I have a broken tooth. A molar. How much do you think that would run me without dental insurance?

[Lil Missy]

Just a little piece broke off. I'll wait till they have to pull the damned tooth. Then it will be covered by Medicare.

Ridiculous.

[UTUSN]

1. Covered by Medicare? I don't think so. But if you lived near the Mexico border

you could cross over there and have it pulled for $30. Bridges and stuff for a couple of hundred.

[vard28]

2. Depends on how the tooth broke

I had one break last year and it ended up having to have a crown, which of course was 1400.00 'cause I don't have dental insurance. UGH!

[Lil Missy]

3. It just broke off. I thought it was a piece of bone in my food and threw it away.

Edit: I could say I got punched in the mouth?

[arcadian]

4. If it's that bad, a crown will cost between $700 and $1000

If it's it not that bad, you could probably just live with it.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. Yes, and you may be able to negotiate with the dentist

Still, much of my credit card debt is from dental bills. :-(

[Twillig]

9. My crown was $775 (last summer)

Worth every penny.

I lived with it for years. EDIT: the broken tooth, not the crown.
I also lived with not wanting people to see inside my mouth and that sucked.

[Gormy Cuss]

6. If you can find a dentist who deals with lower income people you may get away with a cheaper crown.

My dentists uses pre-formed metal crowns as temporaries and he told me that when he worked with public health patients he cemented them as permanents because that was the only type covered. They're ugly and not as comfortable as a built up crown but I had no discomfort while wearing it as a temp and it was on a back molar -- not exactly a place where you need a pretty crown.

http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/dental-crowns

[Lil Missy]

11. I have an idea. The place that saw me with kidney failure. I think they have a dental clinic too.

I'll check it out.

[Lil Missy]

24. wrong place

[Silver Swan]

7. Depending on the damage to the tooth, you may be able to get by with just a filling.

My old dentist did that for my former spouse, at a time when he was unemployed. The filling lasted for about twenty years, at which time, he could afford to get a crown.

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. I would think around $900 to have it fixed and capped.

The danger of waiting to have it pulled out, is that if the break is bad, you could be risking infection, and also, you will then need a bridge, at about $3000, unless you want your other teeth to move into the space and get all wobbly and crappy.

[Lil Missy]

13. I have a call into the clinic. I have nice teeth. I don't want them moving!

[Deep13]

10. Depends how bad it is.

I little piece might be replaced with a filing. Modern dental adhesives are very sticky, you know. Any more than that and it will need to be crowned which is really expensive--like another poster said, between $700 and $1000. If the damage is bad enough, it would need to be root-canaled and posted which is another grand at least.

[jobycom]

12. Not much, actually.

I had a piece of molar fall off one day, for no good reason. I was eating catfish (long before I became veggie), so there was nothing to cause it.

I was terrified for a week that the dentist would tell me they were all rotten and falling out. I hadn't been to a dentist by then since I was a kid. He told me the opposite--said I had no cavities, and would probably never have any, and that sometimes teeth just break.

He wasn't going to do anything, but I told him the sharp edges were uncomfortable, so he patched it up. Wasn't that much, including xray and exam and cleaning. That was my last dentist appointment, too, come to it, so I guess I got my money's worth. So far. :)

Anyway, good luck. Check into it, you might be surprised. Or not. :shrug:

[old mark]

14. Some of the chain dental places - American Dental Service, etc-

will do the work and issue you a credit cart so you can make monthly payments on it - unfortunately for a lot of months.
Call around and I am sure you can find a place that will do that in your area.
The older you get, the more you should try to keep your teeth.
(Not that you are getting old, Missy.....)


mark

[Lil Missy]

18. I have a call in to the clinic, who took care my kidney failure. I think they have a dental.

[rurallib]

15. Is there a dental school near you?

Lincoln maybe? They will often do work for the cost of materials, which could substantially lower the cost

[WinkyDink]

16. Nope, NOT covered by Medicare! My husband's teeth will testify!

[yellowdogintexas]

28. Medicare may cover tooth extractions IF the teeth are being pulled in preparation

for radiation therapy to the head...if there are metal fillings in the teeth, the teeth have to be removed for radiation.

I say 'may' because way back when this was covered, but stuff does change so I don't know current rules.

