junk from my teeth compared to when I was brushing and flossing 4 times a day. I think the PH balance in your mouth matters a lot too, so just keeping the acidity down can help a lot which is a lot of the reason why toothpaste works.

Allagash
Posts: 128
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2016 9:34 pm
Location: WA State

Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by Allagash »

halfmoon wrote:
Wed Jul 26, 2017 7:44 am
Since you live (I think) in the Puget Sound area, you could look into the University of Washington dental school. As I recall, the cost is about half that of a private dentist. Pre-trained students perform the procedures under the eyes of faculty. It's kind of inconvenient because you don't have much scheduling flexibility, but you can save a lot of money if you're looking at extensive work. I know several people who use the school for all their dental work and swear by it. Having said that: I had a bad experience and ended up going to an excellent dentist in Canada to fix an error on a student dentist's part. The Canadian dentist was cheaper than most US ones due to exchange rates, and he used the latest technology. Teeth and eyes are something I've decided I'm willing to spend money on.
Thanks for the info of Univ of WA I'll look into that. Although your bad experience sounds cautionary. Any chance you could PM me the Canadian dentist? I might look into that and get a quote for a crown.

I have some WA State dental health insurance that is about $18/mo and I am getting quoted $875 out of pocket a crown (they claim on the quote their base price is $1,705 a crown and my insurance pays $650 of it so $875 out of my pocket...this sounds like very inflated BS to me though).

I was also thinking something similarly about getting my car fixed. I wonder if there are any high school vocational tech students that work on cars cheap under their teachers supervision (they did this a town I grew up in). Also there are some community colleges around with Voc Tech programs. I was also had the idea maybe there are Voc Tech high schools or community colleges that would do rehab work on a house cheap for student training.

Allagash
Posts: 128
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2016 9:34 pm
Location: WA State

Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by Allagash »

I have heard by the way of a TON of people that have gone to Mexico for dental care. I think many dentists there are educated in U.S. and have all latest technology. And are part of dental associations. I knew a guy in CA that drove his whole family of 6 down to Mexico to get all their dental work done. Particularly have heard of a lot of RV-ers who winter in the AZ or CA deserts going to a dentist just over the border from Yuma AZ.

My concern with Mexico with any major dental care (or any medical tourism anywhere...esp in developing countries) would be what would your legal recourse be if they F'd your teeth up! My guess is none.

halfmoon
Posts: 697
Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2016 10:19 pm

Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by halfmoon »

I sent you a PM. He's in Eastern BC, though. We started going to him when we lived in E WA, and we were so impressed that we continued to make the 6-hour trip from Seattle after we moved! Finally we had to give that up and find a new dentist here.

Allagash
Posts: 128
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2016 9:34 pm
Location: WA State

Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by Allagash »

Never got your PM, so I just PM'd you.

Good thing is my tooth issues are not a urgent burning fire. First thing I might do is get another local dentist to look at my teeth to get a second opinion. Also, this current dentist is in a nice area in a class A office building so my guess is their prices reflect that. I might try a dentist in a cheaper blue collar part of town where the locals can afford less to get my 2nd opinion.

halfmoon
Posts: 697
Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2016 10:19 pm

Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by halfmoon »

I tried again on the PM; the first one vaporized. :?

Eureka
Posts: 340
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2016 11:03 am

Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by Eureka »

I know a dentist who also has a farm, so if you are willing to do manual labor in her fields, she will do your teeth for free. She usually has some poor immigrant with bad teeth staying at her house for a couple of months at a time. She will then feed him and fix his teeth while he paints the barn or picks apples or fixes fenches or whatever.

Thus, have you considered asking your dentist for a work exchange? Could be that you have some skills that can be exhanged for nice teeth :D

Did
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Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:50 am

Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by Did »

My wife had a filling done in Thailand for A$15 and the care was excellent.

Shep
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:32 pm

Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by Shep »

slowtraveler wrote:
Tue Jul 25, 2017 5:54 pm
I saw a high end dentist when I had excellent insurance from a previous job. When I say high end, I mean excellent quality of care, almost slightly more expensive than the average dentists I used to see. He gave us a couple tips on mouth rinses that has made a big difference in Dental health. First is to check the ingredients on your mouth rinse - e.g Crest, ACT, etc. If they contain Sorbitol, throw it away now. Sorbitol acts like a sugar in your mouth and is not good for the teeth. A better rinse is something that contains Xylitol which is a sugar alcohol that kills bacteria. My wife does a lot of volunteer work with rescued Primates, and they give the Apes Xylitol gum to chew for the health of their teeth and they love it. Amazon has a few good brands you can buy online so do some research first.

Next, once you get a good rinse that will kill bacteria, it's important to follow this routine: Rinse with the Xylitol before you floss to kill any new bacterial in the mouth before poking around in there. Then rinse after you floss to kill the millions of new bacterial you have introduced through flossing, then brush, then rinse again as the brushing will releases even more bacteria. It seems a bit long long but you get used to it and find it makes a huge difference in dental health. No cavities in the family since we have enacted this plan - two adults, 2 kids. The kids were hard, we bribed them at first and now we have to trust they do it as measured by the outcomes at the dentist :).

Shep
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:32 pm

Re: How do you get low cost dental care?

Post by Shep »

Allagash wrote:
Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:04 pm
I have another post on this in your thread but wondering if you use any mouth rinse that has sorbitol which is sugar. Crest, Act, etc have this substances. Get a Xylitol rinse - check my longer post - and gum and this can make a big difference. Also, start drinking a lot of water to keep your mouth moist at all times that will help inhibit bacterial growth.

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