I have a tooth that has been bothering me on and off for about two months, mostly I can deaden the nerves with mouthwash and some creative distraction, but last night nothing worked, I was up all night..well until 4am, then I managed a bit of sleep till 8.
So today I called the dentist and got a quote for a root canal..yeah I know self proscribing, but I have been thru this pain before. Only last time I went for a good many more sleepless nights before I called the Dentist. For one root canal the cost is around 800 dollars. plus the Xray and exam, plus a buildup and cap..or is it crown?
All told this little painful episode will cost us 2000 dollars...not really my favorite way to spend money at Christmas time.
But on the upside, it was there, sitting in the savings account...nice to have put it there for this sort of thing.
Well that will kill the EF..sortof
December 11th, 2007 at 08:05 pm
December 11th, 2007 at 08:17 pm 1197404231
I recall amber had large dental bill too, and I've been wondering about the insurance aspect considered the decent insurance plans out there. For example, with Delta dental, the individual plan premium is around $100 a year and co-payment for a root canal is $400.
December 11th, 2007 at 08:21 pm 1197404496
December 11th, 2007 at 08:39 pm 1197405588
It's worth it since diagnostic, which I assume includes X-ray for oral evaluation, has no co-payment and the coverage for annual preventive care alone made up for most of the premium. Well, it depends on plans, but overall, it's quite affordable.
December 11th, 2007 at 08:43 pm 1197405793
December 11th, 2007 at 09:09 pm 1197407382
Sure, any decent dental insurance options? Let me know. Have never found anything that was more cost effective than self insurance.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:45 pm 1197416726
December 12th, 2007 at 01:12 am 1197421974
I've always wondered if a root canal is truly necessary, or, if the patient opts for it, the could just pull it out and call it a day.
Remember the tooth that I had pulled out last month? It was a molar that was root canaled about 10 years ago. When I met with my dentist, he said that all root canals will fail eventually, and even 5 years is actually pretty good. Afterwards, and even with constant maintenance with the filling, the tooth may still fall apart eventually.
My extraction took only 5 minutes for the dentist to do (not including time for the anesthesia to kick in), compared to the hour-long ordeal that was the root canal.
December 12th, 2007 at 02:43 am 1197427422
I honestly never researched the dental insurance..I assumed it was too expensive when independent (not available thru husbands work) which no he doesn't have a flex spend account.
And ditto Ferns comment! Flossing daily might have saved me this pain. Brushing alone is important, but not enough alone!
December 12th, 2007 at 02:07 pm 1197468449
December 12th, 2007 at 11:53 pm 1197503597
December 13th, 2007 at 01:17 am 1197508654
I agree root canals are not a total solution, but I am not ready for dentures yet!