[blogslut]

17. Is there one of these near you?

http://www.affordabledentures.com/locations.htm

I got a partial upper plate from them and I'm very happy. They do caps, extractions, implants and other services.

[skooooo]

19. $1800 nt

[Maine-ah]

20. just have them file it down, it will be cheap

this happened to hubbie a couple of months ago. The dentist knows we don't have the cash to get a crown or have it pulled, so for a temporary fix until we have the cash, he filed it down. Less than 100 bucks.

[Lil Missy]

21. I may have to do that. It's not really bothering me.

[LisaL]

31. I broke my tooth while eating a sugar covered almond candy.

Actually a big piece of the tooth broke off. Dentist put in a filling which was huge, half the tooth. If you only broke a small part the dentist might be able to just put in a filling which is a lot cheaper than a crown.

[Mugu]

22. I'm kind of surprised by the prices being quoted here.

Clearly, I've been going to the wrong dentist. I have a gold crown on the lower rear molar on both sides and I remember paying well over $2k for each. But, part of the cost was the root canal. $725 for one, and $900 for the other. Apparently there was quite a bit of inflation during the intervening years.

So I'm guessing that the dentist and crown cost around $1400.

I have an implant in the front that after everybody got a piece of me (orthodontist, oral surgeon, dentist, etc.) cost over $5k.

[Lil Missy]

23. Shit! That's ridiculous!

[Mugu]

32. I assure you that those prices are from some time ago.

I'm sure that they're higher now.

[Lil Missy]

25. Well, no return call after 6 hours.

I hate these call queues. Can't get through to a real person just to make an appointment.

[Lil Missy]

26. A callback: I guess the same income guidelines apply to dental.

Looks like I'll be able to get my tooth fixed. :)

[NV Whino]

27. Crown

$950

Ask me how I know that. :(

[LisaL]

29. It depends on what you would want to do.

If you do a crown, you are talking close to couple thousands. If you do a filling you are talking couple of hundreds.

[InvisibleTouch]

30. I shattered a molar a few years ago.

From grinding my teeth at night, as best I can tell. I've since trained myself not to do that. Anyway - cost me $600-something for the crown at a dental school. The dental student did an excellent job, and it was all supervised by dentists/instructors. I honestly prefer to pay that out-of-pocket than to pay a monthly insurance premium for years and years when I don't need any work done. It would have added up to far more than what the one crown cost me.

[Lil Missy]

33. Good news! They (dental) will see me for $40 on Thursday.

:bounce:

[Coyote_Bandit]

34. Personal experience here

Broke an upper back molar - broke it on a Wednesday evening on a holiday weekend and was not able to get into the dentist until the following Monday. Thanksgiving 2006. Thankfully it was not terribly painful - but I ate gingerly and avoided both hot and cold foods.

The dentist charged about $800 which included the prep for a crown, the mold and the crown itself (porcelain on gold). Got a temporary crown and went away for a couple of weeks while the permanent crown was being prepped. During that time I developed some temperature sensitivity and a minor but constant ache. So when I returned to the dentist I was sent off to the endodontist who advised that he could probably save the root but I might have continuing problems with it. I opted for the root canal. Another $1100 - which included all follow up work required. There were complications and I almost had to have a second root canal procedure performed. Seem I had both an additional root and a prolapsed root which was almost impossible to completely eradicate.

Earlier this year I noticed that I was missing a small chunk on the molar adjacent to the crown. Went to see the dentist and got my teeth cleaned and x-rayed and got his opinion regarding the new damage. No pain, no aches, no temperature sensitivity and just a very small missing chunk of enamel. For now we are not doing anything with it - on the dentist's advice. He recommended careful and thorough brushing in the area and use of a fluoridated mouthwash.

I have a mouthful of teeth that likely will need some attention in the not too distant future. In addition to some existing fillings I have several cracked teeth from childhood sports and from a couple of auto accidents.

I know a disabled fellow who is getting his teeth fixed after many years of not having access to care. He is having some extractions, getting some crowns and getting some fixed small implant bridges. It will take him most of the year to have the work done. Total cost is something close to $10,000.

Hope everything works out well for you. There is nothing that compares to dental pain.